“Unusual Law Clerk Hire for D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown”: Today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times,” Tony Mauro has a post that begins, “Shon Hopwood’s unique career in the law has taken a dramatic new turn.”

Sadly, Shon did not realize that I would be in Seattle last month until after I had already returned back home. Perhaps now I will have a chance to catch up with him in Washington, DC during his upcoming D.C. Circuit clerkship.

“Apple, Samsung’s next big showdown could reshape patent law”: Howard Mintz will have this article Wednesday in The San Jose Mercury News.

“Newest D.C. Circuit Judge Gears Up for Arguments”: Zoe Tillman has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“Calif v. Idaho Turf War Over Judge Seat Still On”: Today at her “Trial Insider” blog, Pamela A. MacLean has a post that begins, “It was too early to declare a truce in the nine-year California vs. Idaho war to fill the vacancy for Judge Stephen Trott’s seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“Students win breast-cancer bracelet case”: In today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer, John P. Martin has an article that begins, “Is the U.S. Supreme Court ready for boobie bracelets?”

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s en banc Third Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“In Supreme Court, Republicans Defend Opening Prayers”: Todd Ruger has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

And Roll Call has a report headlined “Congressional Prayer Under Threat?”

“US Supreme Court receives response to Va. AG’s petition to stay anti-sodomy law ruling”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Constitution Check: Is the Chief Justice’s power to pick judges of the secret wiretap court a bad idea?” Lyle Denniston has this post today at the “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center.

“Ex-NYS Senate leader Bruno loses bid to throw out fraud case”: Reuters has this report on a summary order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

“NY appeals court reinstates poker conviction”: The Associated Press has this report.

And The New York Post has a related news update, although the headline is currently so inaccurate that I cannot bring myself to quote it.

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

A who’s who of the nation’s most talent appellate practitioners appeared on behalf of the defendant/appellee and his amicus supporters, but the Second Circuit nevertheless sided with the federal government. According to today’s ruling, “the question of whether skill or chance predominates in poker is inapposite to this appeal.”

Update: In other coverage, Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “U.S. appeals court reinstates poker conviction.”

“Work of Scalia, Ginsburg inspiration for new opera”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“Religious Objections To Health Law Multiply; Controversies involving private firms being required to offer contraceptive coverage are likely headed to U.S. Supreme Court”: Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Why Your Cell Phone’s Location Isn’t Protected by the Fourth Amendment”: Orin Kerr has this blog post online today at The New Yorker.

“Judges attend lavish conferences on taxpayer dime amid budget cuts”: Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times has this report on a letter that U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) issued last Friday.

“Chris Christie’s Legal Position on Gay Marriage Is Pure Nonsense: The New Jersey governor’s court brief reads like a bad student paper.” Nathaniel Frank has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Ohio nonprofit gets new trial over ‘bachelor pad'”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Fair housing advocates on Monday won a new trial in a federal lawsuit against an Ohio company that advertised an apartment as ‘a great bachelor pad’ for men looking to ‘hook up.'”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.

“Miami killer John Errol Ferguson executed”: The Miami Herald has this news update.

“Taken: Under civil forfeiture, Americans who haven’t been charged with wrongdoing can be stripped of their cash, cars, and even homes; Is that all we’re losing.” Sarah Stillman has this article in the August 12, 2013 issue of The New Yorker.

“Congress Pushes Supreme Court on Ethics Rules”: Todd Ruger has this post today at “The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.”

“The Irony of Justice Scalia’s California Prison Rant; His dissenting opinion on Brown v. Plata has nothing to do with the subject at hand: prisoners and the Eighth Amendment.” Andrew Cohen has this essay online at The Atlantic.

“Easton Area School District: Struck down ‘I Heart Boobies’ bracelet ban leaves schools ‘defenseless.'” The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania has this news update.

The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has a news update headlined “Federal court strikes down ‘I (heart) boobies’ ban.”

The Associated Press has a report headlined “US court: Pa. school can’t ban ‘boobies’ bracelets.”

And at the “School Law” blog of Education Week, Mark Walsh has a post titled “Full Appeals Court Upholds ‘Boobies’ Bracelets in Schools.”

You can access today’s ruling of the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

“N.Y. City Asks Top State Court to Review Large-Soda Ban”: Bloomberg News has this report.

Programming note: A meeting later this morning with co-counsel in a case in which the appellate briefs are due approximately two weeks from now will have me away from the computer for a bit. Additional posts will appear here this afternoon.

“Judges Extend High Court Same-Sex Ruling; Weeks After Key Part of Federal Marriage Act Is Struck Down, Preliminary Findings Show Decision Could Reshape Laws”: Ashby Jones has this article today in The Wall Street Journal.

“Florida Ignores the Supreme Court”: This editorial appears today in The New York Times.

“Confessions of an Application Reader: Lifting the Veil on the Holistic Process at the University of California, Berkeley.” In the Education Life section of yesterday’s edition of The New York Times, Ruth A. Starkman had this essay.

“Supreme Court may need to decide how private a cellphone is”: In today’s edition of The Washington Post, Robert Barnes has this new installment of his “The High Court” column.

“Opening Up Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court”: Kenneth Jost has this post today at his blog, “Jost on Justice.”

“As Trial Begins in Fort Hood Spree, Experts See Landmark Case”: Manny Fernandez will have this article in Monday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Under the U.S. Supreme Court: Taking the cuffs off political money.” Michael Kirkland of UPI has this report.

“State Supreme Court: New rules needed to guard against racism; High court agrees racism prevalent in jury selection; splits on how to stop it.” SeattlePI.com has this report.

And The Associated Press reports that “State justices seek protections against racial bias in jury selection.”

You can access Thursday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Washington State — a ruling in which five of the nine justices wrote separately, combining to produce a 110-page decision — at this link.

“NLRB rulings stalled pending Supreme Court review; Apparent victories by workers on hold until decision on contested 2012 appointments by President Barack Obama”: This article will appear in Sunday’s edition of The Chicago Tribune.

“Harry Reid should be ready to go ‘nuclear’ over judicial nominees”: Michael McGough has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.

“San Diego clerk ends bid to revive Prop. 8”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

“Smithkline Beecham Corporation v. Abbott Laboratories (‘Sexual Orientation of Jurors’)”: As I noted in this earlier post, Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times contained this week’s installment of Adam Liptak’s “Sidebar” column headlined “Court to Decide if Lawyers Can Block Gays From Juries.”

Given the interest in the case, on Thursday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit posted online this web page providing free access to the most significant filings in the appeal.

Moreover, on Wednesday a three-judge panel issued an order announcing that oral argument in the case will occur in San Francisco on September 18, 2013. The order also directed the parties to submit supplemental briefing addressed to the Batson-sexual orientation issue.

If Wednesday’s order is any indication, it appears that the three-judge Ninth Circuit panel assigned to hear and decide the case consists of Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt and Marsha S. Berzon and Senior Circuit Judge Mary M. Schroeder. This appears to be a very favorable draw for those those who favor recognizing Batson rights based on sexual orientation.