“Demolition Man: The Department of Justice looks an awful lot like the East Wing of the White House these days . . . metaphorically speaking.” You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“Nation’s biggest law firms back off from challenging Trump policies; Smaller law firms are being pressed to their limits as they try to pick up the legal slack”: Shayna Jacobs, Clara Ence Morse, and Mark Berman of The Washington Post have this report.

“Baldwin right to oppose judicial pick”: John Nichols has this essay online at The Cap Times of Madison, Wisconsin.

“Inside Donald Trump’s Attack on Immigration Courts; Judges describe a campaign of firings and interference which threatens the system’s independence”: E. Tammy Kim has this article online at The New Yorker.

“Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson visits CSUDH for lecture series”: Kristy Hutchings of The Daily Breeze of Hermosa Beach, California has this report.

“Trump’s rhetoric on tariffs ramps up pressure on Supreme Court; The president has frequently spoken about the potentially drastic consequences if the Supreme Court strikes down his sweeping tariffs, a view contested by his opponents”: Lawrence Hurley of NBC News has this report.

And in commentary, online at The Washington Post, columnist Jason Willick has an essay titled “This strategic blunder could swing the Supreme Court tariffs case; A conservative advocate would improve the challengers’ chances of overturning Trump’s policy.”

“What if the Big Law Firms Hadn’t Caved to Trump? It’s not inconceivable that, had the firms resisted the President’s executive orders, his momentum for lawlessness might have been curbed.” Fabio Bertoni has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“Judicial Notice (10.26.25): Free Speech And AI; A failed Trump nomination, a SCOTUS shortlister’s controversial theory, another Biglaw firm’s AI fail, and a new leader for the American Constitution Society.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“Lengthy Execution by Nitrogen Gas in Alabama Renews Concerns Over Method; Anthony Boyd was the eighth person executed by nitrogen gas since Alabama began using the method last year; His execution came over the strenuous objection of three liberal Supreme Court justices”: Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of The New York Times has this report.

“The Peril of a White House That Flaunts Its Indifference to the Law; The White House has made no legal argument explaining its bald claim that the president has wartime power to summarily kill people suspected of smuggling drugs”: Charlie Savage of The New York Times has this news analysis.

“No Oregon National Guard troops can be deployed under federal control, at least through Tuesday”: Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian has this report.

And Erik Larson of Bloomberg News reports that “Appeals Court Pauses Deployment of Troops to Portland for Now.”

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

“‘Make or break moment’: Supreme Court is set to rule on Trump using troops in U.S. cities.” David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“Former Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins appointed to Texas Supreme Court; Hawkins spent two years as Texas’ top appellate attorney, but resigned soon after not signing onto Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2020 election challenge”: Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune has this report.

“Departmentalism in the Age of Trump; My speech to the Toledo Bar Association”: Ben Flowers has this post at his Substack site, “Letters from a Syrup Farmer in Ohio.”

“Johnny Doc played a pivotal role electing his brother to the Pa. Supreme Court. Ten years later, things are different. Kevin Dougherty benefited from Local 98’s help during his 2015 campaign. This year, labor is still spending big on the justice’s retention.” Gillian McGoldrick and Katie Bernard of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

“Why Trump Expects the Justice Department to Cut Him a Quarter-Billion-Dollar Check; What Trump’s loyalists in the government understand is that the law is a tool they can manipulate to give their boss what he wants”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Trump’s MAGA makeover of the Third Circuit is complete; Two right-wing loyalists give the federal appeals court an 8-6 conservative majority”: Law professor John P. Collins Jr. has this essay online at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Thomas Hardiman Survives Democratic Takeover of Senate; Third Circuit nominee wins newbie senator’s support”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.

“America’s Two-Tier Racial System Is Making a Comeback”: Online at Bloomberg Opinion, columnist Ronald Brownstein has an essay that begins, “Decision by decision, the Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority is hardening America’s division into a two-tier society.”

“Pa. election 2025: What to know about the Superior Court candidates; Brandon Neuman, Maria Battista and Daniel Wassmer are vying for an open seat, while Judge Alice DuBow is up for a retention vote.” Carmen Russell-Sluchansky of WHYY has this report.

“Who wins Pa.’s yes/no Supreme Court retention votes, and why”: Columnist John Baer has this essay online at The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“Judge Oldham Wants To Restore A Judiciary Without Horizontal Stare Decisis; Judges would find the law, rather than mechanically following every word that appears in a published opinion”: Josh Blackman has this post at “The Volokh Conspiracy.”

The Heritage Foundation has posted on YouTube a video titled “The 2025 Joseph Story Distinguished Lecture.”

“Paul Weiss Top SCOTUS Lawyer Calls Trump Attacks ‘Regrettable’”: Justin Henry of Bloomberg Law has this report.

The Pepperdine Caruso School of Law recently posted on YouTube a video titled “William French Smith Lecture: Kannon Shanmugam Inspires the Next Generation of Lawyers.”

“Trump Judges Keep Pulling Desperate, Sweaty Stunts In the Hopes That He Offers Them Promotions; Only Ryan Nelson has the courage to ask the hard questions, like, what if the law allows Donald Trump to do whatever he wants?” Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“This Former Supreme Court Justice Is Trying to Salvage His Legacy. It’s Too Late.” Jared Jacang Maher and David Sirota have this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

And online at Balls and Strikes, G.S. Hans has a book review titled “Anthony Kennedy Hasn’t Learned a Thing; The throughlines of the former justice’s new memoir are his confidence that he has always been right, and his disinterest in the real-world consequences of his votes.”

“Why Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court justice retention races are so contentious”: Chris Potter and Susan Scott Peterson of 90.5 WESA have this report.

And Elizabeth Estrada of Spotlight PA has a report headlined “Guns, soda tax, and paid sick leave: How Pa. Supreme Court rulings have shaped cities.”

“All the President’s Enemies; Trump’s misguided indictments won’t help him, as the Founders foresaw”: Columnist Barton Swaim will have this op-ed in Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“It’s time to end presidential pardons; A tool meant to fix miscarriages of justice now routinely produces them”: Columnist Jeff Jacoby has this essay online at The Boston Globe.

“Trump’s desire for loyalist prosecutors threatens the case against Comey; Former FBI director James B. Comey is asking a judge to dismiss his case on grounds that the U.S. attorney overseeing it was illegally appointed”: Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post has this report.

“First Circuit ends Jewish students’ lawsuit over Gaza protests at MIT; The appeals panel found that students’ accusations ‘do not plausibly rise to the level of actionable harassment’ required for the discrimination claim”: Erik Uebelacker of Courthouse News Service has this report on a ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued yesterday.

“The Supreme Court is poised to erase Black power in the South; Activist justices threaten the Voting Rights Act”: Columnist Theodore R. Johnson has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“DOJ Lawyers’ Courtroom Lies Challenge Judiciary, Ex-Judges Say”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“9th Circuit rethinks ruling that bolstered Trump’s authority to deploy troops”: Sonja Sharp of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

And Margaret Attridge of Courthouse News Service reports that “Feds urge Ninth Circuit to let National Guard stay federalized in LA; The appeals court previously granted the government an emergency stay after a federal judge ordered the president to return control of the state’s National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has posted the video of the oral argument on YouTube.

“How the Insurrection Act would change what troops could do in San Francisco”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.

“Former Biden and Senate Counsel to Lead Progressive Legal Group; Phil Brest, a veteran of the judicial confirmation wars, will head the American Constitution Society at a time of legal turmoil”: Carl Hulse of The New York Times has this report.