“Appeal opens new chapter in Depp-Heard court battle; Attorneys for the ‘Aquaman’ actress are fighting the $10.3 million defamation verdict a Virginia jury awarded to her ex-husband Johnny Depp”: Joan Hennessy of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Judge sides with Louisiana clinics in fight over ban, keeping abortion access alive for now; Don Johnson of the 19th Judicial District has granted a preliminary injunction blocking trigger law”: Sam Karlin of The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana has this report.

And Katie Shepherd of The Washington Post reports that “Louisiana abortion clinics stay open after judge temporarily blocks ban.”

“Kagan says questions of legitimacy risky for Supreme Court”: Nick Ehli and Robert Barnes of The Washington Post have this report.

And Dan Levine of Reuters reports that “Justice Kagan warns U.S. Supreme Court must maintain public confidence.”

“The Longest SCOTUS Oral Argument; In a Supreme Court oral argument this past term, something unusual happened: The longest argument by a single advocate in decades; Here is how it came about.” Tony Mauro has this post at his “The Marble Palace Blog.”

“Commander Sam Alito, At Your Cervix”: Sherry F. Colb has this post at “Dorf on Law.”

“Showing Off or Making a Point? Spate of Self-Concurrences Catch Eye of Legal Community; Aspirations for elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court could drive judges to go beyond the assignment, experts said.” Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report.

“Former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he is a ‘wonderful’ person with ‘originalist’ views, but ‘he will be judged for what he does as a justice'”: Taiyler Simone Mitchell of Business Insider has this report.

“As Pete Williams Retires, NBC News Has Plans for DOJ, Supreme Court Coverage”: Brian Steinberg of Variety has this report.

“Sixth Circuit urged to overturn block on federal contractor vaccine mandate; The appeals court is weighing whether to lift an injunction in three states barring enforcement of a mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors to be vaccinated against Covid-19”: David Wells of Courthouse News Service has this report on an oral argument that occurred today before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

I will post a link to the archived oral argument audio once it becomes available online. [Update: You can access the oral argument audio via this link.]

“This Court Has Revealed Conservative Originalism to Be a Hollow Shell; The Supreme Court’s right-wing justices claim to be originalists, but then they pick and choose the history that fits their ideological preferences”: David H. Gans has this essay online at The Atlantic.

“Biden’s pick to succeed U.S. Supreme Court’s Jackson on D.C. Circuit advances in Senate”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.

“Want change at the Supreme Court? Congress should offer justices buyouts for early retirement.” Law professor Brian Sheppard has this essay online at The Hill.

“NY’s new law returns fire at Supreme Court: Guns are now banned almost everywhere.” Douglass Dowty of The Post-Standard of Syracuse has this report.

“‘Conversion therapy’ bans will remain blocked in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton”: Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida has this report on an order denying rehearing en banc — accompanied by over 100 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions — that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued yesterday.

“The rightwing supreme court has another target: Native American rights; In last month’s Oklahoma v Castro-Huerta, the court tore up centuries of legal precedent and Native sovereignty.” Nick Estes has this essay online at The Guardian (UK).

“The end of affirmative action at colleges could be a good thing”: Columnist David Von Drehle has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“The Supreme Court Reform that Could Actually Win Bipartisan Support: It’s time to impose term limits on the justices.” Law professor Jeffrey L. Fisher has this essay online at Politico Magazine.

“U.S. Supreme Court welcomes new crop of clerks in fraught year”: Karen Sloan and David Thomas of Reuters have this report.