The Supreme Court added a number of new cases to its docket Friday – including a case considering whether a West Virginia appellate judge should be able to rule in a case involving his largest campaign contributor, and whether a former Enron official acquitted of some criminal charges may be retried on the counts his jury hung on.

Today the 110^th Congress also begins its last session of the term, and the biggest item remaining on lawmakers’ agenda is a potential financial rescue package for U.S. automakers, which is currently stalled on the onramp.

Meanwhile,

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Gregory Craig to be the top lawyer in the White House. Craig, best known for representing former President Bill Clinton in his impeachment proceedings, will be Obama’s White House counsel, according to the Washington Post. Criag also represented John Hinckley Jr. the Ronald Reagan attempted assassination case, and William Kennedy Smith in his high profile rape trial.

In the case of Craig and a number of Obama transition team legal eagles, there are a lot of familiar faces from the Clinton era. More from Legal Times.

Alcoholic energy drinks such as Sparks are igniting lawsuits by litigants claiming the beverages can mask the effects of alcohol and encourage excessive drinking. More here from Lawyers USA.

Evidence uncovered in connection with former CBS newsman Dan Rather seems to support his claim that GOP operatives had influence over the networks news coverage. More here from the New York Times.

The election of Democrat Barack Obama has Supreme Court watchers all but planning retirement parties for Supreme Court Justices John Paul Stevens (who is 88), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (a 75-year-old cancer survivor), and David Souter (69, but often rumored to be miserable and longing to return to his New Hampshire home).

But wait just one minute, says ABC News Supreme Court correspondent and author Jan Crawford Greenburg. On her blog, Greenburg writes that none of the three justices show any sign of wanting to step down.

“[J]ustices can surprise,” Greenburg writes. “Liberals don’t always retire during Democratic administrations. Sometimes, they step down in Republican ones, and vice versa for their conservative colleagues.” Prime example: Justice Thurgood Marshall rode out the entire Carter administration, and retired when President George H.W. Bush was in the White House.

As DC Dicta has noted, Stevens remains as sharp and spry as ever, never hesitating to make his voice heard during oral arguments or with his pen in lengthy statements and dissents.

And Ginsburg is no frail flower. As Greenburg and Legal Times’ Tony Mauro have noted, Ginsburg has told friends that she hopes to stay on the bench until she’s at least Stevens’ age.

Souter isn’t showing any signs of fatigue, either. He was particularly vocal during yesterday’s oral arguments in Melendez-Diaz v. Mass. and Chambers v. U.S. He’s is said to enjoy his job – if not Washington’s atmosphere – and he’s younger than conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and noted swing voter Justice Anthony Kennedy.

President-elect Barak Obama just concluded his first post-election press conference, which was all about the economy given the record-breaking dip the markets took over the past few days.

Obama, calling this “the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime,” said job one is getting a stimulus package passed – either in the current Congress and administration, or if that is not possible, in his own administration after January.

He also cautioned everyone that there are no quick fixes for the economic crisis and other issues the country is facing.

“I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead,” Obama told reporters. “Some of the choices that we make are going to be difficult. … It is not going to be quick and it is not going to be easy to dig ourselves out the hole that we are in. [But] America is a resilient country and we will succeed.”

There were a few funny moments, like when Obama addressed the “major issues” associated with the selection process of the First Puppy – the dog he promised his daughters Sasha and Malia in his inauguration speech. They want to rescue a canine, but they need a hypoallergenic dog because of Malia’s allergies (Note to the president-elect: DC Dicta also has dog allergies, but found a hypoallergenic pooch at a dog shelter in Arlington, Va. So it’s possible!)

Also, when asked if he’s talked to any former presidents seeking advice, Obama said he’s spoken to “all of them.” Then he corrected himself: he meant all of the living ones.

“I didn’t want to get into any Nancy Reagan thing about doing séances,” Obama quipped, drawing laughs from the press.

President-elect Barak Obama just concluded his first post-election press conference, which was all about the economy given the record-breaking dip the markets took over the past few days.

Obama, calling this “the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime,” said job one is getting a stimulus package passed – either in the current Congress and administration, or if that is not possible, in his own administration after January.

He also cautioned everyone that there are no quick fixes for the economic crisis and other issues the country is facing.

“I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead,” Obama told reporters. “Some of the choices that we make are going to be difficult. … It is not going to be quick and it is not going to be easy to dig ourselves out the hole that we are in. [But] America is a resilient country and we will succeed.”

There were a few funny moments, like when Obama addressed the “major issues” associated with the selection process of the First Puppy – the dog he promised his daughters Sasha and Malia in his inauguration speech. They want to rescue a canine, but they need a hypoallergenic dog because of Malia’s allergies (Note to the president-elect: DC Dicta also has dog allergies, but found a hypoallergenic pooch at a dog shelter in Arlington, Va. So it’s possible!)

Also, when asked if he’s talked to any former presidents seeking advice, Obama said he’s spoken to “all of them.” Then he corrected himself: he meant all of the living ones.

“I didn’t want to get into any Nancy Reagan thing about doing séances,” Obama quipped, drawing laughs from the press.

All eyes are on President-elect Barack Obama this morning as he makes selections for key posts in his new administration, and readies to make his first press conference today to talk about issue number one: the economy.

Meanwhile,

Who will be the 10^th Justice? The selection of solicitor general is one of the most important decisions Obama will make. And again, Elena Kagan’s name is coming up.  More here from USA Today and from The AM Law Daily.

Will an Obama administration be good for law firms? That could be the case if his agenda includes increased banking, healthcare and environmental regulations – spurring the need for attorneys in these fields. More here from Legal Blog Watch.

Lieberman a hot potato: Senate Democrats are trying to figure out what to do with Joe Lieberman, whose chairmanship is in jeopardy after the former Dem touted John McCain and badmouthed Obama during the campaign. More here from The New York Times.

The smoke has settled: The ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court two years ago, has finally ended in a settlement. More here from The Anchorage Daily News.

Uncle Sam wants a chunk of tobacco fund: Department of Justice officials are seeking to get federal income tax from a fund set up for sick smokers as a result of a class action lawsuit. More here from Daily Business Review.

Guantanamo habeas case opens: A judge has convened the first habeas corpus hearing to take place since the Supreme Court ruled last year that detainees had the right to seek the legal relief. More here from The NYT.

Does Barack Obama’s presidential victory represent voters’ dissatisfaction with the federal judiciary, and a desire for less conservative judges?

It does, says Kathryn Kolbert, president of People For the American Way.

In a memo posted on the group’s website, Kolbert said that voters were sending a message: strict constructionists in the vein of Antonin Scalia are out.

“As yesterday’s results make clear, Americans are comfortable with Senator Obama’s vision for the Judiciary, even when it was caricatured as extreme or outside the mainstream,” Kolbert wrote. “At the same time, voters were uninspired by Senator McCain’s frequent repetition of right-wing code words like ‘judicial restraint’ and ‘strict constructionist.’”

According to the group, exit polls showed that the issue of judge appointments was on voters’ minds as they went to the polls. Voters who said the Supreme Court was a factor in their votes broke for Obama 53 to 45, the memo said. Those who called it the most important factor went for Obama 57 to 41.

Kolbert also gave the largest prediction of possible Supreme Court vacancies in Obama’s first term – saying: “there might be three or more vacancies.”

After much of last week’s summit of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform was spent warning attendees of the perils businesses will face in an Obama administration, the Chamber wasted no time after list night’s election issuing a statement vowing to work with the new president and congress.

“Restoring the nation’s economic health must be our top priority,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue in a statement issued before the clock struck midnight last night. “Any successful and sustainable recovery will involve the business sector, which creates the jobs, the growth, and the revenues on which all Americans and our government depend. The U.S. Chamber stands ready to work with the new administration and Congress on measures to spur growth and jobs by restoring credit and confidence throughout the economy, producing more American energy, rebuilding our infrastructure, and reforming our schools.”

In the statement the group urged the current congress to pass additional economic stimulus measures before its session ends, offered to help in the White House transition process, and recapped its election work by 600 staffers which included millions spent on issue ads, and the sending of 15 million e-mails, 6.5 million pieces of snail mail, and more than 6 million phone calls made.

“As America turns the page, the U.S. Chamber shares with our fellow citizens the excitement of beginning a new chapter in our national life. We are a ‘can-do’ nation that can overcome all the difficult challenges that face us today,” Donohue said.

Attorneys on poll-watching duty are reporting some voting problems in precints across the country today. Tens of thousands of lawyers have been dispatched to polling stations around the country as part of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law‘s Election Protection program and other projects.

According to the Election Protection website and media reports, problems have been reported in Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and New Jersey.

Reports range from machines not working and discrepancies with voter roll data, to general disorganization and chaos amid the long lines. One lawyer in Virginia tells DC Dicta: “Machines are out in several precincts. They’re going to paper ballots. It’s to be a very late night.”

As DC Dicta has noted, President George W. Bush is very proud of the federal judges he’s appointed over the last eight years, and hopes those jurists help to shape his legacy.

Right now, conservative justices hold a majority in 10 of the 13 federal circuits, “while judges appointed by Democrats have a dwindling majority on just one circuit,” notes a piece in today’s New York Times.

What’s more, even though Bush appointed 61 judges to President Bill Clinton’s 65, Bush’s nominees are so young that they will affect the shape of the judiciary for many years to come. Even the nation’s Chief Justice was the youngest appointed in more than 200 years.

So what does all that mean for the election? It raises a new stake: A McCain victory will give that administration a chance to shore up conservative control of federal courts, even ensuring a majority in all 13 circuits. An Obama win would allow Democrats to try to roll back the GOP advantage in the courts. Obama could could even appoint enough judges to regain a majority by the end of his first term, the story says.

Sen. Ted Stevens vows to appeal his conviction yesterday after a jury returned a guilty verdict in his corruption trial. The Alaska Republican senator also vowed to push on with his reelection bid. Stevens is one of several GOP lawmakers fighting tough battles to hold onto their seats on the Hill as Democrats vie for a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. More here from The Washington Post.