“Final brief filed by Courthouse News in Eighth Circuit First Amendment battle; The last brief has been filed in the Eighth Circuit over the fundamental question whether federal courts should abstain from challenges to state court clerks blocking access to court records”: Bill Girdner of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Roe supporters say its reversal would be dead canary for democracy; With state legislatures acting as if the post-Roe world is already here, civil liberties experts say it signals a lot more than just the loss of reproductive rights”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Out of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees, the Courtroom session will not be open to the public.” The U.S. Supreme Court issued a news release today announcing that its courtroom will remain closed to the public for the Court’s March 2022 oral argument sitting.

“Oklahoma, tribes clash over jurisdiction after Supreme Court’s McGirt decision”: Nancy Marie Spears of Gaylord News has this report.

“District Judge Rick Lawrence nominated to Maine Supreme Judicial Court; If his nomination by Gov. Mills is confirmed in the Maine Senate, he’ll be the first Black justice on the state’s highest court”: Emily Allen of The Portland Press Herald has this report.

Caitlin Andrews of The Bangor Daily News reports that “Janet Mills’ nominee would be 1st Black justice on Maine’s high court.”

Heather Bellow of The Berkshire Eagle of Pittsfield, Massachusetts reports that “Great Barrington native Rick Lawrence nominated to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court; If confirmed, Lawrence will be the first Black justice on the Supreme Judicial Court.”

On Monday, the Office of Maine’s Governor Janet T. Mills issued a news release titled “Governor Mills Nominates Judge Rick Lawrence to Maine Supreme Judicial Court.”

“Ginni Thomas’s Corruption Should End the Myth of Supreme Court Exceptionalism; The freewheeling political activism of Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife is the product of a legal culture that still pretends law and politics are separate from one another”: Peter Shamshiri has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“In a Post-Roe World, Can States Prevent Women From Seeking Abortions Out-of-State?” Michael C. Dorf has this post at his blog, “Dorf on Law.”

“The Supreme Court Did the Right Thing. I’m Still Worried.” Columnist Jamelle Bouie has this essay online at The New York Times.

And online at The Washington Post, columnist Jason Willick has an essay titled “How the Supreme Court’s gerrymandering ruling vindicated the wisdom of John Roberts.”

“Texas Supreme Court say state regulators can’t be sued to challenge state’s restrictive abortion law; Decision likely means abortion providers will end their current federal challenge to the abortion law”: BeLynn Hollers of The Dallas Morning News has this report.

Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “Texas top court deals blow to clinics seeking to block abortion law.”

Laurel Brubaker Calkins of Bloomberg News reports that “Texas Supreme Court Says State Immune in Abortion Ban Suits.”

Online at Texas Lawyer, Avalon Zoppo has a report headlined “In Blow to Abortion Clinics, Texas Supreme Court Says State Can’t Enforce SB8.”

And Kirk McDaniel of Courthouse News Service reports that “Texas Supreme Court shuts down challenge to restrictive abortion law; The federal case against Texas’ near-total abortion ban met its end Friday when the state’s high court, answering a question from the Fifth Circuit, held that licensing officials cannot enforce the law and therefore cannot be sued.”

You can access today’s unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court of Texas at this link.

“Kramer Levin combines with litigation firm to enter D.C. market; Kramer Levin combining with Washington, D.C. firm Robbins Russell; Robbins Russell formed in 2001 by former Mayer Brown, DOJ lawyers”: Sara Merken of Reuters has this report.