Fifth Circuit

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.17

* Time to nerd out! We'll start with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) firing a shot across on the bow on blue slips. [Politico via How Appealing] * Speaking of judicial nominees, Professor Stephanos Bibas, nominated to the Third Circuit, has a long, long paper trail -- including not just lots of law review articles, but letters to the editor from when he was a college kid. [CA3blog] * Who knew that singer John Legend was a legal nerd? He's all about "the challenge and the opportunity of federalism," as Chris Geidner reports. [BuzzFeed News] * It's time for the courts to recognize that the Lemon test "is really and truly dead," according to Daniel Blomberg of Becket. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Meanwhile, Professor Orin Kerr identifies "an interesting question worth flagging for the Fourth Amendment nerds" out there. [Washington Post] * Finally, Fifth Circuit guru David Coale has found something even wonkier than the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. [600 Camp]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 04.19.17

* An interesting look at the life and career of Gloria Allred -- who has litigated groundbreaking civil rights cases as well as TMZ fodder. [Coverage Opinions] * Lawyer Jose Baez intends to investigate the death of his client Aaron Hernandez, who was found dead in his prison cell after apparently hanging himself. [Deadspin] * Footnote of the day (gavel bang: Raffi Melkonian aka @RMFifth Circuit). [Twitter] * Professor Jonathan Adler still has doubts about the Emoluments Clause lawsuit against President Trump (although it's much stronger now, thanks to some additional plaintiffs). [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Professor Glenn Reynolds has some doubts about diversity (although I suspect he strongly supports intellectual diversity). [Instapundit] * Professor Ann Althouse has her doubts about... Democrats (even though she has voted for more Democrats than Republicans over the years). [Althouse] * And Professor Eugene Volokh has his doubts about the constitutionality of this order. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * In honor of national haiku poetry day, here are some verses from Dean Dan Rodriguez of Northwestern Law. [PrawfsBlawg] * Congrats to the ACLU of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, the state public defender’s office, and Fick & Marx LLP on a huge and historic win! [ACLU]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.21.16

* The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, rules that Texas's voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act by having discriminatory effects on minority voters (but remands on the issue of discriminatory purpose). [How Appealing] * It appears that yes, Roger Ailes is on his way out at Fox News -- thanks in part to the work of lawyers from Paul, Weiss. [New York Times] * Matt and Melissa Graves, the parents whose two-year-old son was killed by an alligator at Disney's Grand Floridian resort, will not be suing Disney. [Washington Post] * Congratulations to exoneree Jarrett Adams, who served nearly eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit, on his admission to the New York bar. [ABA Journal] * Republican VP nominee Mike Pence is a lawyer, and his Democratic counterpart probably will be as well: shortlisters Tim Kaine, Thomas Perez, and Tom Vilsack are all lawyers, and James Stavridis is a law dean. [New York Times] * A California man gets convicted in a plot to kill two prosecutors, two FBI agents, and federal judge Andrew Guilford -- with a wood chipper. [Los Angeles Times via ABA Journal] * A New York appeals court affirms a ruling in favor of Boies Schiller in a malpractice suit brought by fashion model Mary Anne Fletcher. [Big Law Business] * A bit more about former Attorney General Eric Holder's work for Airbnb (a development we noted yesterday). [American Lawyer]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.10.16

* An in-depth look at Netflix's most lovable lawyer, Foggy Nelson. [Netflix Life] * Berkeley Law is not alone in dealing with scandals. Where is Olivia Pope when you need her? [Law and More] * Wasting time, but churning bills, creating PDFs. [Daily Lawyer Tips] * Environmental law will never be the same now that Justice Scalia's dead. Mother Nature, for one, is grateful. [Huffington Post] * Court rules there is no constitutional right to BDSM. [Slate] * A battle over Texas's voter ID law is coming back to the Fifth Circuit, just in time for the 2016 election. And if the Supreme Court stays split in its presumed 4-4 breakdown, the Fifth Circuit could get the final word on the law. [The Atlantic] * A fascinating look inside the shady business of wrangling amicus briefs. [Chicago Tribune] * Is Camille Paglia flirting with Donald Trump support? [Lawyers, Guns and Money] * Corporate lawyers agree: leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court is a terrible idea. [Wall Street Journal]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.30.15

* Which Biglaw firm is going to be changing up the way that it recruits new attorneys? That would be Quinn Emanuel. It's planning to majorly scale back on summer associates and do something completely different. We'll have more on this news later today. [WSJ Law Blog] * An undergrad who once had high hopes for law school decided to ditch his legal aspirations in favor of stand-up comedy. His mom is mad since it's a "path that has no specific stability." She obviously hasn't read up on law school job stats lately. [Indy Channel] * Justice Kennedy should consider trading in his robes for a superhero's cape, because he just swooped in to the rescue, again. With a 5-4 vote, SCOTUS stayed the Fifth Circuit's decision regarding the closure of the majority of abortion clinics in Texas. [NPR] * Damn you, Dewey leaders! Per recent testimony in the criminal trial of the failed firm's former top brass, but for news of the criminal probe spreading like wildfire throughout the profession, D&L could've merged with any number of firms to save itself. [Am Law Daily] * Some pretty major firms think they have better things to spend their Biglaw bucks on than donations to legal aid organizations. Only five firms were willing to publicly disclose more than $1 million in donations. [DealBook / New York Times via American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.22.15

* Everyone's a winner at Nixon Peabody, especially the millennials! The firm is doing away with the corner-office model in favor of office space reminiscent of that of tech companies, where everyone's offices -- from paralegals to partners -- are the same size. [Washington Post] * A former North Dakota Law student is suing the school, as well as several administrators and professors, because he alleges they dismissed him via email in May due to problems with his application. Man, that's almost as harsh as a break-up text. [WDAZ] * Justice Kennedy knows a lot of people who are gay, but that doesn't mean he'll recognize a constitutional right to same-sex marriage just because of his circle of friends and colleagues. He'll likely do it because he knows "how meaningful this is." [New York Times] * The Supreme Court is currently considering an emergency appeal out of Texas after the Fifth Circuit refused to stay a decision that would all but close the vast majority of abortion facilities in the state. Give this law the good old coat hanger, SCOTUS. [Associated Press] * Last week, Justice Kennedy basically invited litigants to challenge the constitutionality of solitary confinement because it "exacts a terrible price." Step right up and become one of the first to test the power of the SCOTUS swing vote on this issue. [Los Angeles Times] * "Having a woman leader is no longer exceptional." The number of women law school deans is on the rise. They make up 40 percent of incoming law school leadership, and currently comprise 30 percent of all law deans. Nice work! [National Law Journal] * After pleading guilty to a felony count of vehicular manslaughter back in March, California lawyer Hasti Fakhrai-Bayrooti was recently sentenced to four years in prison for killing a cyclist while driving high on prescription drugs Xanax and Suboxone. [Daily Mail]

By Staci Zaretsky