“Smithfield Settles Lawsuits Over Noise, Smell of Hog Farms in North Carolina; Deal ends years of legal battles over environmental impact of traditional farming methods”: Valerie Bauerlein of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“Trump’s Attempts to Overturn the Election Are Unparalleled in U.S. History; The president’s push to prevent states from certifying electors and get legislators to override voters’ choice eclipses even the bitter 1876 election as an audacious use of brute political force”: David E. Sanger has this front page news analysis in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“Maria Berkenkotter, former Boulder County judge, appointed to Colorado Supreme Court”: Sam Tabachnik of The Denver Post has this report.

“U.S. appeals court voids south Florida bans on conversion therapy for children”: 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 Eleventh Circuit issued today.

“Jaicomo presents case to Supreme Court”: Amy Oberlin of The Herald Republican of Angola, Indiana has this report.

And in the same genre, last week Keri Brenner of The Marin Independent Journal reported that “Marin man’s legal career lands him before Supreme Court.”

“Todd Eddins unanimously confirmed to Hawaii Supreme Court”: Dan Nakaso has this article in today’s edition of The Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

“Can Liberals Win in a Conservative Court? Recent history suggests the justices don’t like being too out of step with the country — especially if they feel under scrutiny; So that’s our job: watch them.” David Cole has this essay online at The New York Review of Books.

“Church-State Separation: What Does the Constitution Really Say?” The National Constitution Center has posted on YouTube at this link the video of this virtual program that took place yesterday.

“Families optimistic Supreme Court will overturn Maine’s ban on religious school funding”: Judy Harrison of The Bangor Daily News has this report.

“Griffis defeats Westbrooks for Supreme Court seat after delay in counting votes”: Bobby Harrison of Mississippi Today has this report.

“North Carolina’s recount process begins. The winner of the chief justice race is at stake.” Danielle Battaglia of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has an article that begins, “Boards of elections in 43 counties across North Carolina started recounting the state’s 5.4 million ballots Thursday to decide the state’s next Supreme Court chief justice.”

“Four in the running for Supreme Court appointment”: Edmundo Carrillo of The Albuquerque Journal has this report.

“When cops and America’s cherished gun rights clash, cops win; Andrew Scott answered a late-night knock at his door with his lawfully owned gun in hand; That gave police license to kill him, courts said, because of the controversial doctrine called qualified immunity”: Lawrence Hurley, Andrew Chung, and Andrea Januta of Reuters have this report.

“Supreme Court yanks oral arguments into secret Mueller documents from its calendar”: Jeff Mordock of The Washington Times has this report.

And Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Cancels Dec. 2 Argument on Mueller Documents.”

Access today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: At this link. The Court granted review in two new cases.

“Amicus Curiae at the Supreme Court: Last Term and the Decade in Review.” Anthony J. Franze and R. Reeves Anderson have this report in the current issue of The National Law Journal.

“Republicans are arguing against the Framers’ original intent”: Online at The Washington Post, columnist George F. Will has an essay that begins, “This nation’s empirical and inquisitive Founders considered information conducive to improvement, which is one reason the Constitution mandates a decennial census.”

“Drew Days, First Black Leader of Civil Rights Unit, Dies at 79; Born in the segregated South, Mr. Days, who later became solicitor general, knew from an early age that he wanted to work for civil rights”: This obituary written by Katharine Q. Seelye appears in today’s edition of The New York Times.

And Emily Langer of The Washington Post has written an obituary headlined “Drew S. Days III, first African American to lead civil rights division at Justice Department, dies at 79.”

“U.S. Courts Close Doors, Cancel Juries as Virus Surges”: Madison Alder and Allie Reed of Bloomberg Law have this report.

And the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts today issued a news release titled “Courts Suspending Jury Trials as COVID-19 Cases Surge.”

“The Supreme Court Faces a Matter of Life and Death: A jury spared Calvin McMillan’s life, but a judge sentenced him to death anyway; Will the Roberts court save or condemn him?” Matt Ford of The New Republic has this report.

“Trump’s history of undermining the law ends with assault on right to vote”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this report.

“McConnell warns Republican senators to stay healthy or risk their lame-duck agenda; Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Covid-19 diagnosis helped derail a Senate vote, raising concerns that the virus could keep the Senate from working next month”: Julie Tsirkin, Leigh Ann Caldwell, and Haley Talbot of NBC News have this report.

“Census Snags May Delay Results Beyond Trump Administration; Extra processing could prevent the president from excluding unauthorized immigrants from Electoral College reshuffling”: Paul Overberg of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“Four Years of the Trump Administration in Court. One Word Stuck in My Head. A succession of Trump policies reflected the administration’s spite and heartlessness.” Linda Greenhouse has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Court upholds hog verdict; Smithfield announces settlement”: Gary D. Robertson of The Associated Press has this report on a ruling that a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued today.

“Trump’s bid for Supreme Court election intervention has yet to materialize; The justices haven’t taken up a GOP request to review Pennsylvania mail ballots”: Devin Dwyer of ABC News has this report.

“Tennessee Supreme Court suspends jury trials due to rising coronavirus cases”: Brinley Hineman of The Tennessean has this report.

“SCOTUS may take up cases on abortion and LGBT rights; New 6-3 conservative majority on the court relies less on Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.” Sandhya Raman of Roll Call has this report.

“Hawaii Supreme Court nominee Todd Eddins heads to full Senate for confirmation”: Dan Nakaso of The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has this report.

“An improbable journalist’s crusade against police impunity”: Columnist George F. Will has this essay online at The Washington Post about a qualified immunity appeal pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

“Pa. Supreme Court intervenes in Trump effort to disqualify mail ballots filed incorrectly by legal voters”: Jeremy Roebuck of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report on an order that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued today agreeing to consider this matter in an exercise of that court’s extraordinary jurisdiction.

“Catholic diocese and Orthodox Jewish synagogues ask Supreme Court to block New York’s Covid limits”: Ariane de Vogue of CNN has this report.

“President Trump’s defeat may give Supreme Court a rest from personal, policy lawsuits”: Richard Wolf of USA Today has this report.

“Trump, GOP Defy Precedent with Lame Duck Judicial Appointees”: Madison Alder of Bloomberg Law has a report that begins, “Senate Republicans are racing ahead with post-election judicial confirmations, breaking a 123-year tradition against voting on judicial nominees of an outgoing president of the defeated party during a lame duck session.”

And Katherine Fung of Newsweek reports that “Trump Nominee Confirmed as Federal Judge in Florida Despite No Trials Since Passing the Bar.”

“In Defense of Unpopular Clients — and Liberty: Attacks on Trump’s lawyers echo those against us for representing Guantanamo detainees; Both are wrong.” Michel Paradis and Wells Dixon will have this op-ed in Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.