Programming note: On Saturday, I will be traveling back home from Little Rock, Arkansas, where this afternoon I had the pleasure of speaking at the Corbin Symposium. The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, where the event was occurring, was spared any damage from the huge tornado that passed through town nearby, but other areas sadly were not so fortunate.

Additional posts will appear here on Saturday evening.

“Activist group led by Ginni Thomas received nearly $600,000 in anonymous donations; Funding for group that battled ‘cultural Marxism’ was channeled through right-wing think tank, Post investigation finds”: Shawn Boburg and Emma Brown of The Washington Post have this report.

“How Two Supreme Court Cases Made ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment’ Meaningless: Two decades ago, the Supreme Court had the chance to stop lawmakers from sentencing people to life in prison for petty theft; It decided to look the other way.” Jay Willis has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“Health Plans No Longer Have to Cover All Preventive Care at No Cost. Here’s What to Know. A ruling by a federal judge this week could set up yet another Supreme Court challenge to the Obamacare health law.” Sarah Kliff of The New York Times has this report.

“‘Mom’s still there.’ Sandra Day O’Connor just turned 93. Here’s how she’s doing.” Nicole Carroll of USA Today has this report, along with a report headlined “Women of the Year honoree Sandra Day O’Connor’s mark on Supreme Court still prominent today.”

And online at USA Today, Scott O’Connor has an op-ed titled “My mom was the most powerful woman in US government. Here’s what she taught me. My mother, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, has an uncanny sense of what it is to be American, full of optimism and possibilities, yet with a yearning to be of service to others in meaningful ways.”

“Johnson & Johnson unit loses bid to stay in bankruptcy during Supreme Court appeal”: Dietrich Knauth of Reuters has this report.

“The $37m question: why do US states elect judges in expensive, partisan elections? The Wisconsin state supreme court election urges the question: why are partisan groups able to be involved?” Kira Lerner of The Guardian (UK) has this report.

“Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Time For Reform? And a new culture-war controversy at Columbia Law — over an Instagram post.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Equity’s Constitutional Source”: Owen W. Gallogly has this article in the March 2023 issue of The Yale Law Journal.

“Supreme Preparation: What attorneys go through before facing the nine.” Matt Reynolds has this cover story in the April 2023 issue of ABA Journal.

“How the LAPD abortion squad went after women and doctors in pre-Roe L.A.” Brittny Mejia of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“Even as mass shootings multiply, federal judges are erasing gun safety laws”: Law professor Adam Winkler has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.