“Alaska Supreme Court decision gives joint custody to non-biological mom in same-sex couple that split”: Casey Grove of Alaska Public Media has this report on a ruling that the Supreme Court of Alaska issued Friday.

“What the Front Line of the U.S. Abortion Fight in Kentucky Looks Like Now: From a new Texas law to the gantlet outside a Kentucky clinic, abortion rights are under attack in the U.S.; The Supreme Court may have the final word.” Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“John Roberts is no longer the leader of his own court. Who, then, controls it? Chief justice no longer sits in supreme court’s ideological center and has lost the power to cast the deciding vote in any ruling.” Stephanie Kirchgaessner of The Guardian (UK) has this report.

“He was high on magic mushrooms when he killed his father. Can he use ‘extreme intoxication’ as a defense?” Amanda Coletta of The Washington Post has this report.

Earlier, Leah McLaren had an article in Maclean’s headlined “Does Thomas Chan belong in prison? At 19, he killed his father while high on drugs; His case is headed to the Supreme Court in one of the most polarizing legal challenges in a generation.”

This case will be orally argued tomorrow before the Supreme Court of Canada.

“Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge Isn’t Talking About New Clerk Mired in Controversy Over Racist Rant; The controversy brings up questions about the court’s vetting process for judicial clerks; But Chief Judge William Pryor is not answering them”: Katheryn Hayes Tucker of The Fulton County (Ga.) Daily Report has this coverage.

“Stash-House Stings Carry Real Penalties for Fake Crimes; The undercover operations seem like entrapment, but their targets can receive long sentences — sometimes even harsher than those for genuine crimes”: Rachel Poser has this American Chronicles article in the October 18, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.

“Alito, Texas Abortion and the Shadow Docket: Déjà vu All Over Again?” Austin Sarat and Dennis Aftergut have this essay online at Justia’s Verdict.

“Don’t Know Much About History; New York’s Supreme Court brief on the Second Amendment is flawed”: Stephen Halbrook has this guest post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Social Media Regulation, The Limits of Originalism, and the Supreme Court’s Obsession with Free Speech”: Eric Segall has this blog post at “Dorf on Law.”