Deaths

* Accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who’d reportedly been taken off suicide watch, died by suicide this weekend as he awaited trial. AG Bill Barr is “appalled,” and has called for an investigation into the circumstances of Epstein’s death. [New York Times]

* In light of Epstein’s death, his victims want prosecutors to turn their sights upon Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been described as the financier’s “protector and procurer, his girlfriend and his madam.” [Washington Post]

* Will the Supreme Court be able to delay hearing cases about expanding Second Amendment rights considering the fact that this country has quite the problem with mass shootings? Not too hopeful here. [USA Today]

* Joel Sanders, defunct firm Dewey’s former CFO, wants his criminal conviction to be tossed out and his $1 million fine to be vacated with it. [New York Law Journal]

* So much for those Biglaw raises… According to a report recently published by the ABA, lawyers’ wages have been pretty stagnant, growing slower than inflation from 2017 to 2018. [Big Law Business]

* Donald Trump seems particularly irritated that former special counsel Robert Mueller will be testifying today before the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees on the “witch hunt” that’s plagued his presidency. Get ready for a tweetstravaganza! [CNN]

* Professor Amy Wax of Penn Law has been professionally scolded by the dean of the school after condemning her recent comments as racist and “repugnant,” and now comes news that she’ll soon be taking a previously scheduled — but awfully conveniently timed — sabbatical. [Law.com]

* But before you get too excited, Professor Wax says that she has “no plans” to leave Penn Law on a permanent basis. In fact, here’s what she said about the speculation that she’d be leaving for good: “The students need me. When I’m gone, the place goes full North Korea. (It’s 95% there).” [Big Law Business]

* Professor Bruce Hay of Harvard Law gets taken for the ride of his life after an alleged paternity trap left him homeless, out of work thanks to sexual harassment claims, and up to his eyeballs in litigation. [The Cut / New York Magazine]

* This personal finance website wants to know: What is Biglaw, and what kind of salary should you expect? Very cute! If you want to know the real deal, you happen to be looking at the website that most closely tracks Biglaw salaries. [Nerdwallet]

* Xi Chen, the bus driver who struck and killed Kimberly Greer, a law clerk at the Southern District of New York, took a no-jail plea deal earlier this week. He’ll lose his license for six months and must pay $1K in fines. [New York Post]

* A divided House of Representatives voted to “strongly condemn[] President Donald Trump’s racist comments” that were recently lodged against four Democratic congresswomen of color “that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” [NBC News]

* Plaintiffs in the census citizenship case are seeking sanctions against the Department of Justice for committing “fraud on the court” after allegedly hiding the truth about the case’s origins during trial. This should be interesting, considering the Supreme Court seemed to agree… [Reuters]

* Which Biglaw firms are playing host to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates? Quite a few, actually! From Milbank to Kirkland to Paul Weiss, these politicians are getting cozy with their future lawyers. [American Lawyer]

* Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has Pennsylvania Supreme Court to declare the death penalty unconstitutional because he claims it’s arbitrary and racially biased. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Salary news you can use: If you’ve got a law degree and you work in a compliance role, you can expect to make more money than your colleagues without JDs at each and every stage of your career. [Corporate Counsel]

* Retired Justice John Paul Stevens, the former leader of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, RIP. [New York Times]

* Okay, fine, whatever, the Trump administration is apparently going to look for a way to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. We’re governing by tweet these days, and this is the latest information on this debacle. [Washington Post]

* And it looks like the way President Trump is thinking of adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census is through an executive order. The Justice Department has until this afternoon to straighten this out. [ABC News]

* Nope, you still can’t use money that was supposed to go to the Defense Department to build a border wall. The Ninth Circuit upheld an injunction on the use of these military funds just before the holiday. [Los Angeles Times]

* Which Biglaw firms have received the most money from presidential candidates’ 2020 election campaigns? As you might have guessed, lawyers from Jones Day have gotten a lot to Republicans, and lawyers from Perkins Coie have gotten a lot to the Democrats. [National Law Journal]

* Prosecutors have dropped the manslaughter charge filed against an Alabama woman who was five months pregnant and lost her unborn child after being shot in the stomach. Congratulations, Alabama! Way to be normal! [CBS News]

* If you’re interested in going to law school, you should know that the average debt for the class of 2018 was pretty hefty at $115,481 — that’s $130,900 for private school graduates and $89,962 for public school graduates. Good luck paying it off! [Nerdwallet]

* Matthew Benedict, a student at Buffalo Law, RIP. [New York Law Journal]

* After being subpoenaed, former special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify in open hearings before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees on July 17. How rare that someone would actually comply with a Congressional subpoena these days! [Washington Post]

* “What are they hiding? Tell Joe Biden. Trump released his list. Why won’t you?” In case you missed it, a conservative legal advocacy group plans to spend big money on national ads demanding that 2020 Democratic presidential candidates release a shortlist of their potential Supreme Court nominees. [POLITICO]

* Harvard Law’s Pipeline Parity Project, a group that’s working to end mandatory arbitration among Biglaw firms, is going national. Now known as the People’s Parity Project, the group has expanded its mission and hopes to form chapters at least six other law school campuses. [Law.com]

* “It is time to do away with the stigmatization of women who challenge discrimination and harassment in their workplaces.” Three of the four women who were previously proceeding anonymously in their gender bias case against Jones Day have come forward to reveal their names. [Big Law Business]

* The latest high-dollar addition to the Yankees is Mike Mellis, formerly the top lawyer at Major League Baseball, who will slide into home as the Bronx Bombers’ executive vice president and chief counsel. [New York Law Journal]

* Timothy Thornton, CEO of 150-lawyer Greensfelder Hemker & Gale, RIP. [American Lawyer]

* “It is not and never has been the [DOJ’s] policy to target [journalists] for reporting. But Julian Assange is no journalist.” Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has been indicted on 18 charges under the Espionage Act in one of the largest leaks of classified information in U.S. history. [USA Today]

* Emory Law School now has its first-ever female dean. A big congratulations to Mary Anne Bobinski, who will be the first woman to lead the law school in its 103-year history. [Daily Report]

* Steven Hammond, a former Hughes Hubbard partner who was charged with public lewdness after being accused of masturbating in an Equinox steam room, recently had that charged dismissed and is now suing the gym for defamation. [New York Law JournalP]

* In case you missed it, DLA Piper recently elected a new U.S. chair of the firm. Congratulations to New York-based intellectual property lawyer Frank Ryan, who will succeed co-chairs Roger Meltzer and Cameron “Jay” Rains in the role. [Big Law Business]

* James O. Bass Sr., the longtime leader at the firm of Bass Berry & Sims, has passed away at the age of 108. RIP. [Tennessean]

* If you shared my skepticism that the murder trial in the Dan Markel case will actually start next month, almost five long years after Markel’s murder, then you won’t be surprised by this latest development — Saam Zangeneh, counsel to Sigfredo Garcia, has moved for a continuance. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* As predicted, President Donald Trump just had his 100th Article III federal judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate; he’s now up to 102 judicial appointees, as noted by Carrie Severino. [Bench Memos / National Review]

* If my writeup of Preet Bharara’s recent event at Cleary Gottlieb left you wanting more, check out Randy Maniloff’s wide-ranging interview with the former U.S. attorney (including advice on how not to get hired at the S.D.N.Y.). [Coverage Opinions]

* Jonathan Adler flags a thoughtful debate between Michael McConnell and Josh Chafetz on the battle over subpoenas between President Trump and Congressional Democrats. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Howard Wasserman identifies an interesting argument against police officers using body-worn cameras aka bodycams — but as he also observes, we don’t really have a better solution yet to the abuse of police discretion. [PrawfsBlawg]

* My money’s on Capital Loss Carryover in the Preakness Stakes. [TaxProf Blog]

* Of course “real lawyers” take notes — but there are some nuances here, which Joel Cohen explores. [New York Law Journal]

* Frank Cross, a longtime professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law, rest in peace. [Balkinization]