“If the Roberts court continues on the course suggested by its first five years, it is likely to allow a greater role for religion in public life, to permit more participation by unions and corporations in elections and to elaborate further on the scope of the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. Abortion rights are likely to be curtailed, as are affirmative action and protections for people accused of crimes.”

That prediction came in a New York Times analysis by Adam Liptak of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.’s Supreme Court, which, Liptak writes, has become “the most conservative one in living memory.”

And that is something that will not change for quite some time, given the Court’s makeup. The impact on the Court of President Barack Obama’s two picks so far, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and likely-to-be-confirmed nominee Elena Kagan, is slight, given the fact that they were named to replace justices with similar ideological leanings.

In fact, the article states, the big shift occurred five years ago with one key appointment by President George W. Bush: Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. taking the seat of retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

In other Beltway-related legal news to kick off your week:

Rangel’s failed settlement: The announcement that New York Rep. Charlie Rangel would face a congressional trial over charges of ethics violations came after settlement negotiations between Rangel and the House ethics committee broke down. (New York Times)

Friend in dissent: Right up until the end of his tenure, Justice John Paul Stevens did what he had for decades – sparred with Justice Antonin Scalia in written opinions. (Washington Post)

Right of first recusal: Kagan will have to sit out a dozen or more cases news term, due to her involvement in the cases as solicitor general. But will she have to recuse herself when the healthcare law lands before the Court? (NYT)

Nursing guidance: The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a fact sheet outlining employers’ obligation to give adequate break time to nursing mothers under the health care reform law that went into effect earlier this year. (Lawyers USA)

“Don’t boycott us.”

That was the plea from Arizona resident and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to those who have threatened to stop traveling to and doing business in the state to protest its controversial new immigration law.

The law, which authorizes police to question anyone they reasonably suspect of being an illegal immigrant, and makes it crime for immigrants without residency papers to be in the state, “may have gone a little too far in its authority, in encouraging local law enforcement officers to take action” against suspected illegal immigrants, O’Connor said according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

O’Connor, who was giving a speech about civics education at a school, also said that the law could encourage racial profiling, even if that was not its objective. “It doesn’t read that way, but it might work that way,” she said.

“These two cases should be a warning to states that still choose their judges by popular elections. These states need to at least think about whether changes are needed in the system.”

~ Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, giving the keynote address at a Georgetown Law discussion on the effect of the Supreme Court decisions Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.

(Earlier, O’Connor joked: “I step away for a couple of years and there’s no telling what’s going to happen!”)

The O'Connors with President Bush in 2004

John J. O’Connor, III, husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, has died of complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

O’Connor passed away this morning in Phoenix. He was diagnosed with the disease nearly two decades ago. Justice O’Connor cited the need to care for her ailing husband as one reason she decided to retire in 2005.

The couple met as law students at Stanford University, where the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist was also a student. John O’Connor went on to practice law in Phoenix for nearly a quarter century. After his wife was appointed to the Supreme Court, he practiced in Washington.

More here from the Associated Press.

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are a hardworking bunch, particularly since Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. altered the oral argument schedule last year to hold more afternoon argument sessions at the start of the term. This week the Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in five cases.

But there is one High Court retiree who is working even harder: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

The SCOTUS alumnus is serving as a visiting 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals judge this week, and is scheduled to hear arguments in nine cases.

And while the Supremes take a break from oral arguments next week, O’Connor will still be on the job. She heads out west to sit with the judges on the 9^th Circuit.

Oh, and if you are a lawyer scheduled to argue before her, don’t think the justice is getting soft in retirement. O’Connor made clear that she is going to challenge attorneys before her with tough questions, according to The Kentucky Post.

First the issue of West Virginia’s judicial elections process went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now a former justice of the nation’s highest court is going all the way to West Virginia to take on the issue.

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor went to the mining state to urge a change in the way the judges on the state’s appellate court are selected. O’Connor, a vocal opponent of partisan judicial elections, urged state officials to follow the lead of her home state of Arizona in reforming the judicial process.

“It’s just been an excellent system,” she said of Arizona, where a commission now recommends judges to the governor for appointment. “I think we have as good a bench in the state today, as anywhere in the nation.”

O’Connor spoke at the second of three public hearings on potential changes to West Virginia’s judicial selection process, according to WVPB. That process was the subject of national attention when the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case this year in Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., which involved a West Virginia appellate judge who cast the deciding vote overturning a $50 million verdict against a company.

The judge’s ruling came after the company’s CEO gave $3 million in direct and indirect contributions to the judge’s election campaign. That amount was more than half the total spent in the campaign.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that the judge’s failure to recuse himself violated the Due Process Clause.

So much for a lazy August!

Even though Washington lawmakers and President Obama are away from the capital this week, it may not feel like much of a vacation for them thanks to the ongoing health care reform debate.

Lawmakers continue to spend parts of their summer recess at town hall meetings getting an earful from constituents, while Obama too is spending his vacation talking health care in between visits with his family to Yellowstone National Park and Martha’s Vineyard.

But the legal news from Washington continues:

Another arbitration defection: Bank of America is the latest credit card company to allow customers to file suit instead of requiring that they submit to binding arbitration for their claims. (Lawyers USA)

An Armey of protest? Former Majority Leader Dick Armey has resigned from DLA Piper amid firestorm over his connection to a conservative group which has been linked to disruptive protests at town hall meetings on health care reform. (The BLT)

A louder whistle: Before breaking for recess, a Senate committee has advanced a bill that would give broader whistleblower protection to federal employees. (Lawyers USA)

Iqbal in your court: The Supreme Court ruling toughening civil pleading standards in federal courts is of particular concern to plaintiff side employment attorneys. (Lawyers USA)

Woman of many hats: Cowgirl, romance coach, rock star, children’s book author – oh, and a retired Supreme Court justice: the many faces of Sandra Day O’Connor. (Arizona Republic)

Sotomayor celebration: The newest Supreme was feted at the White House last week. (AP)

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor just spoke with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. And despite earlier comments by O’Connor that having another woman on the Supreme Court would be a good thing, both justices bristled at the idea that the current Court’s makeup – with only one woman – is somehow politically incorrect.

“Judges are there to protect people’s rights and to ensure that they are treated fairly,” Breyer told Mitchell.

When Mitchell asked the justices if they believed, as some commentators have suggested, that the Court is leaning farther to the ideological right – as evidenced by close rulings including this week’s decision in the Ricci case – Breyer said that notion was a media creation.

“One reason I think it is so important for people to understand in high school how courts work is because otherwise all they will read is political analyses [in the media] about how courts decided,” Breyer said. “You are the ones…the press and others, who continue to label the decisions in terms of their political impact. In my opinion, that is not what courts do. … Basically, they are there to protect people irrespective of politics, irrespective of whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, whether you are a man or a woman, whether your race is black or white.

“If you are in front of a judge,” Breyer continued, “even if you are the most unpopular person in the United States, you are guaranteed a fair trial. And you’d better have a public that understands that is what our courts are there to do.”

O’Connor, who has for many years advocated for more civics education, echoed Breyer’s sentiment.

“Half of our states no longer make the teaching if civics and American history a requirement in high schools,” O’Connor said. “Only a third of the people can even name the three branches of government, let alone say what they do. We are in a crisis.”

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is continuing her media blitz in connection with the release of her new children’s book. This morning on MSNBC, she was asked about her thoughts on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

O’Connor said she was happy to see a woman get the nod.

“I am,” O’Connor told Norah O’Donnell. “I was, as you probably know, somewhat disappointed that I wasn’t replaced by another woman because I served for over 10 years as the only woman on the Court. And it made a difference to me when we got another woman on the court – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And now she is alone again, and I’m sure that it will mean a great deal to her to have another woman.”

O’Connor brushed aside criticisms of some who say Sotomayor is simply an affirmative action pick.

“After all, at least 50 percent of all law school graduates these days are women,” the retired justice said. “And we have plenty of qualified women available to serve on the nation’s courts. And I think the public generally appears to agree, and thinks that is good idea.”

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – who refers to herself nowadays as an “unemployed cowgirl” - paid a visit to the Late Show with David Letterman last night to promote her latest children’s book. And she used the opportunity to share some of her memories about the behind-the-scenes rituals of the Supreme Court.

She spoke of the customary handshakes between each and every one of the justices before taking the bench for oral arguments.

“That’s a fabulous custom because it’s hard to shake hands and then be hostile,” O’Connor explained. “I mean, it’s much harder, anyway. It’s good.”

She said the first handshake with one of her colleagues was particularly memorable.

“My first day when I did that, one of the members of the Court was Byron White, Justice White, and he’s the only justice to have been an NFL football star.” O’Connor said. “And I put my hand out and he took it, and I thought I was going to die on the spot. Just die! It was like I had put my hand in a vice!”

As the audience laughed, the justice continued: “And I had a ring on this finger,” she said, motioning to the ring finger of her right hand, “and he just kept that pressure on. And tears squirted out of my eyes! I couldn’t help it!

“And it was very embarrassing – my first day on the court and there I am in tears!” she said.

Realizing that the handshake would be a daily ritual, O’Connor said she fashioned a solution.

“I grabbed his thumb,” she said as Letterman and audience laughed. “I could never give him my hand again.”

Click here to see the video on CBS.com.