“Republicans Want to Sideline This Regulator. But It May Be Too Popular.” In Friday’s edition of The New York Times, Steve Eder, Jessica Silver-Greenberg, and Stacy Cowley will have a front page article that begins, “With the election of President Trump, the nation’s consumer watchdog agency faced a quandary: how to shield the Obama-era institution from a Republican administration determined to loosen the federal government’s grip on business.”

“Why Masterpiece Cakeshop is a Harder Case Than You Think (and Why Federalism Can Help Resolve It with a Meta-Accommodation of Religious Disagreement)”: Rick Hills has this post at “PrawfsBlawg.”

“Questions about the Emoluments Amicus Brief on Behalf of Trump”: Jed Shugerman has this post at the “Take Care” blog.

“Pantyhose defense rejected for man who took upskirt videos at Wegmans”: Justin Zaremba of NJ.com has this report on a ruling that the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, issued today.

“Michelle Carter’s attorney files notice to appeal her conviction”: Danny McDonald of The Boston Globe has this report.

“Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor is in the Judge’s Chambers at Yankee Stadium”: Daniel Rapaport of Sports Illustrated has this report.

“Impersonator of Dead Sea Scrolls scholars sees U.S. conviction upheld”: Brendan Pierson of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

“Roy Moore blasts Congress over appeals court ruling on prayer by football coach”: Paul Gattis of AL.com had this report last week.

“Janice Rogers Brown, America’s Most Libertarian Federal Judge, Is Retiring; The possible replacements include Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett”: Damon Root had this post at Reason’s “Hit & Run” blog back on July 12, 2017.

The title of “America’s Most Libertarian Federal Judge” will be back up for grabs starting tomorrow, as today is Judge Brown’s final day of service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

This blog has been fortunate to cover numerous interesting and noteworthy opinions from then-Justice Brown of the Supreme Court of California and many more such opinions during her service thereafter on the D.C. Circuit.

“Supreme Court rejects petition to recognize same-sex marriage; Justices stated that the issue should be determined by legislators, not the court”: ByUdi Shaham of The Jerusalem Post has this report.

And in other news, Nir Hasson of Haaretz reports that “Mystery Golden Effigy of Israel’s Chief Justice Pops Up Outside Supreme Court in Jerusalem; The police said an investigation has been opened after the statue was discovered on Thursday morning, though the public security minister has asked for clarification as seemingly no crime had been committed.”

“Mick Jagger and the Minnesota Supreme Court”: Kevin Featherly has this post at the “Bar Buzz” blog of Minnesota Lawyer.

“Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg to visit Roger Williams University; Will participate in Jan. 30 ‘fireside chat’ with Circuit Court of Appeals Senior Judge Selya”: G. Wayne Miller of The Providence (R.I.) Journal has this report.

Today, the Roger Williams University School of Law issued a news release titled “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg to Visit RWU Law; Her Jan. 30 ‘fireside chat’ with Judge Selya will mark the eighth time a high court justice has addressed RWU School of Law students.”

“Cake artist to Supreme Court: Affirm artistic freedom, free speech; ADF attorneys file opening brief with high court on behalf of Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop.” Alliance Defending Freedom issued this news release today.

You can access the Brief for Petitioners filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.

“Democrats say ‘Citizens United’ should die; Here’s why that won’t happen; Some question whether liberal politicians’ outrage is even genuine”: Sarah Kleiner of The Center for Public Integrity has this report.

“He earned a Purple Heart, led UNC Law and shaped civil rights as a judge”: Anne Blythe of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has written an obituary that begins, “Dickson Phillips was deeply admired for being a sharp jurist with a keen intellect throughout a law career that gained him a seat on a federal appeals court and included a 10-year stint as dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill law school.”

“Otter names 5th District Judge Richard Bevan to Idaho Supreme Court”: Betsy Z. Russell of The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington has this report.

“Time for U.S. Supreme Court to ‘Rectify’ Online Tax Rule?” Ryan Prete of Bloomberg BNA has this report.

“Judging Neil Gorsuch: The justice’s speech at the Trump Hotel isn’t unethical; He should skip it anyway.” Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Man in jail 2 years for refusing to decrypt drives; Will he ever get out? Defendant to ask Supreme Court if compelled decryption is a 5th Amendment breach.” David Kravets of Ars Technica has this report.

Kravets also has a follow-up report headlined “Feds: Man jailed for not decrypting drives has ‘chutzpah’ to ask to get out; Prosecutors use Yiddish to describe man imprisoned 2 years for contempt of court.”

“Prediction: It’s CNN — Not the N.Y. Times — Headed to Supreme Court in Defamation Battle; Forget about Sarah Palin’s case; Focus on what CNN is facing in Georgia — a dispute that’s getting quite messy.” Eriq Gardner has this post at the “THR, Esq.” blog of The Hollywood Reporter.

“Judges Grill Government on Vulgar, ‘Immoral’ Trademark Ban”: Anandashankar Mazumdar of Bloomberg BNA has this report on an oral argument (13.8 MB mp3 audio file) that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit conducted yesterday.

According to the article, “Fashion designer Erik Brunetti tried to register his Fuct brand with the Patent and Trademark Office but was rejected based on the federal ban on scandalous and immoral trademark registrations.”

“Former Walker Aide, Target in John Doe Probe, Loses Seventh Circuit Appeal”: Joe Forward of WisBar News has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued yesterday.

“When women earn less than men, is gender bias always to blame? 9th Circuit to decide en banc.” Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.

My earlier coverage of yesterday’s Ninth Circuit Order granting rehearing en banc can be accessed here.

“Appeals court strikes down controversial Sky Harbor flight paths”: Jessica Boehm has this front page article in today’s edition of The Arizona Republic.

You can access yesterday’s ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

“Proving Intentional Discrimination, Redux”: Charlotte Garden has this post at the “Take Care” blog.

“Courting Corruption: The truth about the legal morass created by the controversial Citizens United ruling, and why it matters.” Stephen R. Weissman has this essay online at The American Interest.

“Why Trump’s Arpaio pardon is different: Presidential pardons are controversial; But the pardon for Joe Arpaio resurfaces a longstanding theme for President Trump: an antagonistic attitude toward the judiciary.” Harry Bruinius and Henry Gass of The Christian Science Monitor have this report.

And at the “Lawfare” blog, Josh Blackman has a post titled “Collateral Damage: The Arpaio Pardon and Separation of Powers.”

“At Convocation, Faust Defends Race-Conscious Admissions”: Claire E. Parker of The Harvard Crimson has this report.

And at The American Interest, Park MacDougald has an essay titled “Affirmative Action in a Time of White Resentment: Progressives may be tempted by a Harvard law professor’s solution to the affirmative action tangle; But it would make our politics even more toxic.”

“Former federal law clerk details rich history of Arpaio trial in blunt tweets”: Laura Jarrett of CNN.com has this report.

“West Point cadet in sexual hostility case cannot sue: U.S. appeals court.” Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report on a ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

Programming note: I am in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania tonight to attend a trial court oral argument on Wednesday morning in a case on which I am assisting a prevailing personal injury plaintiff’s trial counsel in opposing the defendants’ motion for post-trial relief.

Because I will be in court on Wednesday morning and thereafter will be traveling back to my office in Willow Grove, Pa., additional posts will not appear here until Wednesday afternoon. As always while I am on the road, additional appellate-related retweets may appear on this blog’s Twitter feed.

“We hold that neither robbery, armed robbery, nor use of a firearm in the commission of a felony under Florida law is categorically a ‘violent felony.'” So held a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today in a decision that acknowledges creating a split of authority on that issue with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit — the federal appellate court that includes the State of Florida within its geographical jurisdiction.

Ninth Circuit grants rehearing en banc to decide whether paying a woman less than a man for the same work, if the man was paid more at his previous job, violates federal laws against sex discrimination: You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granting rehearing en banc at this link.

My coverage of the now-vacated three-judge panel’s ruling, which held that such pay disparity under the circumstances did not constitute unlawful sex discrimination, can be accessed here.

“U.S. court grants Dish affiliates new chance to win $3 billion in auction credits”: David Shepardson and Anjali Athavaley of Reuters have this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

“Court asks Mississippi governor to defend Confederate emblem”: Emily Wagster Pettus of The Associated Press has a report that begins, “The U.S. Supreme Court is asking attorneys for Mississippi’s governor to file arguments defending the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag.”