Owing to the holiday (did you remember?), not as much gong on today as a normal Monday. There may be some big news as the week progresses, but for today, just a few interesting tidbits:

Nationally: The Supreme Court is set to hear some arguments in what is apparently a very important patent law case. Not being a patent attorney, I can’t really describe the intricacies, but SCOTUSblog has it all laid out for you.

Kansas’ claims that Nebraska has been using too much water from the Republican River has hit the Supreme Court, as well. We have our own important water rights compact here in northern Indiana, the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement between the eight Great Lakes states (actually part of a larger agreement between the states and Ontario and Quebec), which was made law by Congress in 2008. The process Kansas and Nebraska (and Colorado, actually) are going through resemble what two or more of the Great Lakes states might have to go through if there were a disagreement over water  usage between them.

State: Speaking of interstate relations, Indiana and Michigan need to redraw their border. It seems the old markers were made of wood and have pretty well all rotted away. Although everyone knows pretty much where the border is, they’re not entirely sure. H/t ILB.

Meanwhile, missed last week was that the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that death certificates are public records. Specifically at issue is access to listed cause of death. Our local editorial board has some strong thoughts on this.

Local: Not much, but there were two high-profile sentences handed down, one for a shooting, and one for cocaine distribution. Another man pleaded guilty in a separate drug ring, distributing large amounts of marijuana. He was apparently caught when his house was burglarized, and the burglar decided to be a good citizen and turn him in.