Antonin Scalia

  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.29.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.29.16

    * Perversely, Antonin Scalia’s death may have saved public unions. [Slate]

    * Will online law schools radically alter the landscape of legal education? [Law Reboot]

    * Justice Scalia’s death has changed how frequently the remaining justices speak. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * A criminal-defense attorney hasn’t sat on the Supreme Court’s bench in 25 years, but is that really a problem? [Vox]

    * Follow-up on the racist meme that circulated at Cornell Law. [College Fix]

    * Laurence Tribe discusses the Merrick Garland nomination. [NBC]

    * The North Carolina anti-LGBTQ law is now the subject of a lawsuit, because obviously. [Fusion]

  • Morning Docket: 03.23.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.23.16

    * International Biglaw firms in Brussels are “just trying to soldier on” in the wake of the terror attacks that rocked the city yesterday morning. A White & Case secretary was on the metro train that was bombed, but she managed to escape from the wreckage unscathed. All lawyers and staff members have been accounted for and are alive and well. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Singer Kesha has appealed the decision of a judge who declined to void her contract with Sony Music, a record label where she claims she’d be forced to work with a producer who allegedly raped her. This time, her lawyer, Mark Geragos, has likened the pop star’s situation to slavery. Hmm… let’s see how well that goes over for her in court. [Reuters]

    * “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” For the first time since Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 split decision along ideological lines. That very sentence could have a huge impact on some of the high court’s more significant cases for a year or more if Merrick Garland isn’t confirmed. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Professor Melissa Murray of UC Berkeley Law has been tapped to stand in as the school’s interim dean in the wake of Sujit Choudhry’s resignation following the news that he’d been named as a defendant in a sexual harassment suit. Law students chose Murray as their “overwhelming choice” for dean in a poll. [L.A. Now / Los Angeles Times]

    * Since the GRE is regarded as an easier test than the LSAT, and at least one school will no longer require it for admission, some pre-law students may be wondering whether they should bother to take the LSAT at all. Don’t be silly. Much like the word “fetch,” the GRE isn’t going to happen. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]

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  • Morning Docket: 03.21.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.21.16

    * What’s the difference between the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Chief Judge Merrick Garland, his potential replacement? “[He] always sounds the same. Most of the time, he is very even-toned, not aggressive.” For starters, Scalia’s dissents were usually fiery and entertaining, while Garland’s dissents tend to be very respectful and courteous. [Washington Post]

    * “[T]here were errors and flaws in the way Thomas Jefferson carried out their research.” An expert retained by Anna Alaburda in her suit against Thomas Jefferson Law testified that the methods the law school used to collect grads’ job data were improper and could have caused some inaccurate info to be reported. [Courthouse News Service]

    * Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — and his path to the White House — may be interrupted by a pesky fraud trial over his now defunct real estate school. The Donald will likely be asked to testify by New York AG Eric Schneiderman, and if he pleads the Fifth, it could have YUGE implications on his defense strategy. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * “When someone — or something — is going away, there are usually some people that want to get it before it goes away, for whatever reason.” Racist memorabilia? Harvard Law is trying to quickly eliminate all ties to its controversial shield, but its bookstore will be slowly selling off all remaining merchandise bearing the symbol. [Boston Globe]

    * “The average graduate cannot expect to make enough in the years following graduation to even hope to make a dent in the student loans they take on from going to law school. And that’s if they can even pass the bar and find a job as an attorney.” Law profs face buyouts, but their students aren’t in a much better position. [Northwest Indiana Times]

  • Morning Docket: 03.16.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.16.16

    * President Obama will announce his pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia later this morning. Which member of the D.C. Circuit will he choose, Judge Sri Srinivasan or Judge Merrick Garland? America will find out at 11 a.m., and then the real political circus of trying to get a confirmation hearing will begin. [New York Times]

    * “Republicans know they can’t get away with complete and total obstruction, so they may try to set up a double standard.” Senate Republicans have refused to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but it looks like more than 30 other federal judicial nominees may have been caught in the political fray. [AP]

    * After having a district court judge’s deferred compensation remedy slapped down by the Ninth Circuit, lawyers in the O’Bannon NCAA student-athlete pay case have asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari. The lawyers involved “[feel] so strongly in the principles involved” that they don’t care if they lose their fees and costs. [USA Today]

    * A small victory for a washed-up Mean Girl? Lindsay Lohan has never really had much success when it comes to suing others on the basis of likeness appropriation, but a New York judge has refused to dismiss her case against Rockstar Games over a look-alike character in Grand Theft Auto V. You go, girl! [THR, ESQ. / Hollywood Reporter]

    * Per Lex Machina, after a slow 2014, patent litigation rose by 14.7 percent in 2015. What’s troubling to some lawyers, though, is that all of the action has migrated to Texas courts: “Why should this little corner that’s not particularly a hotbed of innovation have such an important role to play in patent law?” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Talent agency Rebel Entertainment Partners is suing CBS, the TV station that airs “Judge Judy,” because it claims Judge Judy is taking in such a high salary that the network has been unable to dole out its contractually obligated payments. Although she’s not named in the suit, Judge Judy, full of sarcasm, says this is “hilarious.” [Variety]

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  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.11.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.11.16

    * To excel as a lawyer you need to compete against yourself while still keeping your eye on the prize. [Katz on Justice]

    * High school debaters around the country are debating U.S. domestic surveillance with more depth and nuance than Congress. Maybe they should set the bar just a little bit higher than that. [The Intercept]

    * You want to organize against Airbnb? Get ready for some strange bedfellows. [Cityland]

    * Judge Posner sees the bullsh*t behind Republicans’ strategy for (not) filling Justice Scalia’s seat. [Washington Post]

    * Maryland Court of Appeals set a potentially dangerous new precedent in the case against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray. [Slate]

    * A noteworthy ruling giving the green light to litigation financing. [Burford Capital]

    * The growing movement to amend France’s self-defense laws to include domestic violence. [Jezebel]

    * Even some Republicans are calling Indiana’s new abortion law overreaching, not that the statement stopped the bill from passing the legislature. [Huffington Post]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.10.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.10.16

    * An in-depth look at Netflix’s most lovable lawyer, Foggy Nelson. [Netflix Life]

    * Berkeley Law is not alone in dealing with scandals. Where is Olivia Pope when you need her? [Law and More]

    * Wasting time, but churning bills, creating PDFs. [Daily Lawyer Tips]

    * Environmental law will never be the same now that Justice Scalia’s dead. Mother Nature, for one, is grateful. [Huffington Post]

    * Court rules there is no constitutional right to BDSM. [Slate]

    * A battle over Texas’s voter ID law is coming back to the Fifth Circuit, just in time for the 2016 election. And if the Supreme Court stays split in its presumed 4-4 breakdown, the Fifth Circuit could get the final word on the law. [The Atlantic]

    * A fascinating look inside the shady business of wrangling amicus briefs. [Chicago Tribune]

    * Is Camille Paglia flirting with Donald Trump support? [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Corporate lawyers agree: leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court is a terrible idea. [Wall Street Journal]

  • Morning Docket: 03.10.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.10.16

    * Justice Elizabeth Warren? While that may have a nice ring to it for some, given the extreme political gridlock that any Supreme Court nominee — much less someone who’s considered a staunch Democrat — will be subjected to in the Senate, it’s just not something that’s ever likely to happen during President Obama’s last term. [CNN]

    * Not that he was a very likely choice to begin with, but Judge Adalberto Jordan of the Eleventh Circuit has asked that he be taken out of consideration for a Supreme Court nomination to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He would’ve been the Court’s first Cuban-American justice if appointed and confirmed. [Associated Press]

    * Senator Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary, says the nominee is “totally irrelevant,” he’s not going to consider giving anyone a hearing — not even Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit, who he strongly supported just years earlier when she was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for her current position. [Gazette of Cedar Rapids]

    * More than 100 corporate lawyers from firms like Paul Weiss, Arent Fox, and Bradley Arant signed a letter urging Senate Republicans to fill the empty SCOTUS seat. After all, a lengthy vacancy could create “uncertainty for the financial industry, major corporate employees, as well as small businesses,” also known as their clients. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * According to a report by IT security company TruShield, the legal industry was heavily targeted by cyber threats in January. The only reason law firms didn’t suffer any serious setbacks is because they’ve invested in network security. For a profession that really loathes new technologies, we’re doing A-okay. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

  • Morning Docket: 03.09.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.09.16

    * According to a statement filed in court by 50 Cent, the cash the bankrupt rapper has been flashing in all of his Instagram photos isn’t real. He claims the bills he was posing with were just props. Unfortunately, it seems that Fiddy is a wanksta, so he really needs to stop fronting. [Hartford Courant]

    * Not that she was a likely choice to begin with, but AG Loretta Lynch says that a Supreme Court nomination would “curtail her effectiveness in her current role,” and has graciously asked that she not be considered for the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia. [Associated Press]

    * “I am very concerned about the harm caused to the law school, our students, and our alums by the inaccurate info being put out there.” Dean Michael Schwartz of Arkansas School of Law (Little Rock) seems worried about Professor Robert Steinbuch’s FOIA lawsuit seeking access to the school’s admissions data. Wonder why… [Campus Reform]

    * From the Big House to the White House: more ex-convicts are heading to law school and successfully starting their lives anew. Christopher Poulos, for example, used to be a cocaine dealer who did time in federal prison, but he recently completed an internship with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. [Washington Post]

    * “I never had a problem with the article. My problem is the videotape. It’s on the Internet. It lives forever.” Hulk Hogan (aka Terry Bollea) took the stand yesterday in his invasion-of-privacy case against Gawker, and his testimony became “extremely explicit” as his sex life and sex organs were discussed at length and in detail. [USA Today]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 03.08.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.08.16

    * NYU Law’s Ricky Revesz writes about the tragic flaw in the Clean Air Act and its deadly consequences. [Not Your Grandfather’s Coal Plant]

    * Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley said some incredibly offensive sh*t in college that she now says she’s grown out of. [Gawker]

    * Way harsh: Florida paper refuses to endorse any Republican for president saying, “[T]he kind of person who should be running is not in the race.” [Sun-Sentinel]

    * Some concrete suggestions to improve the transparency of courts. The article is geared towards Maryland’s court system, but is a useful read for anyone who cares about justice. [Baltimore Sun]

    * Justice Scalia’s death is the end of the conservative era of the Supreme Court. [Slate]

    * A putative class action has been filed over the water crisis in Flint. You can’t say that was unexpected. [The Hill]