Friday round-up

Coverage of the upcoming Term continues to focus onFisher v. University of Texas at Austin, in which the Court will consider the University of Texass use of race in its undergraduate admissions process. Additional coverage of the amicus briefs filed earlier this week in support of the university comes from Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin at theLegal History Blog. The editorial board of theLos Angeles Timesdiscusses the federal governmentsamicusbrief in support of the university, praising what it describes as the governments welcome and forceful endorsement of affirmative action and arguing that an important precedent shouldnt fall simply because of a personnel change on the Court. Additional commentary comes from Mark Ladov atThe National Law Journal, Stan Simpson at theHartford Courant, and Michael King at theAustin Chronicle.

Briefly:

• This blog’ssymposiumcommemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Alexander Bickel’sThe Least Dangerous Branchcontinued with posts byErwin ChemerinskyandRoger Pilon.
• AtWired, David Kravets examines the Fourth Circuit’s recent decision holding that impersonating a police officer is not speech protected under the First Amendment in light of the Court’s recent holding inUnited States v. Alvarez that the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalized lies about having received military honors, is unconstitutional. AtVerdict, Vikram Amar also provides doctrinal analysis of the various opinions inAlvarez.
• The recording of the State and Local Legal Centers webinar on the Court’s 2011 Term is now available online,here.