“DOJ’s amicus brief in SCOTUS cy pres case contains ominous hint for class action bar”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.

“Kavanaugh, Mueller and Efforts to Have it Both Ways on Morrison”: Steve Vladeck has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

“Senate GOP withdraws judicial nominee Ryan Bounds, delivering a blow to Trump’s court plans”: Karoun Demirjian and Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post have this report.

Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Senators dismiss Trump’s judicial nominee for 9th Circuit.”

Samuel Chamberlain of Fox News reports that “Trump appeals court nominee withdraws amid outcry over college writings.”

And Andrew Desiderio of The Daily Beast reports that “GOP Sen. Tim Scott Sinks Trump Nominee Over Past Racist Writings; The only black Republican senator took issue with Ryan Bounds’ racially charged past writings.”

“Senate majority leader withdraws Oregon federal prosecutor as judicial nominee”: Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian has an article that begins, “U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, on Thursday suddenly withdrew the nomination of Oregon federal prosecutor Ryan Bounds for the vacancy on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the floor of the Senate without comment. McConnell’s move came about 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, about 45 minutes after a vote on Bound’s confirmation had been scheduled.”

“Circuit Court nomination pulled moments before vote over racially insensitive writing”: Phil Mattingly, Ariane de Vogue, and Ted Barrett of CNN have a report that begins, “The White House withdrew the nomination of Circuit Court hopeful Ryan Bounds on Thursday, moments before the nominee was to face his Senate confirmation vote and after South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott raised concerns.”

And Roll Call reports that “White House Pulls Circuit Court Nominee at Last Minute; Ryan Bounds nomination to 9th Circuit was set to be voted down.”

“Kavanaugh’s government work becomes partisan battle in committee”: Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times has this report, along with an article headlined “Schumer: Kavanaugh should recuse from cases dealing with Mueller probe.”

“The Real Reason to Oppose Brett Kavanaugh: He spent a fortune on tickets for a woebegone baseball team.” Joe Sexton has this op-ed in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“A Kavanaugh Signal on Abortion?” Linda Greenhouse has this essay online at The New York Times.

“LGBT advocates fear Kavanaugh’s votes on gay-rights issues”: Mark Sherman and Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press have this report.

“Reinvigorating Defensive Crouch Liberal Constitutionalism Part 2: Will Clarence Thomas Save Abortion Rights?” Michael C. Dorf has this post at the “Take Care” blog.

Pare 1 appeared last week at the “Dorf on Law” blog with the title “Reinvigorating ‘Defensive Crouch Liberal Constitutionalism’ Part 1: Originalism and Searches.”

“‘Best Professor.’ ‘Very Evenhanded.’ ‘Great Hair!’: Brett Kavanaugh, as Seen by His Law Students.” Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

“Senate panel advances PA judicial nominee, over Bob Casey’s objection”: Jonathan Tamari of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

And Tim Ryan of Courthouse News Service reports that “Senate Panel Approves Seven More Trump Judicial Nominees.”

“Trump Nominee Is Behind Anti-Union Legal Campaign”: In today’s edition of The New York Times, Noam Scheiber has an article that begins, “Even before the Supreme Court struck down mandatory union fees for government workers last month, the next phase of the conservative legal campaign against public-sector unions was underway.”

At the “Take Care” blog, Aaron Tang has a post titled “The Doomed — And Dangerous — Demand for Refunds from Public Sector Unions.”

And online at Slate, Jennifer Mueller has a jurisprudence essay titled “How the Janus Ruling Might Doom Public Pensions Next.”

“Splitting up California: State Supreme Court takes initiative off ballot.” Bob Egelko has this front page article in today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle. My most recent earlier coverage can be accessed here.

“Reynolds won’t say if abortion issue will influence Iowa Supreme Court pick”: William Petroski of The Des Moines Register has this report.

“How Long Will The Supreme Court’s Conservative Bloc Survive?” Oliver Roeder has this post at FiveThirtyEight.

“Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh votes one way but sees both sides”: Richard Wolf of USA Today has this report.

“Kavanaugh’s role in Bush-era detainee debate now an issue in his Supreme Court nomination”: Michael Kranish has this front page article in today’s edition of The Washington Post.

“Kavanaugh Already Has One of the Clearest Records Against Roe of Any Recent Supreme Court Nominee”: Dahlia Lithwick and law professor Jed Shugerman have this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

Eleventh Circuit denies rehearing en banc of decision holding that Title VII does not protect gay and lesbian individuals from discrimination: You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denying rehearing en banc at this link.

Circuit Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum issued a dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc.

“R.I. judge rules for Brown in Jane Doe case; Rules that Title IX does not ‘address all instances’ of campus sexual assault”: Katie Mulvaney of The Providence (R.I.) Journal had this article back in September 2017.

Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued this decision affirming the district court’s entry of judgment on the pleadings against the plaintiff.

“Trump ban on transgender military service blocked by federal appeals court”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

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

“Measure to split California into three states removed from ballot by the state Supreme Court”: Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

Taryn Luna of The Sacramento Bee has an article headlined “Remove three Californias plan from the ballot, Supreme Court says.”

Valerie Richardson of The Washington Times reports that “California Supreme Court blocks initiative to split state into three; Questions raised about Cal 3’s constitutionality.”

And at the “At the Lectern” blog, David Ettinger has a post titled “Supreme Court removes split-California initiative from November ballot, with possibility of a vote at a future election.”

You can view today’s order of the Supreme Court of California via this link (scroll down).

“Mass. House OK’s repeal of 19th-century law that criminalized abortion”: Jamie Halper of The Boston Globe has this report.

“UT: Professors have academic freedom, despite what we say in court.” Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of The Austin American-Statesman has an article that begins, “In defending its policy allowing the concealed carry of handguns in classrooms, the University of Texas has taken a surprising position in a federal appeals court — that individual professors do not have academic freedom.”

“Why I personally know Brett Kavanaugh will make a great Supreme Court judge; People should give Brett Kavanaugh a chance; After knowing him for 38 years, I’m confident he’ll make a wonderful Supreme Court Justice”: Kevin B. Dowd has this essay online at IrishCentral. Kevin is the brother of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

“Abbott’s counsel OK’d for appellate court, with all Democrats voting no”: Maria Recio of The Austin American-Statesman has this report.

Kevin Diaz of The Houston Chronicle reports that “Gov. Abbott staffer Andrew Oldham confirmed to 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Rachel Cohrs of The Dallas Morning News reports that “Senate narrowly confirms Texan Andrew Oldham to federal appeals court.”

And Jennifer Bendery of HuffPost reports that “Senate Confirms Trump Court Pick With Record Of Attacking Voting Rights; More than 200 civil rights groups opposed Andrew Oldham, but every Republican voted to make him a lifetime federal judge.”

“Senate GOP breaks record on confirming Trump picks for key court”: Jordain Carney of The Hill has a report that begins, “Senate Republicans broke a record on Wednesday for the number of appeals court judges confirmed during a president’s first two years.”

“Challenge to Texas’ fetus burial law could provide first abortion test for new Supreme Court”: Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times has this report.

“Online publishers face tough choice after 2nd Circuit refuses ’embedded links’ appeal”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.

“Is Brett Kavanaugh an originalist?” Eric Posner has this blog post.

“Democratic senators blast Oregon prosecutor’s judicial nomination on Senate floor”: Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian has this report.

And Anna Griffin of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that “Merkley, Wyden And Senate Democrats Protest Judicial Nominations.”

“Senate confirms a top Abbott adviser, Andrew Oldham, to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; Oldham is the third Texas nominee to be confirmed to the powerful, conservative-leaning appeals court since President Donald Trump took office”: Emma Platoff of The Texas Tribune has this report.

Update: You can access the official roll call tally, confirming this judicial nomination by a vote of 50-to-49, at this link.

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life Immortalized In Song”: Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Support for abortion rights depends on how you ask the question”: Grace Sparks of CNN has this report.

And online at The Detroit Free Press, columnist Nancy Kaffer has an essay titled “Would abortion be legal in Michigan if Roe v Wade were overturned?“