D.C. Circuit

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  • Morning Docket: 05.22.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.22.19

    * President Donald Trump has appealed a federal judge’s order allowing the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena of his financial records to the D.C. Circuit, where — GASP! — Merrick Garland serves as chief judge. The fact that Garland is involved apparently matters a lot to the MSM, you guys. [The Hill]

    * “The memo says they don’t have to assert a legitimate legislative purpose — or any purpose at all.” According to a confidential draft IRS memo, tax returns must be given to Congress upon request, unless the president claims executive privilege. This pretty much blows up Trump’s rationale for refusing to turn over his taxes thus far, but opens up a whole new way for him to avoid doing so. [Washington Post]

    * “The Supreme Court is stacked against us for the first time in my lifetime. I feel like it’s scarier than ever before.” As hundreds of people protested state abortion bans before the Supreme Court, Democratic presidential candidates joined in, lending their support to all the women gathered. [Reuters]

    * Meet Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society executive Vice President who serves as Trump’s unofficial judicial adviser to make the federal judiciary “great” (i.e., extremely conservative) again. How’s he doing that? With millions upon millions of dollars of “dark money.” He didn’t want to talk about that part of it. [Washington Post]

    * Buckley, the law firm formerly known as Buckley Sandler, has filed suit against Johnny Depp, claiming that the actor skipped out on about $350K in legal fees and costs. Leave the poor man alone, he’s got better things to spend his money on… like scarves. [American Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 04.08.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.08.19

    * “There needs to be some kind of ongoing legislative inquiry—whether for impeachment or something else [to release grand jury material.” If you’re eager to get your hands on the full Mueller report, you may have to wait a bit longer thanks to this D.C. Circuit case. [Big Law Business]

    * Meanwhile, during part of a weekend tweetstorm, President Donald Trump said that “even though [he] [has] every right to do so,” he’s not yet read the Mueller report. But even if he does read it in the future, it’s unlikely he’ll change his “complete and total exoneration” tune. [Slate]

    * In the wake of recent accusations of inappropriate touching, the way former Vice President Joe Biden handled Anita Hill’s sexual harassment claims against Justice Clarence Thomas’s dramatic confirmation hearing is coming back to bite him. [CNN]

    * Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned on Sunday, effective immediately. According to a senior administration official, the UVA Law alumnus said the President was “making unreasonable and even impossible requests” about the border. [CBS News]

    * Weekend at Ruthie’s? Windmill cancer experts Conspiracy theorists think that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been dead for quite some time and Democrats are covering it up to prevent President Trump from taking her seat. [The Hill]

    * Congratulations to Justice Christopher McDonald, the first person of color to serve on the Iowa Supreme Court. McDonald, “an immigrant’s son,” says he’s “deep[ly] concern[ed]” with racial justice issues. [Des Moines Register]

  • Morning Docket: 03.01.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 03.01.19

    * Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows have referred Michael Cohen to the Justice Department, claiming that they have evidence that Trump’s former fixer “committed perjury and knowingly made false statements“ during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee. [CNN]

    * Meanwhile, thanks to Cohen’s testimony, Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization who has already been granted immunity by SDNY prosecutors, will be called to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. [Daily Beast]

    * Almost time to say hello to Judge Neomi Rao: The nominee to replace Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit got through the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote, and the full Senate is likely to vote her onto the bench. [NBC News]

    * Lawrence Tu, the chief legal officer over at CBS, has resigned from his post and will be leaving the company in April. His leave follows the ouster of former CEO Les Moonves, who allegedly sexually harassed several employees. [New York Law Journal]

    * Much to the Justice Department’s chagrin, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that not only may AT&T acquire Time Warner but that such a combination would be unlikely to harm competition. [Wall Street Journal]

    * Ho Ka Terence Yung, the ex-UT Law student who pleaded guilty to terrorizing an admissions interviewer after he was rejected from Georgetown Law, was just sentenced to almost four years in prison for one count of cyberstalking. [Law.com]

    * Lincoln Bandlow, a Fox Rothschild partner who some have referred to as a “porn copyright troll,” got sanctioned $750 by a federal judge after missing court deadlines in at least two dozen of those porn infringement cases. [American Lawyer]

  • Morning Docket: 02.27.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 02.27.19

    * Cooley Law’s most infamous graduate goes down: Following his guilty pleas on federal felony charges — some of which were allegedly related to his work for Donald Trump — Michael Cohen has been disbarred. [New York Law Journal]

    * Meanwhile, Michael Cohen is going to be testifying today before the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL 1st District) allegedly took it upon himself to tamper with the witness via tweet. [Tampa Bay Times]

    * Here’s Michael Cohen’s opening statement, where he states, “For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump.” [CNN]

    * “Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is it to the Constitution of the United States? You cannot let him undermine your pledge to the Constitution.“ The House of Representatives voted to overturn Trump’s national emergency declaration at the southern border. Next stop, the Senate… [New York Times]

    * The D.C. Circuit unanimously upheld the validity of Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel. This is the first time that a federal appellate court has weighed in on the appropriateness of Mueller’s role in the Russia probe. [National Law Journal]

    * High school and college students have been waiting in line for days holding places for people to watch today’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court. The price of justice in America is high, and they’re being paid top dollar to camp out in front of the high court. [CNBC]

    * A Virginia police officer accidentally fired his gun during a traffic stop involving two students from William & Mary Law. According to reports, a bullet ricocheted off the ground and struck the car’s door, but thankfully no one was injured. [Flat Hat News]

  • Morning Docket: 01.14.19
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 01.14.19

    * In this bombshell report, it was revealed that almost immediately after President Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, the agency launched a criminal and counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was working on Russia’s behalf. No collusion? [New York Times]

    * “They’re not God, after all. They could be wrong.” Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani says the president’s legal team should be allowed to “correct” special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before anyone else gets to read it, including members of Congress. [The Hill]

    * Uh-oh… The longer the government shutdown continues, the longer certain practice areas are going to be in limbo. In fact, law firms “might see a dip [in billable hours] in the first quarter, depending on how much longer this goes on.” [American Lawyer]

    * “If a school can’t get enough of its students to have a high enough pass rate, then there’s a problem.” The ABA is again pushing for a 75 percent bar pass rate within two years of graduation for a school to retain its accreditation. [Wall Street Journal]

    * Joshua Davis, the lawyer who sued Ticketmaster over tickets he purchased to see “Hamilton” on the wrong day due to a tech glitch, got a quick settlement out of the ticket broker — and now he won’t miss his shot to see the show. [Texas Lawyer]

    * Patricia Wald, the first woman appointed to the D.C. Circuit, RIP. [Washington Post]