Monday round-up

This weekends clippings include coverage of two of the cases set for oral arguments this week including the challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Acts as well as continued coverage of new developments in the same-sex marriage cases.

On Wednesday, the Court is set to hear oral arguments inShelby County v. Holder, a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act; previews of the case come from TheWashington Posts Robert Barnes,Joan Biskupic of Reuters, Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers,MSNBCs Zachary Roth,CNNs Bill Mears, andJeff Glor and Phil Hirschkorn of CBS News. Darlene Superville of theAssociated Pressreports that, in a radio interview that aired on Friday, President Obama urged the Court to uphold the provision,arguing that if the Court strikes down this part of the law, it will become harder to help people who believe their rights at the polls have been violated. AtNPR, Nina Totenberg and Angela Chang look at the eleven states amicus briefs filed in the case, noting that some of the states now arguing against the law were not troubled by its provisions just four years ago, the last time it was before the court. At TheAtlantic, Andrew Cohen examines the battle over Section 5 at length, whileUSA Todays Richard Wolf notes that Section 5 has, in a twist of irony, reduced thepolitical clout of minority voters by fosteringso-called majority-minority election districts dominated by blacks or Hispanics, which in turn has required the simultaneous creation of more heavily white, Republican districts in surrounding areas. Mark Sherman of theAssociated Pressreports that the laws supportersare defending it on the ground that the law contains a bailout provision, which gives state, county and local governments the opportunity to show that they should no longer be subject to the requirements of Section 5.

On Tuesday, the Justices are scheduled to hear arguments inMaryland v. King, achallenge to the constitutionality of a Maryland law requiring anyone arrested for a serious crime to provide a DNA sample. Lyle Denniston previews the case forthis blog;USA Todays Richard Wolf and theBaltimore Suns Yvonne Wenger also have coverage. Atthis blog, Amy Howe explains the legal issues to readers in plain English.

Finally, the media continued its coverage of the Terms two same-sex marriage cases, the challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Californias Proposition 8. As Lyle reported forthis blogon Friday, the Obama administrations brief in the DOMA challenge United States v. Windsor contains a sweeping defense of marriage rights for same-sex couples, and argues that the denial by states of those rights over the last decade is proof that discrimination against gays and lesbians still continues.NPRs Shula Neuman, Politicos Josh Gerstein, TheChristian Science Monitors Brad Knickerbocker, Howard Mintz of theSan Jose Mercury News, andSlates Daniel Politi also have coverage.

Briefly:

• In an op-ed for theLos Angeles Times, Eric Segall argues that life tenure is not necessary for the Justices to be independent of the elected branches.
• This blogs Ronald Mann reports on the opinion inGunn v. Minton, issued by the Court last week, which held that federal courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction over state law claims alleging legal malpractice in patent cases.
• At TheNew Yorker, Alexandra Horowitz discusses the reliability of dog sniffs in the context of last weeks unanimous decision inFlorida v. Harris, and suggests that in a dog-handler detection team, its thepersonwho may, inadvertently, be the weak link.
• Michael Kirkland ofUPIlooks atMillbrook v. United States, in which the Justices heard arguments last week. At issue in the case is whether the Federal Torts Claims Actwaives sovereign immunity for intentional torts committed by prison guards when they are acting within the scope of their employment but are not exercising authority to execute searches, to seize evidence, or to make arrests for violations of Federal law.
• For this blog,Steve Vladeckpreviews Mondays arguments inTrevino v. Thaler, whileDavid Garcia and Leo Caserialook ahead to Wednesdays arguments inAmerican Express Company v. Italian Colors Restaurant.