JUDGE PATTERSON UPDATE: NZ Bear has turned up some more information. Susanna Cornett has stepped on Will Warren’s turf — and Dr. Seuss’s — with this poem. And Dave Kopel emails this link to a report of the trial that supports the original account. Kopel says he trusts the reporter, Ari Armstrong.

Some people have emailed to say that it’s okay for a judge to order a lawyer not to talk about the Constitution to the jury. I think that’s rather a broad statement, especially as applied to closing arguments — and at any rate it’s rather odd for the judge to tell the lawyer that he doesn’t want to hear any constitutional arguments. Pretty lame, if you ask me.