“Walter Dellinger’s House of Mirth: One of the great lawyers of his generation brought not only intellect to bear on the law, but also joy and a vibrant, self-deprecating humor.” Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at Washington Monthly.

“Trump judges are tag-teaming the Voting Rights Act”: Columnist Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Palin lost her libel case. The news media still should worry about what’s next.” Law professor Sonja West has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“The never-before-told backstory of Pence’s Jan. 6 argument; Former judge J. Michael Luttig shares the story of the run-up to the insurrection, and why he thinks it’s time to reform the Electoral Count Act”: Ryan Lizza of Politico has this interview of former Fourth Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig.

“State Abortion Restrictions Are Ramping Up Like Never Before As The Supreme Court Prepares To Make A Crucial Decision; 507 anti-abortion restrictions have been introduced in 39 states as of Wednesday, according to the Guttmacher Institute”: Nicole Fallert of BuzzFeed News has this report.

“The latest conservative to join the resistance? Ted Cruz’s mentor.” In today’s edition of The Los Angeles Times, columnist Jackie Calmes has an op-ed that begins, “It’s been a measure of former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig’s stature in the conservative legal movement that Supreme Court justices hired so many of his law clerks — 40 over 15 years.”

“Former Supreme Court Justice Evan Jenkins is Walking an Ethical Tightrope”: Columnist Hoppy Kercheval has this essay online at West Virginia’s MetroNews.

“Is It Unconstitutional Discrimination to Scrutinize Idiosyncratic Religious Claims More Closely Than Conventional Ones?” Michael C. Dorf has this post at his blog, “Dorf on Law.”

“Senate Passes Bill Requiring Judges to Promptly Post Stock Trades; Measure would detect financial conflicts exposed by Wall Street Journal investigation that found more than 130 judges broke the law”: James V. Grimaldi of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“The consequences of Texas’ restrictive abortion law”: Wade Goodwyn had this audio segment on yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“White House counsel stays behind the scenes while guiding Supreme Court nomination”: Carrie Johnson had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Experts weigh in on Supreme Court affirmative action case; Experts spoke to the News about how the Supreme Court’s decision in the Harvard and University of North Carolina affirmative action case may play out and what a post-affirmative action Yale could look like”: Jordan Fitzgerald and Philip Mousavizadeh of The Yale Daily News have this report.

“Why Some Red States Aren’t Going for Broke on Abortion — Yet”: Law professor Mary Ziegler has this guest essay online at The New York Times.

“United vaccine mandate for employees suddenly on hold after federal court ruling”: Gabrielle Banks of The Houston Chronicle has this report.

Kevin McGill of The Associated Press has a report headlined “Court: Pilot, attendant will suffer under vaccine mandate.”

David Shepardson of Reuters reports that “U.S. court orders further review of United Airlines vaccine mandate.”

And Daniel Conrad of Courthouse News Service reports that “Fifth Circuit opinion in United Airlines vaccine mandate case conjures fiery dissent; ‘The Good Ship Fifth Circuit is afire,’ wrote an appellate judge in a ferocious rebuke of his colleagues; ‘We need all hands on deck.’”

My earlier coverage of today’s Fifth Circuit ruling can be accessed here.

“Changes in Supreme Court appointments — fewer justices, longer terms, more contentious confirmations”: Russell Wheeler has this post at the “FixGov” blog of the Brookings Institution.

“If the Supreme Court restricts race in college admissions, should schools adopt slave descent as a factor instead?” Kirk Carapezza of GBH News has this report.

“How the Supreme Court Could Decide Biden’s Climate Future”: Jennifer A Dlouhy and Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News have this report.

“GOP Fed blockade has Democrats worried about other nominations, including Supreme Court; Impasse over Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin could last for weeks as the fight to replace Justice Stephen Breyer awaits”: Mike DeBonis and Rachel Siegel of The Washington Post have this report.

“Will Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee Be the Next Great Dissenter? The high court’s next justice won’t be on the winning side of many major cases; But even in defeat, she might sow the seeds for future victories.” Matt Ford has this essay online at The New Republic.

“The Politics of the Supreme Court Shortlist: President Biden has promised to nominate a Black woman at the same moment when the Court is likely to ban most race-conscious selections.” Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“The 2022 Supreme Court Fellows Program Annual Lecture with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer”: The Library of Congress has posted this video on YouTube.

“When Walter Dellinger Spoke ‘the Justices Paid Attention'”: Jesse Wegman has this essay online at The New York Times.

“5th Circuit Is on Fire, Judge Says, as Panel Fractures Over Vaccine Mandate; The unpublished 80-page opinion said United Airlines workers might suffer irreparable injury without an injunction against the company’s vaccine mandate”: Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report on a non-precedential ruling that a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued today.

In his dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith writes:

If I ever wrote an opinion authorizing preliminary injunctive relief for plaintiffs without a cause of action, without a likelihood of success on the merits (for two reasons), and devoid of irreparable injury, despite the text, policy, and history of the relevant statute, despite the balance of equities and the public interest, and despite decades of contrary precedent from this circuit and the Supreme Court, all while inventing and distorting facts to suit my incoherent reasoning, “I would hide my head in a bag.” Perhaps the majority agrees. Why else shrink behind an unsigned and unpublished opinion?

(footnotes omitted).

“President Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee: The Case For Kruger; Judges Jackson and Childs have gotten more attention, but don’t count out Justice Kruger — who might be the president’s best bet.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Oregon Supreme Court says no to Nick Kristof’s governor candidacy”: Lauren Dake of Oregon Public Broadcasting has this report.

The opinion is not yet posted to the Supreme Court of Oregon‘s website, but I will link to it once it becomes available. [Update: You can access the ruling at this link.]

Update: In other coverage, Hillary Borrud of The Oregonian reports that “Nick Kristof can’t run for Oregon governor, Supreme Court rules.”

Connor Radnovich of The Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon has a report headlined “Supreme Court: Nick Kristof cannot run for Oregon governor in 2022.”

And Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week reports that “Oregon Supreme Court Affirms Fagan’s Decision to Disqualify Kristof From May Ballot; The court rules the first-time candidate did not meet the state’s three-year residency requirement.”

“Biden’s vow to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court stirs mixed emotions among Black law professionals”: Tyrone Beason of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“On the California Supreme Court, Leondra Kruger is known for her ‘persuasive powers’ among the justices; The potential Supreme Court nominee is often described as that court’s fulcrum with a talent for building majorities”: Scott Wilson of The Washington Post has this report.

On today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition”: The program contained audio segments titled “Florida’s House passes a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy“; “As more states restrict abortions, patients need help with travel costs“; “‘Throughline’: The battle over the filibuster’s future is a battle over its past“; and “DOJ sues Missouri over its law restricting enforcement of federal gun laws.”

“In Supreme Court nomination debate, echoes of past judicial breakthrough”: This audio segment appeared on yesterday evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“Harriet S. Shapiro, Groundbreaker in Solicitor General’s Office, Dies at 93; She was the office’s first female lawyer, and the quality of her written Supreme Court briefs made her a name in Washington legal circles”: This obituary, written by Katharine Q. Seelye, appears in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“Don’t Attack Biden’s Supreme Court Nominees for Playing by the Rules; There have historically been few routes to legal-world success for Black women; Is it fair to change the rules on them now?” Elie Mystal has this essay online at The Nation.

“Judge Michelle Childs, whose early life was shaped by gun violence, is on SCOTUS list”: Nina Totenberg of NPR has this report.

Ninth Circuit Judge John B. Owens pays tribute to Walter Dellinger at the start of a virtual oral argument session in Pasadena today: You can view the video on YouTube via this link.

“Jurors in Sarah Palin’s Defamation Suit Against New York Times Knew Judge Planned to Dismiss Her Claims; Judge said some jurors involuntarily received smartphone push notifications ‘that contained the bottom-line of the ruling'”: Deanna Paul of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“Jim Clyburn saved Biden’s candidacy — and now has the president’s ear on Supreme Court picks; The South Carolina lawmaker has tremendous influence in the White House, and he has made clear he wants the president to nominate U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs to the Supreme Court”: Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Marianna Sotomayor of The Washington Post have this report.