“DOJ Reverses Itself, Says Comey Grand Jury Saw Final Indictment”: Robert Burnson of Bloomberg News has this report.

“I worry that overuse of the certified-question procedure contravenes history and tradition, undermines federalism, diminishes the parity of state and federal courts, and patronizes our colleagues in the judicial branches of the several States”: Fifth Circuit Judge Andrew S. Oldham issued this dissenting opinion yesterday.

“Texas Gerrymandering Case Prompts Fifth Circuit Judge to Crash Out In Alarming, Antisemitic Fashion; Someone needs to take the Fox News machine away from Jerry Smith’s chambers”: Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Macon judge honored at U.S. Supreme Court | Here’s what he said about the honor.” 13WMAZ of Macon, Georgia has posted online this video report.

“An immigration court error 6 years ago could lead to release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia; A judge said the Trump administration’s bid to deport the Salvadoran man could be tripped up by 2019 ‘mistake’”: Josh Gerstein of Politico has this report.

“Home inseminations and gray market sperm: Florida Supreme Court case meets DIY fertility; Daunted by costs, some hopeful parents are stepping into a fertility world with few guardrails.” Christopher Spata of The Tampa Bay Times has this report.

“Appeals Court Blocks Release of Hundreds of Chicago-Area Immigration Detainees; The order temporarily halts a federal judge’s call to release several hundred people arrested during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Illinois”: Mitch Smith of The New York Times has this report.

“Trump’s Texas Gerrymander Backfire: A GOP plan to flip five House seats loses in court; Now Democrats could come out ahead in redistricting nationwide.” This editorial will appear in Friday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Trump’s fight to redefine ‘American citizen’ returns to Supreme Court; After winning round one, President Trump wants the justices to tee up a final showdown on birthright citizenship”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has a report that begins, “In a private session Friday, the Supreme Court will consider putting President Donald Trump’s bid to limit birthright citizenship back on the docket in 2026.”

“Judge Boasberg to resume contempt proceedings over Alien Enemies Act deportations; Boasberg said he intends to receive testimony from a DOJ attorney who was fired in April and has since accused his superiors of flouting court orders related to the deportation flights”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report.

“Trump Loyalists in DOJ Face Criticism as Judges Expose Blunders”: Celine Castronuovo and Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“Texas redistricting case turns ugly as judge dissents 15 times; Trump, Reagan judges clash over case bound for Supreme Court”: Devin Dwyer of ABC News has this report.

“Litigator Erin Hawley Said to Be Interested in Circuit Judgeship”: Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“The Comey Case Is a Comedy of Errors”: Columnist David French has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Congratulations To The 2026 Bristow Fellows: Harvard and Stanford Law continue to excel at sending their graduates into these prestigious fellowships at the Office of the Solicitor General.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Maryland Senators Keep Fourth Circuit Seat Open For Eight Years; Rod Rosenstein flunks their litmus test”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“Bonus 193: The Pernicious Effects of Purcell; The remarkable row between the majority and dissent in the three-judge district court’s ruling in the Texas redistricting case can be traced directly to the Supreme Court’s election-related case law.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Senate Panel Advances District Court Nominees Stalled for Months”: Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“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.

“Appeals court panel rejects Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ defamation lawsuit against CNN; The three-judge panel, which included two Trump appointees, said the network’s use of the term didn’t amount to defamation”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report on an unpublished, per curiam decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued today.

“Appeals court panel mulls $1M penalty for Trump in lawsuit against Hillary Clinton; One of the judges said the president’s effort to revive the lawsuit his one-time personal attorney Alina Habba brought violated federal court rules”: Josh Gerstein of Politico has this report.

“John Mulaney talks Supreme Court and comedy at Texas Tribune Festival”: Charlotte Karner of The Daily Texan has this report.

“In a rare contest for re-election, SC Supreme Court justice defends opinions on state abortion law; Challengers include former House Speaker Jay Lucas, who sparred with the Senate Judiciary chairman over the judicial retirement age”: Jessica Holdman of South Carolina Daily Gazette has this report.

“New Passport Rule Sends Blunt and Sweeping Message to Trans Americans; The Trump administration has said that the U.S. passports of transgender people must now reflect the sex on their original birth certificate, reversing a decades-old policy”: Amy Harmon of The New York Times has this report.