“Appeals court bars Trump from deploying National Guard in Illinois; The appeals court weighed in after a federal judge, concluding that it was ‘likely to lead to civil unrest,’ barred the president from deploying troops in and around Chicago”: Mark Berman of The Washington Post has this report.

You can access yesterday’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at this link.

“How Trump’s death penalty push is straining legal defense teams; Under Biden, officials decided not to seek capital punishment against two D.C. teens charged in a deadly carjacking; The Justice Department is now weighing whether to do so”: Michael Laris of The Washington Post has this report.

“Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court today: ‘A little bit too personal and confrontational.’” Erin Moriarty of CBS News has this report.

And CBS News has posted online this excerpt from Justice Kennedy’s new book.

“Who Are the Louisiana Voters Behind a Major Supreme Court Challenge? There is little information in court filings about the dozen plaintiffs who challenged the state’s voting map as an illegal racial gerrymander.” Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

Mark Ballard of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has an article headlined “All eyes on Louisiana as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs case on voting rights, redistricting.”

And Lawrence Hurley of NBC News reports that “Stakes are high for voting rights as Supreme Court again tackles Louisiana redistricting dispute; The conservative majority could use the case to further weaken the landmark Voting Rights Act, which was enacted to protect minority voters.”

“The Real Problem Is How Trump Can Legally Use the Military: Congress wrote statutes with the apparent assumption that whoever held the office of the Presidency would use the powers they granted in good faith.” Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen will have this Comment in the Talk of the Town section of the October 20, 2025 issue of The New Yorker.

“The Indictment of Letitia James and the Collapse of Impartial Justice; The question raised by the prosecution of James is: would any other federal prosecutor have brought this case against any other defendant? The answer seems to be no.” Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“How a Trump Judge Exposed the Trump Con”: Columnist David French has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Fight over Pa. Supreme Court emerges as latest costly battle over abortion, election law; Retention votes for three Democratic justices surge to prominence as millions of dollars flood the normally quiet races”: Benjamin Kail of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this report.

Jane C. Timm of NBC News has an article headlined “These Pennsylvania court races are usually sleepy. This year, they’re drawing millions in spending. Three Democratic-backed justices are up for a ‘retention’ vote in November. If they all lose, it could deadlock the top court in a critical swing state for years.”

And Carmen Russell-Sluchansky of WHYY has an article headlined “Pa. election 2025: What to know about the state Supreme Court retention races; Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, all Democrats, are up for ‘yes-or-no’ votes.”

“Judicial Notice (10.12.25): Survival; A nine-figure legal bill, a reverse benchslap of SCOTUS, Donald Trump v. Tish James, a notable Biglaw merger, and more Cadwalader defections.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.