North Korea now has nukes. Happy Columbus Day!

A number of you — e.g., federal government employees — are probably enjoying a day off right now. But for those of you who are stuck in the office and looking for distraction, you can always count on us to provide it.

* A California appeals court has ruled that prosecutrix Joyce Dudley must be disqualified from a rape case that may have served, at least in part, as the basis for a crime novel she wrote. If you can judge a book by its cover, Dudley’s book — Intoxicating Agent — is kinda schlocky. Current Amazon sales rank: #1,591,294. [New York Times; The Recorder]

* For more highbrow reading by a lawyer-turned-writer, check out Brad Snyder’s new book, A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports — just reviewed quite favorably by David Margolick for the New York Times. Current Amazon sales rank: #2,235 (and climbing). [New York Times]

(Disclosure: Brad Snyder, who manages the impressive feat of being simultaneously brilliant and super-cool, was our law school classmate. He’s also a former Ninth Circuit clerk, for Judge Dorothy Nelson.)

* Some advice for aspiring federal judges (at least as long as the Senate stays Republican): Steer clear of those lesbian commitment ceremonies. [Grand Rapids Press via How Appealing]

* Paula Rieker — the attractive, Starbucks-savoring former Enron-ista (see photo) — gets a break at sentencing: two years of probation, instead of ten years in prison. Caramel macchiatos all around! [Associated Press]

* Tenth Circuit Chief Judge Deanell Reece Tacha — who is a woman, and whose last name is pronounced ” TAH-ha” — has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, a top policy-making body for the federal courts. [Topeka Capital-Journal via How Appealing]

* More details emerge about the Robert Wone murder in Washington, DC. Wone was a prominent, promising young Asian-American attorney — general counsel at Radio Free Asia, and a former Covington & Burling associate — who was murdered under highly suspicious circumstances this past summer. [Washington Post]