Election 2012
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Clarence Thomas, Department of Justice, Election 2012, Morning Docket, Politics, Privacy, Technology
Morning Docket: 02.28.12
* Justice Clarence Thomas for president? Hey, it could happen. Lat and Kash’s 2010 proposal is getting a second look. [Daily Beast]
* Speaking of presidents, the Arizona and Michigan primary elections are today. I know folks on the coast often don’t pay too much attention to those middle-of-the-country states, but it will be interesting to see what the Illegal Immigration State and Crippled American Auto State have to say about our ragtag bunch of Republican presidential candidates. [New York Times]
* Emails published yesterday by Wikileaks appear to show that Pakistani military intelligence knew where Osama bin Laden was hiding in the months before Seal Team Six raided his garrison and killed him. I hope Wikileaks has juicier material in the pipeline? [Telegraph]
* Congratulations to Tony West, who will become acting associate attorney general, the No. 3 post in the Justice Department. [Chicago Tribune]
* Interesting report on tensions between the White House and the NSA, which has tried to get permission to monitor private web activity, perhaps at the expense of privacy. But Google knows everything you do on your computer, so why shouldn’t the government? [Washington Post]
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Career Alternatives, Election 2012, Law Schools, Politics
Is A Law Degree Still The Best Way To Get Into Politics?
And now we come to the real reason I, and so many others, went to law school: I wanted to go into politics. Before I was married, before my father’s name recognition spiked, before I was in debt, before I realized I had no talent asking people for money, I thought elected office was in […] - Sponsored
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5th Circuit, Affirmative Action, Election 2012, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Texas
SCOTUS Grants Cert in Affirmative Action Case: 'Cause It's an Election Year and They Like Power'
Last year, the Fifth Circuit upheld the University of Texas's affirmative action plan in Fisher v. University of Texas. But they did so in a petulant, childish manner, as if somebody was forcing them to eat their vegetables. At the time, Elie said they were openly begging for a right-wing Supreme Court to review and overturn their ruling. It looks like the members of the Fifth Circuit are going to get their wish. The Supreme Court granted cert on Fisher, and now we get to have an affirmative action debate right in the middle of an election cycle where a black man is running for reelection....
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Election 2012, Politics, Public Interest, Small Law Firms
The Practice: Political Networking
There, of course, is a natural path from lawyer to legislator. But the low pay, travel, time commitment, and mud slinging that we see on TV and the internet turn many lawyers away from public service.The current political landscape also causes lawyers to be uninterested in participating in politics at any level, whether it means lobbying, running campaigns, fundraising, or attending political functions. It’s a mistake... -
Election 2012, English Grammar and Usage, Immigration, Politics
Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Discrimination Against People Who Can't Speak English
How much English do you have to be able to speak in order to hold elected office? I don’t know, but apparently justices in Arizona think they know it when they hear it. Continuing Arizona’s quest to become the most racist state in the Union, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed a ruling that prevented Alejandrina […] -
Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Election 2012, Kasowitz Benson, Lindsay Lohan, Morning Docket, Sex, Sex Scandals
Morning Docket: 02.08.12
* Extra frothy: Santorum’s trifecta of wins in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri has made Mitt Romney angry. Because even a guy who wins nonbinding primaries can be dangerous to a man’s campaign. [New York Times] * Richard Holwell, the judge who presided over Rajabba the Hut’s case, will be resigning and starting a boutique firm […]
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9th Circuit, American Bar Association / ABA, Antitrust, Arnold & Porter, Biglaw, California, Department of Justice, Election 2012, Election Law, Morning Docket, Politics, Summer Associates
Morning Docket: 02.07.12
* Obama has officially nominated William Baer, an Arnold & Porter partner, to run the DOJ’s antitrust division. Get ready for an election year confirmation showdown between the parties. [New York Times] * Newt Gingrich has dropped out of the Virginia ballot lawsuit that was originally filed by Rick Perry. What does this mean for […]
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Election 2012, Politics, Quote of the Day, Sandra Day O'Connor, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: Girl's Got Jokes!
[O]ne is a practicing polygamist, and he’s not even the Mormon. — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, commenting on the differences between leading Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich during a speech at the Alfalfa Club. - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Edwards Wildman, Election 2012, Facebook, Jersey Shore, Lateral Moves, Morning Docket, New Jersey, Partner Issues, Politics
Morning Docket: 02.01.12
* Florida: a place where people don’t care about your income tax returns. Mitt Romney dominated the state’s primary, grabbing all 50 of the delegates needed for the Republican nomination. [New York Times] * Entry-level hiring might be down, but lateral hiring is being approached like an NFL draft. Biglaw firms want the best of […]
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Biglaw, Copyright, Election 2012, Federal Government, Health Care / Medicine, Law Professors, Law Schools, LLMs, Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.31.12
* “Members of Congress are not above the law,” and that’s why the Senate will likely approve a ban on insider trading of non-public information by the end of the week. Say hello to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. [Boston Globe] * Eye of newt tiger, and toe of frog, wool of bat, […]
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Election 2012, New York Times, Politics, Tax Law
NYT Smacks Around a Biglaw Partner While Behaving as If Mitt Romney Needed Tax Advice From Stephen Hawking
I get that to lay people, the tax code seems incredibly complicated. It is complicated, and years of both parties legislating through the tax code has made it that way. I understand that the sepia-toned relief of an American being able to puzzle out his taxes on the hood of his pick-up truck before he […] -
9th Circuit, Bloomberg, Drinking, Drugs, Election 2012, Gay, Gay Marriage, Media and Journalism, Money, New York Times, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Rape, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Videos, YouTube
Non-Sequiturs: 01.26.12
* Greg Kelly stands accused of an alleged rape that supposedly took place at a “lower Manhattan law firm.” While we wait for the tips machine to fire up, who’s up for kegs and eggs and Good Day New York tomorrow morning? [Gothamist] * Classes in space colony law coming in 3… 2… 1… [Buzzfeed] […] -
Barack Obama, Election 2012, Eric Holder, Federal Government, Politics, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
The State of the Union (2012): Open Thread
President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address this evening, and it was even less exciting than last year (which was less exciting than the year before, when the famous Obama v. Alito showdown over Citizens United took place). Tonight was light on drama — one of the most compelling moments came early […]
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Adam Liptak, Barack Obama, Election 2012, Politics, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
SCOTUS at the SOTU: Some Historical Perspective
Tonight, as everyone knows, President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address. The speech starts at 9 p.m. (Eastern time). For real-time reactions over Twitter, follow @ATLblog, @DavidLat, @ElieNYC, and @StaciZaretsky. For a post-speech wrap-up, check Above the Law, either late tonight or tomorrow morning. For Supreme Court nerds, here’s the perennial […] -
Election 2012, Money, Politics, Tax Law
Mitt Romney's Taxes Aren't 'Complicated' to His Tax Lawyers
If you are a wealthy American who pays the top regular income tax rate of 35%, you have terrible, awful lawyers. Mitt Romney does not have terrible lawyers. The news of the day is that GOP frontrunner Romney released the previous two years of his tax returns. Romney's 2010 adjusted gross income was $21,661,344. His estimated AGI for 2011 is $20,901,075. But Romney is trying to spin his tax returns as an example of how "complicated" that tax code is.... -
4th Circuit, Biglaw, Election 2012, Election Law, Google / Search Engines, Law Schools, Lindsay Lohan, Morning Docket, Partner Issues, Politics, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Women's Issues
Morning Docket: 01.18.12
* The Fourth Circuit denied Rick Perry’s Virginia election law appeal in about four seconds flat. Not like it matters. He’s probably going to be out of the race come Saturday. [Washington Wire / Wall Street Journal] * Women are having trouble making equity partner in Biglaw firms, and not because of the glass ceiling […]
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4th Circuit, Barack Obama, Election 2012, Election Law, Kids, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, Old People, Small Law Firms
Morning Docket: 01.16.12
* Rick Perry’s primary ballot election law suit in Virginia was unsuccessful, but maybe the Fourth Circuit will help him out on appeal. Or not. At least Huntsman’s out of the race, right? [Bloomberg] * That didn’t take too long. The National Federation of Independent Business has officially popped the cherry on filing lawsuits challenging […]
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Crime, Election 2012, Military / Military Law, Politics, Violence, War on Terror
Is Peeing On Somebody A War Crime?
Is peeing on somebody's dead body a war crime? The video of those American Marines urinating on dead Afghan bodies is so disturbing that it somehow demands a legal response. Aside from whatever punishment the United States Marine Corps wants to impose on these guys, there isn't a whole lot the international community can do to punish them. Unless we want to call urinating on somebody a "war crime." But is punishing some jackasses worth diluting the term? -
Election 2012, Jury Duty, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Murder, New Jersey, Paul Bergrin, Politics, Prostitution, Racism
Morning Docket: 01.13.12
* What’s funnier here? The fact that Stephen Colbert is running for “president of the United States of South Carolina,” or the fact that he’s already beating Jon Huntsman in the polls? [Washington Post] * Notorious New Jersey defense attorney Paul Bergrin’s second racketeering trial has been postponed and may be delayed indefinitely, but he’s […]
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10th Circuit, Cars, Dewey & LeBoeuf, Election 2012, Election Law, Elena Kagan, FCC, LLMs, Magic Circle, Mergers and Acquisitions, Morning Docket, Politics, Religion, SCOTUS, Student Loans, Supreme Court
Morning Docket: 01.11.12
* “It seems no one can use dirty words, except Steven Spielberg.” Well, sh*t, I’ll be damned. Is Elena Kagan going to be the voice of reason in the Supreme Court’s FCC profanity case? [Los Angeles Times] * Ken Cuccinelli filed an emergency motion to get Virginia’s primary ballots printed. You can’t wait three days […]