“Senate backs placement of Clarence Thomas statue at Georgia Capitol”: David Wickert of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article that begins, “The Georgia Senate on Tuesday approved a proposal to install a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the state Capitol.”

Congratulations to Rick Hasen on the 20th anniversary of his indispensable “Election Law Blog”: Rick notes the occasion this morning in a post titled “#ELB20th: 20 Years of the Election Law Blog, and 20 Years of American Democracy’s Slow (and Faster) Deterioration: A Call for Vigilance and Resilience.”

I am proud to know that the “How Appealing” blog helped to inspire the creation of both “SCOTUSblog” and the “Election Law Blog.” If those two things were all that my blog had ever accomplished, it would have been well worth the effort.

Listen live, online to the Third Circuit‘s reargument en banc in Range v. Attorney General, involving a Second Amendment challenge to the federal statute criminalizing the possession of guns by individuals convicted of a nonviolent felony: You can access the live audio on YouTube via this link. The oral argument is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. eastern time.

The oral argument is occurring in the Philadelphia federal district court’s Ceremonial Courtroom, presumably to accommodate an expected larger than usual in-person attendance. The Third Circuit often uses that courtroom for high-interest en banc oral arguments.

“Abortion pill lawsuit faces Texas judge who often rules for conservatives”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this news analysis.

And Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has an article headlined “A federal judge may ban a major abortion pill nationwide. Here’s what it would mean for California.”

“‘I Feel Like We’re Backing Up, Instead of Moving Forward’; The Supreme Court Justice who upheld the right to an abortion in South Carolina is worried about the future of women in her state”: Lisa Rab has this article online at Politico.

“Republicans can choose the judge who hears their lawsuits. DOJ wants to stop that. The Justice Department hopes to neutralize Trump’s worst judge.” Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

“Michael Delaney — Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit”: Harsh Voruganti has this post at his “The Vetting Room” blog.

“Senate confirms Biden’s 100th judicial nominee”: Amy B Wang and Adrian Blanco of The Washington Post have this report.

According to the article, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit “serves parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands” — a true statement with regard to the Virgin Islands, at least, since the BVI isn’t under the Third Circuit’s purview.

“Federal workers not entitled to COVID hazard pay–U.S. appeals court”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report on a 10-to-2 en banc ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued today.

“It’s Clarence Thomas’s Court—and Lower Courts Are Saluting Him; Inside the ruling in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals striking down a gun ban for those who have committed domestic violence”: Law professor Garrett Epps has this essay online at Washington Monthly.

“Ethics Code Wouldn’t Fix Supreme Court’s Legitimacy Crisis; The US high court has undercut itself by making radical, reactionary decisions — something a code of conduct can’t solve”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Social Media Case Tests Limits of Supreme Court’s Tech Savvy; The justices may not know much about the internet, but they have the power to change its shape and direction”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“The Senate confirmed Cindy Chung for Pa. federal appeals court. She’ll be the first Asian American judge to hold the job. Judge Cindy K. Chung will be the first Asian American judge to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. President Biden nominated her last year.” Max Marin of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

Mike Scarcella of Reuters reports that “Senate confirms 3rd Circuit’s first Asian American judge.”

And Madison Alder of Bloomberg Law reports that “First Asian American Confirmed to Third Circuit Appeals Court.”

Yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate voted 50-to-44 to confirm Cindy K. Chung to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

If her formal appointment to the bench happens *really fast*, she could participate in tomorrow’s big Second Amendment en banc oral argument of the Third Circuit.

“ISIS, YouTube and Section 230 at the Supreme Court; The Justices take up a case about Google’s immunity from liability”: This editorial appears in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“‘Stakes are monstrous’: Wisconsin judicial race is 2023’s key election; Control of state supreme court could flip from conservative to liberal with big consequences for most gerrymandered US state.” Sam Levine of The Guardian (UK) has this report.

And Alexander Shur of The Wisconsin State Journal reports that “Liberal Janet Protasiewicz campaign flush with out-of-state money in Wisconsin Supreme Court race.”

Second Circuit grants rehearing en banc in case challenging Connecticut’s policy of allowing transgender girls to compete in women’s athletics: You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

My earlier coverage of the original unanimous three-judge panel’s decision affirming the dismissal of the challenge can be accessed here.

“Inside the University of Pennsylvania’s Precedent-Setting Effort To Revoke Tenure From Its Most Controversial Professor: The school says it’s protecting students; Critics say it’s destroying academic freedom.” Aaron Sibarium of The Washington Free Beacon has this report.

“Study: The Supreme Court Is Even More Elitist Than You Thought; Applicants who attended Harvard, Yale, or Princeton are much more likely to get Supreme Court clerkships than those who didn’t.” Yvette Borja has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“Two decisions Down and Sixty to Go”: Adam Feldman has this post at his “Empirical SCOTUS” blog.

“Leaked document shows big changes could be underway at GOP-majority NC Supreme Court; Days after Republicans flipped the NC Supreme Court majority, the court started discussing new rules that critics now call a power grab, according to a document obtained by WRAL; The apparent effort comes as the new GOP court has also voted to revisit recent decisions in voting rights cases that favored progressive groups”: Will Doran of WRAL has this report.

“The Wisconsin Judicial Commission has dismissed a complaint against Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky”: Molly Beck of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article that begins, “A state judicial oversight panel has tossed a complaint against liberal-leaning Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky filed in 2021 over her questioning of attorneys representing former President Donald Trump in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of Wisconsin’s presidential election.”

“Alito, Kagan Top Justices in Supreme Court Recusal ‘Black Box'”: John Crawley and Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“14. Section 230, Big Tech, and the Court; Justice Thomas has pushed the Court to consider whether social media platforms have too much power; Neither of the two complex cases the Justices are set to hear next week truly raise that question.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“The Supreme Court showdown over Biden’s student debt relief program, explained; The law is very explicit that Biden’s student debt relief program is lawful; The Court’s Republican majority is unlikely to care”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

“Republican Leaders Might Not Be Trying to Kill Social Security and Medicare. But Their Judges Are. Far-right judges are crafting a theory that would empower courts to strike down trillions of dollars in federal spending.” Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“The Originalist Case for Terrorizing Women”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link.

“The Balkinization 20th Anniversary Symposium on the Present State of Constitutional Theory — Collected Posts”: I found many of these posts quite interesting, and you can access links to them all via this post at the “Balkinization” blog.

“Panel scolds Wisconsin justice for remarks in Trump case”: Todd Richmond of The Associated Press has this report.

“The ‘Stop the Steal’ Fight That Never Ended; A State Supreme Court Justice reveals the long-term toll of calling out the Big Lie”: Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Jill J. Karofsky joined Dahlia Lithwick on the new installment of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast.

“Trump’s Supreme Court Picks Are Not Quite What You Think”: David Lat and Zachary B. Shemtob have this essay online at The New York Times.

“The conservative challenge to liberalism goes deeper than self-interest”: Columnist Jason Willick has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Latest Supreme Court-related ruling overturning gun regulations worries domestic violence survivor advocates”: Tierney Sneed of CNN has this report.

“Women Encounter Abortion Delays as Clinics Draw Patients From Out of State; Some providers in areas where abortion is legal report surging demand”: Laura Kusisto of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“Terror Trial Could Yield Manhattan’s First Death Penalty in 60 Years; Sayfullo Saipov was convicted of fatally mowing down eight people in a 2017 bike-path rampage in New York; Will 12 jurors vote to execute him?” Benjamin Weiser and Lola Fadulu have this front page article in today’s edition of The New York Times.

“Judicial Notice (02.11.23): Ouch! Tesla gets a new general counsel, Gibson Dunn gets benchslapped, and other legal news from the week that was.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.