NECN.com (AP): Democrats who control the Senate Judiciary Committee have agreed to give Gov. Chris Christie's third nominee to the state Supreme Court a hearing, but the gay, black Republican will face difficulty being confirmed because of his lack of courtroom experience and his vow to stay out of same-sex marriage cases.

Blog of the Legal Times: A group of federal judges who charge that Congress violated the Constitution by withholding pay increases will get a hearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Metropolitan News-Enterprise: Senate Democrats said yesterday that they will try to end debate Monday on the nomination of Los Angeles attorney Paul J. Watford to serve as a judge of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On their web page, the party conference said that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had filed a cloture petition, and that a vote likely will occur at about 5:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin this morning informed the court that she will voluntarily recuse from all duties because nine criminal counts will be filed against her today. | The PA Supreme Court has issued a couple of orders relieving her of duties. How Appealing reports and links to them.

Fox News: Less than three months after he was robbed at his vacation home in the Caribbean, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has been targeted again -- this time by burglars at his Washington, D.C., house.

White House: Matthew W. Brann, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, vice Thomas I. Vanaskie, elevated. Malachy Edward Mannion, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, vice A. Richard Caputo, retired.

InsideNova.com: Allen said he hadn’t heard all of the arguments for or against Thorne-Begland, but his inclination would be to overlook sexual orientation. “What I’d look at as far as judges is, I’d look at their qualifications. As far as judges are concerned, sexual orientation is not one of their criteria for being a judge,” Allen said during a campaign stop in Prince William County on Tuesday evening.

WCFCourier: The Iowa Executive Council has authorized nearly $1.49 million in payments to outside legal counsel to defend Gov. Terry Branstad and state agencies against litigation and to help recoup money owed to Iowans or state government this fiscal year.

El Dorado Times: Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline is asking two Kansas Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from ruling in his ethics case, contending the judges hold biases that could influence their decision . . .

Christian Post: Dale Schowengerdt, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told CP that backlashes occur "on every issue that the court has taken out of the public debate and constitutionalized unnecessarily." "The prime example is abortion," said Schowengerdt, who agreed that after the 1973 decision "the nation has been reeling ever since."

Jonathan Adler reports on the current state of nominations at the Volokh Conspiracy.

Richmond Times-Dispatch (video): The House of Delegates' rejection early Tuesday of a judgeship for Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, who would have been the first openly gay person elected to the bench in Virginia, retrained the spotlight on a General Assembly session rife with controversy over social issues.

Bloomberg: Scalia’s approach is fueling the perception that the biggest cases this term, including health care, may be influenced by politics, rather than the legal principles that he and other justices say should be their guide.

Washington Post: Thorne-Begland, the deputy commonwealth attorney for Richmond, has been nominated to serve as a judge for the city’s 13th General District Court . . . “The question is, will his personal political agenda take precedent over Virginia law and the Constitution?” the Family Foundation statement reads. “Is he going to uphold laws he clearly and very publicly disagrees with? What does he believe is the role of the courts in moving in a more ‘progressive’ direction?”

Washington Times: Illegal immigrant students and members of the House sued the Senate this week to try to overturn the upper chamber’s filibuster rule, arguing that the 60-vote supermajority requirement violates the Constitution and is blocking important legislation such as legalization for illegal immigrants.

Religion Clause Blog reports.

Des Moines Register: Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins vows he won’t stand quietly by if opponents of same-sex marriage launch a potent campaign to oust him from the bench.

How Appealing links to commetary by MI Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly and Sixth Circuit Judge James Ryan.

AP: The high court on Monday voted 5-4 for the IRS in its fight with Lynwood and Brenda Hall over their bankruptcy sale of their 320-acre farm in Willcox, Ariz. | Hall v. United States

NCPA Policy Digest: Deep-pocketed environmental groups are collecting millions of dollars from the federal agencies they regularly sue to enforce conservation measures. The payouts, which aggregate to tens of millions of dollars, even allow for reimbursement of legal fees, further encouraging enterprising environmentalists to take on the government in court, says Fox News.