D.C. Circuit
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 11.02.15
* Despite the fact that people seemed to have been losing their minds over court packing, according to Judge Sri Srinivasan of the D.C. Circuit, President Obama’s appointment of four new judges on the powerful court had little to no impact on the outcome of cases. [POLITICO]
* “Americans are actively being deprived of their rights.” In this excellent longread on arbitration, we learn it’s the best for big companies, but for plaintiffs who are forced into it, it amounts to the “privatization of the justice system.” [DealBook / New York Times]
* Uh oh! Disgraced plaintiffs’ lawyer Stan Chesley — perhaps better known as the “Master of Disaster” — had a warrant issued for his arrest last week after he failed to appear for a hearing related to his refusal to pay a $42 million judgment. [Louisville Courier Journal]
* Florida A&M University College of Law has a brand new dean. We’d like to wish a warm welcome to Angela Felecia Epps, whose salary of $252,000 is likely more than any of the school’s recent and barely employed graduates can hope to make. [Orlando Sentinel]
* A 30-year-old New Jersey man has been sentenced to a 16-year prison term for aggravated arson after the fires he set last year damaged a local law firm (one that was representing him at the time) and the county prosecutor’s office. [Associated Press]
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White-Collar Crime
An AUSA Would Like His Time To Be Worth More Than Ted Olson's; Or, DOJ's New Appellate Threat So It Can Avoid Work
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D.C. Circuit, Quote of the Day
Corporations Are People, Now They Can Lie
A recent D.C. Circuit decision gives corporations more rights.
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Cartoons / Comics, D.C. Circuit
D.C. Circuit Judge Talks Justice League In Recent Opinion
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's jurisprudence. -
Screw-Ups, Technology
Practice Pointer: Don't Let Your iPhone Spellcheck Your Brief
Check out this error, which is both entertaining and educational. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 06.19.15
* The North Carolina legislature’s war on UNC Law School continues. The Senate just proposed a $3 million budget cut. Tarheels adjust by ending Civ Pro right before International Shoe. [The Herald Sun]
* U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer enjoys living dangerously. When the D.C. Circuit tells her the CIA needs to disclose more about drone policy, she… tells the CIA to keep its mouth shut. AC/DC has a song about that behavior. [Politico]
* Most attention is, justifiably, fixed on marriage equality and health care, but there are some huge pending decisions we’re overlooking. [Slate]
* Will Chief Justice Roberts save Obamacare again? [Mother Jones]
* Speaking of SCOTUS, Professor Ilya Somin and Constitutional Accountability Center chief counsel Elizabeth Wydra talk Supreme Court in this podcast. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]
* Career hiccups begin with you. So, you know, stop doing that to yourself. [Corporette]
* Why have car insurance in this case? A fair question. [Legal Juice]
* If you didn’t make it to see David speak with a panel of distinguished guests at the Fix the Court/Politico Supreme Court event this week, here’s the video! [Politico]
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Benchslaps, D.C. Circuit, Laurence Silberman
Bad Briefing Begets Brutal Benchslap
This D.C. Circuit judge doesn't suffer subpar briefing gladly. -
Benchslaps, D.C. Circuit, Television
The One Where The D.C. Circuit Benchslaps The Federal Government
A federal judge cites the TV sitcom "Friends" to kick off her latest opinion. - Sponsored
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 04.15.15
* Sorry, Chicago Law, but it looks like you’re going to lose your dean. Michael Schill, the school’s departing dean, will leave to assume the presidency at the University of Oregon. It’s an upgrade for UO, and a potential downgrade for UChiLaw. Yikes… [Willamette Week]
* FYI, D.C. Circuit litigants, you really need to “avoid using acronyms that are not widely known.” This is your second warning, your colleagues have already been benchslapped for this behavior, and the clerk’s office literally can’t even anymore. [National Law Journal]
* After six months spent completing a domestic violence program, the battery charge against Judge Mark Fuller has been dropped and expunged from his record. Whether he’ll be allowed to keep his job on the federal bench is another story entirely. [Reuters]
* Your law school application is a great place to explain why your undergraduate GPA is so damn low, because at this point in the process, the law school of your choice may be happy that you actually have a pulse. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]
* Theo Shaw, a member of the “Jena Six” who had to spend 7 months in jail because he couldn’t afford bail for his alleged participation in a gang-beating, is going to law school on a full ride. He’s “profoundly grateful” to Washington Law. Congrats! [Business Insider]
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5th Circuit, Death Penalty, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics
Speaking Truth To Power Is Only Noble When You Are Actually Speaking The Truth: The Failed Complaint Against Judge Edith Jones
For Judge Jones, the victory must be bittersweet. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 01.28.15
* SWAT team called in to break up a poker game between a bunch of rich people. The militarization of the police seems like it’s going great. [Washington Post]
* The SPLC is lodging an ethics complaint against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore after he explained that he intends to defy federal law. He’s such a delight. [WAAY TV]
* Rutgers-Camden’s student evaluation controversy unfortunately fits right into the grand scheme of legal industry misogyny. [Salon]
* South Carolina has finally vacated the convictions of the Friendship Nine — protesters busted for sitting at the diner counter who pioneered the “jail, no bail” strategy that dominated the 60s civil rights movement. It only took 54 years. [Huffington Post]
* Another day, another embarrassing development for the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell. This time it’s former Senator Ben Nelson who Obamacare challengers cite for their claim that the Senate never intended subsidies to go to states without their own exchanges. Well, Senator Nelson wrote his own brief blowing this theory out of the water. This is basically SCOTUS’s version of the Marshall McLuhan scene. [Washington Post]
* A list of upcoming books about the Supreme Court. [SCOTUSBlog]
* An enterprising law office discovered that the courts in Oklahoma publish social security numbers all the time. [Wirth Law Office]
* D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett talks clerking diversity. [National Law Journal]
* UC Hastings Law student Hali Ford is competing on the 30th season of Survivor. Her interview video is below. [TV Grapevine]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ydBekmEOw
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Bad Ideas, Craigslist, D.C. Circuit, Quote of the Day, Sex
Because Prestige Is The Ultimate Aphrodisiac
D.C. lawyers are looking for love in all the wrong places. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.24.14
* The joke’s on North Korea: you can’t hack the D.C. Circuit because they still use Commodore 64s. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]
* As we remember the Slaughter and May holiday party of 1981, here’s a mashup with contemporary music. [Legal Cheek]
* With restrictions lifting, what will America’s new relationship with Cuba mean for business? I’m most looking forward to imported communist liquor. They can call it Red Rum. [LXBN]
* Court says Muslim can’t take the oath on a Koran. I mean, isn’t this that special time of year where people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ? [Religion Clause]
* The least efficient armed robbery ever nets pennies. If one of these guys drops a dime on the others guys he’d actually be coming out ahead. [Legal Juice]
* Christmas wishes revolving mostly around Agent Carter and Star Wars. My only Star Wars wish is for a stand-alone Admiral Ackbar movie, but we’re not going to get it. [The Legal Geeks]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.17.14
* Rudolph sues for discrimination. This is why you should always let guys play in your reindeer games. [Bolek Besser Glesius LLC]
* Congressional gridlock may call off… the Super Bowl? At least the Bears have other things to worry about than planning for the post-season. [Redline]
* Hot damn, Keith Lee. “ABA 509 Matriculant Data On All Ranked Schools.” That’s… wow. [Associate’s Mind]
* The Senate torture report may be an ugly, but there’s an argument that it hides a silver lining. [What About Clients?]
* What isn’t the D.C. Circuit doing today? [Constitutional Accountability Center]
* Document reviewers may have known that emails weren’t really private for years, but other professions understood the lack of true privacy much longer. [Law and More]
* David is interviewed about Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [ABA Journal]
* Bill O’Reilly invites on an “HLS student” — who is also a conservative commentator — to say a bunch of racial codewords under the guise of exam extensions. Look, I wouldn’t ask for an exam extension if my leg were caught in a bear trap, but you know what? I couldn’t care less if other people got extensions. Quit your whining (and appearing on TV) and go study for your own damn self! [Fox News]
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Federal Government, SCOTUS
SCOTUS Argument Preview: Must Agencies Use Notice and Comment Rulemaking to Change Interpretation
The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will hear argument in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, No. 13-1041, asking whether a federal agency must engage in advance notice and public comment rulemaking pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) before it can significantly alter an established interpretive rule articulating the agency’s interpretation of an agency regulation. -
Biglaw, D.C. Circuit, Divorce Train Wrecks, Fashion, Health Care / Medicine, Labor / Employment, Law Firm Mergers, Morning Docket, Nude Dancing
Morning Docket: 11.17.14
* When Loretta Lynch still worked at Hogan & Hartson (now known as Hogan Lovells thanks to a merger), her colleagues described her as a warm person without “a political bone in her body.” That said, best of luck to her in D.C. [National Law Journal]
* The D.C. Circuit upheld the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive opt-out plan for religious employers, but since “[t]he court is wrong,” we can count on a at least a few organizations that’ll refuse to comply. Gee, thanks a lot, Obama. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Some call the latest Biglaw tie-up “law-firm Darwinism,” but hey, “[i]t’s not like [Bingham’s] a wounded gazelle and we are pouncing on them,” says a too coy Morgan Lewis lawyer. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* Fashion law may be a $985 billion global industry, but only five law school courses on the topic exist in the U.S. Why? “There’s no defensible reason except that fashion is perceived as a frivolous subject.” [AFP]
* This woman plans to appeal a $1 billion divorce settlement award because it’s not “fair and equitable.” In her defense, she did get a very small percentage of her ex-husband’s multibillion-dollar wealth. [People]
* Wage and hour laws have never been so sexy: Thanks to this court ruling, Rick’s Cabaret is going to have to make it rain on thousands of strippers to the tune of more than $10 million. [New York Times]
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Federal Government
HUD Housing Disparate Impact Rules Vacated – How an APA Case Could Clarify Complicated Private Litigation
Ed note: This post originally appeared on Federal Regulations Advisor. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2013 rules (ostensibly) under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) establishing disparate-impact liability in a case revolving on homeowners’ insurance coverage policies. Plaintiffs in American Insurance Association […] -
Courthouses, D.C. Circuit, Department of Justice, Election Law, Environment / Environmental Law, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Privacy, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Technology
Non-Sequiturs: 11.03.14
* Floridian women lawyers got their wish: Bad Judge, plagued by bad ratings, is getting canceled. [Daily Business Review] * A round-up of write-ups about today’s oral arguments in the Israel / Jerusalem passport case. [How Appealing] * Interesting reflections from Professor Glenn Reynolds on the controversial catcalling video. [USA Today via Instapundit] * Things are bats**t insane — literally — at this Utah courthouse. [Gawker] * The D.C. Circuit gives the EPA its way on cross-state air pollution. [Breaking Energy] * Election monitors from the Justice Department: possibly coming to a jurisdiction near you (including Bergen County, New Jersey, where I grew up). [BuzzFeed] * Can cops force suspects to use their fingerprints to unlock their cellphones? Eric Crusius and Lisa Giovinazzo debate, after the jump. [Fox News] -
Brett Kavanaugh, Federal Judges, Feeder Judges, Food, Immigration, Quote of the Day
Dissenting Judge Has A Beef With Steakhouse's Logic
Why does this feeder judge hate... food? -
Drinking, FTC, Health Care / Medicine, Non-Sequiturs, Police, Politics, Racism, Trademarks
Non-Sequiturs: 09.04.14
* Bob McDonnell, former governor of Virginia, guilty of 11 counts of corruption. Maureen McDonnell guilty of 8. If only they’d gotten that severance motion. [Wonkette] * The best way to catch drunk drivers is to give them something to crash into. [Legal Juice] * Chaumtoli Huq, a former general counsel to the New York […]