At Forbes.com: Sonia Sotomayor nomination

[Bumped May 27 to reflect added material] I’ve written a piece for Forbes.com on President Obama’s nomination of the Second Circuit judge to the Supreme Court. In addition, expect coverage of the nomination from multiple voices over the next week at Point of Law; Marie Gryphon has already started off with a post on Sotomayor’s controversial ruling on a Second Amendment issue (Heller incorporation, for those who follow that area). More: SCOTUSBlog has a four-part series on Sotomayor’s rulings in civil litigation: first, second, third, fourth. Michael Fox catalogues her rulings in labor and employment cases, to which Daniel Schwartz adds analysis. And thanks to Instapundit, Eugene Volokh, Carter Wood/ShopFloor, Joe Weisenthal, Carolyn Elefant/Legal Blog Watch, Henry Stern/Yonkers Tribune, and Jonathan Adler at both Volokh.com and NRO “Corner” for the links.

NY Times on libel tourism

The Times covers the problem of the British courts’ open door to international libel plaintiffs, and in a follow-on editorial sums up the contrasting view that prevails in America:

If authors believe they are too vulnerable, they may be discouraged from taking on difficult and important topics, like terrorism financing, or from writing about wealthy and litigious people. That would not only be bad for writers, it would be bad for everyone.

Pull over, sir, we’re checking those socks for lead

More on CPSIA’s costs: “Even though there is no evidence that his company’s hosiery contains lead, his company will be forced to pay more than $500,000 on lead testing over the next year,” said David McCubbin of Oklahoma’s McCubbin Hosiery. And so long, giraffe teethers:

Suzanne Lang, owner of Starbright Baby Teething Giraffes in Boalsburg, Pa., created 36 patterns of giraffes last year. To test each of these items for lead and phthalates would cost up to $81,000, she said. She only grossed $4,500 last year.

Unless the law is changed, “thousands of small businesses and crafters will be put out of business in this already tough economic climate,” Lang said.

Last month the office of Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a co-sponsor of the measure, “said the bill is doing exactly what it is meant to do“.