Crime

When it comes to eligibility for the death penalty, states still disagree on what qualifies as making a person intellectually disabled.

Nobody seems to know who could have possibly filed the suit -- except for us here at Above the Law.

* 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]

* What legal nerds really want to know about Merrick Garland: an analysis of his opinion-writing style. [Legal Writing Pro]

* The UK’s most followed law student on Instagram talks about people’s expectation of who she is based solely on the images she posts, rather than on the reality of who she is. [Legal Cheek]

* Did Donald Trump miss an opportunity? Sure, he’s been playing the American people like a goddamn fiddle, but maybe he should be threatening to fund the plaintiffs in potential lawsuits, not the defendants. [Medium]

* Looking to the Federalist Papers to shame Republicans for their failure to consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. [Brennan Center]

* Law school just got a little bit easier to pay for: Gabe Levin, a hockey player for Denver University is the first ever recipient of the NCHC Post-Graduate Scholarship and intends to use it to go to law school. [USCHO]

* Attorney learns lying in order to get a table at an exclusive restaurant may have more consequences than he thought. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Oh, my. A criminal defendant sings a song, inspired by Adele, to express his apology for his crimes. [YouTube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N37TIk2puD8&app=desktop

This prosecutor allegedly used prostitutes 'hundreds of times' over the last five years.

If you get in a fight and are the victor -- meaning the other guy gets hurt worse -- whether he started it or not, you'll likely be the one to get arrested.

An investigator for the D.A.'s office and a defense attorney got in a fight, and the defense attorney came away much worse for wear.

Biglaw partner Evan Greebel is in Biglaw no more.

* 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]

There were a few moments during the trial that I feel put me in a somewhat negative light.

This guy is still having trouble complying with the law.

* 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]

To say this guy's gotten a crash course in the criminal justice system is an understatement.

Did John Stumpf fall for the bloody sock routine as well?

Not only is torture inhumane and against the law, but it's ineffective and unnecessary.

Culture critic Harry Graff's one criterion for the power rankings: which character makes the viewer most excited when he shows up on screen?

Women are as good at criminal defense work as men and it's high time we get recognized for it and hired more often.

* It looks like SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein was onto something, because Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is reportedly being vetted to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. The D.D.C. judge once clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, and may wind up working alongside him on the high court as an associate justice (which could be a first). [National Law Journal]

* Justice Scalia’s death quickly affected some SCOTUS litigants: Dow Chemical settled an antitrust class-action suit for $835M because “[g]rowing political uncertainties … and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class-action suits have changed Dow’s risk assessment of the situation.” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Abortion returns to the SCOTUS this week, and litigants are wondering which version of Justice Kennedy they’ll receive when a decision is made. If Gonzales v. Carhart Kennedy makes an appearance, states across the South in the Fifth Circuit could kiss abortion goodbye. Here’s hoping for Planned Parenthood v. Casey Kennedy. [MSNBC]

* Student activists from Harvard Law and Brandeis University protested an awards ceremony where Dean Martha Minow was honored for “making a lasting contribution to racial, ethnic or religious relations.” The protestors felt the award’s timing was ironic considering the ongoing racial divisiveness at the law school. [Harvard Crimson]

* Career alternatives for disbarred attorneys who “knowingly misappropriated client funds”: chief compliance officer of one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization? Ritu Singh is lucky compliance is so hot right now, because accusations of past financial crimes apparently aren’t dealbreakers in terms of hiring. [New York Post]

Declan Garrity seems like a real human nightmare.

A Florida lawyer faces charges that he systematically forged the signatures of judges on court orders.