“Utah Supreme Court’s new justice says he’ll do his ‘utmost to ensure a legacy of trust’; John J. Nielsen was confirmed by the Utah Senate on Wednesday; He is Gov. Spencer Cox’s third appointment to the court”: Robert Gehrke of The Salt Lake Tribune has this report.

“This Is All John Roberts’ Fault; Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man”: Pema Levy and Ari Berman have this article in the January+February 2026 issue of Mother Jones.

“Maine lobstermen’s Fourth Amendment case flounders at First Circuit; An appeals panel found GPS monitoring of boats, implemented as part of the state’s fishing management plan, is a reasonable way to aid conservation efforts”: Kevin Koeninger of Courthouse News Service has this report on a decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued yesterday.

“Appeals Court Blocks Limits on Federal Agents’ Use of Force in Chicago Area; A judge found that immigration agents were using force in a way that ‘shocks the conscience’; Appellate judges said the restrictions she imposed went too far”: Mitch Smith of The New York Times has this report.

And Caitlyn Rosen of Courthouse News Service reports that “Seventh Circuit blocks order on feds’ use of force in Chicago; The panel called a federal judge’s injunction restricting feds’ use of force overbroad but warned not to read too much into its order.”

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

“Judge in Texas redistricting lawsuit claims majority judges committed ‘judicial activism’”: Aaron Martinez of The El Paso Times has this report.

Sam Levine of The Guardian has an article headlined “‘Nobel prize for fiction’: judge excoriates colleague in Texas redistricting case; Jerry Smith condemns opinion written by Jeffrey Brown and mentions Soros name 17 times in 104-page dissent.”

Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have a report headlined “Jerry’s jeremiad: A wild dissent roils Texas redistricting debate; You’ve never seen a judicial burn quite like this one.”

Devan Cole of CNN has a report headlined “‘I dissent,’ judge says 16 times in 100-page broadside against colleagues in Texas redistricting case.”

Zach Schonfeld of The Hill reports that “Dissenting judge torches colleague for ‘judicial misbehavior’ in blocking Texas map.”

Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law reports that “Reagan Judge Rebukes Trump Appointee in Texas Voter Map Case.”

Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law reports that “Trump Judge Who Blocked Texas Redistricting Had Won GOP Praise.”

Colleen DeGuzman and Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune have a report headlined “After blocking redistricting map, Judge Jeffrey Brown draws fire from Texas Republicans who once praised him; Until being labeled as the ‘radical left,’ Brown was widely supported by Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who previously hired him as his clerk; Abbott called the ruling ‘clearly erroneous.’”

Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune has a report headlined “What’s next after a court blocked Texas’ gerrymandered maps; The state is expected to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily pause the ruling, which would allow Texas to use the more recent map while the appeal plays out.”

Brad Johnson of The Texan has a report headlined “‘Nobel Prize for Fiction’: Federal Judge Issues Fiery Dissent to Texas Congressional Redistricting Ruling; Smith issued his dissent after the Tuesday ruling, saying the majority did not give him enough time.”

And at his “Election Law Blog,” Rick Hasen has a post titled “Judge Jerry Smith Issues His 104-Page Dissent to Yesterday’s 3-Judge District Court Holding that Texas’s Re-Redistricting is Likely an Unconstitutional Racial Gerrymander; Along the Way He Calls Out the ‘Pernicious’ and ‘Outrageous’ Behavior of Judge Brown in the Majority.”

You can access the dissenting opinion at this link.

“Judge Details Reasons For Goldstein’s Pretrial Motion Losses”: Jake Maher of Law360 has this report (subscription required for access).

You can access yesterday’s 28-page Memorandum Opinion on Pre-Trial Motions of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland at this link.

Start of trial in the case is currently less than two months away.

“Judge Boasberg to resume criminal contempt inquiry into Trump officials involved in Alien Enemies Act deportation flights”: Devan Cole of CNN has this report.

“The DOJ Is Broken. What Happens Now?” Law professor Barbara McQuade has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Supreme Court set to wade into a case that could tip the scales for the midterms; A lower court order on Texas’ new congressional map has made its way to the high court; It could be the first of several mid-decade redistricting pushes”: Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.

“Why Isn’t Anyone Stopping ICE?” Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Comey attorney argues indictment is an abuse of power by Trump; A federal judge heard the former FBI director’s arguments that he is the target of a vindictive prosecution; Justice Department officials denied it”: Salvador Rizzo and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post have this report.

C. Ryan Barber and Sadie Gurman of The Wall Street Journal have a report headlined “Comey Airs Newly Popular Defense Strategy: Claiming Retaliation by Trump; Judge is considering rarely successful argument that charges should be dismissed because of improper political motivations.”

And Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico report that “Comey case hanging by a thread as judge squeezes DOJ over Halligan’s handling; The judge also appeared puzzled after a lead prosecutor said he couldn’t reveal whether career attorneys initially recommended against charging the former FBI director.”

“Full Fifth Circuit Overrides Moderate Senior Judges’ Rulings”: Jacqueline Thomsen and Umar Farooq of Bloomberg Law have this report.