Federal Judges
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.06.17
* Team Trump secures another victory. [ESPN]
* When Joe Scarborough is your voice of reason, you’ve slipped into the wrong timeline. [Washington Post]
* ABA education proposal pushed off. Remember, we’re right here and ready to go. [National Law Journal]
* Intellectual property practice is moving to Biglaw. [Am Law Daily]
* Meanwhile, most other work continues to move away from Biglaw. [Forbes]
* Behind the scenes of Facebook’s virtual reality loss. [Litigation Daily]
* It’s cute when non-lawyers have to learn what a “Ninth Circuit” is. [CNN]
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Politics
Will Donald Trump Be Held In Contempt Of Court?
The court's order wasn't given the deference it was due.
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Neil Gorsuch, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Scalia's Legacy Lives On In Trump's SCOTUS Nominee
Judge Gorsuch maintains a deeply held conservative worldview that goes all the way back to his college days. -
Neil Gorsuch, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Donald Trump's Supreme Court Robe Ceremony: Liveblog
ATL editors David Lat and Elie Mystal break down Donald Trump's Supreme Court event in real time. -
Justice, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Who Is Trump Replacing On The Court? Your Perspective Defines Your Reality.
Is Donald Trump replacing Antonin Scalia, or is he replacing Merrick Garland? -
SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Is This Proof Judge Hardiman Is Trump's Supreme Court Pick?
How absolutely perfect would it be if Trump's SCOTUS pick were spoiled via Twitter? -
Neil Gorsuch, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Is Judge Neil Gorsuch The Supreme Court Nominee?
Judge Gorsuch has been on the SCOTUS radar for almost a decade. - Sponsored
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Benchslaps, Federal Judges
Federal Judge Benchslaps Attorney General For 'Superficial Posturing'
You don't need to be an expert in legal ethics to see why this filing might be a problem. -
Federal Judges, Litigators
Federal Judges Sound Off On Discovery
Federal judges are sick and tired of having to resolve all your discovery disputes because you can't settle them on your own like grown-ups. -
Neil Gorsuch, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Update: And Then There Were Three Four
They're all distinguished conservative jurists, although not the most diverse group. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.19.17
* The Seventh Circuit — in an opinion by Judge Diane Sykes, a top-tier SCOTUS possibility under President Trump — just struck down Chicago ordinances regulating shooting ranges as violative of Second Amendment rights. [ABC News]
* Speaking of firearms, law professor Fredrick Vars has an excellent proposal for preventing gun suicides. [Washington Post]
* Possible good news for legalizing sports betting in New Jersey: the U.S. Supreme Court wants to hear from the solicitor general on this issue (although we don’t yet know who the solicitor general will be). [How Appealing]
* But we think we know who the principal deputy solicitor general will be — Noel Francisco, whose imminent departure from Jones Day is now public. [National Law Journal]
* In other Justice Department news, what can we expect from Jeff Sessions’s DOJ in terms of civil rights enforcement? [New York Times]
* Are we seeing a “fragile recovery” in the number of people interested in law school? [ABA Journal]
* If you share my curiosity about the future of Chief Judge Merrick Garland in the wake of his unsuccessful SCOTUS nomination, it seems that the distinguished jurist is back on the bench — at least for now. [National Law Journal]
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Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Supreme Court Update: Trump Has Started Interviewing SCOTUS Candidates
Which prominent conservative judge just met with President-elect Donald Trump?
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Clerkships, Feeder Judges, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: October Term 2017 Is Done; Let's Turn To 2018
Don't count on any justice retiring before the end of next Term. -
9th Circuit, Federal Judges, Legal Ethics
Ninth Circuit Judges To Lawyer: Lying In Court Is Wrong, Mkay?
This oral argument transcript (or video) will make you cringe. -
Federal Judges, Music, Trials
Play That Funky Music... Your Honor?
A clever solution to a recurring problem at trials. -
Justice, Politics, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Rep. Steve King Proposes Bill To Prevent Supreme Court From Citing Its Own Precedent
Amendment or GTFO, Steve King. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.03.17
* Kellyanne Conway, President-elect Trump’s campaign manager, has accepted a position as his counselor once his administration takes over at the White House, and now her husband, George Conway of Wachtell Lipton, has found himself on the shortlist to become the U.S. solicitor general. He’s argued only one Supreme Court case, which is unusual for those being considered for the position. [Bloomberg Politics]
* In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts managed to steer clear of controversial topics — such as the high court being short handed since Justice Scalia’s death or the Senate’s failure to confirm Judge Merrill Garland — instead choosing to focus on the “underappreciated” role of district court judges, writing that “[t]his is no job for impulsive, timid, or inattentive souls.” [Washington Post]
* “There’s no legitimacy to a Supreme Court justice in a seat that’s been stolen from one administration and handed to another. We need to do everything we possibly can to block it.” When it comes to the confirmation process for President-elect Trump’s SCOTUS nominee, we can expect to see a battle thanks to Senate Democrats in the wake of Senate Republicans’ obstruction of Judge Garland’s nomination. [The Guardian]
* One day before they were set to go into effect, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services. O’Connor is the same judge who issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Obama administration’s transgender protections in schools. [BuzzFeed]
* Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who is representing himself for the penalty phase of his trial, has rejected a defense based on mental illness because he is “morally opposed to psychology.” He’ll make an opening statement, but won’t call any witnesses or present any evidence. If Roof is sentenced to death, it will be the first time a jury has done so in a case involving a federal hate crimes law. [New York Times]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.27.16
* According to CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, sources have said that President-elect Trump has narrowed his list of potential Supreme Court nominees down to five candidates: Bill Pryor (Eleventh Circuit), Thomas Hardiman (Third Circuit), Steve Colloton (Eighth Circuit), Diane Sykes (Seventh Circuit), and Joan Larsen (Michigan Supreme Court). Which judge do you think the PEOTUS will choose? [Face the Nation / CBS News]
* President-elect Trump isn’t just inheriting a Supreme Court vacancy — he’s inheriting much, much more. Thanks to an “unprecedented level of obstruction” on the part of Republican senators when it came to President Obama’s federal judicial nominees, there are more than 100 judicial vacancies, which will give the Trump administration the leeway to reshape the judiciary through lifetime appointments. [Washington Post]
* Is the end near for the European and Middle Eastern branch of King & Wood Mallesons? As other Biglaw firms poach partners, the firm has filed a notice to appoint administrators, and according to a spokesperson, this legal move was “designed to protect the firm from its creditors … as it continues to explore all available options.” The firm is not expected to file for pre-pack administration until January. [Am Law Daily]
* There is a dire shortage of rural lawyers in flyover country, and it’s causing the justice gap to become even wider in some states. For example, Nebraska has 93 counties, and 11 of them are without a single lawyer. This is a problem that’s left other lawyers traveling far and wide to see clients and potential clients attempting to handle their legal matters themselves — which has caused errors in business matters, divorces, and wills. [NPR]
* If you’ve applied to law school, you may be wondering how you can best prepare for a recorded video interview. You may think it’s tough to impress an admissions committee through such impersonal means, but if you prepare for this as if it were a live interview, keep your answers short and sweet (think one minute or less), and be yourself, you’ll have this one in the bag. You can review some of these practice questions. [U.S. News]
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Clerkships, Feeder Judges, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Clerks
Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: October Term 2017 Is Filling Up Fast
All the justices are done hiring for next Term, except for one -- can you guess who?