Anthony Kennedy

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.05.17

* It's Masterpiece Cakeshop day! Let's all watch Justice Kennedy decide whether or not he wants to have a legacy! [SCOTUSBlog] * Hard-core Trump supporters are donating to Flynn's legal defense -- after his guilty plea -- because they have no idea what this plea deal means. [Newsweek] * Dr. Phil's son is developing a TV comedy about his experiences as a law student tasking with arguing real court cases. It sounds like How To Get Away With Murder... except not as funny. [Texas Lawyer] * Solicitor General Francisco and Texas AG Ken "Facing Felony Charges This Month" Paxton are hoping to cover up their own docket management incompetence by asking for sanctions against the ACLU. Sidley Austin's Carter Phillips, working with the ACLU is having none of it. [Dallas Morning News] * More law school grads are going in-house with start-ups. This is a sign of their entrepreneurial nature and not at all evidence that America is pumping out more grads than there are firm opportunities. [Corporate Counsel] * Mark Cohen takes a stab at attorney valuation. [Forbes] * The "middle class" may be rapidly eroding among American families, but it's alive and well among American companies, and some savvy law firms see catering to middle class companies as their key to success. [American Lawyer] * The Supreme Court closed the courtroom doors to a citizen harmed by a corporation even amidst evidence that the company withheld evidence? What a shocker. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.14.17

* Jeff Sessions is considering a special counsel to probe the Clinton Foundation. This seems like an unforced error. Sure it generates some negative buzz about Democrats, but doesn't it also handcuff the administration from firing Mueller or pardoning anyone Mueller charges? [Huffington Post] * Law schools are offering more animal law courses and clinics which doesn't grossly exceed demand at all. [Texas Lawyer] * Brett Talley, the unqualified ghost hunter seeking to become the apotheosis of Trump's judicial nomination strategy forgot to mention that his wife is a White House attorney on his conflict disclosure. That's cool, it's not like the executive branch ever has a stake in litigation. [The Hill] * Does the hard drinking culture of law firms contribute to sexual harassment? No, if you're a drunk scumbag that means you were probably a scumbag to begin with. Don't blame the good people at Jack Daniel's for it. [Law.com] * The jurors in the trial of Senator Menendez are deadlocked, but have to trudge forward anyway... for now. This all just pushes off the point where he's acquitted because McDonnell made public corruption legal. [ABC News] * Roy Moore was banned from a mall for targeting teen girls. I presume this fact will drive his support among evangelicals even higher! [NY Daily News] * Not one, but two lawyers are in the race to become the next president of U.S. soccer. [American Lawyer] * Justice Kennedy is going to be the swing vote in Masterpiece Cakeshop... so how do the lawyers tailor their arguments to him. [Empirical SCOTUS]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.14.17

* James Alex Fields Jr., the 20-year-old accused of ramming his car into a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one and injuring numerous others, has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count related to leaving the scene of an accident. [NPR] * Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman who was killed in Charlottesville this weekend, was a paralegal at a small law firm where she managed the bankruptcy department. She was described as woman willing to stand up against "any type of discrimination." We'll have more on this tragic news later today. [New York Times] * After being urged by Senator Ted Cruz to "prosecute this grotesque act of domestic terrorism," the Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the deadly white supremacy rally that occurred this past weekend in Charlottesville, as the events that unfolded there "strike at the heart of American law and justice." [Independent Journal Review; The Hill] * "Evidently that's not going to happen." Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is walking back comments that he made back in April about the likelihood of a Supreme Court justice (i.e., Justice Anthony Kennedy) retiring this summer. Maybe he'll get his wish next summer. [Reuters] * Classes are supposed to begin at Charlotte Law in three weeks, but according to a spokesman from the University of North Carolina system, the school's temporary license to operate has expired. The dean of the troubled law school, on the other hand, says the license hasn't expired. Hmm... [Charlotte Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.26.17

* Kasowitz Benson may have gotten a minor "Trump bump" from other associates in the most recent edition of the Vault 100 law firm rankings thanks to Marc Kasowitz's representation of the president, but the firm's own associates don't seem to be too impressed. In fact, they listed "Trump" as one of the things they dislike most about the firm. [DealBook / New York Times] * Despite protests from her lawyers that a deposition would "interfere with her ability to perform her duties [as an unpaid advisor] at the White House," a judge has ruled that Ivanka Trump may be deposed in the IP infringement suit that was filed by Aquazzura over the First Daughter's look-alike shoes. [CNN Money] * No matter how many times we think we've dispelled this rumor, it keeps rearing its ugly head again and again. Word is somehow still on the street that Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire from the Supreme Court, as early as this Term or next. But... what if it actually turns out to be true that the justice who holds abortion rights in his hands will be leaving the bench? [Newsweek] * Three months have passed since Trinh Huynh, an in-house attorney at UPS, was gunned down during her commute, and her accused killer has now been indicted on murder charges. Raylon Browning may have targeted Huynh, as surveillance footage indicated that he was following her. [Daily Report] * After 69 years as a journalist -- 58 of them spent reporting on the high court -- Lyle Denniston, the dean of the Supreme Court press corps, will be officially hanging up his press pass after today. He'll be teaching a course at Baltimore Law this fall, but after that, he has no set plans. Congratulations on a remarkable career! You'll be missed. [Constitution Daily / National Constitution Center]

By Staci Zaretsky