“Kansas voters to decide abortion question; S.C. Senate approves sweeping ban”: Annie Gowen of The Washington Post has this report.
In local coverage, Titus Wu of The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that “Abortion’s status as a Kansas constitutional right to be on August 2022 ballot.”
Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman of The Wichita Eagle report that “Kansas voters will decide whether abortion rights are in the state constitution.”
Emily Bohatch of The State of Columbia, South Carolina reports that “SC Senate passes ‘fetal heartbeat’ abortion ban bill after female members decry it.”
And Jamie Lovegrove of The Post & Courier of Charleston, South Carolina reports that “Abortion ban bill passes SC Senate as state moves closer to likely legal battle.”
“Can Senate convict Trump of incitement based on a speech?” David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.
“The Supreme Court Upheld Trump’s Muslim Ban. Let’s Not Forget That. The decision offers a warning for the future.” Linda Greenhouse has this essay online at The New York Times.
“Even as Ghislaine Maxwell documents are unsealed, many of her secrets remain buried”: Ben Wieder, Kevin G. Hall, and Julie K. Brown of The Miami Herald have this report.
And Shayna Jacobs and Rosalind S. Helderman of The Washington Post report that “Ghislaine Maxwell, in newly unsealed deposition, claimed to have no knowledge of Epstein’s sex crimes.”
“The Senate’s Byrd Call: Manchin and Sinema have to do more if they’re serious about saving the filibuster.” Kimberley A. Strassel will have this op-ed in Friday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
“Did Trump and His Supporters Commit Treason?”: Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen has this post online at The New Yorker.
“Biden Didn’t Deserve to Lose That Immigration Case; An overzealous attorney general in Texas is clearly out to make a name for himself”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“Trump Judges Won’t Be Biden’s Highest Legal Hurdle; Democratic and Republican jurists will both insist that the benefits of new regulations outweigh costs and that their impact won’t be too disruptive”: Law professor Cass R. Sunstein has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“How the Filibuster Strengthens the Republic: The filibuster may have some costs, but it makes our polity more stable, promotes bipartisan compromise, tamps down polarization, and protects federalism.” John O. McGinnis has this post at the “Law & Liberty” blog.
“A Rush to Execute: In six months, the Trump administration put to death over three times as many people as the federal government had executed in the previous six decades.” David Cole will have this article (subscription required for full access) in the February 25, 2021 issue of The New York Review of Books.
“Through the Looking Glass, Darkly: The Supreme Court’s Muslim Travel Ban Decision.” Jonathan Hafetz has this post at the “Just Security” blog.
“The Timing of Judicial Nominations — When Can We Expect the First”: Harsh Voruganti has this post at his blog, “The Vetting Room.”
And earlier at that blog, Voruganti had a post titled “To Renominate or Not to Renominate: A Question For Any Incoming President.”
“Missouri lawmaker can block critics on Twitter, federal court says”: Robert Patrick of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has this report.
And Wendy Davis of MediaPost’s DigitalNewsDaily reports that “Missouri Lawmaker Defeats Lawsuit Over Twitter Block.”
You can access yesterday’s ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link.
“Monty Wilkinson began serving as the Acting Attorney General of the United States on January 20th, 2021”: Thanks to the provision of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure governing official party substitution, you may be seeing his name on reported decisions until the U.S. Senate confirms President Biden’s Attorney General nominee.
“3rd Circ. Won’t Budge On Cookie-Shape Trade Dress Ruling”: Law360 has this report (subscription required for access) on a revised decision on panel rehearing that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued Tuesday.
“Biden Won’t Budge on the Senate Filibuster. Why Aren’t Progressives Pushing Him? The president doesn’t want to eliminate the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, an impediment to major legislation. Left-leaning Democrats disagree, but they’re holding their fire for now.” Astead W. Herndon and Lisa Lerer have this news analysis in today’s edition of The New York Times.
“Senate weighs jumping Biden judicial picks ahead of the queue; Some Democrats are urging the Judiciary Committee to reshuffle its priorities, mindful of their fragile majority and Mitch McConnell’s skill at blocking nominees”: Josh Gerstein and Marianne LeVine of Politico have this report.
“Leahy’s hospitalization shows Dems’ majority hangs by thread; The Democrat’s health scare is a reminder that a sudden retirement or illness could shift the Senate’s balance of power”: Burgess Everett of Politico has this report.
“California Supreme Court allows high-ranking justice to be removed from office”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.
Maura Dolan of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Top California court upholds ouster of L.A.-based judge for sexual misconduct.”
And at the “At the Lectern” blog, David Ettinger has a post titled “Supreme Court won’t save Court of Appeal justice’s job.”
“Can a former president be subject to an impeachment trial? The Constitution is murky.” Ann E. Marimow and Robert Barnes of The Washington Post have this report.
“Make the Filibuster Difficult Again: Here’s a way to address the tactic used to stall the Senate and upend presidential agendas.” Law professors Burt Neuborne and Erwin Chemerinsky have this essay online at The New York Times.
“Episode 05: May It Please The Court.” The “Lady Justice: Women of the Court” podcast posted online this new episode today.
“Pa. could become a national outlier in how it elects appellate judges. Here’s why experts are worried.” Marie Albiges of Spotlight PA has this article online at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Constitutional Priorities in the First 100 Days”: Georgetown Law earlier today hosted this event, featuring Neal Katyal and Paul Clement. You can view the video via this link on Facebook. At least one of the speakers may have had his collection of #SCOTUS quills on display in the background.
“Federal Judges Are Retiring Now That Joe Biden Will Pick Their Replacements; It’s not just Democrat-appointed judges, either”: Jennifer Bendery of HuffPost has this report.
“Is it constitutional to hold an impeachment trial for a former president? The Constitution is not at all clear about whether Trump remains vulnerable to impeachment.” Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.
And at the “Law & Liberty” blog, Stephen Wirls has a post titled “The Trump Trial Is Unconstitutional; The text and Hamilton’s commentary are sufficiently clear: those in office are subject to impeachment and trial; those out of office are not.”
“Trump Judge Issues Bizarre, Unenforceable Injunction Against Biden’s Deportation Pause”: Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
“Goldman to Supreme Court: Make it easier for defendants to escape shareholder suits.” Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Thomson Reuters News & Insight has this post.
“Why John Roberts’s absence from Senate trial isn’t a surprise”: John Kruzel of The Hill has this report.
“With court appointments and GOP legislatures, Roe vs. Wade is under attack”: California State Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris has this essay online at The Daily Pilot of Fountain Valley, California.
“Biden won the fight over the filibuster without saying a word; Biden had nothing to gain and everything to lose from fighting a quixotic war over the filibuster just days into his presidency”: Jonathan Allen of NBC News has this news analysis.
“Why the Senate Shouldn’t Hold a Late Impeachment Trial”: Philip Bobbitt has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.
In somewhat related news, Bryan A. Garner announced yesterday that Bobbitt is participating in a new Garner-led enterprise titled Lexegesis LLC.
“How to Fix the U.S. Litigation Position in Key Pending Cases”: Scott Roehm and Hina Shamsi have this post at “Just Security.”
“Biden starts staffing a commission on Supreme Court reform; He pushed the idea as a candidate during the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation fight; Now, he’s getting it going”: Tyler Pager of Politico has this report.
“Mitt Romney joins GOP senators seeking to block court packing with constitutional amendment; Liberals revived expansion idea in retaliation for GOP rushing confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett”: Lee Davidson of The Salt Lake Tribune has this report.
