Death Penalty

* Adam Feldman examines the historical record to look at how Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s brutal confirmation process could affect his jurisprudence. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* And Joel Cohen looks at how Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight might affect his judging of the accused. [Law and Crime]

* Meanwhile, David Oscar Markus argues that criminal defendants in federal court get treated much worse than Justice Kavanaugh. [The Hill]

* Jemele Hill points out the support and sympathy for Justice Kavanaugh from a possibly surprising quarter: African-American men. [The Atlantic]

* Packing the Supreme Court? There ought to be a constitutional amendment about that, Jim Lindgren says. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* In fact, is it time for progressives to fight against, rather than within, the courts? Howard Wasserman offers thoughts on the recent Slate debate between Daniel Hemel and Christopher Jon Sprigman. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Patrick Gregory reports on the latest controversy in the world of lower-court nominations: the ABA’s “not qualified” rating of Eighth Circuit nominee Jonathan Kobes. [Big Law Business]

* Edmund Zagorski has multiple legal challenges to his execution (which is now on hold); former federal defender Stephen Cooper looks at the one based on the method of execution. [Tennessean]

* Congratulations to Pedro Hernandez on the dismissal of his case — and to his counsel, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, on the great result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2YPLmtwkug

* While you were busy watching Kanye spew drivel in the Oval Office, you may have forgotten that he was there to watch the Music Modernization Act get signed into law to enrich artists. And by “artists” we mean the RIAA. [The Verge]

* The public service loan forgiveness program appears to be a total disaster. Glad we got 10 years of free public service out of those chumps who honestly believed the Department of Education would honor its commitments! [Law.com]

* Washington strikes down the death penalty as racially biased in application. [Washington Post]

* A reminder that Republicans used to support “sanctuary” laws because they objected to the federal government commandeering local law enforcement. How the times of changed… [Mother Jones]

* Cleary’s hired a chief talent officer to handle recruiting, retention and diversity and it’s a wonder more firms haven’t gone this route. [American Lawyer]

* Former Newsweek owner pleads not guilty in $10 million bank fraud scheme, claiming the charges are false and trumped up by Manhattan DA Cy Vance in retaliation over negative news coverage. This is the fundamental problem with Vance staying in this job: these charges may be legit but based on his history of high profile screw-ups, this retaliation defense sounds entirely reasonable. [Law360]

* Georgia sued over law that its Secretary of State is using to block new voter registrations from mostly minority citizens. For the record, that Secretary of State is himself in a tight race for governor against a black woman. Funny that so many minority registrations would get blocked like this, huh? [AJC]

* Justice Kennedy may be stepping down from the Supreme Court, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a job. The dean of the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law already called the soon-to-be retireee and offered him a teaching position. Will Kennedy become a law professor? [Sacramento Business Journal]

* The suspect in the Capital Gazette shooting has been identified as Jarrod Ramos. Ramos filed and lost a defamation suit against the newspaper in 2012 for correctly reporting that he’d pleaded guilty to criminal harassment. At least five people were killed during the shooting spree, and several others were seriously injured. [CNBC]

* Does the death penalty violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution? At this rate, we may never find out because the Supreme Court keeps turning down cases challenging the issue. Justice Breyer is getting really upset about this, and dissented in both of the Court’s denials this week. [National Law Journal]

* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known to her fans as the Notorious R.B.G., and now she’s got an album that’s bears the exact same name. “Notorious R.B.G in Song” is a musical tribute that was created by her children, and even includes jokes about her horrible cooking skills. [WOSU Radio]

* Remember Leicester Bryce Stovell, the lawyer who claimed via failed lawsuit that he was NBA legend LeBron James’s father? He just got disbarred. [American Lawyer]

* Supreme Court won’t wade into Arizona’s death penalty law so they can really concentrate on the important work of union busting. [NY Times]

* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Mississippi has set up a date to discuss its new abortion ban whenever the Court totally changes its membership. [NPR]

* Trump hired Joseph Digenova, a kooky conspiracy theorist who goes on cable news to claim that the FBI framed Trump. I really want to test a theory — if CNN is willing to have me on to explain my belief that Robert Mueller is just George Soros in a mask, how many days would it take before I got added to the defense team. [CNN]

* The average age of a baseball fan is 53 years old. Now Congress wants to make sure the future of the sport are paid like it’s 1965. [Washington Post]

* The Tex McIver trial continues with some unsettling testimony. [CBS News]

* Trump’s reliance on NDAs has hit a wall — fired White House officials can’t be silenced. [Reuters]

* Could this be the case that puts the nail in the death penalty’s coffin? Justice Breyer probably hopes so. Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells has asked the Supreme Court to hear an Arizona death row inmate’s case, arguing that the state’s death penalty law is unconstitutional and that it must be struck down. [BuzzFeed]

* “[T]he Tiffany trademark is not something to be trifled with.” Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York has ruled that Costco must pay more than $19 million after selling rings and attempting to pass them off as a luxury brand by using and infringing upon the Tiffany trademark. Treble damages are a bitch, and Costco plans to appeal. [New York Law Journal]

* After a special Senate primary, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was once removed from his post and later suspended from it, and Senator Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill the seat formerly occupied by AG Jeff Sessions, will face each other in a runoff for the state’s GOP nomination. Voters seem thrilled with their options. [New York Times]

* A former law firm partner who is accused of creating a fake Match.com account using the name of a real female attorney and allegedly signing her up for emails from a weight loss surgery company, the Obesity Action Coalition, and Pig International — all from his law firm computer — is facing discipline before the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission [Law.com]

* Joseph Amico, who was arrested back in April after threatening to blow up a Manhattan attorney who he allegedly referred to as a “n****r lover” has been rearrested, this time for allegedly harassing the judge in his divorce case. Amico, who was free on $50,000 bail, has an optimistic attorney who’s confident his client will receive a “favorable bail disposition.” [New York Daily News]

* If you’re searching for a job to take after law school that doesn’t necessarily involve practicing law, then you may want to consider a career in policy work. After all, having a law degree when working in the policy world likely amounts to some sort of a JD Advantage-type job. [U.S. News & World Report]

* As I noted in my last nominations roundup, the Trump administration is actually ahead of the Bush and Obama administrations when it comes to judicial appointments — especially with yesterday’s confirmation of Kevin Newsom to the Eleventh Circuit. [How Appealing]

* With Republicans in charge of the presidency and Senate, could breaking up the Ninth Circuit return to the agenda? [Law360]

* And here’s an interesting argument against a split, from the Republican point of view (by Wyatt Kozinski, following in his father’s footsteps). [SSRN]

* Capital punishment: yet another issue where it’s all about Justice Kennedy. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Thoughts from Joel Cohen on the Trump/Sessions troubles. [The Hill]

* How NOT to escape from your law school loans. [Gizmodo]

* If a pizza party isn’t your thing, here are some other ideas for what to eat when working hard at the law firm. [Cater2me]

* Litigation that lawyers can love: Mel Gibson files suit over a dictionary (okay, actually a movie about a dictionary — the Oxford English Dictionary). [Deadline]

* Congratulations to Judge Lorna G. Schofield (S.D.N.Y.) on receiving the Liberty Award from the ABA! [American Bar Association]

* Ben Wittes on James Comey’s prepared testimony (which he’ll deliver tomorrow): “the most shocking single document compiled about the official conduct of the public duties of any President since the release of the Watergate tapes.” [Lawfare]

* Could the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program be eliminated — retroactively? Thoughts from Professor Gregory Crespi. [SSRN]

* The California Supreme Court appears less than enthused about a ballot measure that would compel the courts to decide death penalty cases more quickly. [How Appealing]

* Behind every great bestseller is… a tiger mother? How Amy Chua mentored J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy (affiliate link). [The Atlantic]

* Picking up on Shannon Achimalbe’s post from earlier today, here’s additional financial advice for young lawyers. [SoFi]

* Legal technology is a godsend — but what do you do when problems arise? [Reboot Your Law Practice]

* Mark your calendars: one week from today, on June 14 in San Francisco, it’s the Battle of the (Law Firm) Bands! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

* President Donald Trump has hired his longtime lawyer, Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson, to represent him as his independent counsel in the investigation of claims that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Is anyone really surprised that Trump chose to hire Kasowitz? Moreover, is anyone really surprised that he’d further complicate hiring Joe Lieberman as FBI director by doing so? [FOX Business]

* In somewhat related news, despite having worked as a partner at WilmerHale — a firm that represents former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as well as Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner — Robert Mueller has been approved by ethics experts at the Justice Department to go ahead as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation, as he did not participate in those matters. Things are about to start heating up. [NPR]

* President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 fiscal budget includes a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the Department of Justice. The $27.7 billion request for the DOJ represents a 3.8 percent decrease from its current funding level, while the antitrust division’s funding will remain the same, at just under $165 million. It makes you wonder which initiatives will be discontinued. [Big Law Business]

* Speaking of the Trump budget, American Bar Association President Linda A. Klein has spoken out against it, criticizing its “egregious cuts to the Constitution’s promise of a fair legal process.” Funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have been completely eliminated, and if the money is not reinstated, “severe damage [could be done] to the most vulnerable people in our society.” [ABA Journal]

* Convicted killer Dylann Roof, who was found guilty of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and religious rights violations, has appealed his conviction and his death sentence to the Fourth Circuit. According to his lawyers, Roof wanted to appeal to drag the case on as long as possible, since he thinks white supremacists will eventually take over the country and pardon him. Wow. [AP]

* Airbnb will allow the government to audit hosts in order to test for racial discrimination. [The Guardian]

* Texas cop shoots and kills an unarmed black 15-year-old. [The Root]

* There’s no video, but Popehat has a nice little tale about an airline and airport police completely failing. [Popehat]

* If this had happened to Ann Coulter, conservatives would be concerned. But since it only happened to left-leaning women in Kentucky… crickets. [ABC]

* The Supreme Court doesn’t want to touch California’s ban on gay conversion therapy. Banning gay conversion therapy is, of course, the only reason to be happy Donald Trump hasn’t been repealed and replaced by Mike Pence. [ABA Journal]

* In case you missed it, on Friday night I debated Jenner Block’s Lindsay Harrison about the Constitution, and Seema Iyer about sex offenders. Check out the webcast here. [WNYC Studios]

* Richard Posner and Jed Rakoff face off over the death penalty. [Slate]

Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

* Today is World IP Day. Oh wait, that’s wrong. “Today is World IP Day.^TM” [World Intellectual Property Organization]

* A pair of twins is graduating from UVA Law. In other news, it’s a really slow news day at UVA. [UVA Today]

* Alabama is voting to put an anti-abortion amendment in their state constitution because there’s literally not a single other issue requiring the attention of Alabama lawmakers. [The Hill]

* Johnny Depp’s managers don’t trust him. [USA Today]

* This woman does not like xylophones. [Lowering the Bar]

* For Serial fans in Minnesota, Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder are speaking in your town on May 10. [Beth El Synagogue]

* A tribute to death penalty litigator Steve Bright. [Katz Justice]

* The Beast shouldn’t be forgiven at the end of Beauty and the Beast. [The Legal Geeks]

* Aaron Hernandez did not write a note to a prison lover, according to his lawyer. [CBS Sports]

* Neil Gorsuch’s death count is only likely to increase. [Huffington Post]

* Arkansas accepted a “donation” of potassium chloride that it’s using in lethal injections. [McClatchy]

* This lawyer’s comments are absolutely awful. [U.S. News]

* AG Jeff Sessions’s thoughts on Hawaii aren’t surprising, but they are still infuriating. [Slate]

* Is this the most conspiracy-theory-filled deposition ever? [Salon]

* Sally Yates has been invited to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. [Politico]

* Is the truth even relevant anymore? [Law and More]

* Settlements have been reached between Berkeley Law, the school’s former dean, and the dean’s former assistant. If you recall, then dean Sujit Chaudry was accused of sexually harassing his assistant, and as part of the settlement, he’ll have to pay $100K in fees and charitable donations, but will be considered to be on “sabbatical” until May 2018, keeping all of his benefits. Hmm, do we think this is fair? [Mercury News]

* “We have not livestreamed before, but that’s not to say that won’t happen in this case.” The Fourth Circuit is considering livestreaming oral arguments for travel ban 2.0, much like what the Ninth Circuit did with oral arguments for Trump’s first travel ban. Maybe you’ll be able to do some “professional development” billing… [National Law Journal]

* “Arkansas does not intend to torture plaintiffs to death.” Judge Kristine G. Baker (E.D. Ark.) has halted a whirlwind series of eight executions — the state’s first executions scheduled since 2005 — citing a “threat of irreparable harm” if the drug midazolam is used as part of the lethal injection drug protocol and somehow fails. [New York Times]

* More and more out-of-state Biglaw firms are flocking to Houston, Texas, to open their own offices, which has inspired many lawyers to leave their current firms for greener pastures — in terms of both money and opportunities. But is there enough legal work to go around with all of the new competition? Only time will tell. [Houston Chronicle]

* Ten Harvard Law student affinity groups are gunning for Professor David B. Wilkins to become the next dean of the school after Martha Minow steps down at the end of the year. They’ve written a letter to the university president, imploring him to take their advice and select their dean candidate for the position. Check it out. [Harvard Crimson]

* A judge has approved a $25 million settlement for claims surrounding Trump University. [NPR]

* If Neil Gorsuch becomes the next Supreme Court justice, is that proof bullying works? [Guile is Good]

* Tips for surviving work when you’re exhausted. [Corporette]

* A look at the charges against the pro-life activists who secretly recorded Planned Parenthood sessions. [Slate]

* Arkansas is racing to beat the clock… in order to execute people. [The Slot]

* You’re getting more of a TV show you probably don’t watch anyway. [Law and More]

* An appeals court ruled not to release Guantanamo Bay forced-feeding videos. [AP]