“Mass Incarceration: The Silence of the Judges.” In the May 21, 2015 issue of The New York Review of Books, Senior U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) has this review of a Brennan Center for Justice report titled “What Caused the Crime Decline?”

“Judges to hear Bob McDonnell’s corruption appeal Tuesday”: In today’s edition of The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Frank Green has a front page article that begins, “Former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s quest to clear his name of 11 federal corruption convictions leads Tuesday to the second-floor Butzner Courtroom of the Lewis F. Powell Jr. U.S. Courthouse.”

“Proponents of death penalty in Nebraska are on the defensive, for the first time in years”: Joe Duggan has this front page article in today’s edition of The Omaha World-Herald.

“Why the ruling against the NSA’s phone records program could have huge implications”: Andrea Peterson has this entry at “The Switch” blog of The Washington Post.

And at the “Lawfare” blog, Benjamin Wittes has a post titled “A Few Thoughts on the Second Circuit’s 215 Decision and Its Importance.” Yishai Schwartz has a post titled “‘Reasonable Search’ or ‘Reasonable Expectation of Privacy’: A Brief Reply to Orin Kerr on the 2nd Circuit’s Decision.” David Kris has a post titled “On the Second Circuit’s Section 215 Decision.” And Liza Goitein has a post titled “How the Second Circuit’s Decision Changes the Legislative Game.”

“Christians schools will have no choice about gay marriage; A Supreme Court ruling could shatter religious school finances”: Michael Farris has this essay online at USA Today.

“Ben Carson: US should rethink Supreme Court review of laws.” The Associated Press has this report.

And CNN.com reports that “Ben Carson questions whether presidents must obey Supreme Court.”

“Chief Justice Pat Roggensack says author of New Yorker article that criticizes Supreme Court ‘didn’t know his facts'”: Tom Kertscher has this blog post online today at The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The blog post refers to a video that Wisconsin Public Television posted online titled “Pat Roggensack On Her Vision For State Supreme Court.” And last Tuesday, Lincoln Caplan has a post online at The New Yorker titled “The Destruction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”

“Texas Supreme Court declines to review former Tech coach Leach’s appeal; Appeals court judges said defendants were not culpable for Leach’s firing since Tech officials based their decision on their investigation”: The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal has this report.

“Utahn injured by convicted terrorist says he’s concerned man is now free”: The Deseret News has an article that begins, “Former Guantanamo Bay inmate Omar Khadr is out on bail after a judge refused a last-ditch attempt by the Canadian government to keep him imprisoned.”

“9th Circuit judges rip into Prenda Law copyright trolling scheme; ‘They should have taken the 5th. . . They were engaged in extortion.'” Joe Mullin of Ars Technica had this report last Monday, while I was busy in New Orleans at the Fifth Circuit‘s Judicial Conference.

In other coverage, business columnist Michael Hiltzik of The Los Angeles Times had an essay titled “Comedy gold: Watch three U.S. judges dismantle a copyright troll’s case.”

Rhett Pardon of XBIZ Newswire has reports headlined “Prenda Law’s ‘Copyright Trolling’ Operation Blasted at the 9th Circuit” and “Prenda Law’s Strategy at 9th Circuit Baffles Legal Peers.”

Mark Kernes of AVN News reports that “9th Circuit Panel Takes On Prenda Lawyers in Copyright Cases.”

And at “Popehat,” Ken White has a post titled “Prenda Law And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Appellate Argument.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of last Monday’s oral argument in Paul Hansmeier, Esq. v. John Doe, No. 13-55859, on YouTube at this link.

“This teacher has the opportunity to hit police unions where it hurts the most”: Columnist Charles Lane of The Washington Post has an essay that begins, “Supreme Court cases have a way of changing American society far beyond the intentions and expectations of the litigants who start them — or even the justices who decide them.”

“Pennsylvania’s courts crapshoot”: Today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer contains an editorial that begins, “Despite a remarkable run of scandal that deprived the state’s highest court of two justices in as many years and its lowest (the late Philadelphia Traffic Court) of existence, Pennsylvania lawmakers have maintained a preternatural serenity about the condition of the state’s judiciary — so much so that its ranks are being refilled by the same quasi-democratic lottery that got us in this mess.”

“How Anthony Ray Hinton survived 30 years on death row”: Kent Faulk has this front page article in today’s edition of The Birmingham News.

And in today’s edition of The Scranton Times-Tribune, Robert Swift has an article headlined “Execution anniversary hightlights Wolf’s halt.”

“When 8 Adults And 3 Children Are A Family: Justice Alito used them as a scare tactic, but why doesn’t the law recognize unusual family configurations?” Hugh Ryan has this essay online today at The Daily Beast.

And today at “Jost on Justice,” Kenneth Jost has a post titled “Religious Liberty as ‘Refuge’ for Marriage Equality Foes.”