“In new open records case, Thomas Woznicki invokes ‘the Woznicki rule'”: Bruce Vielmetti has this front page article in today’s edition of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“Strict sentences come under fire in Pa. courts”: Riley Yates of The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania has this report.

“Local attorney on mission to win legal status, freedom for chimps”: The South Florida Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale has this report.

“As Americans become more liberal, will Supreme Court follow on gay marriage?” Brad Knickerbocker of The Christian Science Monitor has this report.

“Supreme Court of Canada orders new trial in child porn case; Donny Barabash, Shane Rollison of Alberta were originally acquitted of making child pornography as videos were consensual and for private use”: The Toronto Star has this news update.

Sean Fine of The Toronto Globe and Mail has a news update headlined “Supreme Court ruling blocks adults from exploiting apparent teen consent.”

National Post has a news update headlined “Sex with 14-year-olds legal in 2008, but probably not while videotaping it in a crack house: top court.”

And The Canadian Press reports that “Supreme Court orders new trial for Alberta men who made sex tapes of 14-year-old runaways.”

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

“Crooks says Roggensack threatened to throw justices off cases”: Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a news update that begins, “Days before three state Supreme Court justices skipped ceremonies to admit new lawyers to the bar, Justice N. Patrick Crooks accused newly elected Chief Justice Patience Roggensack of breaking court rules by threatening to throw him off a case without any authority.”

“We conclude that the content of New York’s custom license plates constitutes private speech and that the plates themselves are a nonpublic forum.” So holds the majority on a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a decision issued today.

Today’s ruling reverses a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York holding that the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles violated the First Amendment rights of Children First Foundation when the agency refused to approve an application to issue a “Choose Life” custom license plate.

In early coverage, The New York Daily News reports that “New York DMV’s decision to reject ‘Choose Life’ license plates upheld by appeals court.”

The Second Circuit issued an earlier ruling in this case back in March 2006, and my coverage of that ruling can be accessed here.

“Tobacco Industry Picks Up Tailwind as Smoker Suits Dealt Setback”: Margaret Cronin Fisk and Bob Van Voris of Bloomberg News have a report that begins, “A little-noticed ruling by three federal judges may have tipped the scales in favor of the tobacco industry’s bid to put decades of smoker lawsuits behind it.”

My earlier coverage of last month’s Eleventh Circuit ruling appears here and here.

“U.S. court hands partial win to tobacco firms over judge-ordered disclosures”: Lawrence Hurley of Reuters has this report.

Sam Hananel of The Associated Press reports that “Tobacco firms get partial win over claims on smoking effects.”

And Bloomberg News reports that “Cigarette Packs Must Concede Addictive Intent, Not Deception.”

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

“Actavis cannot drop old version of Alzheimer’s drug — appeals court”: Reuters has this report on an order that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

Today’s order states that the three-judge panel has filed an opinion under seal explaining the basis for the affirmance and gives the parties until next Tuesday at 1 p.m. to advise whether the opinion should be unsealed in full or with portions redacted. Happy holiday weekend, counsel!

“Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings: Luis Restrepo Nomination Delay Leads to Backlog of Cases.” Latin Post has this report today.

And in related commentary, The Wisconsin State Journal has an editorial titled “Judicial vacancy highlights Washington dysfunction.”

“Banks hope to benefit from high court ruling on discrimination”: Lawrence Hurley of Reuters has this report.

“State Supreme Court upholds grandparents’ visitation rights”: Today’s edition of The Nashua (N.H.) Telegraph contains a front page article (subscription required for full access) that begins, “Grandparents don’t lose their right to visit their grandchildren even if the children’s parents die and somebody else adopts the child, the state supreme court has ruled.”

You can access last Tuesday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire at this link.

“Anti-Gay Groups Gear Up To Fight A 30-Year-Old Supreme Court Victory Over Racism”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at ThinkProgress.

“Homecoming for Judge Reinhardt at Pomona College”: The Public Information Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued this news release.

You can view the video of Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt‘s remarks via this YouTube link.

“HSBC wins reversal of $2.46 billion Household judgment”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued today.

“Judy Clarke Has Saved Every American Villain. Until Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Along with the Boston Bomber, she has defended Ted Kaczynski, Zacarias Moussaoui, Eric Rudolph, and Susan Smith in court. By saving the worst among us, Clarke believes she’s saving all of us. Whether we like it or not.” Jennifer Percy will have this article in the June/July 2015 issue of Esquire magazine.

“The Unquenchable Thirst For Supreme Court Tea Leaves: Did you hear what that justice just said?!? During the ‘silly season’ of waiting for big decisions, court watchers obsess over any and all clues.” Sam Baker has this report online today at National Journal.

“Obama’s Game of Chicken with the Supreme Court”: Jeffrey Toobin has this post online today at The New Yorker.

“Strikethrough (Fatality): The origins of online stalking of abortion providers.” Law professor David S. Cohen and attorney Krysten Connon have this jurisprudence essay online today at Slate.

“Accommodation of Deaf IBM Worker OK’d”: Courthouse News Service has this report on the ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

“Inmate who won order for sex reassignment surgery recommended for parole”: The Los Angeles Times has this news update.

The article explains that “[a]t the same time, a federal appeals judge on Thursday granted the state’s request for a stay, suspending the April decision by a U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar that Michelle-Lael Norsworthy has a constitutional right to the surgery.”

You can access today’s per curiam stay order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Bias and the justices: A taxing decision.” Steven Mazie has this post at the “Democracy in America” blog of The Economist.

And today at “Dorf on Law,” Michael Dorf has a post titled “Congressional Power to Authorize Dormant Commerce Clause Violations” discussing his recent Justia.com Verdict column titled “Is the Dormant Commerce Clause a ‘Judicial Fraud’?”

“A Few Surprises in San Francisco v. Sheehan”: Richard M. Re has this post at “PrawfsBlawg.”

“D.C. Circuit: Catholic Archbishop Must Facilitate Provision of Contraceptives and Abortifacients.” Ed Whelan had this post today at National Review’s “Bench Memos” blog.

Eighth Circuit upholds National Football League’s settlement of class action resolving litigation surrounding NFL Films’ use of former NFL players’ likenesses and identities: You can access today’s ruling of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link.

“Rough Justice Is Not Simple Justice: Fourth Circuit Guts Wal-Mart v. Dukes and Creates Circuit Split by Ordering Title VII Claims Certified as Rule 23(b)(3) Class.” Derek Stikeleather has this post today at the “Maryland Appellate Blog.”

“Why Is It So Easy for States to Execute the Mentally Ill?” Jordan Smith had this post online yesterday at The Intercept.

And online at The Nation, Bruce Shapiro has an essay titled “What’s Wrong With the Federal Death Penalty: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by a federal jury in a state that firmly repudiates capital punishment.”

“When it comes to the death penalty, California should follow Nebraska”: Columnist Scott Martelle has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.

“Posner’s Pottage”: Ed Whelan had this post yesterday at National Review’s “Bench Memos” blog.

“Abortion ‘parody’ of NAACP is constitutional speech: court; Pro-life group prevails in trademark suit with famous civil rights group”: Cheryl Wetzstein of The Washington Times has this report.

My earlier coverage of Tuesday’s Fourth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

“Senate Has Confirmed Just Two Judges in 2015”: Jacob Gershman had this post yesterday at WSJ.com’s “Law Blog.”

And online at The Washington Post, Al Kamen’s “In the Loop” blog had an entry Tuesday titled “Want to be called ‘Your Honor?’ You may have to wait for that.”

“The (Un)Importance of the Supreme Court”: Michael Dorf had this post Monday at his blog, “Dorf on Law.”

“Courts: Hobby Lobby ruling does not mean you don’t have to sign a form.” Irin Carmon of msnbc.com has this report.

As the article discusses, today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order denying rehearing en banc in one such case. The order was accompanied by a concurrence and two dissents.

In articles of interest available online via SSRN: Law professor Elizabeth G. Porter has an article titled “Pragmatism Rules” whose syllabus begins, “The Roberts Court’s decisions interpreting the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are reshaping the litigation landscape.”

And Bradley Girard has an article titled “Don’t Try This at Home: The Troubling Distortion of Rule 68.”

Both articles via “Legal Theory Blog” (here and here).