Citizens United

  • Morning Docket: 04.15.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.15.16

    * Ted Cruz may not like dildos, but he doesn’t seem to mind legal weed. Earlier this week, the Republican presidential candidate said that while he opposes federal legalization of cannabis, states should be free to experiment because the Constitution allows for it. Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana is safe and sound, for now. [Denver Post]

    * “It was a very pleasant meeting, but it has changed nothing.” Senate Republicans may want nothing to do with confirming D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, but they’ve sure been taking their sweet time telling him “no” during their courtesy meetings with him. Some of these seemingly pointless meetings have gone on for more than an hour. [New York Times]

    * Chief Judge Garland may be wasting his time with these lengthy meetings, though, because if the jurist isn’t confirmed before the upcoming presidential election, Senator Bernie Sanders said during last night’s Democratic debate that if he wins, he’d ask President Obama to withdraw his nomination, as he doesn’t think that Garland would pass his progressive litmus test on Citizens United. Are you still feeling the Bern? [TIME]

    * Lawmakers in several states have passed bathroom bills that enable bigotry in the name of protecting religious rights, but what you may not have known is that there is one lawyer behind them all. Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel — who was recently in the news for representing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis — says he’s doing it to push back against the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. [CBS News]

    * Professor Richard Sander of UCLA School of Law, whose claim to academic fame is his “mismatch” theory of affirmative action, has been trying to get more than 30 years’ worth of data from the State Bar of California for quite some time in an effort to continue his research into the “large and persistent gap in bar passage rates among racial and ethnic groups,” and now he’s finally going to get his day in court. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * David Gherity, a former Minnesota lawyer who was falsely accused of setting his girlfriend on fire using accelerants like alcohol, lotion, hair spray, and fingernail polish remover, has filed a civil rights suit against the police and prosecutors who kept him in jail for about two months. Gherity, who was suspended from practice in 2004, alleges a violation of the “protected interest in his good name.” [Twin Cities Pioneer Press]


    Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

  • Non-Sequiturs: 04.06.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 04.06.16

    * The deal to combine drug giants Allergan and Pfizer in an inversion was called off after the US Treasury announced new rules to limit the tax benefits of moving the corporate headquarters overseas. [Quartz]

    * Should the IRS be going after the Pittsburgh Penguins for letting Sidney Crosby live in the owner’s house? [Bloomberg / BNA]

    * Pretty sure Vivia Chen has covered all the options in her latest article exploring the benefits of having women leaders at law firms. [Careerist]

    * Corporations may be taking an active role in opposing the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation, but that still doesn’t make them people. [Reuters]

    * “Jackie” from the Rolling Stone UVA rape article, which is now the subject of litigation, will have to testify in the pending action, despite her lawyer’s claim that revisiting the incident would be traumatizing. [Gawker]

    * Is the Bible about to become the official state symbol of Tennessee? [NPR]

    * Claiming to be a sovereign citizen is silly, and it certainly won’t insulate you from charges of chid sex abuse and kidnapping. [Jezebel]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 01.21.16
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 01.21.16

    * The Supreme Court may undo President Obama’s legacy… of executive actions. [Talking Points Memo]

    * Speaking of United States v. Texas, it just may be Chief Justice John Roberts’s worst nightmare. [Slate]

    * Today is a special anniversary: six years, the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United decision, and democracy hasn’t looked the same since. [Huffington Post]

    * Interesting data analysis from Professor Derek T. Muller: as full-time law faculty numbers shrink, law school administrator numbers grow. [Excess of Democracy]

    * Benghazi is getting a Michael Bay movie — and the congressional hearing is still raging on. [Rolling Stone]

    * Attorneys for Daniel Holtzclaw, the Oklahoma City police officer convicted of raping eight women while on duty, have filed a motion seeking a new trial; they suspect discovery shenanigans on the part of the prosecution. [Gawker]

    * Nope. Hillary Clinton may not be a radical, but she also isn’t a moderate Republican. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

    * Seven legal tech considerations for 2016, from lawyer and legal-tech enthusiast Steven J. Best. [Legal Tech Blog]

  • Sponsored

  • Morning Docket: 01.15.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.15.16

    * If you’re searching for a city where women lawyers elbow out men when it comes to leadership positions, then Chicago may be the place for you. Eight women serve as office managing partners there, more than any other city. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

    * Conservative advocacy group Citizens United is back in the news, but this time it’s in search of correspondence between Chelsea Clinton and State Department officials during her mother Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Sometimes all it takes is a Tweet: After being referred to as a “slave” by a law firm partner, this African-American woman took to Twitter to vent about needing to start her own law firm, and she ended up meeting her new law firm partners as a result. [ELLE]

    * A widow of an American who was killed during a terror attack in Jordan is suing Twitter because she claims the social networking site has given ISIS “unfettered” means to spread its hateful messages in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Retweet? [Reuters]

    * “18 year olds have nearly every burden and privilege of adults… except the right to drink alcohol.” That’s why three states — New Hampshire, California, and Minnesota — may soon lower their legal drinking ages, through legislation or ballot initiatives. [MTV]

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 12.24.15

    Ed. note: Happy Holidays! Above the Law will be dark tomorrow, Christmas Day. We’ll be back on Monday, December 28.

    * Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin may be newly elected, but that hasn’t stopped him from reneging on campaign promises. [Wonkette]

    * Here’s a fun hot take — Citizens United is to blame for Donald Trump’s rise, because he refuses to use Super PACs. Yeah, it’s pretty convoluted, but maybe this will convince… anyone on the right to do anything about campaign finance reform. [Huffington Post]

    * Krampus violates the 8th Amendment and other constitutional ruminations on Saint Nicholas’s evil twin. [The Legal Geeks]

    * This markup is what happens when lawyers get ahold of a Christmas carol. We should all be ashamed. [Legal Cheek]

    * A bill that would prevent people from buying a gun while going through a divorce… yeah, that could be useful. [Slate]

    * A New Zealand court ruled Kim Dotcom can be extradited back to the United States. [Wall Street Journal]

    * If you have to send a work email on Christmas Day and you sign off this way, you are probably an asshole. [Daily Lawyer Tips]

    * There are a bunch of theories to explain why crime rates have dropped over the last 25 years. [Vox]

    * The ultimate California bar exam breakdown. [Bar Exam Stats]

  • Morning Docket, SCOTUS, Supreme Court

    Morning Docket: 10.05.15

    * Today’s the first Monday in October, and we all know what that means. The Supreme Court starts its Term as disapproval of its work reaches a new high for recent years. [Gallup via How Appealing]

    * And here’s Adam Liptak’s excellent overview of the new Supreme Court Term, so you can sound smart at cocktail parties this month. [New York Times]

    * In other SCOTUS news, Senator Bob Menendez is fighting the bribery charges against him by relying upon a high court decision he once condemned — can you guess which one? [The Record How Appealing]

    * Which presidential candidates get the most in campaign contributions from Silicon Valley lawyers? The second-place finisher might surprise you. [The Recorder]

    * Elsewhere in presidential politics, Hillary Clinton will announce new gun-control proposals later today. [New York Times]

    * Don’t rush off to law school just yet, but the legal sector did gain a few thousand jobs last month, layoffs notwithstanding. [American Lawyer]

    * Dewey have any idea of when this jury will reach a verdict? [Law360]

    * Super-mediator Kenneth Feinberg’s latest challenge: pension reform. [National Law Journal]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 09.03.15

    * With the Dewey trial wrapping up, a look back at the history of firm honchos earning jail time. [Law360]

    * Slick video explaining the everything wrong the way law schools market themselves to students. [Business Insider]

    * K&L Gates loses more partners. This time McDermott picks up the spoils. But don’t cry for K&L, they nabbed a huge get off Paul Hastings. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

    * Remember when Sony got hacked? It unveiled some fun stuff, like how the new movie Concussion changed its plot around to avoid offending the NFL. [ABA Journal]

    * As college football prepares to kick off tonight, Baylor has hired Pepper Hamilton to look into how the school handles sexual violence allegations in light of the rape conviction of former player Sam Ukwuachu. [Dallas Morning News]

    * Here’s one of the dumbest arguments ever: Larry Lessig is liberal. About 47 years ago, unchecked campaign spending marginally helped a liberal (he did ultimately lose the nomination… and Nixon became president). Therefore, Larry Lessig shouldn’t be against money in politics. Signed, the former Executive Director of the Club for Growth. [The Daily Caller]

    * Meanwhile, the GOP runs into the downside of Citizens United: arming a terrible candidate with so much money he won’t drop out. [Slate]

Sponsored

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 07.29.15

    * With the accusations mounting, and the stunning New York Magazine cover feature 35 women alleging Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them, the comedian’s legal team is changing tactics. [CNN]

    * Does ideology play a role in conferring honorary degrees? One conservative law professor says yes. [National Law Journal]

    * Ever wonder why there are so many iconic movie roles that are lawyers? [ABA Journal]

    * Citizens United actually loses a legal battle, this time courtesy of New York’s own Amazing Schneiderman. [Wall Street Journal]

    * Need more evidence that campaign finance laws are a joke? [Huffington Post]

    * China’s first lawsuit over pollution is a go. [Jurist]

    * What will the long term impact be of legally classifying Uber drivers as employees? [Law.com]

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 05.15.15

    * “What Law Firms Can Learn From the Business Decisions of ‘Mad Men.'” I’m hoping the answer is “more drinking on the job.” [Legal Times]

    * Hillary Clinton pledges to nominate SCOTUS justices who will overturn Citizens United. And if you agree with her, she’ll gladly accept your unlimited donations to her *wink* unaffiliated SuperPAC. [Jezebel]

    * Seema Iyer talks about one of our favorite recent cases, Driskell v. Homosexuals. [MSNBC]

    * Sometimes getting fired can be a positive. As they say the Chinese word for crisis contains the word “opportunity.” Crisitunity. [Wisconsin Lawyer]

    * A great detailed piece on California’s recent decision to grant a law license to Hong Yen Chang, the Columbia Law grad denied his license over 100 years ago on the grounds of his “Mongolian nativity.” [Bloomberg BNA / Big Law Business]

    * Bad: Being wrongfully convicted. Worse: The system strong-arming the wronged into signing away their right to compensation. [LFC 360]

    * Should graduate students and adjuncts unionize? Depends. Do they want to be exploited by an unappreciative institution until their souls are sucked dry? Yes? Then no. [New York Times]

    * Sen. Toomey wants Judge L. Felipe Restrepo on the Third Circuit. Maybe he should start talking to his obstructionist colleagues instead of whining to the paper. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

    * PacerPro to automatically retrieve documents referenced in notices of electronic filing from PACER. That can help cut down on some mistakes… eh, Sidley Austin? [Law Sites]

    * Thomson Reuters has a new social network for small law firms. For every post, users can push a little “thumbs up” icon to express, “I [and my successors, assigns, and heirs of my body, indicate my generally warm feelings, reserving all rights to reverse or withdraw this endorsement at any time for any reason whatsoever notwithstanding any prior representations] This!” [Legal Research & Writing Pro]

    * The 2015 World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest in Memphis is this weekend. How does that relate to ATL? Bob Cornish, a D.C.-based attorney at Phillips Lytle LLP and a trained and certified expert in BBQ is a judge. [Memphis In May]

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 04.01.15

    * Protesters disrupt the Supreme Court to complain about Citizens United. Just two or three more of these and Alito is sure to break! [SCOTUSBlog]

    * In completely unrelated news, TV spending in the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin has now topped $600,000. No risk of corruption there. [Brennan Center For Justice]

    * Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has, at the last minute, refused to sign a new RFRA after watching Indiana blow up its own economy over the same law. In other news, Indiana Governor Mike Pence received a delightful gift basket today this morning with the message, “Thanks for taking the hit on this one — Asa XOXOXO.” [New York Times]

    * Speaking of the RFRA kerfuffle, defending champion UConn is boycotting the Final Four in Indiana this weekend. Not qualifying for the tournament certainly helps. How about we hold off praising this “bold stance” until a team actually playing this weekend makes a symbolic show of support. [NBC Connecticut]

    * After a season of reading about cops brutalizing unarmed kids for no reason, there’s a project in Baltimore trying to get the police to better connect with teens. Anything would help. [Washington Post]

    * There’s a new .sucks domain name, more or less designed for the sole purpose of extorting money from companies and celebrities. I don’t see the problem, they extort money out of us all the time. [LXBN]

    * Cool new tech. It’s like Google Glass for transactional lawyers, designed to instantly identify and highlight key provisions. OK this is an April Fools gag, but their real product actually operates on the same principle. [Kira Specs]

    * Just because married couples can file jointly doesn’t mean they should. For that matter, just because couples can marry doesn’t mean they should. Think about it. [California Lawyer]

    * Richard Hsu talks with Guy Kawasaki, the Chief Evangelist of Canva, and former Chief Evangelist of Apple. Evangelists just in time for the holiday! [Hsu Untied]

    * What have we done? We wrote about a candidate for SBA President at the University of Miami School of Law with a cheesy campaign video and he won. And now he’s drunk with power. He’s instituting a mandatory dress code! His email is on the next page…

    Miami Law Family,

    First and foremost, congratulations to all of the newly elected Student Leaders. Today’s Passing of the Gavel ceremony was a huge success, and I look forward to working with you all during the upcoming school year.

    It is now time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I recently surveyed a group of students about immediate issues they want the SBA to address. Without question, they felt that the biggest issue with the law school was that too many students wear flip flops and T-shirts to class. Thus, starting next Monday, April 6th, the SBA will be implementing a mandatory business casual/professional dress code for all full-time students. I know it may come as a shock, but my cabinet felt that this is a priority that needed to be addressed. We chose to make this our first order of business to demonstrate that we are here to work. This is clearly the first step to improve our bar passage rate, and I thank you for your understanding.

    I will be following up with you all later this week about upcoming SBA matters. I know you all had a nice break from me spamming your inbox, but I’m back and better than ever.

    Please see below for a detailed outline of what attire will be included/excluded from the mandatory dress code.

    Truly yours,
    Matt Deblinger
    President, Student Bar Association

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    Oh, before I forget… THANK YOU to Outgoing SBA President Sara Solano. Miss Solano did a phenomenal job as President, and she left big shoes to fill, despite being much shorter than me. As for that mandatory dress code I mentioned….. April Fools!!! 🙂

    In all seriousness- I cannot wait to work with all of the SBA E-board members, SBA Senators, administrators, and the student organization leaders. There is an SBA meeting tomorrow, 4/2/15, at 12:30PM in F309, where we will be appointing our Speaker of the Senate and discussing next year’s SBA Budget. As always, time will be allotted for general student body comments. We encourage you all to attend.

    Your Student Leaders are going to be working hard to ensure that the 2015-16 school year will be one of the most successful year’s in Miami Law’s history. You’ve elected a great group of students.

    If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas– or simply want to grab Icees & appetizers with me– please do not hesitate to call/text me. It’s my job is to serve you, but at the end of the day, I’m equally your colleague and friend.

    Here’s to a good year,
    Matthew Ryan David Deblinger
    President, Student Bar Association
    University of Miami School of Law

  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 01.30.15

    * Did two little kids get slapped with a lifetime gag order barring them from talking about fracking. But how will they explain their third eye? [The Guardian]

    * Private equity firm TPG is suing its former PR man — former Bush spokesperson Adam Levine — for allegedly stealing confidential documents and threatening to leak them to the press. They probably showed where the Iraq WMDs were. [O’Dwyer’s]

    * So maybe the blizzard of 2015 fizzled for New Yorkers. But winter’s not over yet — how do you interview in a snowstorm? [Corporette]

    * Simpson Thacher could have some malpractice issues with that $1.5 billion SNAFU. [Law360]

    * “The Supreme Court’s Billion-Dollar Mistake”? Well, they’re still half a billion ahead of Simpson Thacher. [New York Review of Books]

    * Suge Knight accused of murder. Not an archival story. [Los Angeles Times]

    * As Juggalo Law likes to say, “‘Sup With Aaron?” A recap of day 2 of the Aaron Hernandez murder trial, the Patriots scandal that isn’t about deflated balls. [ESPN]

    * Lagarrette Blount marijuana charges dropped like a Boise State linebacker. Huh. I guess this was yet another Patriots scandal. [ESPN]

    * 30 bats flew into an Arkansas courtroom disrupting a trial. That’ll teach them to let Joe Chill go free. [MyFoxNY]

    * An online CLE on the ethical issues of laterals and collapsing firms. Dewey know any firms who could have used this information? [Bloomberg BNA]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.26.15

    * Senate Republicans are contemplating abolishing filibusters for SCOTUS nominees. This could go one of two ways: it could work out nicely for them, or explode in their faces. It’s like a choose your own adventure game. [POLITICO]

    * When it comes to the upcoming gay marriage cases before SCOTUS, “[e]very lawyer involved will want to argue.” Remember, when you’re given the chance to make history, you better hope that you’re on the right side of it. [National Law Journal]

    * “[I]f there is one decision I would overrule, it is Citizens United.” Even RBG thinks this campaign finance decision is one of the Supreme Court’s “darkest hour[s].” [Salon]

    * SCOTUS refused to stay Charles Warner’s execution, but it agreed to grant cert on his lethal injection case days after his death. Better late than never? [New York Times]

    * The NFL has drafted Ted Wells of Paul Weiss to blow up the absurd controversy that is “Deflategate.” Come on, who cares if the Patriots cheated again? [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Do you know any chronic Biglaw firm-hoppers? How many firms are too many to lateral to? Three? Five? Seven? Jesus Christ, for this guy, try 10 firms. [Am Law Daily]