President-elect Donald Trump says he expects to announce a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court within two weeks of his inauguration. According to Above the Law, Trump has met with 11th Circuit Court Judge William Pryor, reportedly the leading candidate for the post. The ABA Journal also reports that the president-elect has identified Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard Leo, Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint and a number of Republican lawmakers as advising him on the choice.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed willing to put more teeth into a law that requires public schools to help learning-disabled students, the Associated Press reports. Most of the justices indicated that school districts must offer more than the bare minimum of services to children with special needs. But they struggled over how to clarify the law without inviting more litigation between frustrated parents and cash-strapped schools. The court is considering an appeal from the parents of an autistic teen who say his public school did not provide sufficient services and are seeking reimbursement for the costs of sending him to a private school.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday decided not to hear the case of Jane Doe v. Backpage.com, a civil suit filed by sex-trafficking victims that contends the website helps facilitate sex trafficking of minors. That decision leaves in place a ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals that the company is covered by the Communications Decency Act and protected from claims against third-party content. Despite that win, Backpage.com announced Monday it is shutting down its adult advertising section, the ABA Journal reports. The move appears to be a response to a report from a Senate subcommittee accusing the company of editing ads to remove evidence of child sex trafficking.

A number of conservative groups are launching a coordinated effort to build support for President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, the ABA Journal reports. The plan includes ad buys in states that supported Trump in the presidential election and also will have moderate Democrat senators on the ballot in 2018. The Judicial Crisis Network says it will spend up to $10 million on the effort after having spent $7 million in efforts to prevent the Obama administration from filling the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. “We are preparing to launch the most robust campaign for a Supreme Court nominee in history,” JCN’s chief counsel said.

A widely shared story that claims U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told The Associated Press that she plans to resign from the Supreme Court in protest of Republican President-elect Donald Trump is false. According to the AP, the false story was posted by several websites in December and versions of it have been in circulation since last July. The false story includes one accurate quote but also several paragraphs of fabricated quotes attributed to Ginsburg. At age 83, Ginsburg is the court’s oldest justice, but has announced no plans to retire. WRCB-TV has the story.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s January oral argument calendar includes two major cases about freedom of speech and how far the First Amendment extends to limit government regulation. Erwin Chemerinsky writes about the cases of Lee v. Tam and Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman in the ABA Journal.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts devoted his annual report on the state of the judiciary to the role of lower court judges he calls “selfless, patriotic and brave individuals.” The report, which sheds light each year on an issue identified by the chief justice, maintains that the lower court judges play a “crucial role” but are not often the focus of public attention. Roberts asks why any lawyer would want a job that requires long hours, exacting skill and intense devotion, while promising high stress, solitary confinement and guaranteed criticism. But finds that many of those willing to make that sacrifice are motivated by the “rewards of public service.” Local Memphis has the story from CNN.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts yesterday denied an attempt to get the court to force the Senate to consider the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, WRCB-TV reports. Roberts rejected the emergency appeal without comment. The lawyer bringing the case, Steven Michel of New Mexico, had argued that Senate obstruction of the nomination violated his rights as a voter under the Constitution. For his part, Garland is preparing to return to the bench of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., where he serves as chief judge. He is set to start hearing arguments on Jan. 18 according to that court.

A lawyer from New Mexico is mounting a longshot challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to order the Senate to consider the high court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, WRCB-TV reports. Lawyer Steven Michel argues that senators’ obstruction of President Barack Obama’s nomination violates his rights as a voter under the provision of the Constitution that provides for popular election of senators. Lower courts have dismissed the case, which was filed this past summer. The vacancy, created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, has remained unfilled for almost 10 months.