“Just Announced: ‘Heroes of 1776’ by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.” Iyana Jones of Publishers Weekly has this report.

“Republicans Are Suing to Kill California’s Pro-Democratic Gerrymander. They Have a Huge Problem.” Matthew Cooke and law professor Richard L. Hasen have this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Report: Trump’s Most Corrupt, Least Qualified Judge Was Also an Enthusiastic Proponent of Extrajudicial Killings; Yet another reason for Senate Democrats to impeach Emil Bove the moment they take back the upper chamber.” Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“NYC gun buyers raise Second Amendment appeal over licensing rules; A trio of New York City gun owners say the city’s gun registration requirements and waiting period require them to traverse additional administrative hurdles to acquire guns legally”: Josh Russell of Courthouse News Service has this report.

And Quinn Welsch of Courthouse News Service reports that “Gun owner fights California silencer ban at Ninth Circuit; California man Gary Sanchez says firearm suppressors protect the hearing of gun owners and that the state’s ban is unconstitutional.”

“The Situation: Malevolence, Incompetence, and the Strange Case of Lindsey Halligan; A study in 24 pages.” Benjamin Wittes has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

“How a Top DC Lawyer and High-Stakes Poker Player Risks Losing It All; Star Supreme Court lawyer and commentator Tom Goldstein lived a double life as a ultra-high-stakes poker player — and is now fighting federal charges for alleged financial crimes; Why did one of Washington’s most successful attorneys risk it all to play cards?” Trevor Bach has this article in the November 2025 issue of Washingtonian magazine.

“Judges Are Finding Ways to Deal With the Supreme Court’s Disastrous Shadow Docket; The White House wants to keep its cases out of skeptical federal district courts; Judges are finding ways to reel them back in”: Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Fight over abortion could doom Congress’s health care plans; Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided over a potential change to the ACA subsidies”: Riley Beggin and Theodoric Meyer of The Washington Post have this report.

“Supreme Court won’t review loudspeaker prayers at state football championship; The justices were asked to field another First Amendment showdown over prayers at high school football games”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“The Trump prosecutor probing former top Obama administration officials; Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. attorney in Miami and a favorite prosecutor for the Trump administration, is pursuing a broad investigation into former Obama officials”: Perry Stein, Jeremy Roebuck, and David Ovalle of The Washington Post have this report.

“A Conservative Vision for America After Trump: Can the right find its way back to small government? Sarah Isgur thinks so.” You can access today’s new episode of “The Opinions” podcast of The New York Times via this link.

“Supreme Court to consider case that could limit asylum rights for migrants; The Supreme Court agreed to review what it means for a migrant to ‘arrive’ in the United States”: Julian Mark of The Washington Post has this report.

And Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court could revive Obama-era practice of turning away asylum-seekers; Although President Trump has yet to reinstate the policy, the high court said it would review border agents’ abandoned practice of physically blocking migrants from seeking asylum at ports of entry.”

“Judge Says Justice Dept. May Have Committed Misconduct in Comey Case; The magistrate judge raised the question of whether ‘government misconduct’ in the case might require dismissing the charges against the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, altogether”: Alan Feuer of The New York Times has this report.

And Jeremy Roebuck and Perry Stein of The Washington Post report that “Federal judge blasts potential ‘government misconduct’ in Comey case; A U.S. magistrate judge ordered the Justice Department to release all grand jury material to the former FBI director, citing possible government misconduct that could lead to the dismissal of charges.”

“X fights block on international defamation cases at Ninth Circuit; X has sued media watchdog Media Matters in courts from Texas to Ireland to Singapore, but says Media Matters waited too long to assert its right to choose where to litigate”: Carly Nairn of Courthouse News Service has this report.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of today’s oral argument on YouTube. Attorney Paul D. Clement argued for the appellant.

“Florida Supreme Court justice steps down to be next director at UF’s Hamilton School; Justice Charles Canady will start his new role in 2026”: Lucy Marques of The Tampa Bay Times has this report.

And Swasthi Maharaj of The Independent Florida Alligator reports that “Florida Supreme Court justice named director of UF’s Hamilton School; Justice Charles T. Canady will step into the role Jan. 1, 2026.”

“The Unraveling of the Justice Department: Sixty attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion.” Emily Bazelon and Rachel Poser have this article online at The New York Times Magazine.

“Justice Department official told prosecutors that U.S. should ‘just sink’ drug boats”: Ryan Lucas of NPR has a report that begins, “At a Justice Department conference in February, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told the department’s top drug prosecutors that the Trump administration wasn’t interested in interdicting suspected drug vessels at sea anymore. Instead, he said, the U.S. should ‘just sink the boats,’ according to three people present for the speech.”

“Five Flaws in the Government’s National Guard Argument”: Richard Bernstein has this post online at the Society for the Rule of Law.

“The Agonies of Brett Kavanaugh”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.

In the November 24, 2025 issue of The New Yorker: In the Talk of the Town section, Benjamin Wallace-Wells has a Comment titled “The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons: The President granted two hundred and thirty-eight pardons and commutations in his first term; less than a year into his second, he has issued nearly two thousand.”

Marc Fisher has an Annals of Law Enforcement article headlined “Kash Patel’s Acts of Service: The F.B.I. director isn’t just enforcing the President’s agenda at the Bureau — he’s seeking retribution for its past investigations of Donald Trump.”

And Amy Davidson Sorkin has a Books essay titled “If the Legal Campaigns Against Donald Trump Had Ended Differently: New books look at the January 6th Trial That Wasn’t and other failed prosecutions — and whether they might have changed history.”

“After a Strategic Retreat, Trump Has Many Moves Left to Prevent Release of the Epstein Records; After the House vote, he can resume playing hardball — and the preservation of the records during this fight is a real question”: Bob Bauer has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.

“US appeals court to weigh reviving cases over Tylenol and autism”: Diana Novak Jones of Reuters has this report.

“193. The ‘War’ on Judges: Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s attack on lower courts is an impressive combination of light on substance; shamelessly hypocritical; and profoundly dangerous; More people should be condemning it.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“DC appellate firm picks up departing DOJ Supreme Court advocate”: David Thomas of Reuters has a report that begins, “A small Washington, D.C., law firm with an outsized U.S. Supreme Court practice is gaining a new partner, hiring a longtime Justice Department lawyer from the U.S. solicitor general’s office. Gupta Wessler, which occupies an unusual niche representing plaintiffs in appeals, said Monday that it hired Matthew Guarnieri, who has argued 13 Supreme Court cases under the Biden and Trump administrations as an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general.”

“Is the Federal Prohibition on Felon Firearm Possession Constitutional? Judge Willett thinks that some federal statutes have been interpreted and applied in ways that conflict with the notion that the federal government only has limited and enumerated powers.” Jonathan H. Adler has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

You can access last Thursday’s per curiam decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the opinion concurring therein, at this link.

“The Mystery of the Political Assassin: Even in cases like Luigi Mangione’s, the intentions of assassins are dwarfed by the meanings we project onto them.” Margaret Talbot has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“The Liberal Scholars Who Influenced Trump’s Attack on Birthright Citizenship: The President’s executive order took inspiration from an esoteric legal argument from 1985, by two Yale professors; They have some regrets.” Rachel Morris has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“Judicial Notice (11.16.25): ‘I Regret Ever Knowing Him’; A high-powered lawyer’s emails with Epstein, a leading boutique’s hire of a prominent prosecutor, and a Biglaw firm that’s open to innovation.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

The 2025 Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit in Minneapolis has concluded: It was great seeing so many of my appellate friends there, and the weather far surpassed expectations. I have posted some photos from the event on this blog’s Twitter feed.

Today a speaker asked me what the Summit was like without all the federal judges in attendance, due to the federal government’s now-concluded shutdown. I responded, “Of course, it was so much better,” because I’m just a wiseguy.

The 2026 Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit will be in my hometown of Philadelphia, so hopefully I will see you there!

“Nevada Supreme Court revives criminal case over Trump elector gambit; The 6-0 decision comes just days after Trump pardoned dozens of allies — including these defendants — for any potential federal crimes related to the 2020 election”: Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.

And Eric Neugeboren of Nevada Independent reports that “Nevada fake electors case can proceed in Clark County, state Supreme Court rules; Justices overturned a lower court’s ruling that the county was an invalid venue for the case; A subsequent prosecution in Carson City will likely be withdrawn.”

You can access Thursday’s ruling of the Supreme Court of Nevada at this link.

“In reversal, Hantz Marconi to no longer hear cases as NH Supreme Court justice”: Todd Bookman of New Hampshire Public Radio has this report.

“11th Circuit upholds hate crime convictions for Ahmaud Arbery’s murderers; The three white men were found guilty of murdering the 25-year-old Black man after chasing him in their trucks through a Georgia neighborhood”: Megan Butler of Courthouse News Service has this report on a ruling that a partially divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued yesterday.

“He Quit the Bench to Raise the Alarm; Amid unprecedented attacks on courts and judges, two champions for justice speak out”: You can access today’s new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

And online at Fox News, Mike Davis has an essay titled “Reagan-appointed judge driven from bench by TDS is a wolf in wolf’s clothing; Mark Wolf resigned from lifetime appointment to speak out against president.”

“U.S. Attorney Under Pressure After Order to Investigate Democrats; Jay Clayton, who heads the Southern District of New York, has so far managed to keep clear of President Trump’s most politically charged directives; Now, come the hard choices”: Jonah E. Bromwich, Benjamin Weiser, and William K. Rashbaum of The New York Times have this report.

“Appeals court declines to reinstate order finding ‘probable cause exists’ to hold Trump officials in criminal contempt”: Devan Cole of CNN has this report.

And at his Substack site, Chris Geidner has a post titled “D.C. Circuit won’t review Trump admin contempt appeal further, sending matter back to Boasberg; The latest order over the Trump administration’s actions sending flights to El Salvador on March 15.”

You can access here and here today’s orders of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.