Billy Merck
Posts by Billy Merck
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Anthony Kennedy, Death Penalty, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Kennedy Spares Death Row Inmates
And now back to a more contentious subject: the death penalty. In three opinions issued today, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Texas death row inmates. Each of the cases involved a problem with the lower appellate courts’ application of prior SCOTUS rulings on special jury instructions in death penalty cases. All three decisions […] -
Biglaw, Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Gary Friedman to Weil
It’s a little too early for a full-blown abortion debate, so let’s move on to more pedestrian matters, like partner poaching. A few weeks after Mayer Brown decided it needed to fire or demote 45 partners to drive up its stock price, Gary Friedman, who chaired Mayer’s employment practice, has decided he’s got to get […] - Sponsored
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Abortion, Bad Ideas, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
North Dakota Passes Conditional Abortion Ban
In what appears to be the first response by a state legislature to last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth abortion ban, North Dakota has passed a bill making abortion illegal if and when the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade. (The N.D. Senate Majority leader claims that the bill was not influenced by […]
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Clarence Thomas, Kids, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Justice Thomas and Wachovia: Recusal Mystery Solved
No one has been quite sure why Justice Clarence Thomas has been recusing himself from Wachovia cases. The mystery is apparently solved; Thomas’s son works at Wachovia Securities. From The Blog of Legal Times: For the last two years, Justice Clarence Thomas has consistently recused himself in cases in which Wachovia Bank is a party […] -
Bad Ideas, Law Professors, Law Schools, Sports, Technology
TortsProf Blog Gets Golfing Gizmo as Gift
Oh, we long for the days before products liability suits took away our lawn darts and all the rest of our fun. Professor Bill Childs, professor at Western New England School of Law and author of TortsProf Blog, has this post, about receiving as a gift from a student a “Golfing Gizmo.” [It’s a] device […] -
Alberto Gonzales, Department of Justice, Politics, U.S. Attorneys Offices
You're Doing a Fine Job, Gonzo
Apparently the one guy that counts was satisfied with Alberto Gonzales’ testimony before Congress last week. From the New York Times: President Bush said Monday that the Congressional testimony of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last week, roundly panned by members of both parties, had “increased my confidence in his ability to do the job.” […] -
Biglaw, Magic Circle, Money, Skaddenfreude, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Skaddenfreude: Salary Wars Jump Across the Pond
It appears that the salary wars have made their way to London. With London salaries rising into the neighborhood of £65,000, and with the current exchange rate over two $/£, the gap between New York and London salaries is narrowing considerably. This from the London Times Online: City sources said newly-qualified lawyers at A&O would […] -
Nude Dancing, Pictures, Pornography, Reality TV
The Apprentice, Lawyers, and Playboy
Time for another installment in ATL’s ongoing obsession with law students/lawyers posing nude for Playboy. This time it’s Kristine Lefebvre, a loser from The Apprentice: Los Angeles. From AP via CNN: Lefebvre will appear on the cover of the June issue of the magazine and is featured in nude photographs inside, her publicist, Howard Bragman, […] - Sponsored
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Bad Ideas, Bill Clinton, Politics, Robert Bennett, Romance and Dating
Wolfowitz Hires Robert Bennett to Save His Job
What’s that you say? You’re a major international political figure, and you’re embroiled in a scandal that could cost your job? What should you do? Why, hire a rock star lawyer of course! Paul Wolfowitz has done just that, hiring Robert Bennett to represent him in his fight to save his job as president of […] -
Bad Ideas, Sex, Sex Scandals, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Let's Get It On, Counselor!
Wow, that’s quite a ways to go just to get your way on a motion to suppress. A 57-year-old Douglas County, Colorado judge and a 29-year-old female prosecutor in the same county have admitted to having sex on multiple occasions in the courthouse. From the Rocky Mountain News (via How Appealing): As rumors of their […] -
Admin, Blogging
1/2 of MD is also Blog-Sitting!
We’re coming to you this morning from about three hours east of LEWW, in Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia (my two-time alma mater), R.E.M., and well, to be honest, not much else that anyone except us cares about. We, like Laurie, are both honored to be filling in and not prone to […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.20.07
* New with Yahoo! Torture Beta: identification of political dissidents. [New York Times via How Appealing] * Manslaughter, not murder, for preacher’s wife. [CNN] * Bay of Pigs CIA operative Cariles released on bail, much to the further consternation of Castro and Hugo. [Jurist] * Nacchio no libre. [WSJ Law Blog] * Ummm…he can do […]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.19.07
* Here’s the partial-birth abortion opinion, if anybody missed it yesterday. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)] * And, in what I like to call “the other opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday”, the Court found that an attempted burglary in Florida is a “violent felony” for the purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act. […]
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Banking Law, Education / Schools, Money, Morning Docket, Politics, Supreme Court, Violence
Morning Docket: 04.18.07
* The National Bank Act preempts state regulation of mortgage lenders, even those that are operating subsidiaries of banks and not banks themselves. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)] * Payphone operators can sue for compensation from long-distance carriers. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)] * Department of Education can use number of pupils rather than number of school […]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.17.07
* VT shooting moves Gonzales hearing to Thursday. [Washington Post via How Appealing] * Spector jurors asked how they feel about O.J., or something like that. [CNN] * Another hurricane-force verdict: $2.8 million for homeowner in second Katrina trial. [Jurist] * Good lawyer? Uncle Sam, specifically the IRS, needs you. [WSJ Law Blog] * I […]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.16.07
* What do you want on your fake tombstone? The Supreme Court may not let you have it. [Chicago Tribune via How Appealing] * Gonzales has “nothing to hide”. [Jurist] * The preacher’s wife was writing checks her murdered husband couldn’t cash. [CNN] * Nope, this story is still not over. [CNN] * Cheney faces […]
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Admin, Birthdays, Copyright, Intellectual Property, John Paul Stevens, Morning Docket, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Screw-Ups, Sports, Supreme Court, Trademarks
Morning Docket: 04.06.07
[Ed. note: ATL will be on a pretty laid-back publication schedule today. It’s Good Friday, the markets are closed, and many folks are probably traveling for the holiday weekend. We will be posting, but not at our regular pace.] * Stevens’s key role. [USA Today via How Appealing] * Surveillance laws outdated? He’s probably referring […]
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Environment / Environmental Law, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.05.07
* Let us help you. Defraud the government. [CNN] * UK hacker of U.S. computers loses extradition appeal. [Jurist] * Hicks sentence prompts Lindh to ask for commutation again. [AP via FindLaw] * Vermont federal judge doesn’t throw out automakers’ suit against state regulation of greenhouse gases; says there are still issues for trial despite […]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.04.07
* Supreme Court won’t hear Gitmo cases, at least not yet. [Los Angeles Times via How Appealing] * What if he DID take it out on the highway; would it be drunk driving then? [CNN] * Governors having problem making up their minds about mandating HPV vaccine. [Jurist] * Could the EPA soon be monitoring […]
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Anna Nicole Smith, Drugs, Environment / Environmental Law, Marijuana, Morning Docket, Rape, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 04.03.07
* Supreme Court says EPA can regulate greenhouse gases. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)] * Fourth Circuit’s reading of PSD regulations did not comport with Clean Air Act’s limits on judicial review of EPA regulations for validity, so Duke Energy’s summary judgment gets reversed. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)] * More interminable Anna Nicole legal news: Howard […]