Eric Holder

President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address this evening, and it was even less exciting than last year (which was less exciting than the year before, when the famous Obama v. Alito showdown over Citizens United took place). Tonight was light on drama — one of the most compelling moments came early […]

Let's discuss the hiring freeze, and the state of Honors Program offers.

As I’ve previously mentioned, one of my favorite parts of the judicial nomination process is the attendant financial voyeurism. Judicial nominees are required to make detailed disclosures about their finances, allowing us to learn about their income and net worth. For example, thanks to her nomination to the Supreme Court last year, we got to […]

* DOMA dude Paul Clement filed his first brief as lead counsel for 26 states seeking to nullify Obamacare. In a land of socialist, freeloading, hippie queers, one man stands alone. [Atlanta Journal Constitution] * Actually, that’s not true — The Cooch has Clement’s back (twhs), Tweeting all the misspelled and hilarious punchlines that are […]

* Apple was hit with a lawsuit by parents angry that their credit cards were being used by their stupid kids to buy dumb swag in iPhone games. [Time] * An Italian fortune, an American woman, and the suggestion that paternity sometimes cannot be forcefully established by the simple query “Who dat is?” [New York […]

If you are new to Above the Law, you might not remember Yolanda Young. She’s an African-American woman who used to work as a staff attorney at Covington & Burling. Some time ago, she sued the firm for racial and gender discrimination. You can read all about her claims here. Regular readers of this site […]

That was fast. The criminal case against 10 Russian spies, which has captured the national imagination since their arrests on June 27, has been resolved. The New York Times reports: In a seeming flashback to the cold war, Russian and American officials traded prisoners in the bright sunlight on the tarmac of Vienna’s international airport […]

* 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 […]

The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. — Attorney General Eric Holder

Ed. note: We apologize for the late docket. Technical difficulties, rather than oversleeping, are to blame. * Yale Law School student Michael Seringhaus wants to put your DNA in a national database. [New York Times] * Judge goes heavy on the prison time and light on the restitution for the man who peephole video-taped ESPN […]

* Kenya has emerged as the chosen venue to try piracy cases. This article is worth it just for the quotes from the Kenyan piracy lawyer. Just try to imagine how much cooler your life would be if you were a Kenyan Piracy lawyer instead of a Biglaw associate. [The New York Times] * Florida […]

* AIG turned in the list of bonus recipients to New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday–let the games begin. Just kidding, I too fear for the safety of heavily compensated AIG executives–there is nothing scarier than an angry progressive. [The Los Angeles Times] * Dispensers of medical marijuana have room to breathe after Attorney […]

* SCOTUS will look at the separation of church and state when they decide whether “a cross to honor fallen soldiers can stand in a national preserve in California.” [The Los Angeles Times] * Lawyers say Madoff must have had help with his Ponzi scheme. [Bloomberg] * Attorney General Eric Holder visited Guantanamo yesterday to […]

Yes We Can…. Hire lots and lots of Supreme Court clerks? In prior posts (here and here), we reported on the impressive legal team that President Barack Obama has assembled to staff key positions in his administration. Like many of the Bush Administration lawyers they’re replacing, the Obama lawyers have impressive pedigrees: degrees from top […]

The confirmation hearings for Eric Holder as attorney general just started. We’ll try to keep an eye on it for you and update you with interesting news and notes. Especially when the Specter in the punch bowl speaks up. So far Holder has said the word “independent” twice and now we’re going through the list […]

* Covington & Burling’s Eric Holder is now definite as Obama’s choice for Attorney General. Look out for the official announcement after Thanksgiving. [Politico] * Former Hunton & Williams partner Emerson Briggs gets 70 months in federal prison for doing very bad things with his firm laptop. [Legal Times] * California AG Jerry Brown is […]