“Um Wow, How Was Neal Katyal Sitting Courtside at an NBA Playoff Game? Come, let us together investigate how corporate America’s favorite Supreme Court lawyer could possibly have found himself watching Jamal Murray from the comfort of the best seats in the house.” Jay Willis has this post at Balls and Strikes.

“A rare Georgia Supreme Court race could hinge on abortion rights”: Greg Bluestein and Rosie Manins of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have this report.

“Israel high court hears first case challenging secret detentions in Gaza war”: Claire Parker and Hazem Balousha of The Washington Post have this report.

“Catastrophizing the Oral Argument in Trump v. U.S.; No, the justices were not normalizing the president as a crime boss”: Jack Goldsmith has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.

“Amy Coney Barrett is no handmaid to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority”: Columnist Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Arizona Lawmakers Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban, Creating Rift on the Right; Two Republican state senators broke with their party to ensure final passage of the repeal; Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is expected to sign it on Thursday”: Jack Healy and Elizabeth Dias of The New York Times have this report.

The article notes that one of the votes to repeal the law came from Republican State Senator Shawnna Bolick, “whose husband is one of the Arizona Supreme Court justices who upheld the 1864 law.”

“9th Circuit reprimands San Diego federal judge for misconduct in handcuffing of defendant’s teen daughter; U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez said he was trying to scare girl away from using drugs, but appeals court found he had no authority to order her restrained”: Alex Riggins of The San Diego Union-Tribune has this report.

Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “9th Circuit reprimands California judge who handcuffed, berated crying 13-year-old girl.”

And Nate Raymond of Reuters reports that “Panel reprimands California federal judge for cuffing 13-year-old girl.”

You can access today’s order of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit at this link.

“Sex, Secrets Trigger Downfall of Star Texas Bankruptcy Judge”: James Nani and Ronnie Greene of Bloomberg Law have this report, along with a related article headlined “How Four Judges Kept Romance Allegations Quiet for Two Years.”

“Jones Day Leads in Supreme Court Arguments With New Faces”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“When judges get free trips to luxury resorts, disclosure is spotty”: Tom Dreisbach and Carrie Johnson had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Ban Is Now Law, With Political Implications; The ban, which took effect on Wednesday, was part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push into cultural conservatism; But Florida politics is rarely that simple”: Patricia Mazzei of The New York Times has this news analysis.

Caroline Kitchener of The Washington Post has an article headlined “Tears and despair at Florida abortion clinic in final hours before ban; A Fort Lauderdale-area clinic saw patients into the night — and turned some away — as the state prepared for a six-week abortion ban to take effect May 1.”

And in commentary, online at Slate, law professor Mary Ziegler has a Jurisprudence essay titled “The Six-Week Abortion Ban in Florida Is Only the Beginning; The history of these bans suggests they’re far from the anti-abortion movement’s endgame.”

“Inside the far-right plan to use civil rights law to disrupt the 2024 election; Experts describe the plan as a legal long shot, but say it could sow doubts about the integrity of a rematch between President Biden and former President Trump”: Sarah D. Wire and Mackenzie Mays of The Los Angeles Times have this report.

“Trump immunity plea sets up test for Supreme Court on judicial restraint; The Supreme Court’s search for a ruling of the ages over presidential immunity could leave the justices attempting to square a circle”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“The Strange Career of Antisubordination”: Law professor Justin Driver has this article in the May 2024 issue of the University of Chicago Law Review.

“Johnson & Johnson to pay $6.5 billion to resolve nearly all talc ovarian cancer lawsuits in U.S.; The deal, pending approval by claimants, would allow J&J to resolve the lawsuits through a third bankruptcy filing of a subsidiary company”: Annika Kim Constantino of CNBC has this report.

Today, Johnson & Johnson issued a news release titled “Johnson & Johnson Announces Plan by its Subsidiary, LLT Management LLC, to Resolve All Current and Future Ovarian Cancer Talc Claims Through a Consensual ‘Prepackaged’ Reorganization; The Plan would resolve 99.75% of all pending talc lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates in the United States.”

“Justice Stephen Breyer’s blunt message to Supreme Court conservatives: ‘Slow down’; The retired liberal justice spoke to ABC News Live Prime.” Devin Dwyer, Patty See, and Sarah Herndon of ABC News have this report.

“Kevin Ritz — Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit”: Harsh Voruganti has this post at his blog, “The Vetting Room.”

“Phila. Judge Rejects Challenge to $977M Defective Seatbelt Verdict, Adds $33.4M in Delay Damages”: Aleeza Furman of The Legal Intelligencer has this report.

“Supreme Court declines to block Texas pornography restriction; The pornography industry challenged the state law’s age-verification provision, saying it places an unlawful burden on adults wishing to access content”: Lawrence Hurley of NBC News has this report on an order that the U.S. Supreme Court issued today.

“How the TikTok Law Could Intensify the US-China Tech Spat; The law is almost certain to lead to a Supreme Court case and retaliation against US interests in China”: Brad Stone and Anna Edgerton of Bloomberg Businessweek have this report.

“Florida Democrats hope abortion and marijuana questions draw young voters despite low enthusiasm”: Stephany Matat of The Associated Press has this report.

“Victims of harassment by federal judges often find the judiciary is above the law”: Carrie Johnson had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

“Trump says Republicans always wanted to leave abortion law to states. That’s false. Republicans have consistently pushed for national restrictions on abortion, including former President Donald Trump himself. The 2024 election could give them the opportunity.” Sahil Kapur of NBC News has this report.

“Remember, SCOTUS — Presidential Immunity Would Apply to Joe Biden, Too; We’re all nervous about what Donald Trump would do with immunity for official acts; But remember, two can play that game”: Michael Tomasky has this essay online at The New Republic.

“Adeel Mangi Downplayed His Involvement With Anti-Israel Think Tank, Emails Show”: Chuck Ross of The Washington Free Beacon has this report.

“Judge Kevin Newsom”: You can access today’s new episode of the “For the Defense with David Oscar Markus” podcast via this link.

“Can this firm invest in only Black women? This case will decide. The legal firepower on both sides of the Fearless Fund case reflects the disparate views on the nature of discrimination and the role of history in shaping public policy.” Julian Mark of The Washington Post has this report.

“A former Democratic Georgia congressman hopes abortion can power his state Supreme Court bid”: Jeff Amy of The Associated Press has this report.

“University drag ban arguments focus on SCOTUS nondiscrimination policy decision; In response to questions from Judge James Ho, the student group’s lawyer, from FIRE, said he was not there to ‘defend’ 2010’s Christian Legal Society v. Martinez decision”: Chris Geidner has this post at his Substack site.

“No More Cutesy Stories About Unlikely Supreme Court Friendships; The justices (and the reporters who cover them) love to tell fun anecdotes about unlikely friendships between ideological opponents, which are cold comfort to real people who just lost their civil rights”: G.S. Hans has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Amid Cases on Abortion and Trump, Roberts Reflects on Supreme Court’s Work; Oral arguments serve a crucial role at the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts said last week at Georgetown University; But they are not always what they seem”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.

“Why an Immunity Ruling in Trump’s Favor Might Not Alter the Shape of His Trial; Prosecutors believe Donald J. Trump’s official acts in trying to overturn the election should be admissible evidence even if the Supreme Court rules they cannot be the basis of the charges”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news analysis.

“Student group urges court to force Texas university to allow drag show”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report. According to the article, “U.S. Circuit Judge James Ho, a member of the three-judge panel who asked the bulk of the questions, said he was ‘profoundly sympathetic’ to Morris’ free speech arguments.”

You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit via this link.

“Supreme Court takes up prescription dog food, CBD products; With oral arguments completed for the current term, the justices have begun to add to next term’s docket”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Samuel Alito’s Resentment Goes Full Tilt on a Black Day for the Court; The associate justice’s logic on display at the Trump immunity hearing was beyond belief; He’s at the center of one of the darkest days in Supreme Court history”: Michael Tomasky has this essay online at The New Republic.