The Sudoku obsession seems to be on the decline in the U.S., anecdotally speaking. But it's still all the rage in Australia, at least in one courtroom.

Almost half of the jury in a drug conspiracy trial was whiling away the hours playing the numbers game. From CNN:

An Australian judge has aborted a drug trial after discovering that some of the jurors were playing the puzzle game Sudoku while evidence was being given.

The $950,000 drugs trial was aborted after the judge discovered that jurors had been playing Sudoku.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra ended the trial Tuesday for two men facing drugs conspiracy charges. The trial had been running for 66 days and had cost taxpayers an estimated US $950,000.

The judge was alerted after it was observed the jurors were writing vertically, rather than horizontally. It had been assumed they were taking notes.

Sixty-six days in... can you really blame them?

Jurors of the future, be warned: stick to games that require you to write horizontally.

Sudoku-playing jurors halt $950,000 trial [CNN]

Twelve Angry Men, move over; now there's someone meatier. A juicy judicial celebrity sighting, from the Las Vegas Sun:

Suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson returned to the Regional Justice Center on Friday -- for jury duty.

While waiting for an assignment, Halverson, who can't roll through the courthouse on her motorized scooter without attracting attention, turned quite a few heads, including those of several prosecutors at the district attorney's office, which is on the same floor as the jury service room.

Las Vegas lawyers: If you're hoping to have Halverson on your jury, sorry. Her Honor wound up being assigned to a civil trial that was subsequently postponed, "bringing an abrupt halt to her brief public service on the other side of the bench."

Suspended judge can't even get out of jury duty [Las Vegas Sun]

We seem to be on a drug bust kick today. ATL says: "Just say no!"

Especially while you're hanging out behind the courthouse on a jury break. From the Houston Chronicle:

Judge Sherman Ross tried to assemble a jury of peers for a woman accused of possession of a marijuana on trial Tuesday.

But authorities say prospective juror Cornelia Mayo might have taken that concept a bit too far after she was caught smoking a joint outside the courthouse during a break.

Give that juror a bong hit, and she will acquit.

In other drug news, Georgia has a law going into effect July 1st that bans retailers from selling marijuana-flavored candy to kids, punishable with a $500 fine. The man responsible for pushing the bill forward in the Georgia state senate? Senator Stoner.

It targets businesses that sell the candies with drug-inspired names such as "Kronic Kandy" and "Pot Suckers." The law says the candies promote drug use.

Senator Doug Stoner pushed the bill in the senate. "I don't think that folks are aware this is going on," Stoner told Channel 2 in April. "It's mainly, from what I can tell, particularly targeted to minority communities."

Remember the good old days, when retail stores only tried to push candy cigarettes?

Prospective juror in pot trial caught smoking marijuana [Houston Chronicle]
Georgia Law Bans Retailers From Selling 'Pot Candy' To Minors [WSB TV]

* NRA defends the rights of hurricane victims to shoot at the National Guard keep guns. [AP via How Appealing]

* French "aid" workers sentenced to eight years of hard labor in Chad "orphan" case. [Jurist]

* Apparently if you're a rapper you can show up at court when you damn well please. [Athens Banner-Herald]

* If you feel guilty about it, at least you can take comfort in the fact that you've helped set up an appeal. [CNN]

* We know you guys never tire of talking about the tough job market for graduates of non-top-tier law schools. Here is Sam Kamin's take on Amir Efrati's WSJ piece. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Can't get a Biglaw gig, perhaps because you're a Tier 2 (or Tier 3 or Tier 4) grad? Why not hang out your own shingle? [Build A Solo Practice, LLC]

* Still on this week's non-top-tier law school theme, Dave Hoffman wonders: "[I]s there a point to law school beyond sorting students?" [Concurring Opinions]

* Vault is beloved not just by prestige-obsessed law students, but by investors, too. A private equity firm just bought a stake in Vault that values it at $60-$85 million. [alarm: clock]

* We have no difficulty believing this SCOTUS clerk gossip. [BeldarBlogs]

* Maybe Vanessa Hudgens should pay her lawyer in kind. Autographed nudie pics would surely fetch a pretty penny on eBay. [E! Online]

* Wondering whether there's a double jeopardy issue with respect to the state charges against Michael Vick? [WSJ Law Blog]

* Want to pick up some advice on the voir dire process -- and catch up on the last week of legal blogging at the same time? Check out Blawg Review #127, by trial lawyer and jury consultant Anne Reed. [Deliberations via Blawg Review]

Or if you do, be discreet about it. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A Milwaukee woman who became verbally abusive to jury management staff and walked out of the Milwaukee County Courthouse without serving her jury duty time has been charged with violating a seldom-used state law.

According to a complaint, Zandra Rodgers, 40, was initially summoned to jury service in November 2006. She postponed the service four times before she showed up May 21.

According to a statement of Milwaukee County sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Paape, he was summoned to the jury room to deal with a "disgruntled juror." According to Paape, Rodgers was loud and profane, prompting him to ask her to step into the hallway to discuss her issues privately. She declined to discuss the matter and left the courthouse, according to the complaint....

Clerk of Courts John Barrett said most people realize the importance of jury duty, referred to in state law as the "most cherished constitutional right."

Jury duty might then also qualify as the "most eagerly relinquished constitutional right."

(Don't get us wrong -- we'd love to serve on a jury (and came thisclose to doing so). But most people view jury duty as a hassle and a burden.)

Woman charged with violating jury duty law [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

We love pro se litigants here at ATL. Like the guy suing Michael Vick, alleging that Vick stole his dogs and abused them, subjected him to "microwave testing," and pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

Today's pro se litigant is a defendant rather than a plaintiff. From an article warning that representing yourself can be risky (who knew?), in the Virginian-Pilot:

Charles Willis knew he was no match for the prosecutor.

Police had given him a citation for illegally parking in a fire lane at a home improvement store in Chesapeake, and the Hickory man wanted to fight it.

But on his income - he's retired and lives on his Social Security disability check - he couldn't afford it. So on Tuesday morning, the 58-year-old made his way to Chesapeake Circuit Court with his walking cane, armed with a briefcase filled with notes and pictures from the scene.

Like a growing number of defendants these days, Willis was going to represent himself.

Ruh-roh. We suspect this won't end happily.

Read more, after the jump.

* Can you invoke the Fifth Amendment if you're a juror being voir dired? [Southern District of Florida Blog]

* When it comes to the administrative state, you can run but you can't hide. [DealBreaker]

* The Elizabeth Halverson saga rolls on -- and social studies teachers are grateful for the judicial soap opera: “My high school students have never read the newspaper with such genuine excitement before... So please, let Judge Halverson stay on the bench, just a little bit longer.” [ABA Journal]

* Who's up for an Italian sausage grinder? [New York Post]

* Washingtonienne, the sequel? But this time around, blame the "backdoor action" on the Spicy Mussel Soup. [Medill Reports]

* A compelling defense of Judge Dennis Jacobs's "look ma, no eyes" approach to dissenting. [ProfessorBainbridge.com]

* "My friends said to me, 'It would take a murder trial for you to meet the right person.'" [Associated Press]

* Because we need to use the "Weirdness" tag at least once a day. [Underbelly]

While we're on the subject of reluctant jurors, check out this news story:

A female Muslim juror has been arrested in Britain after allegedly listening to an MP3 player under her hijab headscarf during a murder trial, police said Monday.

The woman in her early 20s was spotted by a fellow juror listening to music as she was meant to be helping try the case of a pensioner accused of bludgeoning his wife to death after 50 years of marriage.

The judge in the case thought that something might be up:

Judge Roger Chapple, presiding, said that he thought he could hear “tinny music” in the courtroom at Blackfriars Crown Court in Central London, but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination until another juror sent him a note.

We're surprised this juror tuned out during a MURDER trial. What would she have done if the case were truly boring -- whipped out a laptop and started watching movies?

British juror arrested after listening to music under hijab [AFP]
Muslim juror ‘listened to iPod under hijab’ [Times of London]

Don't try this strategy, which didn't turn out that well for one Daniel Ellis, of Cape Cod.

(Unless you want to get taken into custody. And face possible perjury charges.)

Jury duty excuse: I'm a racist, homophobic liar [AP via CNN.com]

Do we pay too much attention to appearances here at ATL? Maybe. Who else would sponsor a U.S. Attorneys hotties contest?

But at least we're honest about our superficiality -- unlike jurors in criminal cases. From the Evening Standard (London):

Good looks could help guilty defendants dodge justice, researchers have said....

[A recent study showed] that attractive suspects were more likely to be acquitted, despite there being no extra evidence in their favour.

Sandie Taylor, the psychologist who conducted the study, said: "We set out to consider the influence of physical attractiveness and ethnicity of a defendant depicted in a photograph on mock jurors' decisions of verdict, extent of guilt and sentencing...."

"Attractive defendants are, it seems, rated less harshly than homely defendants, so perhaps justice isn't blind after all."

Also interesting:

The study showed that while the jurors were swayed by attractiveness, they did not let race cloud their judgment. Black and white suspects were treated equally. When black suspects were convicted, however, they were given longer sentences.

"It is interesting that being an unattractive black defendant only had an impact on sentencing and not on a juror's verdict of guilt," Dr Taylor told the British Psychological Society's annual conference in York.

Upshot: If Naomi Campbell beats up another housekeeper and is tried before a jury, she's getting acquitted.

Ugly defendants 'more likely to be found guilty than attractive ones' [Evening Standard via Drudge Report]

* This is in no way an admission that MTV is somehow partially responsible for your laziness and/or learning disabilities. [New York Daily News]

* More Heidi Fleiss-inspired antics! I keep forgetting this kind of thing is illegal -- there should be a carve-out for the C-listed and below. [Los Angeles Times]

* This mom-of-the-year is kind of like a low-rent Joe Simpson, although we’re pretty sure Jessica isn’t faking. [MSN]

* The lurid nature of this trial may make the “sex, lies & videotape” qualifier okay, but that was, like, 18 years ago. Conversely, why do we remember Peter Gallagher only from The OC? [New York Times]

* Utah is that boring. [QuizLaw; Denver Post]

They should have induced delivery by Baker Botts associate Alexandra Walsh, so she would have popped out her baby girl in the middle of trial, before the jury (and preferably during the strongest part of the government's case, for maximum distraction value).

Delivering a baby in open court would have created a magnificently dramatic scene. And it would have generated an unbreakable bond between defense counsel and the jurors that would have guaranteed acquittal for Walsh's client, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. After you've watched a woman give birth, can you really send her client to the Big House?

Alas, the Libby defense team took a more conventional route. Alex Walsh didn't go to court last Friday, reporting instead to a Washington-area hospital, where she delivered a baby girl.

More details about Walsh, from CNN:

Walsh -- a 2001 graduate of Stanford Law School -- was named by Washingtonian magazine last year as one of the "40 top lawyers under 40." She has focused on white-collar criminal law and appellate cases.

If you go back to the Washingtonian listing, you learn that Walsh, after graduating from Stanford, "was hired to clerk for appeals-court judge Merrick Garland and then Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer."

A member of the Elect with an interest in trial work? Impressive!

Congratulations, Alexandra, on the birth of your baby girl!

Verdict: It's a girl; Libby defense counsel delivers baby [CNN Political Ticker]
40 Lawyers Under 40 [Washingtonian]

We've given it almost no coverage here at ATL (largely because it doesn't seem very amusing). But yes, in case you haven't heard, former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is being tried on perjury charges.

The jury has been deliberating for over two days. And they've just lost a member:

The presiding judge dismissed one female juror in her 70s, an art curator, after she disclosed to her peers that she had come into contact over the weekend with information about the case of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff. The foreperson reported it this morning to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who interviewed the jurors and decided the female juror had not intentionally sought to ignore his orders that all 12 jurors avoid contact with media coverage and any other information about the Libby case.

So having contracted the informational cooties, she had to be booted. According to the Washington Post, "Libby and several defense attorneys wore broad smiles at the news of the woman's removal."

But why were they so pleased? This juror seemed to be an independent-minded sort:

The juror, who had white-blonde hair and wore large, stylish black-frame glasses and took extensive notes, distinguished herself from her peers at one point during the trial. On Valentine's Day, the jury filed into the courtroom's jury box at mid-afternoon, wearing identical red T-shirts with a white heart. She was the only juror who had not donned a T-shirt.

Might this juror have turned into a legal as well as fashion holdout? We'll never know.

Juror Dismissed in CIA Leak Trial [Washington Post]
Libby Juror Booted; Deliberations Go On [Associated Press]

* Jurors become instant BFF over testimony of an intimate and sexual nature. [Los Angeles Times]

* Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

* Turns out you actually can’t dance if you want to. [Newsday]

* As kids, my brother and I were familiar with only this constitutional amendment because of the “Second Amendment = Two arms” mnemonic aid. (We knew other things, okay?) [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Faux fur is, more often than not, real fur. As in real dog fur. So who is going to cast the first stone (or, rather, paint bucket) at Anna Wintour now? [San Francisco Chronicle]

* It’s getting hot in herre. [MSN]

* “Innocence most often is a good fortune and not a virtue.” One thing's for sure -- if you’re being tried for a crime, you’re SOL. [PrawfsBlawg]

* AG Gonzales: Federal judges are unqualified to make national security decisions. [MSNBC]

* AG Gonzales: Federal judges should be making national security decisions. [MSNBC; Washington Post]

* Affirmative action takes center stage at Boalt. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Dahlia asks, "Have the Supreme Court's opinions become suggestions in Texas?" [Slate]

* Linda discusses the Texas death penalty cases as well. [New York Times]

* Former Cendant Chairman Walter Forbes get sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, on accounting fraud charges. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey; Forbes was represented by Williams & Connolly. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Picking a jury for the Scooter Libby trial in D.C., the biggest small town in America: it ain't easy. [Washington Post]

America's SweeTart just graduated from the London School of Economics with an M.S. in Social Psychology. Interestingly enough, her LSE master's thesis was law-oriented: an examination of the effect of pretrial publicity on jury selection.

(Monica: Please don't treat that rolled-up diploma like a cigar. Thank you.)

Lewinsky graduates from London School of Economics [Reuters via Drudge Report]
In Search of the Impartial Juror: The third person effect and pretrial publicity [London School of Economics (Psychology Dept.)]
Nature of President Clinton's Relationship with Monica Lewinsky [Starr Report]
Now Here's an Oral Sex Scandal for You [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Fear not, you can continue the inexplicable and somewhat cheap practice of wearing buttons of your slain loved one when attending the trial of the accused perpetrator. [The Buck Stops Here]

* Think of the occasional theft as a write-off, which of course is moot since you’re not paying taxes anyway. And then rent Traffic, you clueless surburban kid. Disclaimer: I attended a suburban high school (but I never inhaled). [Sui Generis]

* Illinois wants to make it even easier for you to get out of jury duty. [Concurring Opinions]

* The choice of law school over medical school has its roots in our rather iffy math skills; but this is Yale Law, where the career center’s number-heavy cheat-sheet on the whole billable hours thing assumes (correctly) YLS students are the s**t all-around. [Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style]

* We think that this four-year-old’s parents may have tried explaining the birds and the bees using such technical terms as “special hug.” We’re hoping that he did not use sound effects during the alleged, er, breast nuzzling. [Waco Tribune]

* An additional bullet-point to add to my disturbingly endless “Why Video Games Creep the Hell Out of Me” list. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* You have a right to a jury trial, whether you want it or not. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution via How Appealing]

* Santa's big behind is gonna make kids want to drink beer?. [CNN]

* Now my case is at the Supreme Court, and I know why; because I got high, because I got high, because I got high... [WSJ Law Blog]

* It's sad when otherwise good people get sucked into the seedy underbelly of the Arizona bingo scene. [MSNBC]

* Nice try, Jane, but a little too late to get your job on the Intelligence Committee back. [Jurist]