(Vikram Amar and Kevin Johnson, for FindLaw's Writ) -- 'Tis the season to be, if not jolly about, at least aware of, one of the most prominent law school rankings systems; the U.S. News and World Report's annual law school survey will issue in about a month....

(Neil Buchanan, for FindLaw's Writ) -- As the United States moves on after the recent suicide bombing attack on an IRS office building in Austin, Texas, it is an appropriate moment to think about the role that the IRS and its employees play in America today.....

(Anita Ramasastry, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Recently, a high school student and his family sued his public high school, claiming that it had violated their privacy. They allege that the school had provided students with laptops; remotely activated webcams that it had installed on the laptops; and used the webcams to remotely view students....

(Joanna Grossman, for FindLaw's Writ) -- "Social abandonment" is not a recognized ground for divorce in New York, according to a recent ruling by an appellate court. According to the court's logic, the mere fact that a woman's husband has refused to eat meals with her, attend family gatherings, or otherwise interact with her in a social manner may well prove that they have "irreconcilable differences," or that they are suffering in a "dead marriage." But, the court reasoned, that does not entitle her to a divorce on grounds of abandonment – or under any other grounds – under the laws of New York, the state that is the nation's lone holdout on no-fault divorce....

(Carl Tobias, for FindLaw's Writ) -- When President Barack Obama took the oath of office, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit was experiencing openings in two of its 14 judgeships. Thus, it was important for the new Chief Executive to promptly fill these vacancies. And President Obama did just that: The White House soon nominated two well-qualified U.S. District Judges, Joseph Greenaway and Thomas Vanaskie. The Judiciary Committee approved both. However, the Senate has not yet confirmed the jurists....

(Anita Ramasastry, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Many lawyers have Facebook pages and, it turns out, so do many judges. Recently, however, the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee ("The Committee") decided that, in Florida, judges may not ethically "friend" lawyers on Facebook -- or other social networking sites -- if the lawyers may appear before them....

(Neil Buchanan, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an omnibus spending bill that included an unusual non-spending provision: If General Motors and Chrysler want to stop doing business with any of their dealers, the dealers may appeal that decision through arbitration. The two auto companies have announced plans to discontinue their business relationships with more than 2,000 dealerships across the country. Thus, this provision (if it becomes law) will potentially be quite important to the way the automobile industry will be structured in the future.....

(Joanna Grossman, for FindLaw's Writ) -- When can an unwed father's biological child be adopted without his consent? In a recent ruling, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that the state's statutory scheme for determining the rights of unwed fathers was unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff before them – an unwed father who had not been adjudicated to be a legal father, but who had maintained a longstanding familial relationship with the child....

(Marci Hamilton, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Recently, the ACLU threatened to sue Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, for putting a crèche and menorah on its courthouse lawn during the holidays. The primary constitutional problem was that the religious displays were in front of a courthouse and not tethered to a neutral government purpose....

(Joanne Mariner, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, arrested on Friday after he apparently tried to blow a hole in a Northwest Airlines jet, is now facing terrorism charges in federal court in Michigan. The criminal complaint in his case alleges that there is probable cause to believe that he violated 18 U.S.C. § 32, which, among other things, establishes criminal penalties for any attempt to place “a destructive device or substance in, upon, or in proximity to” an aircraft, if that act is likely to endanger the aircraft's safety....

(Anita Ramasastry, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Celebrities, journalists, and ordinary people alike now use Twitter to keep others informed about their lives and activities. Twitter allows us to get small doses of messaging and up-to–the-minute accounts about our friends, and to reach our “fans” – if we have some. The appeal of Twitter in the courtroom is natural: Journalists and other court-watchers can instantly report on what is happening in a trial, from the dramatic testimony of a witness, to the behavior of attorneys sparring with a judge. Yet while some judges allow Twitter, others have banned it....

(Julie Hilden, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Twitter's famous 140-character limit for "tweets" – that is, posted comments – has a number of advantages, such as allowing readers to access succinct updates about people and events they are following, in something close to real time....

(Julie Hilden, for FindLaw's Writ) -- Can a public high school ban its students from wearing T-shirts bearing printed messages, unless those messages support the school or its teams, clubs, or activities? A Texas case raises this interesting question – and the high school student who brought that case, Pete Palmer, would like to see the case go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Court does take the case, Palmer should prevail....

(Vikram Amar, for FindLaw's Writ) -- In this column, I analyze recent events in the federal constitutional litigation – currently set for trial in federal district court early next year -- challenging Proposition 8, California's state-law ban on same-sex marriage. (Readers who want additional background and commentary on this litigation may be interested in Part One and Part Two of my earlier series of columns for this site.)...