“Supreme Court Cert Report December 2024 [Deep Dive #3]: A look under the hood at the major players getting cases before the justices.” Adam Feldman has this post at his “Legalytics” Substack site.

“Man Can’t Lose Gun Rights Over Fraud Felony, Appeals Court Says; En banc 3rd. Cir. says fraudster has right to possess gun; No tradition of disarming nonviolent felons, court says”: Mike Vilensky of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access).

You can access today’s 164-page en banc ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at this link.

“As Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht prepares to retire, he reflects on the Supreme Court he helped change; Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench”: Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune has this report.

“Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention could be the next ugly political fight”: Tom Riese and Chris Potter of 90.5 WESA have this report.

“Supreme Court confirms conservative leanings in 2024, shows no signs of changing”: Erwin Chemerinsky has this essay online at ABA Journal.

“Griffin should give up his fight to reverse his Supreme Court election defeat”: The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has published this editorial.

“Senate has a duty to scrutinize Cabinet nominees”: George Liebmann has this essay online at The Baltimore Sun.

“Our Favorite Things, 2024”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

“114. History, Tradition, and the ‘Short-Martial’: From the Founding until 2018, servicemembers had a right to be tried by a panel of fellow servicemembers; A new cert. petition asks whether Congress violated due process when it took that right away.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Defamation Stations! Journalism will need to lawyer up and build up courage if it’s going to survive Trump’s blizzard of litigation against the fourth estate.” You can access the new installment of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“What Would the Founders Have Thought About TikTok and Online Porn? The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month in First Amendment challenges to laws banning the app and shielding minors from sexual materials on the internet.” Adam Liptak has this new installment of his “Sidebar” column online at The New York Times.

“Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Trump’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions; Those affected by the president’s action on Monday are still subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; Three men will remain on federal death row”: Aishvarya Kavi of The New York Times has this report.

And the White House today issued a news release titled “Statement from President Joe Biden on Federal Death Row Commutations.”

Recommendation of public reprimand for Justice Connors of the Maine Supreme Court: The Committee on Judicial Conduct to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine recently issued this amended report.

Additional information regarding this matter can be accessed via this link.

“Inside the Trump team’s plans to try to end birthright citizenship”: Priscilla Alvarez and Tierney Sneed of CNN have this report.

“Who will help Trump duplicate judicial legacy in 2025?” Kaelan Deese of Washington Examiner has this report.

“Judicial Notice (12.22.24): U Mad, Bro? Angry associates vent about bonuses, a jilted judicial nominee speaks his mind, and Trump sues another media outlet.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Justice Thomas Did Not Disclose Additional Trips, Democrats Say; The revelation was included in a report by Democratic staff members on the Senate Judiciary Committee who had conducted a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this report.

Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post reports that “Senate Democrats find many ethical lapses by Supreme Court justices; A Judiciary Committee investigation in which Republicans did not participate identified jet and yacht trips not reported by Justice Clarence Thomas.”

Lawrence Hurley of NBC News reports that “Senate Democrats blast Supreme Court’s ‘ethical crisis’ as investigation concludes; With Republicans about to take control of the Senate, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee issued a report detailing alleged ethical lapses by justices.”

John Fritze of CNN reports that “Durbin uses new report to accuse Justices Thomas and Alito of violating disclosure laws.”

And Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Senate Democrats render a verdict on Supreme Court ethics; Sen. Dick Durbin says justices have lost the trust of American people by failing to disclose gifts and other ethical lapses.”

You can access the report via this link.

“James Ho, the 5th Circuit originalist tipped as the heir to Clarence Thomas”: Kaelan Deese of Washington Examiner recently had this report.

“After the House Delayed a Bill to Add Judges, a Biden Veto Looms; The Senate backed a bipartisan bill to add dozens of judges, but the House held off on voting until after Election Day; Now, Donald Trump would be assured at least 22 picks”: Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times has this report.

“In Late Push, Senate Democrats Narrowly Top Trump on Judicial Confirmations; With the vote, the Senate approved its 235th lifetime judge of President Biden’s tenure, besting his predecessor by a single judgeship”: Carl Hulse of The New York Times has this report.

Tobi Raji of The Washington Post reports that “Senate confirms 2 Biden judicial nominees, boosting total over Trump; President Joe Biden’s diverse cohort of judges includes more women, minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals than any other U.S. president.”

Sahil Kapur of NBC News reports that “Senate confirms Biden’s 235th judge, beating Trump’s record; It’s an important milestone for Joe Biden as he tops his predecessor Donald Trump’s total number of judicial nominees confirmed before handing the White House back over to him.”

And Anthony Adragna of Politico reports that “Dems fight to Trump-proof the federal judiciary; They just topped the mark for confirmations set under Trump’s first term, but Senate Democrats are fighting to avoid Trump putting more of a stamp on the judiciary in his second.”

“Biden Leaves Office With Mixed Legacy for the Federal Courts”: David Lat has this new installment of his “Exclusive Jurisdiction” column online at Bloomberg Law.

“Case closed (but watch for remand!)”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this final post.

“Judge denies GOP candidate’s request to block NC Supreme Court election certification”: Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has this report.

The Carolina Journal reports that “Federal judge denies temporary restraining order in NC Supreme Court ballot dispute.”

And Rusty Jacobs of WUNC reports that “Federal judge denies request for temporary restraining order in disputed NC Supreme Court race.”

“Biden’s Unsavory Judicial Legacy: He’s done more than any other president to undermine public trust in the courts.” Columnist Kimberley A. Strassel has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Odds Are Against TikTok at the Supreme Court; It seems unlikely that five Justices will buy TikTok’s First Amendment arguments when neither Judge Douglas Ginsburg nor Judge Neomi Rao nor Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan did so”: Eugene Volokh has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“Calling for the Views of the President-Elect”: Will Baude and Richard Re have this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

“As TikTok Runs Out of Options, This Billionaire Has a Plan to Save It; TikTok hopes Supreme Court will halt ban at final hour; McCourt is pitching his bid to Congress, Trump’s team”: Alexandra S. Levine and Kurt Wagner of Bloomberg News have this report.

“Tom Girardi’s sentencing delayed as judge weighs prison or medical facility”: Matt Hamilton of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“Court Order: It Is Unethical for Judges to Talk About Justice Sam Alito’s Unethical Behavior. An investigation concluded a federal judge broke ethics rules by criticizing Alito’s coup-adjacency. Alito has faced no such accountability.” Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Booker concedes defeat on Mangi nomination: ‘Shameful for America’; Mangi’s efforts to become first Muslim on circuit court ran into insurmountable headwinds.” Joey Fox of New Jersey Globe has this report.

“Judges Who Refuse to Retire Under Trump Are Not ‘Playing Politics’; Mitch McConnell says that Democratic-appointed judges rescinding their retirements are violating the judicial code of conduct; Curiously, he was not nearly as upset when Republican-appointed judges did the same thing”: JP Collins recently had this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Amy Wax Threatens To Sue Penn for Race Discrimination, Breach of Contract; The embattled law professor says she will take legal action if Penn doesn’t lift the sanctions against her”: Aaron Sibarium recently had this article online at The Washington Free Beacon.

“Bonus 113: Tick Tock for TikTok; The justices’ decision to hear expedited argument on the constitutionality of the TikTok statute makes a lot of sense; It’s also a good foil for a broader debate about when / how the Court intervenes.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

In the December 2024 issue of The Harvard Law Review, Vladeck has an article titled “A Court of First View.”

“Republican Griffin asks NC Supreme Court to intervene in his challenge of 60,000 ballots”: Kyle Ingram of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has this report.

Adam Edelman of NBC News reports that “Republican in close N.C. Supreme Court race asks court to throw out 60,000 ballots; The lawsuit is the latest chapter in the long-running saga in the battleground state contest, as Democratic Justice Allison Riggs maintains a 734-vote advantage.”

Rusty Jacobs of WUNC has reports headlined “Disputed race for the North Carolina Supreme Court will now go before a federal judge” and “State Supreme Court candidate Griffin wants the justices on that bench to help him win.”

The Carolina Journal has reports headlined “NC elections officials remove Griffin’s complaint from state Supreme Court to federal court” and “Griffin asks NC Supreme Court to stop elections board ‘from counting unlawful ballots.’”

Will Doran of WRAL has a report headlined “Why the NC Supreme Court may not rule on GOP effort to throw out 60,000 ballots; The latest legal challenge in the North Carolina Supreme Court race between incumbent Allison Riggs and challenger Jefferson Griffin is likely to be held in federal court.”

Sydney Haulenbeek of Courthouse News Service reports that “North Carolina Supreme Court race remains in limbo as Republican judge challenges votes; Despite Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to have the state Supreme Court decide on his request to remove 60,000 votes — and potentially change the results of the election — his race remains unfinalized.”

And in commentary, online at Cardinal & Pine, Billy Ball has an essay titled “Jefferson Griffin proves he isn’t fit to be on NC’s Supreme Court.”

“I’m a Seasoned Litigator. Sam Alito’s Recent Questions Have Made Me Cringe.” Sherrilyn Ifill has this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.