M. Katherine Baird Darmer, a Chapman University School of Law professor and an active campaigner for marriage equality, died after falling from a building in Irvine.

Never doubt the power that is Saturday Night Live political satire. Last week, we told you that the Virginia House of Delegates passed a measure which would require women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound, and that could likely mean a more physically invasive transvaginal ultrasound for women in the early stages of pregnancy. Gov. Bob McDonnell indicated his support for the law. On Saturday, SNL's Weekend Update ridiculed the Virginia General Assembly and the bill, with Amy Poehler saying "transvaginal" was her "favorite airline." Weekend Update anchor Seth Myers also mocked the Virginia bill that declares life begins at conception. Now, Gov. McDonnell has backed off his unconditional support for the ultrasound bill. . .

Special courts are very in right now, whether for the mentally ill, drug addicts -- or pet owners. San Antonio, Texas, seems to be the pioneer of tribunals of the latter breed.

Law Blog rounds up the morning's news.

Supreme Court justices seemed pretty sure Tuesday that they knew how to interpret the meaning of the word “interpreter,” signaling they are likely to rule in favor of a former Japanese baseball player in a case involving translation costs.

The court is revisiting the issue of affirmative action in state-college admission, this time in a case involving the University of Texas at Austin, which said it based its policy on Grutter, the WSJ's Jess Bravin reports.

Proponents of the California marriage amendment will ask the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to review the three-judge panel decision issued on Feb. 7 holding that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

The film studio has sued the estate of Mario Puzo, arguing that the heirs of the author of the “Godfather” were tarnishing the reputation of the studio’s film trilogy by publishing a pair of sequel novels.

While the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t yet granted review of the case, in which a group called American Tradition Partnership challenged the Montana ruling, two Justices have already gone on record saying it could be time for Citizens United to be reconsidered.

The Department of Justice has thrown in the towel in the hotly-contested “FCPA sting case.”

Judges on the high-profile are facing a lawsuit by a citizens group questioning the legality of judge-run arbitrations and accusing the court of conducting secret proceedings.

Law Blog rounds up the morning's news.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the Philadelphia trial of Monsignor William Lynn, who allegedly allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children to continue to work with minors.

It's been a while since we wrote about a lawyer who was reborn as something else. In fact, we haven't run this feature since Tony LaRussa was still a Cardinal. But the New York Times has found a worthy candidate: Jordana Serebrenik -- possibly New York City’s only "for-hire pet-cat catcher."

Steven Donziger, the U.S. legal adviser to a group of Ecuadoreans suing Chevron Corp., and the Ecuadoreans have asked a U.S. judge to step aside from a racketeering case the oil company brought against the Ecuadoreans in New York.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors are often likened to a range of athletes, from hard-slugging prize fighters, to tennis players volleying complex legal arguments across the courtroom. It was only a matter of time before somebody in a big time federal case referenced Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks’ Harvard-educated point-guard who’s become an unlikely international superstar.

The iPad trademark is still up for grabs in China.

USA Today has an interesting look at the man who will be presenting the government’s side in what will likely be the highest-profile case of the year.

A federal judge in the Middle District of Louisiana has struck down a state law barring sex offenders from using Facebook and other social media on First Amendment grounds.

Law Blog rounds up the morning's news.