Howard Wasserman

  • Non Sequiturs: 05.05.19
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non Sequiturs: 05.05.19

    * 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]

  • Non Sequiturs: 01.27.19
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non Sequiturs: 01.27.19

    * Regarding the nomination of Patrick Bumatay to the Ninth Circuit, “Why are Democrats fighting the judicial nomination of a qualified gay minority?” Good question! [The Federalist]

    * Speaking of highly qualified minority nominees under attack, Carrie Severino argues that it’s the critics of D.C. Circuit nominee Neomi Rao, not Rao herself, who are being inflammatory. [Bench Memos / National Review]

    * And KC Johnson, reviewing the collegiate writings by Rao that have generated the attacks against her, argues that Rao’s views on campus sexual assault — from 25 years ago, so who knows whether or not she still holds them — are “align[ed] both with statute and today’s mainstream opinion.” [City Journal]

    * Litigation over a watchdog commission for handling complaints of prosecutorial misconduct in New York State involves a lot of legal luminaries, including Jim Walden and Jacob Gardener of Walden Macht, Jim McGuire and Daniel Sullivan of Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, and Andrew Rossman, Kathleen Sullivan, and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel. [New York Law Journal]

    * Could Nick Sandmann and the Covington boys file libel lawsuits over some of the commentary on their controversy? It could be an uphill climb, according to Eugene Volokh (a First Amendment expert, and hardly anyone’s idea of a leftist). [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy]

    * But if Covington cases do get filed, they could give rise to some interesting issues of civil procedure, as Howard Wasserman notes. [PrawfsBlawg]

    * Many lessons can be learned from the Fyre Festival debacle — and one of the legal ones is that FTC disclosures actually matter. [All Rights Reserved]

    * If you’re a liberal or progressive appellate litigator interested in taking on the Trump Administration, check out this new job posting from the good folks at the CAC. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

  • Non Sequiturs: 01.06.19
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non Sequiturs: 01.06.19

    * It’s baaack: partisan gerrymandering returns to the Supreme Court — and in the view of veteran SCOTUS watcher Amy Howe, it’s unlikely that the justices will duck the merits this time around. [SCOTUSblog]

    * Article III standing and the Stored Communications Act: Orin Kerr argues that it should be viewed through the lens of property rather than privacy. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

    * Carrie Severino calls out Senate Democrats for their persistent — and in her view, unjustified — questioning of judicial nominees about their religious views and affiliations. [Bench Memos / National Review]

    * Joel Cohen identifies an interesting issue: should a defendant prejudiced by government misconduct in a case receive a break at sentencing? [Law & Crime]

    * Here are some highlights from Chief Justice John Roberts’s year-end report on the federal judiciary, courtesy of Howard Wasserman. [PrawfsBlawg]

    * The new year is a time of beginnings — and endings. Concurring Opinions, you will be missed. [Concurring Opinions]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 10.21.18
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 10.21.18

    * Orin Kerr offers his thoughts on the Allison Jones Rushing controversy (aka how young is too young to be a federal judge). [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy]

    * If President Trump and Senate Republicans are packing the courts with conservatives, then it’s time for Democrats to pack back, according to Michael Klarman. [Take Care]

    * Howard Wasserman offers some insights into the recent dismissal of Stormy Daniels’s defamation lawsuit against Trump. [PrawfsBlawg]

    * And while we’re on the subject of media law, Gerard Magliocca has an interesting observation about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the right of publicity. [Concurring Opinions]

    * Speaking of RBG, Jonathan Adler argues that she could learn a thing or two from her newest colleague, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when it comes to hiring law clerks. [Bench Memos / National Review]

    * Joel Cohen raises an intriguing question about prosecutors: to what degree are they required to fight their own biases? [New York Law Journal]

  • Non-Sequiturs: 10.14.18
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 10.14.18

    * Adam Feldman examines the historical record to look at how Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s brutal confirmation process could affect his jurisprudence. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * And Joel Cohen looks at how Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight might affect his judging of the accused. [Law and Crime]

    * Meanwhile, David Oscar Markus argues that criminal defendants in federal court get treated much worse than Justice Kavanaugh. [The Hill]

    * Jemele Hill points out the support and sympathy for Justice Kavanaugh from a possibly surprising quarter: African-American men. [The Atlantic]

    * Packing the Supreme Court? There ought to be a constitutional amendment about that, Jim Lindgren says. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

    * In fact, is it time for progressives to fight against, rather than within, the courts? Howard Wasserman offers thoughts on the recent Slate debate between Daniel Hemel and Christopher Jon Sprigman. [PrawfsBlawg]

    * Patrick Gregory reports on the latest controversy in the world of lower-court nominations: the ABA’s “not qualified” rating of Eighth Circuit nominee Jonathan Kobes. [Big Law Business]

    * Edmund Zagorski has multiple legal challenges to his execution (which is now on hold); former federal defender Stephen Cooper looks at the one based on the method of execution. [Tennessean]

    * Congratulations to Pedro Hernandez on the dismissal of his case — and to his counsel, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, on the great result.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2YPLmtwkug

  • Non-Sequiturs: 06.17.18
    Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 06.17.18

    * Are you paying too much in mutual-fund fees? If you’re paying more than zero, then yes — or so argue Professors William Birdthistle and Daniel Hemel in this interesting and persuasive op-ed. [Wall Street Journal]

    * James Comey, FBI director turned author (affiliate link), responds to the criticisms of him in the Inspector General’s report. [Althouse]

    * It’s complicated — but just how complicated? Adam Feldman uses word counts and citations to measure opinion complexity during the current Term of the Supreme Court. [Empirical SCOTUS]

    * Judge Alex Kozinski (Ret.) pays tribute to the memory of his late colleague on the Ninth Circuit, Judge Stephen Reinhardt. [Concurring Opinions]

    * If you’re confused by why the latest Obamacare litigation over the individual mandate matters, since the mandate was rendered toothless by the recent tax reform, Professor Ilya Somin can help. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

    * Ethics expert Steven Lubet reviews Ryan Holiday’s book (affiliate link) about the Hulk Hogan/Gawker case — and argues that Peter Thiel’s financing of the litigation might have violated legal ethics. [American Prospect via PrawfsBlawg]

    * Thomson Reuters, a leader in applying artificial intelligence in the law — we’re partnering with them on our Law2020 series, exploring how AI is affecting the legal profession — also utilizes machine learning to help people trade cryptocurrencies (among many other use cases). [Artificial Lawyer]

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  • Law Professors, Law Schools, Prisons, Religion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, UVA Law, Women's Issues

    Non-Sequiturs: 03.08.13

    * Nepal had actual regulations regarding Yeti killing. When will America join the international community and enact strict protections for Sasquatch? [Lowering the Bar] * A state bar association is actively discouraging students from going to law school. Which is odd, since the state in question has a top five law school… according to National Jurist. [Associate's Mind] * A clever Civ Pro class used the system against Howard Wasserman to get an extension on their assignment. I respect Wasserman for crediting the students’ ingenuity, but it would have been a better life lesson if he’d impleaded the Dean for forcing him to have grades in early. Or at least ding the students with a Rule 11 claim. [PrawfsBlawg] * Inmate forgotten for 22 months in solitary confinement wins $15.5 million reward. Hopefully he’ll be ready in time to protect us from that bioweapon attack from Alcatraz. [CNN] * In honor of International Women’s Day, enjoy an interview of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. [The New Yorker] * To follow up on an old story, law grad/convicted sex criminal Chris Dumler is reporting to jail today. [WVIR] * The Conclave is now set for Tuesday. Place your bets on the new pontiff now! [CNN]
  • Baseball, Inappropriate Venue, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Sports

    Non-Sequiturs: 02.25.13

    * Ben Weiss suggests that the third year of law school be replaced by special certifications in practice areas. He calls these “O’Wendells.” I like the idea, but the name sounds dirty. If he really wants to keep with the SCOTUS theme, he could just call it a “Bushrod.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] * A guide to the legal landscape surrounding high-frequency trading (the new fad of super-fast, computer-driven trading algorithms swapping stocks in split-seconds). Good, because I like my trading like I like my women: capable of collapsing economic markets at any given notice. [New York Law Journal] * In fairness to this judge accused of “inappropriate conduct” with an inmate, the Miami Correctional Facility is considered the most romantic correctional facility in America. [RTV6 ABC] * Calvin and Hobbes impart an important lesson in International Law. [Invisible College Blog] * Professor Howard Wasserman examines the economics of the infield-fly rule. There’s not even a jokey blurb here; this is intriguing. [Sports Law Blog] * Man suing a church and some of its staff after being invited to a service and then allegedly being accused of demonic possession and beaten. In fairness to the church, if the man was really the devil, filing a lawsuit is the most logical means of revenge he could employ. [Legal Juice]
  • 7th Circuit, Ann Althouse, Benchslaps, D.C. Circuit, Election 2012, Eugene Volokh, Free Speech, Non-Sequiturs, Politics, Rape

    Non-Sequiturs: 08.21.12

    * “Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, and Nietzsche (figuratively) walk into the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Hilarity ensues.” [FindLaw] * The EPA gets benchslapped by the D.C. Circuit. [Instapundit] * What can law firms learn from… the Cheesecake Factory? Besides how to make people fat; Biglaw’s already great at that. [Adam Smith, Esq.] * If you enjoy gambling or legal hypotheticals, check this out. [Legal Blog Watch] * Professor Eugene Volokh examines the tricky tension between constitutionally protected speech and laws against blackmail. [Volokh Conspiracy] Professor Ann Althouse * Professor Howard Wasserman grades Representative Todd Akin’s apology for his “legitimate rape” remarks — and gives the congressman partial credit for “owning” it. [PrawfsBlawg] * Meanwhile, Professor Ann Althouse wonders: “Would the Democrats oust one of their own because he said one thing wrong?” [Althouse] * Don’t forget: tonight is the nomination deadline for our Lawyerly Lairs contest for the best law firm offices in America. [Above the Law] * Our commenting platform, Disqus, is having issues — which may explain why comments are mysteriously disappearing from the site. We apologize for the problem, which we are investigating. [Disqus]
  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 01.11.11

    * Lady Kaga issues her first single: a ruling against a Chapter 13 debtor, in favor of his credit card issuer, affirming the Ninth Circuit by a vote of 8-1. The lone dissenter: Justice Scalia. Weird, huh? [WSJ Law Blog; ABA Journal] * “How do you spark a bonobo orgy?” [Andrew Sullivan] * How do […]

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