“Federal court backs activists who feed homeless in Fort Lauderdale”: David Fleshler of The South Florida Sun Sentinel has an article that begins, “A group whose symbol is a clenched fist holding a carrot won a legal victory over the city of Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, when a federal appeals court found that its weekly events to feed homeless people were protected under the Constitution.”

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

“U.S. appeals court says GSK cannot be sued over generic drug suicide”: Tina Bellon of Reuters has this report.

And Diana Novak Jones of Law360.com reports that “Reed Smith Atty’s Widow Loses $3M GSK Verdict On Appeal” (subscription required for full access).

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

It is worth noting, contrary to the implication of the Reuters headline, that the Seventh Circuit did not hold (or even opine on) whether a brand name prescription drug manufacturer owes a duty to those who consume a generic medication whose warning label inadequately warned of the medication’s risks. Rather, the Seventh Circuit instead held that federal law precluded the brand name drug manufacturer from warning of the risk that the plaintiff contended should have been warned about, and thus federal law preempted plaintiff’s state law failure to warn claim.

Criminal defense attorney who proceeded without a lawyer wins habeas relief in Sixth Circuit from Kentucky state conviction for failing to file tax returns because trial court failed to obtain valid waiver of counsel: You can access today’s ruling of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at this link.

The “Sixth Circuit Blog” covers the ruling in a post titled “A fool for a client?“

“A koala might have prevented a New Orleans political lawsuit, judge says”: Back on July 11, 2018, Kevin Litten of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans had an article that begins, “If the Coalition for Better Government had used a koala bear for their logo instead of a hawk, it’s likely the Alliance for Good Government never would have brought a federal trademark case accusing the Coalition of stealing their logo that features an eagle. That was among the conclusions that a panel of U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judges came to during a hearing Tuesday that was at times bizarre and pedantic.”

Today, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued this opinion written by Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan.

“DOD Detainee Photos Exempt From FOIA, 2nd Circ. Says”: Daniel Wilson of Law360.com has this report.

And Nick Rummell of Courthouse News Service reports that “US Can Keep Abu Ghraib Photos in the Dark.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

“Senate Democrats seek delay in Kavanaugh hearings, citing Cohen’s guilty plea”: John Wagner, Mike DeBonis, and Gabriel Pogrund of The Washington Post have this report.

Erin Kelly of USA Today reports that “Dems call for delay in Kavanaugh vote after Manafort conviction and Cohen guilty pleas.”

Marisa Schultz of The New York Post reports that “White House rejects Schumer’s call to delay Supreme Court nominee hearing.”

Lauren Fox and Phil Mattingly of CNN report that “Democrats call for halt of Kavanaugh nomination in light of Cohen, Manafort news.”

Nina Golgowski of HuffPost reports that “Senators Urge Delaying Brett Kavanaugh Hearing After Cohen, Manafort Cases; Sen. Mazie Hirono said Trump’s Supreme Court nominee was selected only to ‘protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own okole.’”

And in commentary, online at Slate, law professor Jed Shugerman has a jurisprudence essay titled “The High Crimes Justice: If Brett Kavanaugh is elevated now, it will leave an indelible stain on the Supreme Court.”

“Senate Democrats want to know whether Kavanaugh crossed line as source during Clinton probe”: Tom Hamburger, Robert Barnes, and Robert O’Harrow Jr. of The Washington Post have this report.

“The Kavanaugh Rule — The GOP has only one principle: Judges must be seated, quickly and permanently, but only by Republicans.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“The South Will Disenfranchise Again: Five years later, the consequences of the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act are painfully clear.” Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“How One West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Gave Natural Gas a Big Victory and Shortchanged Residents; Justice Beth Walker voted to reopen an already decided case around the time her husband owned stock in a variety of energy companies; And that’s not even why she’s been impeached”: Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette-Mail has this report online at ProPublica.

And Lacie Pierson of The Gazette-Mail reports that “Senate will hold separate impeachment trials for WV Supreme Court justices.”

“Georgia’s top appellate lawyer tapped as next Ga. Supreme Court justice”: Bill Rankin of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this report.

“Dems use ‘co-conspirator’ Trump line to attack Kavanaugh; The effort began when Sen. Mazie Hirono canceled her meeting with Kavanaugh and called the president ‘an unindicted co-conspirator'”: Nolan D. McCaskill of Politico has this report.

“When the Supreme Court Lurches Right: What happens when the Supreme Court becomes significantly more conservative than the public?” Emily Bazelon will have this article in this upcoming Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.

Ahoy Matey! At his “CA3blog,” Matthew Stiegler has a post titled “Is Paul Matey’s Third Circuit nomination still on track?“

“8th Circuit Nominee Downplays Past Statements on Immigration”: Tim Ryan of Courthouse News Service has a report that begins, “President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Eighth Circuit downplayed past comments on immigration and his limited trial experience while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.”

You can view the video of today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for judicial nominees via this link.

“How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts: Thanks to ruthless discipline — and a plan long in the making — the G.O.P is carrying out a sweeping transformation of the federal judiciary.” Jason Zengerle will have this article in this upcoming Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.

In today’s mail: I received an advance copy of “The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind,” by law professor Justin Driver. The book’s official on-sale date is September 4, 2018.

“Pa. high court: Rapper’s anti-police song constituted a threat to police officers.” Torsten Ove of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this report.

Matt Miller of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania reports that “Rap music video ‘(Expletive) the Police’ isn’t protected free speech, Pa. Supreme Court rules.”

And Mark Scolforo of The Associated Press reports that “Court says rap video was threat to police, not free speech.”

Yesterday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consisted of a majority opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.