* Paris isn't the only Hilton getting in trouble for sex. The former manager of a restaurant in the Hilton Minneapolis is suing the Hilton for "undirected" sexual harrassment because he walked in on upper management having an orgy. [Courthouse News Service]
* GMAC LLC, the financing arm of General Motors, is not allowing holders of so-called SmartNotes to exchange thier notes for more secure bonds. The exchange, which the company is offering as a ploy to get some of the bail-out money, is "limited to institutional notes and does not include retail debt instruments." This means that holders of SmartNotes may get nothing if the company goes bankrupt, which could lead to some serious law suits. [Bloomberg.com]
* Lawyers: 1, bankers: 0. Former bankruptcy lawyer James H.M. Sprayregen is returning to Kirkland & Ellis after a three-year stint in the restructuring group at Goldman Sachs. The decision represents a triumph for corporate lawyers in their long standing rivalry against financiers. [The New York Times]
* Protestors in Thailand have concentrated their efforts on the airports in anticipation of a court verdict Tuesday that will likely order the Somchai's People Power Party to disband. [Reuters]
* A plea-deal has been offered to an 8-year-old boy in Arizona, who confessed to killing his father and another man. [ABC News]
* The Federal Trade Commission is stopping the merger of two software companies because of the potential loss of competition. Capitalism will prevail! [Courthouse News Service]
We owe that quip to our tipster. Said correspondent pointed out to us that Jordan Schwartz, a rising 3L at GW Law and summer associate at Skadden, was among the first people to pick up an application for a D.C. handgun license yesterday. Schwartz is quoted in several stories covering the event (links collected below).
Among the roughly half-dozen residents who arrived early Thursday was Jordan Schwartz, a 23-year-old law student at George Washington University.
Mr. Schwartz said he does not own a gun but thinks submitting an application is important because it allows him and others to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
"I'm putting myself in a position to own a handgun," said Mr. Schwartz, who lives in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in Northwest. "I think I should have the right to defend myself."
At Skadden, only the strong survive. SASMF partners, consider yourselves warned: Jordan Schwartz won't take crap assignments.
Even though Schwartz appears to be a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights -- the AP story quotes him describing yesterday as "an extremely momentous day" -- one Washington Times commenter views him as a pansy for even submitting to the District's licensing process:
Besides the fact that what the Gestapo in DC is doing is blatantly still unconstitutional and smacks of pure fascism, the biggest joke in this story is so-called "law student" Jordan Schwartz. The story states that he "thinks submitting an application is important because it allows him and others to exercise their Second Amendment rights."
How does having to fill out an application for permission from the government to do something which humans have a fundamental right to do, protect a Constitutional right? What part of "shall not be infringed" does this aspiring lawyer NOT understand?
A sensible prerequisite to owning and handling a deadly weapon is having a functioning brain. Maybe Mr. Schwartz should study harder at "law school." And read some history while he's at it.
All righty then! Gotta love those Times readers (Washington Times, not New York Times).
Update: Speaking of Skadden summer associate adventures, we've gotten word of a story out of New York that we're trying to get confirmation and more details on. If you think you know what we're talking about, please email us. Thanks.
* A look back on the Supreme Court Term just ended. (Also: Is this Linda Greenhouse's swan song?) [New York Times]
Update: No, it's not. Greenhouse informed us by email that she'll be at the Times until July 18 and will be writing a few more pieces between now and then.
Update: The Court released its opinion in Heller, and it upheld the lower court's ruling that the D.C. handgun ban is unconstitutional on Second Amendment grounds. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion, with Justices Breyer, Stevens, Souter and Ginsberg dissenting. You can read the full opinion here. For excellent, ongoing analysis, see SCOTUSblog.
As you probably know, today is a big day for SCOTUS-watchers. The Court is expected to issue its three final rulings for this term today. The Justices won't return until October 6th.
Of today's three decisions, the most significant is District of Columbia v. Heller, the D.C. gun control case. The constitutionality of the District's 32-year old law banning the ownership of handguns is being challenged. The Court will decide whether to affirm a 2007 appeals court ruling that overturned D.C.'s ban on Second Amendment grounds and, by implication, whether such bans violate the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms" by keeping individuals, as opposed to state militias, from owning handguns. The opinion should be released at any minute.
Here's the AP's sparse background summary of the case, and here's CNN's more thorough discussion. If, however, you want minute-by-minute coverage, SCOTUSblog has a running feed set up so you won't miss a thing.
Today, barring some unforeseen development, the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down its decision in the D.C. gun control case, District of Columbia v. Heller. Heller is truly a blockbuster case, and the ruling -- the Court's first major pronouncement on the Second Amendment in 68 years (or arguably ever) -- is one of the most eagerly anticipated of the entire Term.
When Heller was argued back in March, numerous people camped out overnight to secure seats in the courtroom for the historic proceedings. As you may recall, we took an ATL Field Trip to visit them (see here and here). We now revisit that day, in advance of the opinion hand-down later this morning, and pass along some photos we took of the Heller campers (and neglected to share before).
The mood among the crowd in front of One First Street was festive. The group included law students and recent alumni from Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, and GW law schools. The first seven people in line had camped out the night before our visit, meaning that they wound up sleeping in front of the Court for two consecutive nights to snag their coveted seats. There were also numerous members of the media present (e.g., a Swiss TV crew).
We took an informal survey of the first 20 campers, to find out their views on the case. Fifteen of the 20 supported Heller and an individual right to bear arms (although their views differed somewhat on what might constitute reasonable regulation). Four were in favor of the D.C. gun ban in its current form. One described himself as a "swing vote," a la Justice Kennedy.
We also took some photographs. The picture appearing at the top of this post is of Richard Hohensee, previously introduced to ATL readers here. You can see the rest of the pics, which together constitute a photo essay of sorts about the Heller case, by clicking here (or on the Picasa web album link below).
* China and Iran lead the world in executions, according to Amnesty International's annual report on the death penalty. The U.S. comes in fifth worldwide. [AP]
* Gun control efforts build momentum at the state level. [New York Times]
* Some women return to the Texas polygamist ranch; judge seeks lawyers to represent children in upcoming custody battles. [CNN]
* Author J.K. Rowling holds her own while testifying before a crowd of Manhattan muggles. (Hopefully she won't sue us for using the word "muggle.") [WSJ Law Blog; WSJ Law Blog]
* Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a past Lawyer of the Day, remains in a bitter impasse with the Detroit city council. [New York Times]
* Supreme Court justices tap their former clerks to pick up "orphaned" arguments -- arguments in cases where "the respondent abandons the lower court decision that the petitioner is challenging." [Legal Times]
* Legal restrictions on gifts to universities can generate quirky results years later. [New York Times]
* Collected coverage of yesterday's Supreme Court oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Second Amendment case concerning D.C. gun control. [SCOTUSblog (linkwrap); How Appealing (linkwrap)]
* NJ prosecutors subpoena records from JuicyCampus.com (think AutoAdmit for college students). [AP]
* An update on former Lawyer of the Day Kwame Kilpatrick: the Detroit City Council wants him to resign as mayor, but he's vowing not to leave. [New York Times]
* Olympic gold-medal hottie who had "close personal relationship" with New York's latest Luv Guv, David Paterson, says he helped her land a government job. [New York Post via Drudge]
* The full transcript of yesterday's speech by Barack Obama on race. [Washington Post]
* "Are we headed for another Great Depression?" [McClatchy]
* Quelle surprise: Bear Stearns shareholder lawsuit (filed in S.D.N.Y. by Coughlin Stoia). [Bloomberg; WSJ Law Blog (PDF of complaint)]
* Speaking of Bear Stearns, here are some law firms losing out on BSC business. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Tenth Circuit reverses convictions of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio. [AP]
* Harvard Law School will pay the 3L tuition of future students who agree to work for nonprofit organizations or government for five years following graduation. [New York Times via Tax Prof Blog; Harvard Law School (news release)]
* Settlement in Paul McCartney-Heather Mills divorce (more on this later). [Legal Week]
* SCOTUS to hear Second Amendment / D.C. gun control case today (more on this later too). [New York Times; Reuters]
We just got back from visiting the Supreme Court, where we hung out with the (sizable and growing) crowd of people camped out at One First Street, so they can get seats in the courtroom for tomorrow's argument in the D.C. gun control case, District of Columbia v. Heller (previously discussed here).
We'll have more in subsequent posts. For now, we pass along this highlight. It's a video of Alan Korwin and Robert Blackmer -- strong supporters of Second Amendment rights, and members of a group called "The Cartridge Family" -- singing their own unique version of "That'll Be the Day," with alternative lyrics. Check it out:
There's a national movement pushing for law students to have the right to carry guns on campus. They've even got an official acronym: SCCC (Students for Concealed Carry on Campus). The group formed in response to the VA Tech shootings last year, and currently claims to have more than 16,000 members.
They argue that when students know that other students may be armed, it has a preventative effect on anyone contemplating an NIU or VA Tech style shooting. The group also wants students to be able to protect themselves in case of another tragedy.
I fancy myself a Second Amendment moderate - I believe in a well-regulated right to bear arms - but I'm not at all excited about having armed students in class. For one thing, it changes the dynamic of a classroom when any odd turn during Property immediately creates the risk of armed conflict. And the possibility that students might be packing also puts a crimp in certain interesting classroom techniques - such as the famous surprise interloper who makes a dramatic entry (and departure) at the beginning of a criminal procedure class on eyewitness identification. (I've avoided these techniques ever since I discovered several years ago that, notwithstanding campus rules, some students already do carry in class.)
A lawyer for a sports marketer who is suing football star Reggie Bush said he and his client walked out of a deposition Tuesday after a bodyguard for Bush's attorney opened his jacket to expose a pistol.
"He made sure we saw it," said attorney Brian Watkins, who represents sports marketer Lloyd Lake.
Watkins said Bush attorney David Cornwell told him the bodyguard had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The bodyguard identified himself only by his first name and did not present a business card, Watkins said.
Because it's totally cool to have a gunman in your depo room, as long as you have his business card.
"It's outrageous that he shows up strapped for a deposition," Watkins said. "That's outrageous conduct in the lawyer world. Come on, we're lawyers. I don't threaten people, I sue them."
That's glib, Mr. Watkins. Isn't threatening part of a lawyer's job description? Although not typically with firearms, to be sure.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the law firm that hosted the deposition in its San Diego office, said it was investigating. It said none of its lawyers were present at the deposition.
"The firm absolutely prohibits the presence of firearms in any of our offices and we believe our personnel were unaware that a firearm had been brought onto our premises, assuming that did occur," the firm said in a statement.
Any firm that does allow attorneys to tote guns to work deserves to go up a few spots on the Vault 100. Because that would be badass. Packing heat would put the "mofo" in MoFo.
Next up in Biglaw Perk Watch: Concealed weaponry?
Update: A tipster tells us:
The other side of this is in this ESPN story: Lake is a convicted gang member and, according to Bush's attorney Cornwell, made threats of violence including through his own attorney, Watkins.
"Cornwell also reported details of his first meeting with Watkins. Watkins told Cornwell that Lake was a gang member and that if the Bush camp did not pay off Lake, he [Watkins] could not control him. Cornwell also said that Lake made two threats against Bush in December 2007. After discussing the threats with law enforcement and private security professionals, Bush's legal team was told to take precautions when in Lake's presence."
Sure, it might feel really good to (1) bite your ex-boyfriend on the arm, hand and ear; (2) hold a butcher knife to his head; and (3) threaten to kill him. Just imagine how satisfying that bunny-boiling must have been for Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction.
But if there's any truth to the allegations against Arizona law student, former judicial extern, and ex-beauty queen Kumari Fulbright, and if her experience is at all representative, it won't do wonders for your looks:
More about the alleged misadventures of the Fulbright scholar -- who was indicted last month on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, among other things -- below the fold (i.e., click on the "Continue reading" link below).
Yesterday's New York Times contains an interesting op-ed about how to read the Second Amendment. Adam Freedman -- author of The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese, a potential stocking stuffer for the lawyer in your life -- parses the use of commas in the amendment. He concludes:
[At the time of the Second Amendment's drafting,] lawmakers took a devil-may-care approach to punctuation. Often, the whole business of punctuation was left to the discretion of scriveners, who liked to show their chops by inserting as many varied marks as possible.
Another problem with trying to find meaning in the Second Amendment’s commas is that nobody is certain how many commas it is supposed to have. The version that ended up in the National Archives has three, but that may be a fluke. Legal historians note that some states ratified a two-comma version. At least one recent law journal article refers to a four-comma version.
The best way to make sense of the Second Amendment is to take away all the commas (which, I know, means that only outlaws will have commas). Without the distracting commas, one can focus on the grammar of the sentence.
... [W]hen the justices finish diagramming the Second Amendment, they should end up with something that expresses a causal link, like: “Because a well regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” In other words, the amendment is really about protecting militias, notwithstanding the originalist arguments to the contrary.
In fairness to the other side of the debate, that's just one scholar's opinion. Many others, including prominent liberal academics, disagree.
* John Carney on backdating: "Although it was billed as the latest financial crime of the century, backdating is turning out to have some very minor results. Few prosecutions, stalled or failed lawsuits..." [DealBreaker]
* Glenn Reynolds on the Omaha mall shooting: "[W]e've reached the point at which a facility that bans firearms, making its patrons unable to defend themselves, should be subject to lawsuit for its failure to protect them." [Instapundit]
* Ann Althouse on Hillary Clinton: "The resistance I feel toward Hillary has to do do with her advancement under the aegis of a powerful man — a powerful man who seems to have diminished quite a number of women." [Althouse]
* Michael Dimino on SOC: "Justice O'Connor's status as the first woman on the Court makes it easy to praise her. I cannot imagine that she would be receiving the praise that she gets from the country if she were male." [PrawfsBlawg]
* Valerie Plame, whose exposure as a CIA agent launched lengthy legal proceedings, on the prospect of posing in Playboy: "I'm a mother of twins, are you kidding me?" [Washington Examiner / Yeas and Nays via Gawker]
Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:25 PM - By David Lat
Compared to their colleagues in the trial court, appellate judges have a reputation for being delicate, academic creatures, with less in the way of "street smarts." But don't lump New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson in that group.
New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson expected the worst Tuesday night when he fell to the ground as he tried to fight off a man lunging at him with a knife.
"I really thought the son of a gun was gonna stab me when I was down," he said.
So how did it all unfold?
Robinson, 65, said in an interview Wednesday that the ski-mask-wearing assailant demanded valuables from him and two cousins visiting from San Diego as they walked to their car parked near La Fonda about 10 p.m.
But Robinson refused the robber's demands:
"He said 'Give me your money, (expletive)!' I said, 'I'm not gonna give you a damn thing!'''
Nice. But we do wish the judge had invoked his judicial office. Maybe he could have held his assailant in contempt?
It's Friday, just shy of 5 PM Eastern time. Where are the bonus announcements? The silence is suspicious. If you're sitting on bonus news that we haven't reported, please reach out to us by email (subject line: "Associate Bonus Watch"). Thanks.
* Ann Althouse: We love it when she gets medieval -- or should we say me-diva? -- on a hapless blogger's a**. [Althouse]
* Paris isn't the only Hilton getting in trouble for sex. The former manager of a restaurant in the Hilton Minneapolis is suing the Hilton for "undirected" sexual harrassment because he walked in on upper management having an orgy. [Courthouse News Service]
(18) Comments
* A look back on the Supreme Court Term just ended. (Also: Is this Linda Greenhouse's swan song?) [
* Collected coverage of yesterday's Supreme Court oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Second Amendment case concerning D.C. gun control. [
* "Are we headed for another Great Depression?" [
We're having a very 
* NRA defends the rights of hurricane victims to 
Yesterday's New York Times contains an 
* Bush administration seeks greater power over promotions of military lawyers. [
* Dan Solove, author of 
Compared to their colleagues in the trial court, appellate judges have a reputation for being delicate, academic creatures, with less in the way of "street smarts." But don't lump New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge 
It's Friday, just shy of 5 PM Eastern time. Where are the bonus announcements? The silence is suspicious. If you're sitting on bonus news that we haven't reported, please reach out to us 
