“Biden Was Against Packing The Supreme Court. A New Progressive Group Wants To Change His Mind. A new coalition wants to build momentum on the left to add seats to the Supreme Court and undo Trump’s legacy on the bench.” Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News has this report.

“An appeals court upheld a campaign finance conviction for Bob Brady’s onetime political guru”: Jeremy Roebuck of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued yesterday.

“Court upholds order for Dakota Access environmental review”: Dave Kolpack of The Associated Press has this report.

And Samantha Hawkins of Courthouse News Service reports that “Court Slams Army’s Failure to Study Dakota Access Pipeline; Oil has continued to flow through the 1,172-mile pipeline pending appeal, but opponents can still secure an injunction.”

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

“DC Circ. Won’t Hear DOD Atty’s Gitmo Public Access Fight”: Law360 has this report (subscription required for access) on a decision that Circuit Judge Justin R. Walker issued yesterday on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The opinion begins:

In this case, a defense attorney named Philip Sundel (with no client) petitioned a court (with no jurisdiction) to reverse a procedural ruling (excluding the public from a classified hearing) in an appeal filed by other attorneys who (like Sundel) have no client. Welcome to Guantanamo Bay.

“Trump Trial Without Chief Justice Lets GOP Talk Optics, Not Riot”: Greg Stohr, Mike Dorning, and Kimberly Robinson of Bloomberg News have this report.

“Defeat in Texas shows how the conservative judiciary can thwart Biden’s agenda”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this report.

“The Trump Era is Over: Prepare for the Supreme Court’s Conservative Onslaught.” Eric Segall has this post at “Dorf on Law.”

“Most Republicans declare Trump’s trial unconstitutional. Here’s what that means for conviction. Just five Republican senators voted against dismissing the trial on legal grounds.” Sahil Kapur of NBC News has this report.

“Nearly all GOP senators vote against impeachment trial for Trump, signaling likely acquittal”: Mike DeBonis of The Washington Post has this report.

“Senate rejects GOP motion to dismiss Trump impeachment trial”: Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press have this report.

“The Nonsensical Republican Argument for Dismissing Trump’s Impeachment”: Law professor Neil Kinkopf has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“How Democrats Can Keep Their Policies Safe From This Supreme Court; A little-used but entirely legal strategy could protect Congress from Trump’s appointees getting the last word”: Keshav Poddar has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“US Supreme Court set to decide in Feb. whether to hear US Rep. Mike Kelly’s election case”: Ed Palattella of The Erie Times-News has this report.

“Is there a path forward for court reform?” The Brookings Institution has posted on YouTube at this link the video of this event from yesterday.

“Supreme Court wipes out lower court rulings in Texas abortion battle; The governor ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures last year, which the attorney general then said applied to ‘any type of abortions'”: Pete Williams of NBC News has this report.

“Pentagon Official Approves Guantánamo Trial of 3 Men for Indonesia Bombings; The case was dormant throughout the Trump administration, and then a military official suddenly approved it as the first new case at Guantánamo since 2014”: Carol Rosenberg had this article in last Friday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Conservative Law Movement Faces Reckoning Over Post-Trump Future”: Madison Alder and Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“Convictions of Militia Members Who Plotted to Bomb Apartments of Muslim Immigrants Upheld; The three men — all members of the so-called ‘Kansas Security Force’ — claimed they were entrapped by the FBI and an undercover informant”: Amanda Pampuro of Courthouse News Service has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued yesterday.

“Federal court partially OKs California’s COVID-19 limits on indoor worship”: Maura Dolan has this article in today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times.

Sean Emery of The East Bay Times reports that “Federal court strikes down some California COVID-19 church restrictions, leaves others intact.”

Andre Coleman of Pasadena Now reports that “Harvest Rock Church Wins One, Loses One; Church still cannot hold indoor services in most of the state.”

And at “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Josh Blackman has a post titled “Is SCOTUS Done with Emergency COVID-19 Free Exercise Litigation? The Ninth Circuit ruled against South Bay and Harvest Rock; SCOTUS denied cert in Calvary Chapel; And California lifted the regional moratorium on indoor worship.”

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

“Pasadena Republican Club sues city, nonprofit, alleging free speech violation after speaker was canceled due to anti-gay marriage views; A city-owned building leased by a nonprofit is at the center of the federal lawsuit”: Chris Lindahl of The Pasadena Star-News had this article back in November 2018. For those who may be wondering, the speaker at issue was none other than John Eastman.

Yesterday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued this decision affirming the district court’s rejection of the Pasadena Republican Club’s lawsuit.

“[I]nternational law does not generally prohibit the United States from prosecuting drug traffickers found on a stateless vessel stopped and boarded by the United States on the high seas”: So ruled the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in an en banc decision issued yesterday.

“McConnell relents on Senate rules, signals power-sharing deal with Democrats”: Mike DeBonis has this article in today’s edition of The Washington Post.

In today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, Lindsay Wise has a front page article headlined “Senate Power-Sharing Deal Moves Ahead; McConnell says comments from Democratic senators assuaged his concerns about the filibuster being potentially eliminated.”

Dartunorro Clark of NBC News reports that “McConnell drops filibuster demand, clearing way for Democrats to take full Senate control; After two Democratic senators voiced support for the longstanding filibuster rule, McConnell signaled a willingness to move forward.”

And Marianne LeVine of Politico reports that “McConnell agrees to allow Senate power-sharing to move forward; A fight over the filibuster had kept the Senate stalled.”

“Supreme Court Seeks Biden DOJ Views on Work-From-Home Taxes”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood fired by teen who faced off with Native American in viral video”: Jan Wolfe of Reuters has this report.

And Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Move underway to oust Lin Wood from libel suit; Lawyers for MSNBC host Joy Reid asked a judge to revoke the QAnon-backing attorney’s right to practice.”

“Supreme Court Ends Emoluments Suits Against Trump; The lawsuits accused the former president of violating the Constitution by doing business with foreign governments; The justices dismissed the suits as moot”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post report that “Supreme Court ends lawsuits alleging that Trump illegally profited from business interests.”

Brent Kendall of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Supreme Court Orders Emoluments Lawsuits Against Trump Be Dismissed; Justices cite mootness in wiping out cases alleging the former president was illegally profiting from his office.”

John Fritze of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court dismisses cases questioning Trump profits from private businesses.”

Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court dismisses emoluments cases against Trump.”

Mark Sherman of The Associated Press reports that “Supreme Court ends Trump emoluments lawsuits.”

Andrew Chung of Reuters reports that “With Trump gone, U.S. Supreme Court pulls plug on anti-corruption cases.”

Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Suits Over Trump Finances.”

Pete Williams of NBC News reports that “Supreme Court dismisses challenges to Trump’s business profits; The cases raised a novel question about a president’s ability to receive income from businesses patronized by government officials.”

Ariane de Vogue of CNN reports has a report headlined “Why the Supreme Court didn’t want to hear the Trump emoluments cases and what it means going forward.”

Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Supreme Court shuts down 2 Trump emoluments cases; The announcement may indicate that the justices are looking to put the Trump era behind them.”

Harper Neidig of The Hill reports that “Supreme Court dismisses emoluments lawsuits against Trump as moot.”

Brad Kutner of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court Gutters Emoluments Cases Against Trump; No longer in office, former President Donald Trump doesn’t have to worry about claims that his businesses violate the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause.”

And Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News reports that “Trump Won’t Face Legal Consequences For Holding Onto His DC Hotel And Other Business Interests While President; The Supreme Court dismissed cases accusing Trump of violating the US Constitution by refusing to divest from his businesses because he’s no longer in office.”

“Biden’s order to halt border wall construction is likely illegal, experts say”: Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times has this report.

“Unions just got a rare bit of good news from the Supreme Court; The Court won’t raid the treasuries of public sector unions — at least not yet”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

“A Trump Holdout in Atlanta: L. Lin Wood, a Georgia defamation attorney who cried when Nixon resigned, still believes that the former President won the election, and he wants Mike Pence to be charged with treason.” Charles Bethea has this Atlanta Postcard in the Talk of the Town section of the February 1, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.

“Pa. Congressman Scott Perry acknowledges introducing Trump to lawyer at the center of election plot”: Jonathan Tamari and Chris Brennan of The Philadelphia Inquirer have this report.

“John Roberts ducks the spotlight by skipping the second Trump impeachment trial”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this report.

“Trump’s last-minute judicial appointments: Impact on norms and on Biden’s appointment opportunities.” Russell Wheeler has this post at the “FixGov” blog of the Brookings Institution.

“Jeffrey Clark Was Considered Unassuming. Then He Plotted With Trump. Justice Department colleagues said they were shocked by Mr. Clark’s embrace of the president’s falsehoods and plan to oust the acting attorney general in an effort to overturn Georgia’s election results.” Katie Benner and Charlie Savage have this front page article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

Access today’s decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued case: The Court issued a per curiam order dismissing the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted in Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc., No. 19-963. You can access the oral argument audio and transcript via this link.

This now-concluded case was a battle of #AppellateTwitter titans, with Kannon K. Shanmugam representing the petitioner and Daniel L. Geyser representing the respondent.

“Biden’s Solicitor General Faces Tough Choices On Trump Supreme Court Positions”: Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

Making the decisions even more difficult, the Biden Administration hasn’t yet nominated anyone to serve as its Solicitor General.

Access today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: At this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases but called for the views of the Solicitor General’s office in one case.

The Order List concludes with an order that begins, “It is ordered that Rebecca Anne Womeldorf be appointed Reporter of Decisions of this Court to succeed Christine Luchok Fallon, effective January 25, 2021 . . . .”