Benchslap
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9th Circuit, Antonin Scalia, Benchslaps, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, John Ashcroft, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, War on Terror
Quote of the Day: Well, cherries are delicious....
The [Ninth Circuit] seems to have cherry-picked the aspects of our opinions that gave colorable support to the proposition that the un-constitutionality of the action here was clearly established. Qualified immunity gives government officials breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments about open legal questions. When properly applied, it protects ‘all but the plainly […] -
Benchslaps, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: When You Set Aside the Text, It's Off to the Races
It should not be surprising that the two dissents have sharply different views on how to read the statute. That is the sort of thing that can happen when statutory analysis is so untethered from the text. — Chief Justice John Roberts, benchslapping the dissents by Justices Breyer and Sotomayor in Chamber of Commerce v. […] - Sponsored
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Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Benchslaps, California, Prisons, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Stephen Reinhardt, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Upholds Order Requiring Release of Thousands of Prisoners
It’s late May, so we’re entering the home stretch of the Supreme Court Term. Over the next few weeks, the Court will be handing down opinions in the most contentious, closely divided cases. One such opinion came down today: Brown v. Plata (formerly Schwarzenegger v. Plata). In this high-profile case, a three-judge district court issued […]
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Bad Ideas, Benchslaps, Document Review, Federal Judges, Screw-Ups, Technology
D.C. Lawyers Screw Up E-discovery So Badly, It’s 'Literally Unheard Of'
If you read a lot of e-discovery articles — and I know y’all do — you know that judges are quickly losing any patience for attorneys who don’t have their act together during e-discovery (or even regular old discovery). I know that nothing about the process is simple or easy. I know e-discovery is expensive […] -
10th Circuit, Benchslaps, Document Review, Federal Judges, Neil Gorsuch
Biglaw Litigators, Rejoice! A Circuit Court Opinion on a Discovery Dispute
Litigators at large law firms spend an inordinate (and depressing) amount of time on discovery disputes. They bombard poor magistrate judges with motions to compel. They bicker over deposition timing and location. They compile massive privilege logs. They file letter briefs with the court, explaining their entitlement to certain documents that opposing counsel is withholding, […] -
Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Kids, Litigators, Pregnancy / Paternity, Rudeness, Trials
Federal Judge Benchslaps Plaintiffs' Counsel: Stop Being Tools
A trial was scheduled to start in Kansas federal court on June 14, 2011. Defendants moved for a short continuance because one of their lawyers is expecting his first child on July 3. (The lawyer in question, Bryan Erman, is quite cute — check out that chin dimple.) Plaintiffs’ counsel objected to the continuance — […] -
9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski, Benchslaps, Facebook, Movies, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Chief Judge Kozinski to the Winklevii: Please Go Away Now
If you enjoyed The Social Network, then perhaps you should be grateful to Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The lawsuit they filed against Facebook and Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, gave rise to excellent entertainment. The movie wouldn’t have been possible without it. But now the litigation is getting… old. And some people just want the Winklevoss […] -
Benchslaps, Crime, Federal Judges, Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Trials
Quote of the Day: Justice Ginsburg's Subtle Benchslap of Tulane Law
On what basis can one be confident that law schools acquaint students with prosecutors’ unique obligation under Brady? Whittaker told the jury he did not recall covering Brady in his criminal procedure class in law school. Dubelier’s alma mater, like most other law faculties, does not make criminal procedure a required course. [FN21] [FN21] See […] - Sponsored
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7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner, Rudeness, Vicious Infighting
Quote of the Day: Judge Posner Is Not a Kindergarten Teacher
There must be no more of this childish abuse…. No more or there will be sanctions. In more than 29 years as a judge, I have never encountered such bickering, quarrelsome lawyers. You are wasting my time and your clients’ money. — Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, sitting by designation as a district […] -
3rd Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Musical Chairs, Old People
Musical Chairs: Judge Fullam, Benchslapped and Elderly, Is Stepping Down
We recently covered the Third Circuit’s benchslap of Judge John Fullam, an 89-year-old judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In his opinion in United States v. Higdon, issuing a writ of mandamus and directing that the case mishandled by Judge Fullam be reassigned on remand, Chief Judge Theodore McKee had some harsh words for […] -
7th Circuit, Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Frank Easterbrook, Legal Ethics, Quote of the Day
Quote(s) of the Day: Oh, professionalism is overrated.(Or: Mess with the Easterbrook, you get the horns.)
Greco is a menace to his clients and a scofflaw with respect to appellate procedure. The district court may wish to consider whether he should remain a member of its bar. Would-be clients should consider how Greco has treated [his clients] Lee, Washington, and Moore. — Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit, benchslapping […] -
9th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: Oh, explanation is overrated.
That decision is as inexplicable as it is unexplained. It is reversed. — opinion of the Supreme Court in Felkner v. Jackson, benchslapping the Ninth Circuit through a unanimous, per curiam reversal of an unpublished memorandum disposition. (For more context, see Josh Blackman or read the SCOTUS opinion.) -
3rd Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Old People
Quote of the Day: Oh, precedent is overrated.
Judge Fullam is a very experienced and hard working jurist and he has devoted decades of service to the federal bench. Nothing we have said in this opinion should detract from that. However, neither this court, nor any other court, can tolerate a situation where a judge decides to follow his/her own custom and concepts […]
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7th Circuit, Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Litigators, Quote of the Day, Richard Posner
Quote of the Day: The Best Brief Is a Brief Brief
We add that the appellants’ brief is rambling, and would be more effective if compressed to 14,000 words. — Judge Richard Posner, in a benchslap that denied appellants’ motion to file an oversized brief — and summarily affirmed the district court (full opinion here, via How Appealing). -
Benchslaps, Biglaw, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Insider Trading, Musical Chairs, Non-Sequiturs, Trials, Wall Street
Non-Sequiturs: 03.08.11
* The epic insider trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam got underway today. Bess Levin, of our sister site Dealbreaker, comes up with a (rather hilarious and bizarre) list of possible character witnesses for Raj. [Dealbreaker] * Speaking of the Rajaratnam trial, who were those mystery men observing the proceedings in the courtroom? [Clusterstock] * In […] -
9th Circuit, Benchslaps, David Boies, Gay, Gay Marriage, Stephen Reinhardt, Ted Olson
Breaking: Ninth Circuit Certifies Standing-Related Question to California Supreme Court
Here’s the Ninth Circuit’s certification order, available on the court’s Perry v. Schwarzenegger portal page, and here’s a quick write-up, from Bay City News. Essentially the Ninth Circuit wants the California Supreme Court to decide whether the official proponents of Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage, have standing to defend the initiative’s constitutionality in […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bankruptcy, Benchslaps, Biglaw, Harvey Miller, Intellectual Property, Legal Ethics, Litigators, Partner Issues, Screw-Ups
$40 Million Benchslap for Weil Gotshal
Don’t get too comfortable with that shiny new #6 Vault ranking, Weil Gotshal. The firm just got served, Texas-style. The ABA Journal reports: The Texas judge who ordered Microsoft to pay $290 million for infringing a patent included a $40 million enhancement that he said was partly justified because of alleged trial misconduct by a […] -
Bar Exams, Benchslaps, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Romance and Dating, Texas, White & Case
Non-Sequiturs: 02.15.08
* A clever parody of the Clemens hearing. [PrawfsBlawg] * They have a talent for bench-slappery down in Texas. [Sophistic Miltonian Serbonian Blog; Supreme Court of Texas Blog] * T-T-T-Trouble for TTT schools? [ABA Journal] * Lawyer of the Day: White & Case associate Tabber Benedict, fixed up by the matchmaking cabbie. [ABC News] * […]