“Effort to Weaken Press Protections Isn’t Likely to End With Palin Case; Lawyers sympathetic to revisiting libel law say several cases in the courts could be used to re-examine longstanding Supreme Court precedent”: Jeremy W. Peters of The New York Times has this report.

“Conservatives Open New Front in Elite School Admission Wars; The Pacific Legal Foundation is behind lawsuits that challenge elite public high schools that are changing their admissions policies to diversify their student body”: Stephanie Saul of The New York Times has this report.

“Judge James Ho’s Affirmative Action Comments Spark Debate Among Legal Academics; Some academics say Ho’s comments could cause recusal issues in potential future cases, while another says Ho was explaining the law as it’s applied now”: Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Rabner announces he won’t fill Fernandez-Vina vacancy on Supreme Court; Court will operate with six members until Senate confirms new nominees”: Joey Fox of the New Jersey Globe has this report.

“Walter Dellinger, Top Legal Official in Clinton White House, Dies at 80; He served as both the head of the Office of Legal Counsel and acting solicitor general, and he remained a leading figure in liberal legal battles”: The New York Times has published this obituary written by Clay Risen.

Julian Shen-Berro of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reports that “Walter Dellinger, Duke law professor with storied legal career, dies at 80.”

Jonathan Drew and Mark Sherman of The Associated Press report that “Walter Dellinger, influential scholar and lawyer, dies at 80.”

David Thomas of Reuters reports that “Walter Dellinger, Supreme Court advocate and legal scholar, dies at 80.”

Joseph Gedeon of Politico reports that “Former Acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger III dies at 80; ‘A great mentor to me and so many others — and a kind friend,’ chief of staff Ron Klain wrote in a Tweet.”

And online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick has a jurisprudence essay titled “Walter Dellinger, Legal Luminary Who Helped Build Slate’s Legal Coverage, Dies at 80.” Slate has also published an item titled “What Made Walter Dellinger a Brilliant Lawyer Also Made Him a Great Man: Friends and colleagues remember a giant of the law.”

“At Supreme Court, it’s do as I say not as I do; With institutional integrity hanging in the balance, the justices are catching blowback for saying one thing and then doing another”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Teacher fired for not using student’s ‘preferred pronoun’ takes case to Virginia Supreme Court”: Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times has this report.

“Can Democrat Nick Kristof run for governor? Oregon Supreme Court plans to issue decision Thursday.” Hillary Borrud of The Oregonian has this report.

“For high court nominees ‘When’s your birthday?’ matters”: Jessica Gresko of The Associated Press has this report.

“The Conservative Justices Don’t Seem Too Worried About the Court’s Legitimacy; Fears about the Supreme Court’s public reputation used to have a moderating influence — but that may not be the case any longer”: Law professor Mary Ziegler has this essay online at The Atlantic.

“The question this case presents is when, and under what circumstances, a court should raise and decide an issue that the parties haven’t presented.” The en banc Eleventh Circuit sharply divided — not entirely along the usual lines — in this 132-page ruling issued today.

For appellate lawyers interested in waiver, forfeiture, and whether courts should limit themselves to deciding the issues the parties have presented or the issues the judges and/or society might wish the parties had presented, this decision is very much worth a read.

“The Praying Football Coach at the Center of a ‘Religious Liberty’ Revolution: You’ve heard of the ‘wall of separation between church and state’; In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Supreme Court’s six-justice conservative supermajority will have the chance to dismantle it.” Adam Cohen has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“‘A Lion of the Law’: O’Melveny’s Walter Dellinger III, Former Acting US Solicitor General, Dead at 80; Dellinger was a celebrated constitutional scholar who served as acting solicitor general in the Clinton administration and led the appellate and Supreme Court practice at O’Melveny & Myers.” Marcia Coyle and Andrew Goudsward of The National Law Journal have this report.

“Judge Rakoff’s Inexplicable Announcement of His Intended JNOV in Palin v. NY Times”: Michael C. Dorf has this post at his blog, “Dorf on Law.”

“Inaugural Robert A. Katzmann Lecture: A Conversation with Justice Sonia Sotomayor.” NYU School of Law has posted this video on YouTube.

“Harris works her old Senate colleagues in anticipation of SCOTUS fight; The vice president dialed up Sens. Deb Fischer, Shelley Moore Capito and Joni Ernst on the Supreme Court pick”: Marianne LeVine and Christopher Cadelago of Politico have this report.

“Exploring the life of Justice Leondra Kruger, a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee”: This segment appeared on this evening’s broadcast of “The PBS NewsHour.”

“Could spotlight on Palin case bode well for ministries’ Supreme Court bid?” Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post.

“The Supreme Court Needs Its Own Filibuster”: Law professor Lawrence Lessig has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Louisiana Supreme Court will consider whether ban on split-jury verdicts is retroactive; Decision could affect 1,500 Louisiana inmates”: John Simerman of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has this report.

“Perhaps the S. Ct. Will Reconsider the ‘Actual Malice’ Libel Test — but Not in Palin v. N.Y. Times“: Eugene Volokh has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Newsom picks San Diego appeals court justice for seat on state Supreme Court; The governor nominated Justice Patricia Guerrero of the Fourth District Court of Appeal to fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court; If confirmed, she would become the first Latina on the Supreme Court”: Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune has this report.

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Newsom Supreme Court nominee would become first Latina on state’s high court.”

Nathan Solis of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Newsom nominates Patricia Guerrero to be first Latina justice on state Supreme Court.”

Sophia Bollag of The Sacramento Bee reports that “Gov. Gavin Newsom names first Latina to California Supreme Court.”

Nicole Acevedo of NBC News reports that “California nominates its first Latina judge to state Supreme Court; Patricia Guerrero, a Mexican American from California, has been nominated to serve as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court.”

Byrhonda Lyons of CalMatters reports that “Newsom nominates first Latina to California Supreme Court.”

And Maria Dinzeo of Courthouse News Service reports that “Newsom chooses Justice Patricia Guerrero for California Supreme Court; Guerrero’s appointment comes as President Joe Biden considers California Justice Leondra Kruger to fill a vacant seat on the nation’s highest court.”

Today the Office of California’s Governor Gavin Newsom issued a news release titled “Governor Newsom Nominates Justice Patricia Guerrero to Serve on California Supreme Court.”

“Jury rules against Sarah Palin in New York Times libel case; Judge Jed S. Rakoff had already said he would toss out her case for not proving ‘actual malice,’ the high legal standard required”: Elahe Izadi and Sarah Ellison of The Washington Post have this report.

“Federal Judge James Ho Surprises Georgetown Law with Speech Defending Ilya Shapiro; Guest speaker scraps original remarks in favor of unequivocal statement on freedom of speech and declares, ‘I stand with Ilya'”: Nate Hochman has this report online at National Review.

“Palin’s legal fight with the New York Times is far from over”: Jan Wolfe of Reuters has this news analysis.

“As Oregon Supreme Court Enters Third Week of Deliberations on Kristof Residency Question, His Campaign Stays Busy; The Democrat releases first policy paper and spends money on ‘Kotek project'”: Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week has this report.

“Why Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a leading candidate for the Supreme Court”: This video segment appeared on yesterday evening’s broadcast of “The PBS NewsHour.”

“UC Berkeley wants state Supreme Court to lift enrollment cap resulting from neighborhood group lawsuit”: Bob Egelko has this article in today’s edition of The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Fernandez-Vina turns 70 and departs from N.J. Supreme Court; Murphy has not named a replacement, despite more than four years notice that Justice would reach mandatory retirement age today”: David Wildstein of the New Jersey Globe has this report.

“The Evolution of Chief Justice John Roberts”: Law professor Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at Justia’s Verdict.

“Leondra Kruger, a star on California’s high court, is on Biden’s Supreme Court list”: Nina Totenberg of NPR has this report, along with a report headlined “Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge who defies stereotypes, is on Biden’s SCOTUS list.”

“Biden reviewing materials on potential Supreme Court picks as his end-of-February deadline approaches”: Betsy Klein of CNN has this report.

And Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett of Politico report that “Easter SCOTUS confirmation in doubt as Biden deliberates; A nominee this week ‘would be optimal, but not likely,’ said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee.”

“Kemp stuns with Clarence Thomas protege for state Supreme Court”: Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein, and Tia Mitchell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have this report.

“Manchin clarifies: He’d oppose second high court nominee right before presidential election.” Alexander Bolton of The Hill has this report.

“Activists who defended VP Harris now mobilizing for Supreme Court pick; Black activists and women’s groups banded together when Harris was targeted by racist or sexist attacks; Now they are organizing in anticipation of Biden picking a Black woman to sit on the high court”: Annie Linskey of The Washington Post has this report.