“‘Markel’ grandparent visitation efforts see renewed hope through House, Senate bills; Speaker-backed legislation could help some grandparents reunite with their grandchildren”: Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics has this report.

“U.S. court revives lawsuit against Pfizer, others on Iraq terrorism funding claims”: Mike Scarcella of Reuters has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued today.

“Attorneys spar over United Airlines vaccine mandate at Fifth Circuit; In a hearing before the New Orleans-based appeals court, an attorney for workers who have refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19 for religious reasons said they are opposed to stem cell research that helped develop the shots”: Sabrina Canfield of Courthouse News Service has this report.

You can access via this link the audio of yesterday’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

“#Metoo movement cast as threat to judicial independence in Roberts report; While the chief justice wants to focus on self-policing, advocates say internal reforms are not enough when it comes to workplace misconduct”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gives an incomplete history lesson on judicial ethics; In his end of the year report, Roberts’ argument for the court’s independence from oversight omitted a key part of its history”: Law professor Steven Lubet has this essay online at NBC News.

“Why Free Exercise on Steroids Won’t Benefit Progressive Religious People”: Sherry F. Colb has this blog post at “Dorf on Law.”

“High court confirms justices have received COVID-19 booster”: Jessica Gresko and Mark Sherman of The Associated Press have this report.

“Laboratories of Autocracy”: Adam Serwer is the guest on this week’s installment of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast, hosted by law professors Leah Litman, Melissa Murray, and Kate Shaw.

“NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider Chevron Deference in Veterans Benefits Suit”: The New Civil Liberties Alliance issued this news release yesterday about a petition for writ of certiorari the organization has filed on behalf of a client at the U.S. Supreme Court.

“There Is Nothing ‘Moderate’ About the Supreme Court’s Conservatives: Commentators speculating about whether the Court will strike a middle ground on issues important to the GOP misunderstand five decades of conservative activism that led to this point.” Peter Shamshiri has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“Crunch time for workplace vaccine mandates: U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in; The vaccine mandate, which could affect 1.8 million Philly-area workers, is headed for a big court test at the U.S. Supreme Court this week; OSHA fines could start landing on Jan. 10.” Bob Fernandez has this article in today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Brett Samuels of The Hill reports that “Pence group files SCOTUS brief opposing Biden vaccine mandate.”

And in commentary, online at Washington Monthly, law professor by Peter M. Shane has an essay titled “The Supreme Court Takes COVID Legal Disputes Out of the ‘Shadows’; The justices will hear arguments on mandatory public health measures on January 7; Their rulings could have profound implications for federal regulatory authority beyond the pandemic.”

“Last Stand Of The Court Packers: The nation’s political centralizers find themselves distressed in an age in which there is increasing demand for decentralization.” George Liebmann has this essay online at The American Conservative.

“Affirmative Action: Past, Present, and Future”: At the “Law & Liberty” blog, Amy L. Wax (see here and here for details on her most recent controversy) has this review of the book “A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education,” edited by Gail Heriot and Maimon Schwarzchild.

“Goldman Sachs and pals bait 2nd Circuit with yet another theory in securities fraud case”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Private Library Is Coming to Auction; Over 1,000 books will be sold online at Bonhams, including tomes signed to her by Gloria Steinem, Toni Morrison, and Antonin Scalia”: James Tarmy of Bloomberg News has this report.

“The Vigilante Next Door: As distrust in the government and its elected officials rises, a growing number of Americans are taking the law into their own hands.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Judge P. Kevin Brobson Sworn in as newest Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania”: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued this news release yesterday.

“Murphy may have to re-nominate N.J. Supreme Court pick or make another choice”: Brent Johnson of The Newark Star-Ledger has this report.