“Cleveland cites ‘Deflategate’ in bid to save city’s jock tax”: The Cleveland Plain Dealer has this report.

“Closing arguments set for Tsarnaev sentencing”: Patricia Wen, Kevin Cullen, Milton J. Valencia, and John R. Ellement of The Boston Globe have this news update.

Laurel J. Sweet and Matt Stout of The Boston Herald have a news update headlined “Tsarnaev death penalty trial ends; closing arguments Wednesday.”

The Associated Press reports that “Defense rests after nun says bomber is sorry for victims.”

Reuters has a report headlined “Boston bomber told nun ‘no one’ should suffer as his victims did.”

And Boston.com has reports headlined “Testimony over, closing statements Wednesday in marathon bombing trial” and “Sister Prejean of Dead Man Walking fame tells jury Tsarnaev is ‘genuinely sorry.’”

“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.”

“Federal Circuit May Overturn Lanham Act’s ‘Morality Clause’; It may soon be legal to trademark even ‘immoral,’ ‘scandalous’ and ‘disparaging’ names for goods”: Mark Kernes of AVN News has this report.

“Roads don’t have to meet new safety standards, court rules”: In today’s edition of The Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer has a front page article that begins, “State agencies don’t have to keep highways free of unreasonably dangerous hazards if they simply warn motorists about them, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Arizona at this link.

“State Legislatures Put Up Flurry of Roadblocks to Abortion”: Frances Robles has this article online at The New York Times.

“Faulty next-of-kin notice not lawsuit-fodder, court rules”: Howard Fischer of The Arizona Daily Star has an article that begins, “The parents of a girl who Department of Public Safety officers incorrectly said was dead have no right to sue the agency for negligence, the state’s high court ruled Friday.”

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Court: Family mistakenly notified of woman’s death can’t sue.”

You can access yesterday’s three-to-two ruling of the Supreme Court of Arizona at this link.

“Oklahoma attorney general defends Ten Commandments monument’s constitutionality; Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to rule that it is constitutional to continue displaying a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state Capitol”: The Oklahoman has this report.

“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks at Ramapo College”: This article appears in today’s edition of The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey.

And the newspaper also has an article headlined “Supreme Court Justice Scalia delivers civics lesson in Morristown.”

“Pennsylvania Supreme Court hopefuls pile up campaign cash”: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has this report.

“Natalie Portman confirmed for Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic”: The Los Angeles Times has this report.

The “VF Hollywood” blog of Vanity Fair has a post titled “Natalie Portman Will Play Our Most Rock-Star-Like Supreme Court Justice; See a new side of the Notorious R.B.G.”

And Deadline reports that “Natalie Portman To Play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In ‘On The Basis Of Sex.’”

“Over Barbecue in South Carolina, Rick Perry Hypes Supreme Court as Defining 2016 Issue; The Texan warns voters in the early primary state that Hillary Clinton could remake the Supreme Court”: Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg Politics has this report.

“AP-GfK Poll: Can Supreme Court be fair in health law case?” The Associated Press has a report that begins, “Many people in the United States doubt that the Supreme Court can rule fairly in the latest litigation jeopardizing President Barack Obama’s health care law.”

You can view the survey results via this link.

“Tammy Baldwin, Ron Johnson spar over judicial candidates”: Today’s edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contains an article that begins, “The brief partnership forged by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson to fill federal judicial seats in Wisconsin appears to have broken down over the nation’s oldest vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals.”

“Debate continues over release of Guantanamo detainee force-feeding tapes”: Michael Doyle of McClatchy Washington Bureau has this report.

And at The Intercept, Sam Sacks has a post titled “U.S. Government: We Can Classify Anything and Judges Can’t Stop Us.”

You can access via this link (31.3 MB mp3 audio file) the audio of yesterday’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“Harper unapologetic about Ottawa’s efforts to keep Omar Khadr in prison”: The Toronto Globe and Mail has this report.

And The Associated Press reports that “Ex-Gitmo inmate Omar Khadr asks Canada for a fresh start.”

“Illinois Supreme Court rules landmark pension law unconstitutional”: The Chicago Tribune has this report.

In today’s edition of The New York Times, Monica Davey has an article headlined “Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Lawmakers’ Pension Overhaul.”

Reuters reports that “Illinois’ supreme court overturns state’s 2013 pension reform law.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Illinois justices overturn state’s landmark 2013 pension law.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Illinois at this link.

“Panel Objects to Hobby Lobby Ruling”: The Harvard Crimson has an article that begins, “Panelists raised concerns about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. at Harvard Law School’s annual conference on law, religion, and health on Thursday.

“Court Ruling on N.S.A.’s Data Collection Jolts Both Defenders and Reformers”: Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer have this article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“BP wins right to appeal some Gulf spill damages claims”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued yesterday.

“Sabotage conviction overturned against nun, fellow activists”: The Associated Press has a report that begins, “An 85-year-old nun and two fellow Catholic peace activists who splashed blood on the walls of a bunker holding weapons-grade uranium — exposing vulnerabilities in the nation’s nuclear security — were wrongly convicted of sabotage, an appeals court ruled Friday.”

And Reuters reports that “U.S. appeals court overturns sabotage conviction against nun.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link. Because a U.S. District Judge sitting by designation provided the dispositive vote on appeal, experience teaches that the case has a better than average chance of rehearing en banc.

“Court backs broadcasters, clears way for FCC review of AT&T-DirecTV merger”: The Los Angeles Times has this report.

Shalini Ramachandran of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Ruling Clears Path for AT&T Merger Review; D.C. Appeals Court decision removes hurdle for regulatory review of AT&T-DirecTV merger.”

Lawrence Hurley and Alina Selyukh of Reuters report that “U.S. appeals court throws out FCC order on programming contracts.”

Andrew Zajac and David McLaughlin of Bloomberg News report that “CBS, Disney Defeat FCC in Fight Over Programming Disclosures.”

And Variety has a report headlined “AT&T-DirecTV Merger: Court Decision May Clear Way for Review.”

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