“Liberal groups back plan to expand Supreme Court; The move comes weeks before the high court is expected to hand down opinions on several hotly contested issues”: Holly Otterbein of Politico has this report.

“Interesting Meetings of the Minds of Supreme Court Justices”: Adam Feldman has this post at his “Empirical SCOTUS” blog.

“Supreme Court’s deference to police for ‘reasonable’ conduct faces scrutiny in wake of brutality cases”: Richard Wolf of USA Today has this report.

“Michigan right to literacy settlement stands as court rejects Legislature’s appeal”: John Wisely of The Detroit Free Press has an article that begins, “A deal negotiated by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to settle a lawsuit over a right to basic minimum education for Detroit schoolchildren will stand after an appeals court threw out the Michigan Legislature’s attempt to undo it.”

In today’s edition of The Detroit News, Jennifer Chambers has a front page article headlined “Federal court upholds Detroit literacy settlement.”

And Steve Carmody of Michigan Radio reports that “Federal appeals court denies review request for Detroit literacy ruling.”

“Trump-Friendly Panel Weighing DOJ Request to Dismiss Flynn Case”: Erik Larson of Bloomberg News has a report that begins, “The Justice Department is likely to find a receptive audience when an appeals court in Washington hears arguments Friday about whether to dismiss the criminal case against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.”

“McConnell’s push to confirm judges may mean another tradition is dead; The Thurmond Rule that previously cut off confirmations likely a relic”: Chris Cioffi of Roll Call has this report.

“Solicitor General Noel Francisco Expected to Step Down; Mr. Francisco has represented the Trump administration before the Supreme Court, including in controversial cases like the travel ban against predominantly Muslim countries”: Katie Benner of The New York Times has this report.

Kaitlan Collins, Evan Perez, and Joan Biskupic of CNN report that “Noel Francisco to step down as US solicitor general, sources say.”

And Tim Ryan of Courthouse News Service reports that “Solicitor General Noel Francisco Poised to Exit Justice Department.”