“Rare Federal Circuit En Banc Patent Case Threatens Design Test; Court hasn’t decided design patent case en banc since 2008; LKQ takes on GM, ‘rigid’ test for axing obvious design patents”: Michael Shapiro of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“New Method, Same Old Problems”: Eric Berger has this blog post at “Dorf on Law.”

“First Impressions Matter: George W. Bush’s selection of John Roberts is a model of good process.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“Republican lawsuits challenge mail ballot deadlines. Could they upend voting across the country?” Christine Fernando, Emily Wagster Pettus, and Jack Dura of The Associated Press have this report.

“U.S. to wrap security blanket around D.C. courthouse for Trump trial; Metal fencing could go up as soon as February for Trump’s potential March trial; It will be reminiscent of police barricades erected around the U.S. Capitol before and after the Jan. 6 riot”: Spencer S. Hsu, Rachel Weiner, and Peter Hermann of The Washington Post have this report.

“Visa, Mastercard ask U.S. Supreme Court to fix ‘rampant confusion’ on class certification”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post.

“N.J. City Prevails in Abortion Protester’s Buffer Zone Challenge”: Mary Anne Pazanowski of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access) on a non-precedential opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued today.

“Minority Business Grants: A New Front in the Legal Battle Over Racial Preferences; Appeals court weighs grant program for Black women entrepreneurs.” Erin Mulvaney of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Mirtha Donastorg of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that “Fearless Fund goes to court again in racial discrimination lawsuit; The Atlanta-based firm fielded questions from three circuit court judges in Miami.”

Alexandra Olson and David Fischer of The Associated Press report that “Grant program for Black women comes under tough questioning in key anti-DEI lawsuit.”

And Nicquel Terry Ellis of CNN reports that “Fearless Fund challenges court order blocking a grant program exclusively for Black women entrepreneurs.”

“Challenge to attorney bias rule heads to US Supreme Court”: David Thomas of Reuters has this report on a petition for writ of certiorari filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Charlie Adelson, serving life in Dan Markel murder, moved to Wakulla state prison”: Jeff Burlew of The Tallahassee Democrat has this report.

“As Stakes Escalate, Kline & Specter Begin Stepping in to Defend Phila.’s Largest Verdicts Post-Trial”: Aleeza Furman of The Legal Intelligencer has this report, in which I am mentioned.

“Asked And Answered: A New Advice Column; To clerk or not to clerk? That is the question.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“An American Nightmare: Guns, Death, and Second Amendment Insanity.” Eric Segall has this blog post at “Dorf on Law.”

“Challenge to grant program for Black women entrepreneurs lands at 11th Circuit; The conservative activist who was instrumental in the Supreme Court’s curtailing of affirmative action in colleges last year argues the grant is racially discriminatory”: Megan Butler of Courthouse News Service has this report.

And Chris Marr of Bloomberg Law reports that “Venture Fund’s Defense of Diversity Grant Meets Doubtful Court; Fund seeks to resume grants for Black women entrepreneurs; Case is part of broad anti-DEI backlash using Civil War-era law.”

Update: In other coverage, Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “Venture capital fund defends grants for Black women in US appeals court.”

“Elon Musk is suing to stop the government from enforcing labor laws. The Supreme Court might agree with him.” Columnist Michael Hiltzik has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.

“Complaint alleges Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice violated ethics code; A Yarmouth attorney’s complaint says Justice Catherine Connors should have recused herself from a recent foreclosure case, which overturned a precedent set in a prior case where she represented a major bank”: Hannah LaClaire of The Portland Press Herald has this report.

“As judges mull presidential immunity, Trump reaps the benefits of delay; For over three weeks, the D.C. Circuit has been sitting on a potentially decisive question”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report.

“Texas Supreme Court hears legal challenge to ban on gender-transition care for kids; A fight over allowing transgender children to access puberty blockers and hormone therapies could hinge on justices’ interpretation of parental rights”: William Melhado of The Texas Tribune has this report.

Ryan Autullo of Bloomberg Law reports that “Texas Justices Grill Parents on Child Transgender Treatment Ban; One justice said courts should stay out of the issue; First time all-GOP court questioned lawyers on ban.”

Kirk McDaniel of Courthouse News Service reports that “Texas high court takes on constitutionality of state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors; Texas’ Senate Bill 14, which took effect Sept. 1, prohibits physicians from providing hormone therapies or surgeries for minors.”

And Nicole Chavez of CNN reports that “Texas Supreme Court hears oral arguments in challenge to ban on gender affirming care for youth.”

You can access the video of today’s oral argument before the Supreme Court of Texas on YouTube via this link.

“A State Supreme Court Just Issued the Most Devastating Rebuke of Dobbs Yet”: Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern have this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“Vague Supreme Court order on border wire sparks debate on defying justices’ ruling; It’s Supreme Court custom not to provide opinions on emergency docket orders; A recent border ruling exposed the perils of that tradition”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Bayer’s Billions in Roundup Verdicts Increase Pressure for New Legal Strategy; Billion-dollar awards have taken toll on investor confidence; Experts say company may need new game plan for cancer suits”: Jef Feeley and Tim Loh of Bloomberg News have this report.

“US Senate confirms 40th appellate judge under Biden”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has a report that begins, “The U.S. Senate on Tuesday gave President Joe Biden his 40th confirmed appointment to a federal appeals court as it voted in favor of elevating U.S. Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar to a position on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“Conservative Activists Are Taking All the Supreme Court’s Hints; On the rare occasion that the right doesn’t get everything it wants, the conservative justices provide a helpful roadmap for the next time”: Madiba K. Dennie has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“We separately address the conduct of Park’s counsel, Attorney Jae S. Lee. Lee’s reply brief in this case includes a citation to a non-existent case, which she admits she generated using the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT.” So states a per curiam published opinion that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued today.

In early news coverage, Sam Skolnik of Bloomberg Law reports that “NY Lawyer Faces Possible Sanctions for Citing Phony ChatGPT Case.”

“UNC pays anti-affirmative action group $4.8 million after US Supreme Court loss”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.

“US appeals court will not reconsider ruling limiting voting rights law’s scope”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denying rehearing en banc, and the opinions concurring therein and dissenting therefrom, at this link.

“A Product Should Be Judged on the Consumer’s Expectation, Not on Whether It Is Unreasonably Dangerous; Pennsylvania has steadfastly held to the principle that in strict products liability cases, evidence of a manufacturer’s due care is both irrelevant and inadmissible”: Larry E. Coben has this essay online at The Legal Intelligencer.

“Texas border city on edge as Gov. Abbott dials up battle with Biden; The border crisis has been reduced to a 2.5-mile stretch named after a Confederate general”: Arelis R. Hernández of The Washington Post has this report.

“How Trump Could Institute a Backdoor Federal Abortion Ban”: Law professor Mary Ziegler has this guest essay online at The New York Times.

“5th Circuit will rehear case that created Louisiana’s only Black supreme court seat; In Chisom v. Louisiana, court grants rehearing en banc for state”: Wesley Muller of Louisiana Illuminator has this report.

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

“The Supreme Court’s Mixed Record on Adhering to Precedent; The current court is not out of step with earlier ones in how often it overturns decisions; But it is more apt to do so to reach conservative results”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

“The NetChoice Cases Aren’t About Discrimination; Texas and Florida are telling the Supreme Court that their social media laws are like civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination against minority groups; They’re wrong”: Daphne Keller has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

“The Politics of Judicial Elections, 2021–2022; 2022 ushered in a new era of record-high spending in state judicial elections”: Douglas Keith of the Brennan Center for Justice has this report.

“Governor Abbott’s Perilous Effort at Constitutional Realignment; Texas’s arguments have dangerous federalism implications”: Steve Vladeck has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

“‘Every loss truly traumatizes me’ Sotomayor tells UC Berkeley students of life in SCOTUS minority”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

Devan Cole of CNN reports that “Justice Sotomayor speaks on frustration following some Supreme Court rulings.”

And Joyce E. Cutler of Bloomberg Law reports that “Sotomayor Calls Supreme Court Pace, Workload More Demanding.”