“141. Abrego Garcia and the Presumption of Regularity: How one reads Thursday’s ruling ordering the federal government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s return depends upon how much (or how little) one expects *this* administration to turn square corners.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Supreme Court Sides With Wrongly Deported Migrant; A trial judge had ordered the Trump administration to take steps to return the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, from a notorious prison in El Salvador”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.

Justin Jouvenal and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post report that “Supreme Court says Trump officials must ‘facilitate’ return of wrongly deported man; Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen, was deported to a mega-prison despite a court ruling forbidding his removal.”

And Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal reports that “Supreme Court Tells Government to Seek Return of Man Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison; Trump administration argued federal judge couldn’t force officials to remedy their error.”

You can access this evening’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.

“Trump Escalates Use of Official Power to Intimidate and Punish His Perceived Foes; A presidential decree instructing the Justice Department to scrutinize whether a former official broke the law crosses a new line”: Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times have this report.

And in commentary, online at The Washington Post, columnist Philip Bump has an essay titled “Trump moves to legally enforce 2020 election denialism; An official from the first Trump administration is being targeted for speaking the truth.”

“Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher Near Deals With White House; Four big law firms discuss $500 million in pro bono legal services to avoid sanctions”: Emily Glazer, Josh Dawsey, and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

And Ben Protess, Maggie Haberman, and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times report that “Trump Close to Winning Concessions From More Law Firms; Four or five firms could soon agree to deals that would be unveiled as a package, in an escalation of the president’s crackdown on an industry that has drawn his ire.”

“Former 3rd Circuit Judge Talks Apolitical Retirement, Plans, Threats Against Judiciary”: Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this Q&A.

“Luigi Mangione Death Penalty Bid May Pit Prosecutors Against Each Other; State and federal prosecutors have both accused Mr. Mangione of killing a health insurance executive; Attorney General Pam Bondi is pushing aggressively for capital punishment”: Hurubie Meko of The New York Times has this report.

“At the Supreme Court, the Trump Agenda Is Always an ‘Emergency’; As legal challenges to the Trump administration mount, the justices are facing a key test — a flood of ’emergency applications’ asking for immediate intervention”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

“Legal cavalry rides to aid of US law firms after Trump’s attack”: Jonathan Ames of The Times of London has this report.

“Trump’s US attorney in DC lacks experience but loves revenge. Perfect, right? Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney for D.C. has never been a prosecutor. He’s never tried a case to a final verdict. But he has published a series of coloring books about the president’s first term.” Columnist Chris Brennan has this essay online at USA Today.

“Here’s What the Supreme Court’s Recent Rubber-Stamp Rulings Are All About: The spate of recent Supreme Court decisions overturning Trump administration losses in the lower courts are all about saving face — and securing power.” Elie Mystal has this essay online at The Nation.

“Was the Gang of 14 Agreement Better in the Long Run? If the filibuster had been abolished in 2005, would we have Justice Alito?” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“With many career lawyers gone, Justice Dept. hires Trump loyalists for court; The Justice Department is building a roster of lawyers willing to defend in court the most controversial parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda”: Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post have this report.

“Bonus 140: The New (and Sort-of-Improved?) Shadow Docket; We’re starting to see patterns in how the Court is resolving emergency applications from the Trump administration. One of them reflects a remarkably positive shift; The others are . . . more troubling.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

“Are Philly Plaintiffs Firms Missing Out on Appellate Work?” Amanda O’Brien of The Legal Intelligencer has this report, in which I am quoted.

“Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Boyd to retire; Gov. Greg Abbott will have the opportunity to appoint Boyd’s replacement, furthering his influence on the high court”: Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune has this report.

“2 justices control Trump’s fate at Supreme Court”: Ella Lee and Zach Schonfeld of The Hill have this report.

“The Biggest Threat to Public Education Is Coming From an Unexpected Place; A pair of Supreme Court cases could destroy public education as we know it”: Law professor Aaron Tang has this essay online at Politico Magazine.

“Rulings in New York and Texas Curb Deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador; The decisions suggest that the battle over using a wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport migrants is certain to persist”: Alan Feuer and Jonah E. Bromwich of The New York Times have this report.

Maria Sacchetti and Shayna Jacobs of The Washington Post report that “Judges in Texas and New York pause removals under the Alien Enemies Act; The hearings marked the first legal challenges to the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members since the Supreme Court lifted a nationwide block.”

And Mariah Timms and James Fanelli of The Wall Street Journal report that “Trump Administration’s El Salvador Deportations Hit by New Legal Challenges; Judges in Texas and New York impose temporary restraints as lawyers for Venezuelan detainees shift their strategy following U.S. Supreme Court decision.”

“The AP-White House Case Is About Separation of Powers; The Oval Office, like a judge’s chambers, is off-limits to the other government branches”: Columnist James Taranto will have this op-ed in Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Elon Musk is making Democrats great again; Polling shows the billionaire hurt a GOP-backed judicial candidate in Wisconsin”: Evan Roth Smith has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“The case for suing: Why law firms should remain independent from the government.” Adam Unikowsky has this post at his Substack site, “Adam’s Legal Newsletter.”

“Exit Interview: Mich. Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement looks back at her tenure.” Doug Tribou of Michigan Public Radio has this report.

“Justice Department Limits Employee Engagement in ABA Events”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has this report.

Update: In other coverage, Devlin Barrett of The New York Times reports that “Justice Dept. Bars Its Lawyers From American Bar Association Functions; The punitive move comes amid the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against big law firms.”

“Michigan Supreme Court weighs future of frozen embryo in divorce dispute”: Beth LeBlanc of The Detroit News has this report.

“Conservatives Defend Justice Barrett After Votes Against Trump; Barrett joined liberals against Trump deportations; Early votes have garnered right-wing push back”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson and Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“CT Supreme Court denies Alex Jones’ appeal to throw out $1.4B Sandy Hook defamation damages”: Rob Ryser of The News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut has this report.

And Sebastian Murdock of HuffPost reports that “Connecticut Supreme Court Rejects Alex Jones’ Bid To Throw Out $1 Billion Sandy Hook Verdict; Jones spent years calling the 2012 school shooting fake; Connecticut’s highest court has ruled he must pay around $1 billion to the families.”

“We Should All Be Very, Very Afraid”: Law professors Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence H. Tribe have this guest essay online at The New York Times.

“Venezuelan Deportations Temporarily Blocked by NY, Texas Judges”: Bob Van Voris and Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News have this report.

And Valerie Gonzalez of The Associated Press reports that “Judges take steps to stop deportation of five Venezuelans held in Texas and New York.”

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued this temporary restraining order today.

“The Supreme Court’s crafty Trump rebuke; Ignore the Trump administration’s gleeful rhetoric on the Alien Enemies Act ruling; This was a setback”: Columnist Jason Willick has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Justice Dept. Criticizes Another Federal Judge for Blocking a Trump Executive Order; Attorney General Pam Bondi relied on an increasingly common assertion: that the judge was ‘unelected’ and denying the will of voters who put the president in office.” Matthew Goldstein of The New York Times has this report.

And Eric Tucker of The Associated Press reports that “Justice Department suggests federal agencies are free to blacklist law firm despite judge’s order.”

“Seventh Circuit Judicial Council Dismisses Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Vaden”: Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

You can access yesterday’s decision of the Judicial Council of the Seventh Circuit at this link.

“DOJ: Some Jan. 6 defendants should be repaid money they sent to Congress; Prosecutors say those whose convictions were wiped out are entitled to reimbursement of the restitution they paid.” Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.

“Improve Your Health — With Help From a Well-Known Federal Judge”: David Lat has this new installment of his “Exclusive Jurisdiction” column online at Bloomberg Law.

You can access the Substack site “ART’s Health Corner” at this link.

“About 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Had No US Criminal Record; Men were accused of ties to Tren de Aragua criminal gang; US court records show just a few charges for serious crimes”: Bloomberg News has this report.

“Supreme Court’s Rulings Aren’t White House ‘Wins’; Decisions related to the cancellation of education grants and speedy deportation don’t say what many people think”: Law professor Stephen L. Carter has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.