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Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.23.17

* Several prominent lawyers and legal scholars are filing a lawsuit alleging that Donald Trump is violating the Emoluments Clause by letting his businesses accept money from foreign governments -- but the litigation looks like a long shot to some. [New York Times via How Appealing] * Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (previously profiled here) is returning to private practice -- and, not surprisingly, to Paul, Weiss. [American Lawyer] * Judge Andrew Hanen (S.D. Tex.), who brutally benchslapped the Obama Justice Department last year, has withdrawn the sanctions he imposed on the DOJ, finding that the misstatements in question were inadvertent. [ABA Journal] * If you've been handicapping the Supreme Court race, adjust the odds in favor of Judge Neil Gorsuch (10th Cir.) -- he's conservative but less contentious than some other nominees, as noted by Jan Crawford. [CBS News] * Confirmability might be increasing in importance as a factor for picking a SCOTUS nominee now that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to block any nominee who is not "bipartisan and mainstream." [How Appealing] * The Obama Administration didn't fare so well before SCOTUS; will the Trump Administration do any better? [New York Times] * The Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in considering whether discrimination "because of sex" encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation. [New York Law Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.09.16

* President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of labor, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, is a critic of the Obama Administration's regulation in this area (and he's a former litigator, interestingly enough). [Washington Post] * Judge Bill Pryor (11th Cir.), a top SCOTUS contender in a Trump Administration, is beloved by conservatives -- but confirming him could be a battle. [Bloomberg BNA via How Appealing] * The Arkansas Supreme Court rules that married lesbian couples can't put the names of both spouses on their children's birth certificates. [WSJ Law Blog] * SEC enforcement chief Andrew Ceresney will leave the agency by the end of this year; where might he wind up? [Law.com] * Governor Andrew Cuomo met with the feds in connection with the corruption case brought against some of his former aides. [New York Times] * Michael Jordan's latest court victory -- in an IP case in China. [Bloomberg] * Alabama prisoner Ronald Smith is executed after the Supreme Court denies a stay, leaving SCOTUS review of the state's unique "judicial override" system for another day. [New York Times via How Appealing]

By David Lat