In today’s mail: I received a copy of Martin J. Siegel‘s new book, “Judgment and Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs.” The book is a biography of former U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Second Circuit Judge Irving R. Kaufman.

“Asking Clarence Thomas to testify in Senate could spark a showdown; Some groups want the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear from a sitting justice over reports on his relationship with a wealthy GOP donor”: Michael Macagnone of Roll Call has this report.

“Why Clarence Thomas’s Ethical Dilemma Won’t Change the Supreme Court; Tradition of letting the Supreme Court police itself continues; Chief justice has history of resisting a formal ethics code”: Laura Litvan and Billy House of Bloomberg News have this report.

“Federal Circuit Confirms Complaint Against 95-Year-Old Judge”: Riddhi Setty of Bloomberg Law has a report that begins, “The Judicial Council for the Federal Circuit confirmed the existence of a complaint against Judge Pauline Newman by Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore and said that an investigation process is underway.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has posted online a “Statement of the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit,” along with related orders dated March 24, 2023 (partially redacted) and April 13, 2023.

“Supreme Court makes it easier to bring constitutional challenges to federal agencies”: Ariane de Vogue of CNN has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court issued today.

Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC, No. 21-86. Justice Clarence Thomas issued a concurring opinion. And Justice Neil M. Gorsuch issued an opinion concurring in the judgment. You can access the oral argument via this link.

“Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Restore Broad Availability of Abortion Pill; In an emergency application, lawyers for the government asked the justices to stay all of a Texas judge’s ruling suspending a commonly used abortion medication”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post report that “Justice Department asks Supreme Court to restore access to abortion pill.”

Jess Bravin and Laura Kusisto of The Wall Street Journal report that “Supreme Court Faces Swift New Abortion Test With Mifepristone Case; Justice Department asks high court to preserve access to widely used abortion pill.”

And Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Justice Department takes abortion pill fight to Supreme Court.”

You can access the federal government’s stay application at this link. And you can access the drugmaker’s stay application at this link.

“President Biden Names Thirty-Second Round of Judicial Nominees”: The White House has issued this news release today, announcing nominees to the Fifth and Ninth Circuits.

“Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s departure from Senate Judiciary Committee isn’t a sure thing”: Joe Garofoli of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

“The 5th Circuit uncorks a travesty on abortion pill case”: Columnist Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Injuries and Illness Slow Senators, as Well as the Senate Itself; High-profile absences have created complications for Democrats as Congress returns and prompted new questions about the future of Republican leadership”: Carl Hulse and Annie Karni of The New York Times have this report.

“Ex-C.I.A. Psychologist Re-enacts Interrogation Techniques for Guantánamo Court; Lawyers for a Saudi prisoner had the psychologist show some of his practices in an effort to exclude evidence as derived from torture”: Carol Rosenberg of The New York Times has this report.

“The Court Is Likely to Reject the Independent State Legislature Theory; And that offers hope for American democracy”: Former Fourth Circuit judge J. Michael Luttig has this essay online at The Atlantic.

“Governor Carney Announces Supreme Court Nominations”: The Office of Delaware Governor John Carney issued this news release today.

“Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal. The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.” Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, and Alex Mierjeski of ProPublica have this report.

“Appeals court ruling could curtail fat fees in consumer fraud class actions”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post about a ruling that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued yesterday.

“Why You’ve Never Heard of the Company Behind the Abortion Pill; Danco doesn’t disclose CEO, board or investors due to threats; Texas ruling could pull mifepristone from US marketplace”: Fiona Rutherford of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Florida Legislature Passes Six-Week Abortion Ban; The prohibition would be among the most restrictive in the country, and Florida would no longer be a destination for women from across the Deep South seeking abortions”: Patricia Mazzei, David W. Chen, and Alexandra Glorioso of The New York Times have this report.

“Mifepristone and the rule of law, part III; The Fifth Circuit’s decision is wrong too”: Adam Unikowsky has this post at his “Adam’s Legal Newsletter” Substack site.

“‘No Forecasts, No Hints’: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s gift to future Supreme Court nominees.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“Supreme Court showdown over Sabbath could change workplaces across US; A former postal worker wants a ruling to balance work and worship, he says”: Devin Dwyer and Isabella Meneses of ABC News has this report.

“Reynolds was in Supreme Court’s secure office area prior to oral arguments on abortion case”: Clark Kauffman of the Iowa Capital Dispatch has this report.

“In Which Conservative Justices Ponder Just How Far They Will Go”: Columnist Carlos Lozada has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Chief Judge Moore Said to Be Petitioning to Oust Judge Newman from Federal Circuit”: Gene Quinn of IPWatchdog has this post.

“DOJ to Ask Supreme Court to Intervene in Abortion-Pill Case; Garland says administration will seek emergency action on drug; Lower court order would restrict availability of mifepristone”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.

“Justice Thomas, Frederick Douglass, and Constitutional Misinformation”: Eric Segall has this post at “Dorf on Law.”

“The original Comstock Act doesn’t support the new antiabortion decision; Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk rationalized his medication abortion opinion through a distorted reading of the long-dormant 1873 law”: Professor Lauren MacIvor Thompson has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Court Says Abortion Pill Can Remain Available but Imposes Temporary Restrictions; The judges blocked the drug from being sent to patients through the mail and rolled back other steps the government had taken to ease access”: Pam Belluck of The New York Times has this report.

Perry Stein, Ann E. Marimow, and Niha Masih of The Washington Post report that “Appeals court temporarily keeps abortion pill available but limits access.”

Laura Kusisto of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Appeals Court Allows Abortion Pill to Remain on Market With Restrictions; Decision means abortion pill will remain available for now but only for use earlier in pregnancies.”

John Fritze and Christine Fernando of USA Today report that “Appeals court revives FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone, allows some restrictions to stand.”

Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Federal appeals court limits use of abortion pill, but doesn’t ban its FDA approval.”

And at his “One First” Substack site, Steve Vladeck has a post titled “Bonus 22: The Mifepristone Mess, Continued; The Fifth Circuit kinda sorta froze part of Judge Kacsmaryk’s deeply flawed mifepristone ruling in a deeply flawed ruling of its own, one that puts the Supreme Court in a very awkward position.”

You can access last night’s ruling of a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

“Feinstein, Under Pressure to Resign, Asks to Step Down From Judiciary Panel; The 89-year-old California Democrat, who has been absent from the Senate for more than a month after being diagnosed with shingles, said she would seek a temporary replacement on the powerful committee”: Annie Karni of The New York Times has this report.

“What Would It Mean to Reverse Slaughter-House? A revival of the privileges or immunities clause would not necessarily lead to heightened scrutiny of economic regulation.” James R. Rogers has this post at the “Law & Liberty” blog.

“The Anti-Abortion Movement Just Made a Powerful New Enemy; The mifepristone decision has awakened a sleeping giant”: Mark Joseph Stern has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Feinstein, facing calls to resign, vows to return to Senate after recovering from illness”: Alexandra E. Petri of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“Texas ruling could ban all abortions — not just those induced by pills, legal experts say”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

“Tofurky heartened despite losing appeal of Louisiana plant-based label law”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report.

And Sabrina Canfield of Courthouse News Service reports that “Fifth Circuit lifts block on Louisiana food labeling law; An appellate panel found meatless product brands such as Tofurky are not in danger of violating a state law that requires companies to accurately describe the ingredients in food.”

You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

“An Unfortunate Extension of Microsoft; After an interlocutory order that appears to have precluded the plaintiff from prevailing, the plaintiff asked the district court to enter summary judgment against it; The Sixth Circuit held that this didn’t produce a final decision”: Bryan Lammon has this post at his “final decisions” blog.

“Abortion pill opponents urge US appeals court to allow ban”: Jonathan Stempel of Reuters has this report.

Update: You can access at this link the plaintiffs’ opposition to the federal government’s request for an emergency stay pending appeal.