“A ‘legal giant’: First Black NJ Supreme Court justice, James H. Coleman Jr., dies.” Lori Comstock of The New Jersey Herald has this report.

“The Law as Justice Gorsuch Sees It: In an interview with The Atlantic, Neil Gorsuch discusses his dream of a legal system that falls closer to the ‘golden mean’ — not too much law, but not too little either.” Rebecca J. Rosen has this interview online at The Atlantic.

“Colorado Supreme Court’s new chief justice reflects on ‘rough waters’ for judiciary as she takes helm; Monica Márquez succeeds Justice Brian Boatright in rotating three-year chief justice position”: Shelly Bradbury of The Denver Post has this interview.

“One of the Most Conservative State Supreme Courts in the Country Just Rebuked Dobbs”: Law professor Mary Ziegler has this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch warns of federal law overreach in new book”: CBS News has posted this video on YouTube.

“Landry, attorney general defend Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law, ask judge to dismiss lawsuit”: Meghan Friedmann and Elyse Carmosino of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans have this report.

“Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Redefining What It Means to Be a Liberal Justice; During her short time on the Supreme Court, Jackson has articulated a skepticism toward judicial power that feels particularly urgent in a post-Roe world”: Elie Mystal has this article in the August 2024 issue of The Nation.

“Texas Border Fight Floats an Odd Legal Argument; The clash over a river barrier at Eagle Pass came to the Fifth Circuit, which failed to refute the Lone Star state’s most alarming claims”: Law professor Stephen L. Carter has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Yes, New Jersey Can Ban the AR-15. Here’s Why. Lower court judges may think their hands have been tied by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen. But they’ve been wrong before.” Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Judicial Council Upholds Dismissal of Complaint Against Judges Who Vowed Not to Hire Columbia Law Clerks”: Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report on a decision that the Appellate Review Panel of the Judicial Council of the Fifth Circuit issued Friday.

Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “US judges cleared of misconduct over Columbia clerk hiring boycott.”

And Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law reports that “Judges’ Clerk Ban Over Israel-Hamas Protests Ethical, Panel Says; Clerk hiring ban found to not violate ethics code; Conservative judges refused to hire Columbia grads over Israel protests.”

In the August 12, 2024 issue of The New Yorker: Amy Davidson Sorkin has a Comment titled “The Supreme Court Needs Fixing, but How? President Biden has proposed radical changes to the Court. Reviewing them is a reminder of why reform is so hard, despite dissatisfaction and a wealth of ideas.”

And Rachel Monroe has an American Chronicles article titled “How Tribal Nations Are Reclaiming Oklahoma: After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of tribal interests, suddenly nearly half of the state was Native territory. What exactly does that mean?“

“Justice Thomas Failed to Reveal More Private Flights, Senator Says; Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the wealthy conservative donor Harlan Crow’s lawyer after records showed undisclosed flights between Hawaii and New Zealand with the Supreme Court justice in 2010”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

“Project 2025 (cont.): DEI for Men With Terrible Personalities.” You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link (and on YouTube too).

“Why Donald Trump Sues Everyone: ‘All lawsuits, all the time’ was Trump’s business model; Now it’s his campaign strategy.” You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“The Fifth Circuit is still Fifth Circuit-ing: The appeals court takes swipes at the Voting Rights Act and federal control over immigration; Also: Schumer shows how the Hill could respond to SCOTUS overreach.” Chris Geidner has this post at his Substack site.

“Judicial Notice (08.04.24): Reversal Of Fortune; A $2 billion appellate win, three lawyers under VP consideration, notable new Fifth Circuit rulings, and another high-profile hire by Paul Hastings.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Jurisdiction-Stripping and the Supreme Court; A new reform bill raises an old question about how far Congress can go to keep appeals away from the Supreme Court; My own view is that Congress’s Exceptions Clause power is broad, but *not* plenary”: Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Justice Gorsuch warns that an ‘explosion’ of new laws could hinder Americans’ freedoms”: Fox News has posted this video online, along with a video titled “Supreme Court Justice sends chilling warning to Biden admin: ‘Be careful.’”

“Americans are ‘getting whacked’ by too many laws and regulations, Justice Gorsuch says in a new book”: Mark Sherman of The Associated Press has this report.

“In ‘Over Ruled,’ Justice Gorsuch Tells of the Folly of the Administrative State; A new book from the constitutionalist from Colorado illuminates the dangers of administrative power and overregulation”: Law professor Philip Hamburger has this book review online at The New York Sun.

“How the 9/11 Plea Deal Came Undone; A case that had mostly drifted from public consciousness in 12 years of proceedings is back in the spotlight and no closer to trial”: Carol Rosenberg and Eric Schmitt of The New York Times have this report.

“Neil Gorsuch Has a Few Thoughts About America Today”: Columnist David French has this interview online at The New York Times.

“Joe Biden Issues a Stinging Dissent”: Online at The New York Times, columnist Jamelle Bouie has an essay that begins, “The Supreme Court is caught in a crisis of its own making.”

“Defense Secretary Revokes Plea Deal for Accused Sept. 11 Plotters; Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III assumed direct oversight of the case and effectively put the death penalty back on the table”: Carol Rosenberg of The New York Times has this report.

You can view the memorandum of the Secretary of Defense at this link.

“Neil Gorsuch and the Laffer Curve of Law; The justice talks about how ‘good people’ are ‘getting whacked’ by the regulatory state; He says proposals to alter the high court are nothing new”: Kyle Peterson will have this new installment of The Weekend Interview in Saturday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Senator Schumer Goes Nuclear With ‘No King Act’; The law would direct lower courts how to reject claims of presidential immunity, and strip SCOTUS of appellate review”: Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Supreme Court Justices Who Insist They Aren’t Politicians In Robes Keep Acting Like Politicians In Robes; The justices often claim that they do law, not politics; New reporting on the Supreme Court’s most recent term suggests otherwise”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Term limits for the Supreme Court would end our independent judiciary; Biden’s latest ‘reform’ push is just liberal frustration with a court that follows the Constitution”: U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Appeals Court Further Narrows Voting Rights Act’s Scope; Reversing decades of precedent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in a Texas case that different minority groups cannot jointly claim that their votes have been diluted”: Michael Wines and J. David Goodman of The New York Times have this report.

Patrick Marley and Maegan Vazquez of The Washington Post report that “Court rules against Black and Hispanic voters in redistricting case; For decades, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit held that the Voting Rights Act allows voting districts that give Black and Hispanic voters the ability to elect candidates of their choice when they have common interests and can form coalitions.”

Tierney Sneed of CNN reports that “Appeals court narrows Voting Rights Act’s scope for redistricting cases in the South.”

Ryan Autullo and Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law report that “Fifth Circuit Rejects Minority Coalitions’ Texas Voting Map Suit; Fifth Circuit reverses 1988 decision, loss for minority voters; Dissent says majority ‘dismantled’ Voting Rights Act.”

Dante Motley of The Texas Tribune reports that “Voting Rights Act doesn’t protect coalitions of racial or ethnic groups challenging political maps, appeals court rules; In a lawsuit challenging redistricting in Galveston County, the 5th Circuit said the protections afforded to a single racial group don’t apply to multiple groups who collectively claim voting rights violations.”

Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media reports that “U.S. 5th Circuit rules for Galveston County in voting rights case, striking down decades of precedent; The federal appeals court ruled 12-5 that different racial and ethnic groups cannot form coalitions to challenge racial gerrymandering under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”

And Kirk McDaniel of Courthouse News Service reports that “Fifth Circuit slaps down vote dilution claims by minority coalition in Galveston redistricting fight; The federal appeals court found that claims of vote dilution must be brought by single minority classes, overturning precedent allowing coalitions of voters to bring claims.”

You can access yesterday’s 12-to-6 en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.

“How Emphatically is it the Province and Duty of the Judiciary to Say What the Law Is?” Michael C. Dorf has this post at his blog, “Dorf on Law.”

“First, Sixth Circuit Nominees Advanced by Senate Panel; Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 for Karla Campbell, Julia Lipez; Campbell criticized for ties to workers group”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“I was a member of Biden’s commission on the Supreme Court. His proposals are only a start. The president can do more to rein in the court.” Nancy Gertner has this essay online at The Boston Globe.

“AZ Supreme Court justice recuses in abortion ballot measure lawsuit where his wife is a defendant”: Gloria Rebecca Gomez of AZ Mirror has this report.

“Schumer Promises Year-End Judicial Push as Courts Gain New Political Importance; Pushing for an overhaul of the Supreme Court is a new priority as Democrats try to match Trump-era judicial confirmations, the Senate majority leader says”: Carl Hulse of The New York Times has this report.

Sahil Kapur of NBC News reports that “Schumer vows Supreme Court reform will be ‘a very big priority’ if Democrats win election; In an interview with NBC News, Schumer tore into a ‘derelict’ Chief Justice John Roberts for enabling an ethical and substantive ‘morass’ that he said is forcing Congress to intervene.”

And online at Vox, Ian Millhiser has an essay titled “Chuck Schumer’s ambitious plan to take the Supreme Court down a peg; Schumer wants to engage in jurisdiction stripping, a rarely used tactic that can shrink the Supreme Court’s authority.”

“New Republican Senator Pushes Terrible Appellate Pick; George Allen’s blunder on Roger Gregory”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.