Judges

President Obama receives strong grades for his first full month in office, as large majorities of Americans support his $787-billion economic stimulus package and the recently unveiled $75-billion plan for stemming mortgage foreclosures, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Nearly 70% believe Obama is bringing change to Washington, the poll found; 80% say he is meeting or exceeding their expectations. But bipartisan support has eroded.

An accused killer who stabbed the judge during his murder trial in Stockton used a 6-inch metal shank that he hid from his jailers even though they were warned he had a weapon, investigators said Thursday. Murder suspect David Paradiso, who was on the witness stand Wednesday, was able to slip behind Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox and stab her as bailiffs were distracted by a courtroom outburst from his mother and brother, said San Joaquin County Sheriff's Det. Dave Konecny.

Talk of filibustering the president's judicial picks is back -- even before Barack Obama has nominated anyone to the federal courts. When the balance of power shifts in Washington, views on the virtues of filibustering tend to shift with it. Four years ago, the Senate Republican majority faulted the minority Democrats for threatening what they deemed an "unconstitutional filibuster" of President Bush's court nominees.

On a day of delirious public celebrations over Pakistan's popular chief justice getting his job back, President Asif Ali Zardari stayed conspicuously out of sight. The 52-year-old president, whose popularity had been flagging even before Pakistan's latest political crisis, was like an unwelcome guest Monday at a raucous nationwide party, pilloried for his heavy-handed treatment of activists who championed the cause of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who became a symbol of resistance to military rule in Pakistan, quietly resumed his duties Sunday after an incendiary two-year political confrontation that brought down one government and threatened another. In a sometimes tearful ending to the saga, supporters of the reinstated jurist raised the Pakistani flag at his residence, in keeping with a vow made by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto before her assassination 15 months ago.

A judge who kept a lawsuit involving actress Sharon Stone hidden from public view for six months acknowledged Friday that she made a mistake and ordered the case unsealed. In a statement attached to the newly opened file, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis said a series of missteps, each committed "inadvertently," led to the concealment of every part of the case -- including its very existence.

A federal judge who provided the Bush administration with legal advice on what constitutes torture declined to respond Thursday to a letter from the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman calling on him to explain his actions to the American public. Judge Jay S. Bybee, of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, was head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel when he described the intensity of pain that could legally be inflicted.

A full-scale battle on Capitol Hill over the next Supreme Court nominee could still be months away, but skirmishes have been taking place all year. Conservative activists have brought the most explosive weapon in their arsenal -- the issue of abortion rights -- to bear against a trio of President Obama's nominees for other posts, offering a likely preview of what to expect when Obama's choice to replace retiring Justice David H. Souter comes before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As President Obama's search for a Supreme Court justice progresses, it appears the White House has locked in on two competing sets of nominees: those who have traditional judicial and academic backgrounds and another group that comes from what might be called the "real world." Since Justice David H. Souter announced his retirement this month, much of the speculation about who will succeed him has centered on candidates such as U.S. Solicitor Gen. Elena Kagan, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S.

As President Obama is interviewing candidates for the Supreme Court, prospective nominees are being debated and dissected on blogs and in chat rooms. Conservative groups have posted campaign-style attack ads on YouTube. Counter-strikes are being launched by liberal groups. The prime targets are Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S.