SCOTUS & other stories

Law.com has:

The Supreme Court Is on Recess, but the Shadow Docket Never Sleeps -- A fraught execution, a controversial gas pipeline and now a showdown over new “ghost gun” regulations are keeping the justices busy.

The Marble Palace Blog: How a Book About a Supreme Court Justice Shaped a Scholar's Career -- Justice Byron White wanted his papers shredded and his nickname erased.

Bloomberg Law has Judicial Nomination Process Leads to a Supreme Court of Nobodies

During the first 180 years of our nation’s history, which ended with the retirement of Chief Justice Warren, a total of 96 lawyers were appointed to the Supreme Court, all but ten of whom had earned public recognition through service as US senators, congressman, members of the cabinet, heads of important government agencies, as state governors, legislators, or judges. One, William Howard Taft, was a former president. Those few who had not served in high public office had, for the most part, distinguished themselves in other public endeavors and included such distinguished private practitioners as Louis D. Brandeis and Thurgood Marshall. ... The problem with today’s court is that we have mistaken academic intelligence for the kind of necessary wisdom formed through a long career of varied and distinguished experiences.

ABA Journal has No summer break for Supreme Court ethics debate & It's been more than 10 years since a Black lawyer argued SCOTUS case for US -- "California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger was the last Black lawyer who argued a case."

Law360 has Alito Says Congress Lacks Power To Regulate High Court -- "I know this is a controversial view, but I'm willing to say it," he said. "No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period."

Bloomberg has Alito Lays Groundwork to Scrap Court Financial Disclosure Rules -- Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth responds to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s July 28 interview with the Wall Street Journal, saying his statements will encourage suits claiming the financial disclosure law is unconstitutional under the separation of powers.

In CA appellate-appointment news, on Friday Gov. Newsom appointed Alexander DeVorkin to be the Chief Justice of the California Courts-Martial Appellate Panel and David McCray and Mark Inaba as Justices on that panel. The panel, created in 2013, is made up of three justices and hears criminal appeals involving California Guard and Reserve personnel.