On the Supreme Court's decision in Wiggins v. Smith , we recommend the analysis in Friday's Washington Post .

Yesterday's decision adds new specificity to the court's standards for attorney performance, signaling lower courts and state governments that the justices intend to keep a closer watch on the right to counsel. It also gives new legal ammunition to hundreds of death row inmates. In particular, the court referred to the American Bar Association's demanding guidelines for capital counsel performance as "well-defined norms."

Also take a look at Slate columnist and lawyer Dahlia Lathwick's piece on the death penalty and other cases decided Thursday, in which she notes that the opinions are decidedly liberal for a conservative court. An example:

Then we have Wiggins v. Smith, where, by a 7-2 vote, the same court that would ordinarily uphold any death penalty conviction—even if defense counsel had been hopped up on crack and dressed up as Cookie Monster—actually accepts an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. This court, which has blindly sided with the prosecution in the last few ineffective assistance of counsel cases, seems to have figured out (finally!) how shockingly bad/young/ inexperienced/overburdened some court- appointed defense counsel can really be.

In the same piece, Walter Dellinger writes that "the number of progressive results is close to stunning."

• The method of funding of Legal Services for the poor by "taking" the interest on lawyers trust accounts is upheld against a property rights challenge.
• The Family Medical Leave Act is upheld as applied to the states, in spite of strong case law on state sovereignty.
• Justice Powell's lone opinion in Bakke sustaining the use of race for diversity becomes the opinion of the court.
• A capital case is overturned because of ineffective assistance of counsel.
• The retroactive extension of the time for bringing sex abuse charges is held unconstitutional.
• Bowers v. Hardwick is overruled.

As an aside, no retirements were announced, except for that of the Supreme Court Librarian.