Two reads before tomorrow's SCOTUS excitement

Oral arguments in Claiborne and Rita are now just a day away, and here are two good reads to help gear up for all the fun:

• At SCOTUSblog, Lyle Denniston has this extended post entitled "Salvaging the Guidelines" which reviews the issues and the briefing in these cases.  Among other notable details, Lyle's post indicates that Rita will be argued first and that Deputy SG Michael Dreeben will be arguing both cases for the federal government.

• At FindLaw, Douglas Kmiec has this essay praising Justice Roberts for "encouraging his colleagues toward rulings ... that are sufficiently clear and unified."  Give all the issues in play in Claiborne and Rita, producing clear and unified opinions in these cases would be a significant accomplishment.

UPDATE:  Another piece on CJ Roberts' rules of order comes today from Howard Bashman in this "On Appeal" column where he notes that "the chief justice's own actions demonstrate that achieving a majority holding or avoiding a slim five-justice majority are not significant enough goals to abandon one's own firm convictions as to the correct outcome in a case."