“An AI avatar tried to argue a case before a New York court. The judges weren’t having it.” Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press has this report.

“The right is cooking up a surprising legal fight against Trump’s tariffs; At least some GOP legal elites are lining up against Trump’s trade policy; That could be enough to sway the justices”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

And Saturday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal will contain an editorial titled “Trump’s Tariffs Get a Legal Challenge; A Florida company says the President is violating the Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine; It’s a strong case.”

“Trump Sidelines Justice Dept. Legal Office, Eroding Another Check on His Power; As President Trump claims expansive and disputed powers, his administration has curbed the influential Office of Legal Counsel”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this report.

“Electing Judges Is Good for Democracy”: Linda Greenhouse has this guest essay online at The New York Times.

“Big Law Firms Struck a Truce With Trump — and Set Off a Clash With Recruits; Law students at top schools reconsider offers at Skadden and other firms while associates cancel interviews in protest”: Lindsay Ellis of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“The US must return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, judge says”: Michael Kunzelman of The Associated Press has this report.

Aishvarya Kavi and Alan Feuer of The New York Times report that “Trump Administration Is Ordered to Return Migrant Deported to El Salvador; A federal judge said officials had acted without ‘legal basis’ last month when they arrested the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, and put him on a plane to a notorious Salvadoran prison.”

Katie Mettler and Maria Sacchetti of The Washington Post report that “Judge orders Trump administration to bring back Md. man mistakenly deported; U.S. officials have argued in court records that the United States is powerless to effectuate his return because he is now in Salvadoran custody, and that Kilmar Abrego García’s lawyers have ‘not clearly shown’ that he would face harm in the prison.”

And Joseph De Avila and Jan Wolfe of The Wall Street Journal report that “Trump Administration Must Return Man Sent to El Salvador Prison in Error, Judge Rules; Immigration officials deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia last month.”

“Trump’s top prosecutor in Washington compares Jan. 6 charges to Japanese internment; Ed Martin says he is expanding a review of obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants, which began during the first Trump administration”: Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.

“Trump’s War on Big Law”: Elie Honig has this post at the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine.

“NC Court of Appeals gives over 60,000 challenged voters 15 days to prove eligibility”: Kyle Ingram of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina has this report.

Will Doran of WRAL reports that “Republican Jefferson Griffin wins NC appeals court challenge in case contesting 65K ballots; A Republican judge’s effort to throw out 65,000 voters’ ballots from the 2024 NC Supreme Court election is valid, his Republican colleagues on the state Court of Appeals ruled in a decision split down party lines.”

And The Carolina Journal reports that “Appeals Court orders new vote calculations in NC Supreme Court election dispute.”

You can access today’s ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals at this link.

“Remarkable Things in the Government’s Alien Enemies Act Briefs to the Supreme Court”: Marty Lederman has this post at the “Just Security” blog.

“Trump’s Pick to Argue at Supreme Court Made His Career in Culture Wars; President Trump’s choice for solicitor general, D. John Sauer, has long pushed for restrictions on abortion and access to contraception”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

“‘Fair Likelihood’ Trump Administration Violated Court Order, Judge Says; The judge, James E. Boasberg, said he was likely to wait until next week to rule on whether the White House was in contempt of court for having ignored his order”: Alan Feuer of The New York Times has this report.

And Jan Wolfe, Mariah Timms, and Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal report that “Trump Officials Could Be Held in Contempt for Deportation Flights, Judge Says; Judge says administration ‘acted in bad faith’ in removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members under wartime law.”

“The Supreme Court Precedent That Should Free Mahmoud Khalil”: Law professor Brad Snyder has this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Law Firm Kirkland & Ellis in Talks With White House to Avoid Executive Order; The largest U.S. law firm by revenue tries to avoid being the next Trump target”: Erin Mulvaney, Josh Dawsey, and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

“Judge considering whether to hold Trump officials in contempt for violating court orders on deportation flights”: Devan Cole and Tierney Sneed of CNN have this report.

And David Voreacos of Bloomberg News reports that “Judge Weighs Contempt Order for Trump Officials Over Deportations.”

“Bonus 136: Nationwide Injunctions vs. Nationwide Class Actions; If those who oppose non-plaintiff-specific relief are doing so on principle and not just politics, they should support more robust nationwide class action suits against the federal government.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Appeals court: Trump pardon ‘plainly’ did not cover Jan. 6 defendants’ unrelated crimes; The mass pardon has resulted in confusion in the courts.” Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.

You can access yesterday’s ruling of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.

“Trump Lawyer Dean John Sauer Confirmed as US Solicitor General; John Sauer represented Trump in Supreme Court immunity case; Flood of Trump policy litigation reaching high court”: John Crawley of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“US judicial panel votes to scrap key part of amicus disclosure rule”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.

“Senate Democrats Quickly Sour on Gang of 14 Agreement; Agreement smooths confirmation path for Samuel Alito”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“The Senate and the Edward Martin Nomination; The case for non-confirmation”: Jack Goldsmith has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.

“Susan Crawford says Elon Musk motivated voters in her Wisconsin Supreme Court win”: Alison Dirr, Daniel Bice, and Laura Schulte of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this report.

And John McCormick, Anthony DeBarros, and Lindsay Wise of The Wall Street Journal report that “Trump and GOP Confront Elon Musk Quandary After Wisconsin Defeat; State’s voters rejected billionaire’s effort to get a conservative on its supreme court.”

“Trump’s Eric Adams Lawfare Goes Bust; The judge dismisses the corruption case, but he also nixes White House leverage”: The Wall Street Journal has published this editorial.

“Trump administration makes last plea to Supreme Court to allow Venezuelan gang deportations”: Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times has this report.

“Justices Weigh Challenge to South Carolina’s Bid to Defund Planned Parenthood; The court will decide whether Medicaid beneficiaries may sue to receive services under a law that lets them choose any qualified provider”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court seems to back Planned Parenthood in patient rights case; South Carolina was sued after it disqualified Planned Parenthood South Atlantic from getting Medicaid funding even for health services unrelated to abortion.”

Maureen Groppe and Bart Jansen of USA Today report that “Supreme Court could boost GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood; The challenger says she’s had trouble finding doctors who will see Medicaid recipients; She said she’s willing to drive more than an hour to go to Planned Parenthood for contraception without judgment.”

And Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court ponders barring Medicaid funds at Planned Parenthood in South Carolina.”

“Trump Attorney Studied Options for Third Presidential Term; President’s recent comments rattle some Republicans”: Annie Linskey and Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

“Lawyers for Man Deported in Error to El Salvador Assail Trump Administration; The case has raised questions not only about how the man could have ended up on a plane to El Salvador, but also about why the administration has apparently not moved to correct its mistake”: Alan Feuer of The New York Times has this report.

“Remembering John Thornton, founder of The Texas Tribune; Thornton conceived of a nonprofit news enterprise to engage Texans with their government, and then launched an industry of similar outlets across the country; He died Saturday at 59”: Matthew Watkins and Natalie Choate of The Texas Tribune have this report.

“I helped defend Reagan’s would-be assassin. Law firms that fear Trump, take note. Great attorneys take hard cases.” Gregory B. Craig has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Another Big Law Firm Reaches Agreement With Trump; Milbank, based in Manhattan, agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes supported by the president and the firm”: Matthew Goldstein of The New York Times has this report.

“Senate Democrats demand hearing on D.C. U.S. attorney, vow to delay vote; Sen. Dick Durbin and Senate Judiciary Democrats call for confirmation hearing, saying D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin warrants heightened scrutiny; Sen. Adam Schiff vows to block vote”: Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post has this report.

And Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law reports that “Durbin Calls for Hearing on Trump’s Top D.C. Prosecutor Pick; Top Judiciary Democrat says Ed Martin is ‘not a routine nomination’; Former Jan. 6 advocate tapped for DC US attorney.”

“In Trump’s Fight With Perkins Coie, the Richest Law Firms Are Staying Quiet; None of the nation’s top-10 firms by revenue have signed a legal brief demonstrating support for the law firm that is resisting an executive order”: Ben Protess of The New York Times has this report.

“Granddaughters of a Paul Weiss Patriarch Deplore the Firm’s Trump Deal; The law firm’s chairman, Brad Karp, capitulated to the president’s threats; The descendants of the man who wrote its high-minded principles told Mr. Karp that he had betrayed them”: Benjamin Weiser of The New York Times has this report.

“Important New Professional-Client Speech Decision from the Third Circuit”: Eugene Volokh has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy” about a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued yesterday.

“Big Law Must Stop Caving to Trump’s Demands; While Paul, Weiss bowed to the president, others are standing up for democracy and the rule of law”: Steven Brill has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.