Tuesday, January 2, 2007 5:31 PM - By David Lat
* Donald Trump gives on-the-record comments to a blawg (albeit an MSM-affiliated one). The man is a total media whore. But he's the little brother of a certain fabulous Third Circuit judge, so we forgive him. [WSJ Law Blog]
(Check out the photos at right. We see a definite family resemblance. Which may or may not be a good thing.)
* Speaking of siblings, our big brother wonders: "Do we smell a Jeff Skilling comeback in the air?" And hits the nail on the head with respect to Malcolm Gladwell, too. [DealBreaker]
* The start of a new year is a perfect time for blogospheric navel-gazing reflections upon the future of law-related blogging. [Opinio Juris via Volokh Conspiracy]
* As well as New Year's resolutions. [Nasty, Brutish & Short; Jeremy Blachman; Althouse]
* And raucous law blogger parties. Woo-hoo! [Concurring Opinions; PrawfsBlawg]
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:55 AM - By B Clerker
* A unanimous Supreme Court overturns a Ninth Circuit ruling in a criminal (habeas) case. In other news, this morning the sun rose from the east. [New York Times; Washington Post]
* Enron's Jeff Skilling may get to pass "Go" on his way to jail after all. [WSJ Law Blog]
* BCS vs. the Electoral College: Is the controversy over Florida or Michigan playing Ohio State the college football version of Bush v. Gore? Or perhaps that was the LSU/USC split of 2003-04? [National Journal via MSNBC]
* "Float driver in S.C. Christmas parade charged with drunken driving." [AP]
* Christmas trees are back up in the Sea-Tac airport. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky has said he won't file a lawsuit. But if somebody else does, the Seattle airport authorities will have to throw in a menorah, a Kikombe cha Umoja, and a snowman. [Seattle Times]
Friday, October 27, 2006 1:20 PM - By David Lat
Delightful links, hand-picked with loving care by Stella Q, will appear later today. For now, here a few other quick links that caught our eye recently:
* Curious about how many Americans share your full name? Now you can find out. [TaxProf Blog]
* "Zagat's for prisons." Good stuff. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Professor Dimino wants to know: What's the most frivolous lawsuit or argument you've encountered? (A regular diet of them is served up over here; but we're sure that countless examples remain undiscovered.) [PrawfsBlawg]
* "Dukakis would have picked up at least 3 states if it had come out that he'd partied with Playboy bunnies." [Instapundit]
* Wiccans don't have standing? Give them some eye of newt and wing of bat, and they'll conjure some up in a jiffy. [Associated Press via How Appealing]
* Camille Paglia: Love her or loathe her, she's always interesting and fun to read. Especially when writing about the Mark Foley scandal. [Althouse]
* Fun with Enron emails: "Certainly all of you can stop shredding documents for 5 minutes to respond.” [Enron Explorer via WSJ Law Blog]
* Think Jeff Skilling got too harsh a sentence? You're not alone. [DealBreaker]
Monday, October 23, 2006 4:38 PM - By David Lat
Really, really long.* To wit, 292 months long. For the mathematically challenged among you, that's 24 years and four months. Ouch.
But given the size and scope of the Enron fraud, the lengthy sentence may be appropriate (even if it's higher than many Wall Streeters expected). You can compare Jeffrey Skilling's sentence to those of other leading white-collar criminals over at the WSJ Law Blog.
* We briefly contemplated a far more crude cinematic allusion, involving this movie, but thought better of it.
Skilling Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison [Associated Press]
Skilling Gets 24 Years [DealBreaker]
Skilling’s Sentence: 24 Years, 4 months [WSJ Law Blog]
Thursday, October 12, 2006 9:45 AM - By David Lat
* Buttons -- isn't that the new song by the Pussycat Dolls? Yes; but it's also the issue in a case argued before the Supreme Court yesterday. Question Presented: Was a murder defendant’s right to a fair trial violated when the judge allowed relatives of the victim to sit behind the prosecutor, sporting buttons with the victim’s photo on them? [New York Times; Washington Post; Slate]
* A federal judge rules that candidates for the state bench can't be barred from personally soliciting campaign contributions. So let's just shove C-notes down their robes. [New York Times]
* Ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling won't take the Martha Stewart approach: he'd like to remain free on bail while his appeal winds its way through the courts. This makes sense: his sentence is likely to be way longer than Martha's brief stay at Camp Cupcake. [Washington Post]
* Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was slumming it earlier this week at the Second Circuit. The Times provides a UTR-esque account of the "mind-numbing" proceedings. [New York Times]
* The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in Cunningham v. California, an important case raising the constitutionality of California's sentencing scheme -- and one that will have implications for other state sentencing systems. (Readers of the tea leaves suggest that Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito may not be in complete agreement with Justices Scalia and Thomas. Who are you calling "Scalito"?) [Sentencing Law & Policy; Los Angeles Times; New York Times]
Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:59 AM - By David Lat
(Yeah, we know, today's "Morning Docket" is coming in just in time for lunch. Sorry, we overslept...)
* Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling is facing 20 to 30 years in prison when he's sentenced next month -- but he can still get himself into even more trouble. Impressive. [Houston Chronicle via WSJ Law Blog]
* Elsewhere in Enron-land, ex-CFO Andy Fastow is seeking leniency in advance of his sentencing next week. Did you know he built a picnic table at his synagogue? [Washington Post; WSJ Law Blog]
* Clarence Hill, the death row inmate who sought to challenge the constitutionality of Florida's lethal injection procedure, was executed last night. The Supreme Court decided, by a 5-4 vote, not to grant him a new stay of execution. [New York Times]
* Something complicated happened in the House concerning the White House's proposal for interrogating and prosecuting terror suspects. Parliamentary procedure can be so wacky! Let's face it: Nothing is getting done on this until after the November elections. [Washington Post]
* Hey, that's neat: "Eugene Volokh" is on ABC's "Boston Legal." [How Appealing]
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