“Supreme Court to rule on warrantless searches of electronic devices; Cops want access, without warrants, to electronic devices of everybody arrested”: David Kravets of Ars Technica has this report.

“[P]erhaps the strangest indication of marriage equality’s sudden ascent to inevitability came this week, when an openly gay federal judge was forced to defend Oregon’s gay marriage ban in his own courtroom because nobody else would”: So writes Mark Joseph Stern online at Slate in an essay titled “Openly Gay Oregon Judge Defends Marriage Ban Because No One Else Will.”

“The slow death of the death penalty: America is falling out of love with the needle.” This article appears in the current issue of The Economist magazine.

“Supreme Court Retreats Again on Racial Justice”: Kenneth Jost has this post today at his blog, “Jost On Justice.”

“State wants Utah Supreme Court to intervene in gay marriage recognition case”: Dennis Romboy has this article in today’s edition of The Deseret News.

And in today’s edition of The Salt Lake Tribune, Marissa Lang has an article headlined “Same-sex marriage: Both sides want Utah Supreme Court to have say.”

“Supreme Court takes on privacy in digital age”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“How a Gulf Settlement That BP Once Hailed Became Its Target”: Campbell Robertson and John Schwartz have this front page article today in The New York Times.

“In California, a Fevered Rush for Gun Permits”: Adam Nagourney will have this article in Sunday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Supreme Court to look at privacy cases involving police searches of cell phones”: Bill Mears of CNN.com has this report.

“Fla. floating home battle not ended by high court”: The Associated Press has this report.

“Obama visit delays new lawyers’ oath-taking”: The Philippine Daily Inquirer has an article that begins, “The Supreme Court has reset the oath-taking of new lawyers from Monday, April 28, to May 5, to give way to the visit of US President Barack Obama.”

“Supremes’ Spat Over Affirmative Action: Supposedly Supreme Court justices are collegial even when they disagree on points of law; The Roberts-Sotomayor fight on affirmative action says otherwise.” Law professor Adam Winkler has this essay online today at The Daily Beast.

“Meet the Women Behind the Supreme Court’s Controversial Affirmative Action Decision”: ABC News has this report.

“Should a Chimp Be Able to Sue Its Owner? Steven Wise is arguing for the legal ‘personhood’ of chimps and other animals; And no one is laughing him out of the courtroom.” Charles Siebert has this cover story in tomorrow’s edition of The New York Times Magazine.

“U.S. Appeals Court Issues Mixed Ruling Reviving Apple Patent Claims Against Motorola Mobility; Decision Could Hurt iPhone Maker in Separate Smartphone Patent Case Against Samsung”: Brent Kendall and Don Clark will have this article in Saturday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal. You can freely access the full text of the article via Google.

And at Gigaom, Jeff John Roberts has a post titled “In Apple-Google case, court blows off famous judge’s plea for patent sanity; Judge Richard Posner tried to put a stop to silly patent lawsuits over smartphones; Unfortunately, the country’s patent court — which has helped to create many patent problems in the first place — is having none of it.”

My earlier coverage of today’s Federal Circuit ruling appears at this link.

“How ‘Affirmative Action’ Acquired Its Meaning”: Ben Zimmer has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.

You can freely access the full text of the essay via Google.

“Obituary: Federal Appellate Judge William J. Holloway, Jr. was a gentleman and a scholar.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has issued this news release.

“Supreme Court rejects Harper government’s Senate overhaul plan”: Sean Fine of The Toronto Globe and Mail has a news update that begins, “The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously rejected the Conservative government’s attempt to transform the Senate into an elected body, and to set term limits of nine years, saying that such basic changes require the consent of at least seven provinces and half of Canadians.”

And The Toronto Star has a news update headlined “Supreme Court rejects Harper government proposals for Senate reform.”

You can access today’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada at this link.

“Alaska Supreme Court rules same-sex couples have equal property tax rights”: The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Alaska issued today.

“The Puzzle of Paying Amy: Congress has to fix the problem with restitution for child pornography victims that stumped the Supreme Court.” Law professor Eric Posner has this essay online at Slate.

“Court rules former Plainfield man can sue police over wrongful murder conviction”: The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey has this news update.

The Associated Press reports that “NJ man wrongly convicted of killing 2 kids can sue cops, court rules.”

And Courthouse News Service reports that “Cops Denied Immunity for Appalling Frame Job.”

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

“Justice Department urges SCOTUS to pass up reporter’s privilege case”: Josh Gerstein of Politico.com has this blog post.

“U.S. court may consider delay of Apple e-books damages trial”: Reuters has a report that begins, “A U.S. appeals court will consider Apple Inc’s request to put off a July trial to determine how much the iPad maker must pay in damages to customers in more than two dozen states over e-book price fixing.”

“In legal matters, are smartphones too chatty for your own good?” Michael Doyle of McClatchy Washington Bureau has this report.

“Court weighs police use of cellphone tower data”: The Associated Press has this report.

“William J. Holloway, Jr., 1923-2014”: At his “TaxProf Blog,” Paul Caron has a post that begins, “William Judson Holloway, Jr., former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, died this morning surrounded by his family.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Federal appeals judge Holloway dies in Oklahoma.”

You can access Judge Holloway’s official Federal Judicial Center biography at this link.

“Leaking fluid from corpse pits condo owner against insurance provider; Woman unable to convince State Farm, courts that policy covered damage from dead body”: The South Florida Sun Sentinel has this report.

My earlier coverage of Wednesday’s intermediate Florida state appellate court ruling can be accessed here.

“Obama Irks Allies in Judge Picks as Diversity Hits Record”: Mike Dorning of Bloomberg News has this report.

The article begins, “President Barack Obama has named more blacks, Hispanics, women and Asians as federal judges than any of his predecessors. Some of his allies still render a negative verdict: too middle of the road.”

“The Fourth Amendment and the Global Internet”: Law professor Orin S. Kerr has posted this article online at SSRN.

Federal Circuit issues its latest ruling on Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner‘s work as a trial judge in a patent case: Today a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued this ruling in the case captioned Apple Inc. v. Motorola, Inc.

The decisions under review were affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part, and vacated-in-part, and the case was remanded back to the district court.

In early news coverage, Diane Bartz and Dan Levine of Reuters report that “U.S. appeals court revives an Apple patent lawsuit against Google.”

And Susan Decker of Bloomberg News has a report headlined “Court: Judge Wrong to Toss Apple, Google Patent Claims.”

“Eighth Circuit Affirms Injunction against South Dakota Ban on Native Prisoner Tobacco Use”: At the “Turtle Talk” blog, Matthew L.M. Fletcher has this post noting a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued today. That blog post also provides access to the appellate briefs filed in the case.

“BAMN members speak out against University of Michigan admission policies in on-campus protest”: The Ann Arbor News has this report.

The Detroit News reports that “Protesters at University of Michigan rally blast affirmative action ruling.”

The Detroit Free Press reports that “BAMN holds Ann Arbor protest over court ruling on college admissions.”

And The Michigan Daily reports that “Through protest, BAMN wins meeting with administration.”

In related coverage, at the redesigned “Constitution Daily” blog of the National Constitution Center, Lyle Denniston has a post titled “Constitution Check: Has the Supreme Court ended affirmative action at the college level?”

“Pa. Appeals Court Urged To Revive $20M Bulldozer Verdict”: Matt Fair of Law360.com has this report (subscription required for full access) about the Brief for Appellants filed Wednesday in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in a case in which I am serving as appellate counsel for the plaintiffs-appellants.

Earlier news coverage of the jury’s verdict in the case can be accessed here and here.

“Court hears Fla. case on tracking suspect phones”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “A federal appeals court in South Florida is considering whether investigators are required to obtain a warrant before obtaining cellphone records detailing a suspect’s movements.”

“Legal analyst details evolution of U.S. Supreme Court’s politics”: Today’s edition of The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World contains an article that begins, “CNN’s senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, known for his writing on the U.S. Supreme Court, began his talk Thursday at Kansas University with a reminder that the high court is simply no ‘refuge’ from politics.”