A battle went down the other day on a basketball court at Gregory Gym on the University of Texas - Austin campus. It’s a battle that has been fought across time and generations. It pitted a freshman defensive back from the Texas Longhorns (ranked #2 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll) and a UT law student (ranked #15 in the latest U.S. News law school rankings). Who hasn’t been a part of a strong kid v. smart kid fight?

The football player is freshman Kenny Vaccaro. The law student is Jonathon Fuhrman. The Austin-American Statesman takes it from here:

Fuhrman, who is identified as a UT student, told police Vaccaro and his friends were throwing basketballs at him. The affidavit said Fuhrman threw a basketball back at Vaccaro, hitting him in the head.

Fuhrman said Vaccaro then punched him in the face. The affidavit stated that Fuhrman, when he was interviewed by police, had blood coming from a cut lip.

Guys at my high school used to throw basketballs at future legal scholars all of the time. Then they would make love to all the women and be treated like gods. But now they all have multiple out-of-wedlock children and/or priors, while the future legal scholars enjoy prosperous careers and fulfilling romantic relationships. It was no big deal.

Will Vaccaro get punished for this? I’ll share some painful childhood memories, after the jump.

Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN commentator and former quarterback of The Ohio State University football team, let the fire department burn down his house. As fans from Michigan know, this is classic Buckeye behavior.

Herbstreit thought he’d get a tax deduction for his charitable gift of flammable substances. “Not so fast, my friends.”

Click on the link below to read the full story.

IRS Doesn’t Care for Kirk Herbstreit Burning Down His Own House [Going Concern]

Tim Green is a lawyer, bestselling author, and former NFL player. His forthcoming legal thriller is called Above the Law, which meant ATL had to sit down with him for an interview.

We remembered Green from his playing days with the Atlanta Falcons. Since we don’t know many linebacker lawyers, we had to know why Green decided to go to law school in the first place:

I was an English major in college and I love to read. I love to write….

I didn’t want to leave the NFL as an ex-NFL player with an English degree. I thought, what if I got a law degree? I was also also attracted to the notion of competition in the court, as a trial lawyer. I thought I’d match my wits and strategy and presentation against others. I always thought that would be exciting and fun.

Green graduated from Syracuse University College of Law in 1994. But he didn’t stop playing in the NFL until 1993. Put the two together and you come to the shocking conclusion that Green was earning his law degree while playing professional football:

I enjoyed it. I liked being at school. I liked the dichotomy of spending half of my year immersed in a rough physical world, and spending the other half of my year with people who were thoughtful, intelligent, and well read.

After the jump, we learn that Above the Law is a story about a lawyer Green believes is inside most attorneys.

At last weekend’s NFL draft, University of Michigan wide receiver Mario Manningham, who was once projected as a late first-round draft pick, saw his stock drop all the way to the third round (95th overall). This happened after he sent a letter to the 32 NFL teams admitting to having smoked marijuana in college. Only the Super Bowl champion New York Giants (incidentally owned by Fordham Law School graduate John Mara) did not become scared away from drafting the former Wolverines wide receiver.

According to published reports, Manningham, when initially asked about his past drug use in interviews, denied ever using marijuana. However, upon hiring an agent (something that Manningham had to delay based on the NFLPA’s new “junior rule”), he wrote a follow-up letter to NFL teams admitting the truth, adding that “I don’t use marijuana anymore — and I have passed tests since.”

Candor about past drug use can be tricky for certain NFL candidates. In many years, evidence of trying marijuana has been as damaging to an NFL prospect’s draft stock as it was to Douglas Ginsburg’s 1987 bid for Supreme Court nomination. In the 1995 NFL draft, for example, University of Miami defensive lineman Warren Sapp, who most had projected as the draft’s first overall pick, fell all the way to no. 11 upon news that he tested positive for marijuana at that year’s combine. Indeed, Manningham’s situation is a bit different. “Super Mario” actually passed his drug tests at the 2008 combine. He did, however, test positive for marijuana twice while at the University of Michigan.

There are some real reasons why certain NFL teams choose not to sign players who admit to having tried marijuana. First, there is the malum prohibitum argument. Marijuana is illegal in the United States. Someone that breaks the law in any capacity shows disrespect for authority. One who disrespects authority is more likely to disobey a team’s internal rules. This spells bad news, especially for disciplinarian coaches.

Then, there are the medical arguments against an athlete using marijuana, both with respect to short-term and long-term health risks. Finally, some NFL teams fear that players who test positive for marijuana in college or shortly thereafter are more likely to get suspended for marijuana use in the pros. (See, e.g., Ricky Williams).

But might there also be less valid reasons for teams to avoid pot-smoking players? Read more, after the jump.

* Does the Supreme Court’s Stoneridge decision give the “getaway drivers” of securities fraud a free pass? [OverHedged]

* Apparently Green Bay fans really like the Packers. [SI.com]

* Miss Loyola 2L? Meet Kirsten Wolf. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Did Barack Obama receive an illegal endorsement? [TaxProf Blog]

* Speaking of Obama, his minister had this to say about Bill Clinton: “He did the same thing to us that he did to Monica Lewinsky.” Can someone please remove the cigar from the national vajayjay? [Baltimore Sun]

Sometimes being named Lawyer of the Day is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. From the AP:

A woman is seeking an arrest warrant against suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones [pictured], claiming he punched her at an Atlanta strip club. Fulton County Magistrate Court officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Wanda S. Jackson asked for the warrant after a Jan. 3 altercation at the Body Tap Strip Club.

Jackson, an attorney, says in her filing that she was in the club’s office when an angry Jones accused managers of stealing his money and bracelet.

“I was sitting in the office and he lunged at me numerous times in an effort to do grave bodily harm,” Jackson wrote in the warrant application filed Jan. 7. “Veronica Jones, an owner, went into the hall to deal with a member of his entourage. I followed to gawk. He was in the hall, surprisingly reached over or around a security guard and sucker punched me in my left eye.”

As for why a female attorney was at a strip club:

WSB-TV in Atlanta reported that Jackson said she was in the strip club because of a divorce case she is handling.

So what’s the over/under on how long it will take Jackson to file a civil suit against Jones?

Woman: Pacman Punched Her at Strip Club [Atlanta Journal Constitution]
Pacman faces trouble again [AP via SI.com]
Wanda Sherelle Jackson [State Bar of Georgia]

Check out this continuance motion (PDF), filed yesterday in Louisiana state court. It’s pretty great — especially the footnotes.

Update: As noted in the comments, there is precedent for this motion in Louisiana state court. See Danos v. Avondale Industries, Inc. (unpublished order).

P.S. We’re still accepting applications for the position of ATL “Sports and the Law” columnist (details here). If you’ve already applied, thank you for your application. We are reviewing the many excellent submissions and will announce a decision in the new year. Thanks!

Motion to Continue Trial Due to Conflict with the LSU Tigers National Championship Game
[Joseph Harrell v. Fred Spencer and Imperial Casualty Insurance Company]

Actually, as it turns out, Judge Jeffrey Levenson DID say he was sorry — immediately after making the ill-considered gay football / “wide receiver” crack that made him our Judge of the Day. And he apologized repeatedly during the course of the hearing, too.

But that hasn’t stopped the hue and cry. From the Daily Business Review:

Bar leaders and the public defender issued new calls Thursday for sensitivity training for Broward judges after Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson made an off-color joke in his courtroom about a teenage boy who allegedly had sex with an adult male defendant.

“If this incident doesn’t scream loudly how desperately we need diversity and sensitivity training in this circuit, then I don’t know what will,” said Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein. “In a matter of a year or two years, we had a judge insult Haitian-Americans, another insult African-Americans, had a third judge insulting blacks, Hispanics and Catholics, and a fourth judge insulting gay people.”

Maybe Judge Levenson should skip the sensitivity training and become a television judge. After all, TV judges get PAID to insult the litigants.

Food for thought: Why does Florida produce so many TV judges? It is because of their penchant, noted by PD Howard Finkelstein, for being rude and abusive?

The following are former Floridian jurists who left the state bench for the boob tube: Marilyn Milian, of the People’s Court (previously discussed here); Alex Ferrer, a/k/a “Judge Alex”; David Young, the gay TV judge; and the notorious Anna Nicole Smith judge, Larry Seidlin (not on air yet, but rumored to arrive in fall 2008).

Broward Courts: New chief’s honeymoon over [Daily Business Review]

Earlier: Judge of the Day: Jeffrey Levenson

One of the perks of being a judge is that everyone has to laugh at your jokes. Except when they’re in poor taste and arguably offensive.

If you’re going to make an attempt at humor in the courtroom, proceed with caution — even if you’re the one wearing the robe. From Rumpole (via S.D. Fla. Blog):

Well, those fine folks North Of the Border have done it again.

This time it is Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Levenson, who put his robed foot in his mouth by making an inappropriate joke about the Defendant in a sexual battery case during the charge conference….

To summarize, apparently the Defendant is a high school football player, and the case involved the allegation of illegal sexual contact with another male. Judge Levenson asked what position the defendant played. He was told “linebacker” and another person in the courtroom said “Tight End” at which point Judge Levenson said “Wide Receiver?”

A little bit more, after the jump.

* Don’t try doing #2 at the Larry Craig airport bathroom, unless you want tourists photographing your ankles in a “wide stance.” [BBC via Althouse; Idaho Statesman via Drudge]

* Did President Bush pick Michael Mukasey as his AG nominee to avoid a “bruising, potentially embarrassing fight” with the Democrats? Or is that analysis “way too facile”? [NYObserver.com; Marc Ambinder]

* Can New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick deduct his $500,000 fine? [TaxProf Blog via WSJ Law Blog]

* Blawg Review #126 is now available — with a heavy emphasis on business and the law (subjects of great interest to many of you). [Small Business Trends via Blawg Review]

A tipster sent us this article, with a special request for our ongoing series on law firm perks:

“How about a story on REAL perks? It’s football season, and Foley & Lardner has a suite at Camp Randall, home of the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers.”

“Can we compare the perks at The Garden, Fenway, Yankee Stadium?”

You can get tickets to sporting events from your friends at the printers. Or you can pay for them out of your ample salary (if you’re in Biglaw).

But what firms, in addition to Foley & Lardner, have suites at stadiums, or season tickets to top sports teams? And if your firm does have these perks, how can you avail yourself of them?

Please discuss this subject in the comments. Thanks.

UW football: Suite seats for charity [Wisconsin State Journal]

Michael Vick, dressed in a sober charcoal suit and gold tie, just made a short public statement about his case. He took no questions. Here are some excerpts.

“For most of my life, I’ve been a football player, not a public speaker…. I’d like to take this opportunity to speak from the heart.”

He apologized to Commissioner Roger Goodell, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and Vick’s teammates, for “not being honest” in “previous discussions we had.”

“I was ashamed. I’ve disappointed in myself, to say the least.”

“I’d like to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts. What I did was very immature, so I need to grow up.”

[Dogfighting is inhumane, brutal, despicable — but immature? It’s not the first word that comes to our mind. And given the content of ATL, we consider ourselves experts in immaturity.]

“I take full responsibility for my actions.”

“Dogfighting is a terrible thing and I do reject it.”

“Through this situation I’ve found Jesus, and I dedicate my life to God.”

[Of course — so predictable. Why can’t we have disgraced public figures pledge themselves to the principles of Wicca?]

“I’ve got a lot to think about in the next year or so…. I’ve got a lot of down time to think about how to make Michael Vick a better person.”

[That’s for sure — and as just noted, Judge Hudson isn’t bound by the parties’ recommendations or the 12 to 18 month sentencing guidelines range. He’s bound only by the five-year statutory maximum.]

The plea hearing for the embattled star quarterback took place this morning. One of Michael Vick’s lawyers, Billy Martin, spoke to reporters on the courthouse steps. He stated that “this matter is concluded until December 10th, when Judge Hudson will sentence Michael Vick according to the plea agreement.” He also announced that Vick will make a statement of his own at 11:30 AM today.

At the hearing, Judge Henry Hudson told Michael Vick something along these lines: “You know you’re taking your chances here. I’m not bound by the recommendations [of the parties].”

A correct statement of the law, especially after Booker? Yes. A smart thing for a judge to do at a plea hearing, to prevent the defendant from later claiming he was blindsided? Sure.

But, reading the tea leaves a bit, we’d hazard a guess that Judge Hudson might give Vick significantly more than the 12 or so months that the parties will recommend (per the plea agreement). Stay tuned.

(We’d guess that the parties will recommend a year and a day, which will make Vick eligible for certain “good time” credits applicable only to sentences over a year.)

The plea agreement (PDF) for star quarterback Michael Vick has been filed in federal court. In the statement of facts (PDF) accompanying the agreement, Vick admits involvement in the dogfighting conspiracy (including funding it), but declines to admit a number of other allegations. According to ESPN, Vick claims that he “did not place side bets and did not receive proceeds from purses from the fights.”

Here’s what the agreement provides with respect to sentencing:

Assuming zero criminal history, an adjusted offense level of 13 gives you an imprisonment range of 12 to 18 months. Of course, and as noted in the agreement, the sentencing judge is not bound by the guidelines (thanks to Booker).

What’s next in procedural terms, from CNN:

Vick, 27, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday, where he is expected to plead guilty before a judge. The judge in the case will have the final say over the plea agreement.

Presiding over Vick’s case is Judge Henry Hudson, a Bush II appointee to the bench and a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (under Bush I). He has an impressive resume, but we don’t know much about him personally. We welcome your thoughts on Judge Hudson in the comments.

Vick files plea agreement admitting to dogfighting [ESPN.com]
Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy [CNN]

* Nurse sues Pacman. [Reno-Gazette Journal]

* Defense rests in Spector trial. [CNN]

* Patent infringers in less treble. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Yeah, I’m sure Texas is going to stop killing people because Europe wants them to. [Jurist]

* State charges for Vick too? [AP via Yahoo!]

Woof woof! This just in, from Fox News (via AFP via Drudge):

The lead attorney for pro football star Michael Vick said Monday that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to dogfighting and related charges and will “accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made.”

Billy Martin, heading up Vick’s legal team, issued the following statement:

“After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologizes again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter.”

Especially all the poor pooches, God rest their doggie souls.

But wait — are we sure about this?

The statement apparently took federal officials by surprise.

Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for U.S. States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg, said he had not heard of an agreement in the Vick case, and that he was trying to reach prosecutors.

We’ll keep you posted.

Update: This looks solid; CNN has this report. Apparently a status conference is taking place this afternoon.

Vick Attorney Says Star Quarterback Will Plead Guilty in Dogfighting Case [Fox News]
Vick agrees to plea deal, prison possible [CNN]

* Who needs lawyers? [WSJ Law Blog]

* Take the deal, Vick. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* Buyer’s remorse on the surveillance law? [New York Times]

* I want a new drug website. [BBC]

* Being the creepiest guy on earth is apparently not a crime. [CNN]

Guess we can’t get no respect from the mainstream media. Not even from Fox News, which carries a story that we brought you last month.

Meanwhile, in other Michael Vick developments, lawyers for the Falcons quarterback are working on getting him a plea deal. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Atlanta lawyer Dan Meachum, a member of Vick’s defense team, declined to comment Tuesday on any possible negotiations.

“I stand by Michael Vick,” Meachum said. “He’s a good kid in a bad situation. I’m a dog owner, a dog lover. I would not be involved in this case if I didn’t believe in him.”

And some of his best friends are black Labradors!

S.C. Inmate Hits Michael Vick With ‘$63 Billion’ Lawsuit [Fox News via Drudge Report]
Vick attorneys negotiating plea [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

(Much) Earlier: Lawsuit of the Day: Vick’s A Defendant In A Federal Civil Suit, Too

From ESPN.com (gavel bang: commenter):

In another [Michael] Vick-related matter, the quarterback’s camp has begun interviewing candidates to beef up his legal defense team in the event he goes to trial [on federal charges of conspiracy related to an alleged dogfighting venture].

Vick’s longtime personal attorney, Lawrence Woodward, is expected to remain part of the defense team, but advisors have urged that the Falcons star consider adding counsel with experience in the federal courts.

The Vick camp has solicited recommendations and is believed to have interviewed at least one prominent defender from the prestigious Washington, D.C., firm of Wilmer Hale.

And from a second commenter:

WilmerHale for Vick? Wow, doesn’t seem like a dog-fighting defense shop. They do white collar defense, but that’s a different ball game. From their website: “We have defended clients against allegations of insider trading; securities, healthcare, accounting and government contracts fraud; criminal antitrust violations; money laundering; and alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other statutes.”

So, any speculation as to which WilmerHale lawyer is being considered by Team Vick? Or a recommendation of a top “dog-fighting defense shop” for the embattled sports star?

NFL, Falcons could ask Vick to focus energies in court [ESPN.com]

* Who let the dogs fight? Who? Who? Feds say: football star Michael Vick. [CNN; TSG]

* Bar-Bri class reps (no, different class reps): No incentive payments for you. [The Recorder]

* Seven-figure legal bills: par for the course for white-collar criminal defendants. [WSJ Law Blog]

* India market hot for law firms. [Law.com]

* Billionaire Siebel gets California Supreme Court’s ok to sue lawyer and judge despite settlement. [The Recorder]

* UK girl loses fight to wear purity ring at school. Chastity belt still under review. [MSNBC]

* Ohio Turnpike murder-for-hire case could result in death sentence. [CNN]