“Acquittal Vindicated the Constitution, Not Trump; House managers wanted us to rush through a sham trial; Instead we did our duty to the rule of law”: U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will have this op-ed in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Supreme Court begins hearing comedian Mike Ward’s case; Lawyer Julius Grey says comments about a Quebec vedette’s disability were justified, and warns of ‘chill effect’ on freedom of expression”: Paul Cherry of The Montreal Gazette has this report.

Lina Dib of The Canadian Press reports that “Comedian Mike Ward’s case before Supreme Court tests limits of artistic freedom.”

And CBC News reports that “Freedom of expression pitted against dignity as Quebec comedian’s case heard by Supreme Court; Comedian Mike Ward argues he has the right to mock disabled singer Jérémy Gabriel.”

“This Black History Month, remember not just the giants of our courts but also our courts’ history; The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has had only two Black judges in its 40-year history; That needs to change”: Kevin Golembiewski has this essay online at The Tampa Bay Times.

“Supreme Court’s ruling on indoor worship may signal shift in church-state boundaries”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

“Pennsylvania G.O.P.’s Push for More Power Over Judiciary Raises Alarms; After fighting the election results, state Republicans are trying to increase their control of the courts; Outraged Democrats and good government groups see it as a new kind of gerrymandering”: Nick Corasaniti of The New York Times has this report.

“Should Albin leave early to protect Supreme Court seat for Democrats? Most liberal member of top court faces mandatory retirement in 2022; If Murphy loses, Ciattarelli would pick his replacement.” Online at the New Jersey Globe, David Wildstein has an essay that begins, “The winner of the 2021 race for governor will nominate a majority of justices to the New Jersey Supreme Court between 2022 and 2024, creating a Ruth Bader Ginsburg-like quandary for the senior member of the court.”

“How a joke ended up before Canada’s top court”: Jessica Murphy of BBC News has this report.

Luca Caruso-Moro of CTV News reports that “Quebec comedian Mike Ward heads to the Supreme Court after making singer with disability butt of joke.”

The Canadian Press (via The Montreal Gazette) has a report headlined “Mike Ward vs. Jérémy Gabriel: Supreme Court hears case this week on limits of comedy; The court will seek to determine if freedom of expression offers the same protection to artistic speech and political speech, and if political or artistic speech that mocks a person’s physical characteristics can be a basis for discrimination.”

And Marie-Danielle Smith of Maclean’s has an article headlined “The joke that went to the Supreme Court: Comedian Mike Ward mocked a disabled boy; Nine years after the boy’s family filed a complaint, the case tests the rights of artistic expression versus discrimination.”

The case is currently being argued at the Supreme Court of Canada, and you can access the live oral argument video via this link.