This is really political rather than legal news, so we will keep our commentary to a minimum. But it's big news that we thought you'd like to know right away.

Of course, all three of the involved candidates / ex-candidates -- Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama -- are lawyers. And John Edwards, whose endorsement was coveted by the candidates and assiduously pursued, was a very successful practicing lawyer -- one of the country's top trial lawyers -- and not just a politician with a law degree. So there is a sufficient legal nexus here.

Edwards to endorse Obama [CNN / Political Ticker]

Washingtonian magazine has a fun little piece on lawyers profiting from congressmen going after one another.

If you're interested in the intersection of law and politics, and we know many of you are, you'll enjoy this story. Here's how it starts:

Of all the angles played by Washington law firms, few can bring as much joy as having clients who aren’t playing with their own money.

Take the battle between two congressmen, John Boehner of Ohio and Jim McDermott of Washington: In a near-decadelong fight over McDermott’s leak of the contents of privileged and illegally taped conversations involving Boehner, the two ran up legal bills of about $1.6 million.

So who ended up covering that seven-figure legal bill? Find out, after the jump.

We couldn't choose between these two possible Lawyers of the Day, so we'll let them go head to head. You can decide who's the more deserving honoree.

In one corner, we have John Newsome, a district attorney in Colorado. Sources inside and outside the district attorney's office tipped off a local TV station to Newsome's carousing during office hours. From the Colorado Springs Gazette:

The television station aired its report Tuesday night after filming Newsome on a "recent afternoon" as he drank three 20-ounce beers and a 10-ounce beer during "work hours" over the course of less than two hours at Oscar's, a downtown Colorado Springs bar.

Newsome was then shown heading back to his office. An hour later, he drove his El Paso County-owned SUV to another bar, according to KOAA.

There, Newsome was reportedly seen drinking four more pints with Assistant District Attorney Amy Mullaney and then driving away. Mullaney was also drinking with Newsome earlier that day at Oscar's.

DA party-time! Woohoo. No criminal investigation, and he's running unopposed for reelection in November. Lucky guy.

In the other corner, we have Vito Fossella, who has a law degree from Fordham University. He's the U.S. congressman from New York who got busted for drunk driving in Virginia last week.

The DUI charge has led to the unraveling of his double life. Turns out the married father of three has a lady friend and lovechild in the D.C. region. From the New York Times:

Representative Vito J. Fossella, the Staten Island Republican who was arrested on drunken-driving charges in Virginia last week, acknowledged on Thursday that he had fathered a daughter, now 3, in an extramarital affair. But he declined to address questions about his political future.

Mr. Fossella, who has three children with his wife on Staten Island, issued a terse statement that said nothing about the events leading to his arrest, which occurred hours after he attended a White House reception celebrating the New York Giants’ victory in the Super Bowl.

At least he wasn't drinking during office hours.

Newsome: 'I sincerely apologize' [Colorado Springs Gazette]
'POP' GOES THE WEASEL VITO [New York Post]
Fossella Admits He Had an Extramarital Affair [New York Times]

The divorce trial of James and Dina Matos McGreevey gets under way today. Former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey resigned from the governorship in 2004, announcing that he was a "gay American," who had carried on an affair with a male advisor. The McGreeveys returned to the headlines earlier this year, when a different male aide claimed Mrs. McGreevey had gotten in on some three-way action with him and her husband.

From the New York Post, back in March:

"We called it the Friday Night Special," [former aide Teddy] Pedersen said. The "intense" escapades, he said, usually began with a "couple of drinks" at a local T.G.I. Friday's and culminated in "a hard-core consensual sex orgy" between the three of them at McGreevey's Woodbridge condo.

The three-way action, if true, complicates Dina Matos's claim that she was not aware of Jim McGreevey's homosexuality. From WCBS TV:

The first order of business are closed door proceedings concerning their six-year-old daughter. Jim McGreevey is seeking equal custody.

Dina Matos McGreevey wants $600,000 as compensation for time she would have spent in the governor's office had her husband not resigned in disgrace. She claims she was not aware of his homosexuality.

McGreevey is apparently studying to become an Episcopal priest right now, while his wife was recently called upon to offer analysis of the Eliot Spitzer scandal. So she didn't get to spend those years in the Jersey governor's office -- but now she's a scandal expert and talking head. Isn't that worth something?

McGreevey Divorce Trial Underway Tuesday [WCBS TV]

Earlier: New York and New Jersey in Competition for Dirtiest Governor Sex Scandal

John McCain doesn't have the interesting gender or diversity points that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have, but he does have some immigrant cred. He was not born in one of the United States of America, and there are "at least three pending cases... challenging McCain's right to be sworn in as president."

The Senate is willing to consider him a "natural born citizen" -- but the senators' opinion doesn't really matter. From the Washington Post:

The Senate has unanimously declared John McCain a natural-born citizen, eligible to be president of the United States.

That is the good news for the presumptive Republican nominee, who was born nearly 72 years ago in a military hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, then under U.S. jurisdiction. The bad news is that the nonbinding Senate resolution passed Wednesday night is simply an opinion that has little bearing on an arcane constitutional debate that has preoccupied legal scholars for many weeks.

That's right. This decision may not be up to some lawyers turned politicians. It may go to the legal big boys. SCOTUS, baby.

Sarah H. Duggin, an associate law professor at Catholic University who has studied the "natural born" issue in detail, said the question is "not so simple." While she said McCain would probably prevail in a determined legal challenge to his eligibility to be president, she added that the matter can be fully resolved only by a constitutional amendment or a Supreme Court decision.

This is not the first time this debate has made news. Back in February, we reported on articles in the New York Times and WSJ Law Blog.

We conducted a poll then asking whether you agreed with the statement, "John McCain is a 'natural-born citizen' entitled to serve as president." Since we're certain that all ATL readers are highly-educated legal scholars and thorough researchers, the 65 percent of you who agreed with the statement must be right. We'll let SCOTUS know stat.

McCain's Birth Abroad Stirs Legal Debate [Washington Post]

Earlier: John McCain: A 'Natural-Born Citizen'?

Marc Dann is Ohio's attorney general... for now. But he won't be Case Western Reserve University's law school commencement speaker, per an e-mail from the dean this morning.

Dann was an ATL lawyer of the day honoree last month for running a dysfunctional office with staff accused of sexual harassment, DUIs, and ethics law violations. Oh, but there's more.

On Friday, Dann held a press conference where he revealed his affair with a staffer. Two of his staff were fired and two resigned last week, including the 28-year-old scheduler with whom Dann had the affair. If sleeping with the boss doesn't get you a raise and a promotion, what's the point? From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

Dann announced the affair at a news conference Friday morning, after investigators released a report on the sexual harassment investigation. The former state senator who once worked in a small Youngstown law firm blamed his inexperience and said he was not equipped to take over a state agency with more than 1,400 employees, including 400 lawyers.

"I don't know how many people here expected me to win the election, but I certainly was not among them. It was a surprise that I won," he said.

Saying that you didn't think you would actually win is the worst defense ever (and seems off-topic). Despite that, Dann says he plans to stay in office and clean up the mess. Good luck with that.

Five Ohio newspapers are calling for his head resignation. For ponderings on whether sex scandal politicians should resign, see Law and More and Vanity Fair. Case Western law prof Jonathan Adler wonders if Dann could save his career with a really good apology -- in song.

Dann had been slated to be Case Western Law School's commencement speaker on May 18, but the dean e-mailed the school this morning to announce Dann's withdrawal. Too bad. His speech could have been fun: "Hey kids, you too can use your Case Western degree to be a total f*#k-up, reward your friends with jobs, sleep with your scheduler, and tap state resources for personal use!"

Dann-related links, collected below. Dean Simson's email, after the jump.

Editorial Consensus: Dann Must Go [Volokh Conspiracy]
The Trials of Marc Dann [Volokh Conspiracy]
Dann should resign/be forced out if he's a lousy AG for OH, not because of That Woman et al. [Law and More]
Gov. Strickland on Attorney General scandal [Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog]
Dann draws more outrage [Dayton Daily News]
It's the Adultery, Stupid! [Vanity Fair]

This is slightly off the legal beat. But these days, everyone is talking about the Reverend Jeremiah Wright -- including lots of law professors (like Ann Althouse and Glenn Reynolds). And we also know how much you enjoy controversy over commencement speakers, especially at Northwestern University (where Jerry Springer is speaking at the law school's commencement this year).

So, with those connections in mind, here's some interesting news from late last week:

In a highly unusual move in the academic world, Northwestern University in suburban Chicago has publicly disinvited the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright from its June commencement ceremonies, where he was to receive an honorary degree.

It's another indication of the rolling repercussions of the retiring African American pastor's inflammatory comments on America, 9/11, race relations, the AIDs epidemic and Illinois' junior senator, Barack Obama.

From Northwestern's statement:

Dr. Wright was quoted as saying that his invitation to receive an honorary degree was withdrawn by Northwestern President Henry Bienen because Dr. Wright “wasn’t patriotic enough.” If Dr. Wright was quoted accurately, that statement is not true. In his conversation and correspondence with Dr. Wright in March, President Bienen never characterized Dr. Wright’s views or made a judgment about them. The letter said, “In light of the controversy surrounding statements made by you that have recently been publicized, the celebratory character of Northwestern’s commencement would be affected by our conferring of this honorary degree. Thus I am withdrawing the offer of an honorary degree previously extended to you.”

So, readers, any thoughts -- on Northwestern's withdrawn invitation, or on Reverend Wright more generally? Might he have a cause of action against Northwestern arising out of his "dis-invitation"?

(No, we don't seriously think that. But we're trying to give this post some connection to the law, however tenuous. And we figured that those of you who are studying for final exams might appreciate the challenge of trying to come up with a legal theory for such a lawsuit. Go ahead -- spot those issues!)

Collected Jeremiah Wright coverage [Althouse]
Statement Regarding the Rev. Dr. Wright [Northwestern University]
Jeremiah Wright axed from honorary degree by Northwestern U. [Top of the Ticket / Los Angeles Times]
Clyburn Blasts Wright for 'Knee-Capping' Obama [The Trail / Washington Post]

Indiana lawyer Tony Zirkle is making a run for the Republican nomination for a congressional seat. There is a general rule for political candidates that involves not being photographed in front of Hitler's portrait.

Apparently, Zirkle missed that one:

A congressional candidate is defending his speech to a group celebrating the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birth, saying he appeared simply because he was asked.

Tony Zirkle, who is seeking the Republican nomination in Indiana's 2nd District, stood in front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands and with a swastika flag in the background for the speech to the American National Socialist Workers Party in Chicago on Sunday.

"I'll speak before any group that invites me," Zirkle said Monday. "I've spoken on an African-American radio station in Atlanta."

Zirkle compares talking to a white supremacist group to talking to African-Americans. Nice. We wonder if he discussed his segregation plans during the radio appearance.

Zirkle has the following "defense" up on his campaign website:

I've been getting a flood of e-mails and phone calls, some of which include death threats, about my attempt to raise awareness of how the great porn dragon inspires Jews into pornography and prostitution and then, like the snake he is, turns the public against the Jews.... Let's save our Jewish brothers and sisters from this tyrant king porn dragon before we get to another world-wide pogrom after a war with Iran or some other conflict and after the Jews get blamed again.

Cuckoo. The tyrant king porn dragon sounds like something out of a dirty version of The Lord of the Rings.

Candidate speaks at Hitler birthday party [The Times via Respectful Insolence]
Tony Zirkle's Segregation Plan: Crazy Enough To Work? [Wonkette]

When it comes to law school graduation speakers, it's hard to please everyone. Earlier this year, controversy erupted at Boston College Law School when U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was announced as the commencement speaker. Some students, faculty and alumni voiced opposition to AG Mukasey, based on his involvement in the waterboarding / torture controversy (extensive coverage collected here; resolution of the situation described here).

Now we report on commencement controversy news of a rather different (and somewhat less highbrow) sort. It arises out of the decision by Northwestern University School of Law to invite Jerry Springer to serve as this year's commencement speaker. Springer got his law degree there in '68, worked as a campaign aide to Robert F. Kennedy, and served as mayor of Cincinnati. But he's perhaps best known as the ringmaster of scandal and vulgarity on the Jerry Springer Show (and an unsuccessful contestant on Dancing With the Stars).

Some Northwestern students are not happy about Springer's selection. From a tipster:

There is a current uproar in the graduating class at Northwestern Law. The graduation committee thought Jerry Springer would be an appropriate speaker for this year's convocation. Most of the student body is opposed to this, but this administration is sticking by the committee's decision.

Maybe he'll bring Northwestern students with secrets and unresolved conflicts up on stage, then have them confess and brawl. That might be more fun than the usual staid graduation ceremony.

We contacted the school for comment, which issued the following statement, from Dean David E. Van Zandt:

In keeping with the spirit of our community, our commencement speaker annually is selected by a student committee, approved by the administration, and invited by both.

Mr. Springer is an alumnus who has held public office as a city council member and mayor of Cincinnati. He has had a very successful career in the news and entertainment industries.

We look forward to Mr. Springer's participation at commencement.

At least one LLM candidate is trying to prevent Springer's speaking. See the protest letter circulating at Northwestern, and vote in our reader poll, after the jump.

Update: Also after the jump, a defense of Jerry Springer's selection as commencement speaker, which went out over the NU law school listerv.

Marc Dann has had a rough tenure as Ohio's attorney general. When the media start crafting timelines of your troubles, the end may well be nigh. One of Dann's biggest problems seems to be judgment calls. Such as when choosing staff members. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a write-up on this stellar Dann staffer:

One of Attorney General Marc Dann's top managers, who is accused of sexual harassment, has a history of problems with cars and alcohol, including a drunken driving arrest months before he was hired and a smashed state car after.

Dann knew about the arrest because, according to State Highway Patrol records, he was the one who picked Anthony Gutierrez up at 2:30 in the morning at the Canfield post after Gutierrez blew a .149 on a blood-alcohol test nearly twice the legal limit.

Aren't staffers supposed to be the ones picking their drunk bosses up, and not the other way around?

Reflecting another poor hiring decision, Dann had to discipline his communications director for sending a "profane, abusive e-mail to a co-worker." His COMMUNICATIONS director.

The list of poor staffing choices goes on.

Dann's staff is not entirely to blame for his troubles. From the timeline:

June 2007: Dann, standing on a street in an upper-middle class neighborhood, spots a reporter who had written a story he didn't like. Dann says, "Hey Steve, write this down: Go (expletive) yourself!"

Maybe Dann's communications director suggested that.

Dann picked up his aide after DUI arrest [The Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Timeline of Marc Dann's troubles [Dayton Daily News]

We've said it before and we'll say it again. The economy must be bad if a former U.S. Attorney General can't get a job.

And your life must be pretty bad if you're a former U.S. Attorney General who can't find a job, and some columnist in Austin is making lots of fun of you. John Kelso of the Austin American-Statesman wrote a column yesterday titled Maybe former A.G. Gonzales could get a job being paid by the hour to keep his mouth shut. AG AG's frequent "I don't recall" answers during Senate testimony provide inspiration for many of Kelso's jokes:

What holiday do you think of when you think of Alberto R. Gonzales? With me, it's always Mother's Day. Why? Simple. Because with Gonzales, mum's the word.

I feel sorry for anybody out there who can't find a job, even a guy like Gonzales who is still making a bunch of money from speaking engagements. As bad as Gonzales' memory is, he must use notes.

Maybe the problem is that when the job interviewers ask him what his last job was, he's telling them that he doesn't remember. Can't say as I blame him. If I were him, I'd tell them I used to work at Denny's.

It's pretty traditional for law firms to bring former partners back after they've served in government -- e.g., Mary Jo White and Debevoise, Michael Mukasey and Patterson Belknap -- but AG AG's former firm is apparently not biting, despite his having served as America's top lawyer. A tipster tells us:

Several months ago, I heard that even V&E [Vinson & Elkins] was not interested in having Gonzales back – looks like there are no takers. How long do you think he’ll be able to support himself on speakers’ gigs?

Locke Liddell took Harriet Miers back. Apparently, endorsing torture and getting caught in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal is worse than losing the Supreme Court popularity contest and having many bad hair days.

In Searching for New Job, Gonzales Sees No Takers [New York Times]
Maybe former A.G. Gonzales could get a job being paid by the hour to keep his mouth shut [The Austin American-Statesman]

Last year, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam," was suggested as a possible running mate for John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But thanks to a development from earlier this afternoon, that probably won't be happening. From the AP:

A federal jury has convicted a woman of running a high-end prostitution ring that catered to members of Washington's political elite.

The verdict against Deborah Jeane Palfrey was announced in a courtroom Tuesday afternoon.

Palfrey has repeatedly denied the escort service engaged in prostitution, and that any sex acts happened without her knowledge. Palfrey caused a sensation last year when she announced that she would sell her phone records to news outlets to pay for her defense.

But the trial didn't reveal many new details about the service or the identities of its clientele. Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana was linked to the case but didn't testify.

Well, even if it wasn't as explosive as expected, the trial yielded up a few new juicy details. Like the fact that one of Palfrey's escorts was a former professor and university department chair. Or the fact that Palfrey's prostitution service was patronized by several well-pedigreed lawyers (including Yale law grad Christopher Sorrow, who is presumably pretty sorrowful about being involved in this mess). Or the fact that Palfrey employed "testers," like trial witness Paul Huang, to evaluate the suitability of aspiring escorts (think "Consume-Ho Reports").

And the show's not over just yet. Palfrey has made a spectacle of herself from the start of this case, and we still have a sentencing and possible appeal to look forward to. So stay tuned.

Woman convicted of running Washington prostitution service [AP]
Professor for Hire [Inside Higher Ed via TaxProf Blog]
Four Former Call Girls Testify at Palfrey Trial [Washington Post]

* 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]

The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit today against the Federal Election Commission. They want a federal judge to launch an investigation into Senator John McCain's campaign spending.

The DNC had filed a complaint with the FEC in February, but it has not been acted on yet. Maybe because the FEC is down to just two commissioners, instead of the full six, due to the President and the Democratic Senate not being able to play nice and agree on new nominees. From the New York Times:

A lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, to be filed Monday in U.S. District Court, questions the agency's ability to enforce the law and review McCain's decision to opt out of the system. The Republican presidential candidate, who had been entitled to $5.8 million in federal funds for the primary campaign, decided earlier this year to give up that money so he could avoid strict spending limits between now and the GOP's national convention in September.

During a conference call with reporters Sunday, DNC officials said the FEC is unable to act because four of its six seats are vacant. They want a judge to either order the FEC to begin an immediate review, or allow the Democratic Party to file a lawsuit against McCain's campaign challenging his decision.

The Republican Committee calls the suit nonsense, of course. The RNC spokesman says that the "trial-lawyer Democrats' idea of campaigning for president is to hire lawyers and file frivolous lawsuits." Why you gotta hate on trial lawyers, RNC?

Talking Points Memo goes into the history of McCain's election spending here:

It is a serious issue. As the [Washington] Post reports, "Knowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison."

The fun of the general election begins. Which lucky federal judge will get stuck with this case?

Democrats: McCain Financing Questionable [New York Times via Daily Kos]
McCain's FEC Problem [Talking Points Memo]

Some of you have wondered about the delay in choosing finalists for the ATL Caption Contest. We did not forget about it; we just wanted to save a little Easter for April, the proper month for the holiday. Easter in March is just plain wrong.

As a refresher, this is the photo of President Bush and his White House Counsel -- Fred Fielding, former senior partner at Wiley Rein (fka Wiley Rein & Fielding), dressed up as the Easter Bunny -- at the White House Easter Egg Roll last month. Without further ado, out of 200 comments, these are our ten finalists. [FN1]

A. "I left a firm with over $4 million in PPP to do THIS???" -Anonymous

B. The Mad Hatter and the March Hare discuss the legality of waterboarding the Dormouse. -Klerk

C. "Mr. President, I wanted to let you know that I put the last of those White House e-mails down the rabbit hole." -Anonymous

D. Yeah, well, nobody wants to be the guy that told the POTUS there is no Easter Bunny and Cheney said that if I play along I'll get a Supreme Court nomination. Hey, whatever happened with that Harriet woman? -Anonymous

E. I dressed up in this bunny suit and all I got was a feature on ATL. -Anonymous

F. After ignoring the rule of law for seven years, President Bush finally found a use for the White House Counsel. -Anonymous

G. "Someone please tell me that's not a wombat behind me." -Anonymous

H. I guess that answers the question of whether its better to get a JD or an MBA. -Anonymous

I. Fred (thinking): "That f-n headhunter promised me I would be supporting the President on matters of national importance. G-d D-MN it!" -Anonymous

J. George: Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?
Bunny: Why do you wear that stupid man suit? -133t

We invite you to vote for the winner after the jump. Poll closes at midnight tomorrow.

[FN1] There were many funny comments, but we exercised a bias in favor of those with a legal connection.

Earlier: ATL Caption Contest: Mr. Easter Bunny, White House Counsel Fred Fielding
The rabbit behind the man: White House counsel Fred Fielding [Washington Post]

Here's a photo of President Bush and his White House Counsel -- Fred Fielding, former senior partner at Wiley Rein (fka Wiley Rein & Fielding), dressed up as the Easter Bunny -- at the White House Easter Egg Roll earlier this week:

Quips our tipster: "One can only hope Fielding isn't splitting hares. Or giving hare-brained advice."

Okay, you're groaning. Think you can do better? Then enter the ATL caption contest. Same rules as before:

We welcome your suggested alternative captions, in the comments. Assuming sufficient response, we'll take our favorites, incorporate them into a poll, and hold a caption contest.

We doubt we'll receive as many submissions as we did for our last caption contest. But we're going to limit the entries this time: we're closing the comments if and when we hit the 100-comment mark. So if you'd like to enter the contest, don't delay. Thanks.

Update (2 PM): Okay, we'll let it get up to 200 comments. We especially appreciate suggested captions that are in some way law-related. What makes this picture relevant to ATL is the fact that the man in the bunny suit is President Bush's chief lawyer (and a former name partner of a leading D.C. law firm).

If we just wanted to post a random, funny photo of the president with the Easter bunny, we would have used this one.

Update (4:50 PM): You seem to be having a lot of fun with this, so we will keep the comments open indefinitely. But in picking the finalists, we will focus on comments that have a connection to the legal profession (as opposed to comments that are more politically oriented or simply random).

Update (3/31/08): Thanks for all the excellent entries. The comments section is now closed.

The rabbit behind the man: White House counsel Fred Fielding [Washington Post]
Bush Hugging Bunny [Wonkette]

For the record, here's some follow-up on two Bay State lawyers previously discussed in these pages, who have been cleared of the charges against them. At least to some extent.

First, remember Carl Stanley McGee (right), who was arrested after being accused of going down on a 15-year-old boy? Earlier this week, Florida prosecutors decided to drop the case.

Apparently the teen had trouble identifying McGee. But maybe he also learned that it's bad form to complain about getting a BJ. Unless teeth are involved.

Second, remember the handsome Gary Zerola (below right), named a "Most Eligible Bachelor" by People magazine, and accused of rape and attempted rape by three different women? One of the cases against him went to trial, and he was acquitted (back in January; we missed the news when it came out).

A second trial is currently underway. In that case, as reported in today's Boston Herald, Zerola's defense team argues that the victim wanted to shakedown their client for $150,000.

The third incident, which is the one that we wrote about, has not yet gone to trial.

Sex Case Against MA Guv's Aide Dropped [AP]
'Most eligible bachelor' acquitted in attempted rape case [Boston Globe]
Zerola team: Alleged victim sought $150G [Boston Herald]

Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: Carl Stanley McGee
Most Eligible Bachelor Becomes Considerably Less Eligible

* 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]

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer scheduled a news conference for 11:30 AM today. It appears that the governor is running late. We're tuned in to CNN, and they just showed footage of the governor's motorcade leaving from his Upper East Side apartment -- previously profiled here (Fifth Avenue, 3BR/3BA, Central Park views) -- to his offices downtown.

11:35 AM: The CNN commentators are saying that Governor Spitzer is planning to announce his resignation, but it apparently won't take effect until Monday, March 17. This would give the governor a week to "take care of business."

11:42: Governor Spitzer is in the building. It seems we're about to get underway.

11:43: Governor Spitzer takes the podium and unfolds a small piece of paper; it looks like he'll be speaking from notes. He's wearing a dark suit and white shirt -- the uniform of the upstanding prosecutor. But should he still be allowed to wear a white shirt? It's like a super-slutty bride wearing white on her wedding day. Who are you fooling?

Governor Spitzer's wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, is once again standing by her man -- literally, and as she did on Monday. She's wearing a dark suit and a fabulous scarf (red, blue, cream, and gold). But she looks a bit haggard, and her face bears a dead expression. She's not a happy camper.

11:44: Governor Spitzer speaks. Expressions of remorse for what he did, and gratitude for his family's love and support. Emphasis on "private" failings. Apologies to the people of New York for not living up to their public trust. No specific description of his indiscretions.

11:45: "I cannot allow my private failings to disturb the people's work... For this reason, I am resigning from the Office of Governor." At Lieutenant Governor David Paterson's request, it will take effect on Monday, March 17.

11:46: Concludes by expressing thanks for "the privilege of service." He borrowed that line from "Kristen."

No questions. Governor Spitzer has left the podium and the room.

That's all, folks. Nothing to see here; please move along.

Update: The full text of Eliot Spitzer's resignation statement appears here.

Earlier: Lawyerly Lairs: Eliot Spitzer's Sugar Daddy

Guess we picked our Lawyer of the Day too soon.

Update (2:30 PM): Press conference scheduled for 2:15 p.m., but Governor Spitzer is running 15 minutes late. "I don't blame him," said Ben Smith of the Politico, interviewed just now on CNN.

Update (2:35 PM): Jeffrey Toobin, who was an HLS classmate of Eliot Spitzer, described the news as "a total shock." He said Spitzer has been "nothing but a straight arrow" for many years.

Update (2:50 PM): Still no press conference. Brooke Masters, author of Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer, was just interviewed on CNN. She noted that this scandal comes at a bad time for Spitzer politically, in the wake of last year's scandal involving his misuse of the State Police for political purposes.

Update (3 PM): We're stepping away for a bit, to give a talk at Stanford Law School. We'll be back online as soon as we can. Some content will be posted while we're gone (material prepared ahead of time, not Spitzer updates).

Developing... Check back for updates.

Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring [New York TImes]