If you can only name one Supreme Court Justice, let’s hope that it’s Anthony Kennedy. It’s his world now, we’re all just along for the ride.
Today’s big Supreme Court ruling was the case of Berghuis v. Thompkins. At issue was whether a suspect’s silence constituted a waiver of his right to remain silent.
Yes, you read that correctly. There was actually an open question as to whether remaining silent waives your right to do so. More importantly, it does! One must speak in order to be protected by a right guaranteed to you in the Constitution.
Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion for the 5-4 majority…
Continue reading “Right to Remain Silent Doesn’t Cover Remaining Silent”
If you’ve ever had an alcohol problem or even if you’ve been out on an epic bender, the death of Ted Koppel’s son is pretty much your worst nightmare. From the New York Post:
Andrew Koppel, 40, of Rockaway Park, Queens, was declared dead at around 1:30 a.m. after paramedics were called to the rundown apartment in what a law-enforcement source called a “s- – - building” on 180th Street at Audubon Avenue, where he had been found unconscious and not breathing in a bedroom, the sources said.
Koppel — who was an attorney for the city Housing Authority — was a slobbering mess when he was brought to the apartment at around 11 p.m.
Deaths like these always make me think about how rampant alcoholism is in the legal profession and in the country generally. According to reports, this last time alcohol got the best of Andrew Koppel was not the first time…
Continue reading “City Housing Attorney Andrew Koppel — ‘A Slobbering Mess’ — Found Dead”
We occasionally write about famous law school students here at Above the Law, such as Georgetown rising-3Ls Kaavya Viswanathan (aka the alleged Harvard plagiarist) and Top Model Sara Hallmark, and Southwestern 1L Jerry O’Connell (now on sabbatical).
Sometimes, a law school is graced by the presence of a famous classmate and fellow students are completely unaware of their good luck — if, for example, that law student is huge overseas but little-known on this shore.
When Lee So-eun got into Northwestern Law School, it was national news in South Korea. From the Chosun in June 2009:
Singer Lee So-eun has been accepted at a number of law schools in the United States. Lee’s management on Wednesday said the singer, who debuted as a high schooler in 1998, received offers from Northwestern, Cornell, Georgetown and Notre Dame.
Lee had been preparing for U.S. law school since she graduated with a degree in English Literature from Korea University in 2007. She has chosen Northwestern University Law School in Chicago. “I plan to leave for the U.S. in July, and want to focus on international and human rights law,” she said.
So what did she give up to go to law school?
Continue reading “Law Student of the Day: Korean Popstar at Northwestern”
Grumpy old editor here. In my day, commencement was a simple affair. You showed up massively hung over and baked in the hot sun for a few hours. Eventually someone begrudgingly called your name, and you received your diploma.
It was a simpler time. A time when you didn’t have to worry about whether or not the very venue of your graduation was unconstitutional. You didn’t have to worry about protesting your commencement speaker.
Ah, those were the days. But now it’s a different world. In Arizona, they are up in arms over racial profiling.
At Cardozo, new Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will be giving the commencement address. You’d think that wouldn’t be a controversial choice, but oh you’d be wrong…
Continue reading “Cardozo Students Plan to Joust With Manhattan D.A. at Graduation”
A brief is mystery writing in disguise. Leave the main point for the last line of the last page. You want to stun the judge.
– Judge Gerald Lebovits, in a column [PDF] on how to lose your case.
* BP’s attempts to staunch the oil leak are still unsuccessful. Attorney General Eric Holder is taking a Gulf Coast vacation today to meet with state attorneys general and determine whether any laws have been broken. [New York Times]
* Woman sues Google for giving her walking directions that led her to be hit by a car. She may want to consider a suit against her lawyers for directing her to file this lawsuit. [Salt Lake Tribune]
* Law professor Peter Erlinder, who is imprisoned in Rwanda, is unwell and being represented by Kenyan lawyers. [Star Tribune]
* Kirkland partner John Desmarais decides to go solo and go plaintiff-oriented. [BusinessWeek]
* A “brilliant criminal defense attorney” in Texas turns into a not-so-brilliant criminal. [Houston Chronicle]
* Don’t tell anyone that the DADT law is a goner yet. [Politico]
* Legal recruiter (and ATL advertiser) Lateral Link shares tips on landing a new job. [CNN]
