James Donato

* The Senate rejects the latest GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act — with Senator John McCain casting the decisive “no” vote. [Washington Post]

* Riley Safer Holmes and Cancila continues its rapid expansion, adding 13 new lawyers — including eight from Bryan Cave, led by former managing partner Joseph McCoy. [Law360]

* More bad news for the LGBT community from the Trump administration: the Justice Department takes the position that Title VII doesn’t cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. [How Appealing]

* Meanwhile, civil rights and LGBT groups get ready to file suit if President Trump’s plan to ban transgender people from the military becomes a reality (which is not yet the case). [National Law Journal]

* And these groups might just prevail — Michael Richter and Anna Pohl, chairs of the New York City Bar Association’s Military Affairs and LGBT Rights Committees, lay out the case for why the transgender ban is unconstitutional. [The Hill]

* Stephanie Francis Ward takes a long, hard look at the woes of Charlotte School of Law — and the rest of the beleaguered Infilaw consortium of law schools. [ABA Journal]

* Closing statements in the Martin Shkreli case paint very different pictures of the infamous “Pharma Bro.” [Law.com]

* Nuisance claims, or nuisance suits? Judge James Donato (N.D. Cal.) seems skeptical of a purported class-action case targeting Pokémon GO (which recently added Legendaries to the game). [The Recorder]

* Foreclosure attorney Bruce Richardson alleges that Hogan Lovells partner David Dunn hit him with a briefcase in front of a court officer. That’s how they roll in state court. (Expect more on this later.) [New York Daily News; New York Post]

* From cop killer to nomination killer: Mumia’s the word that stopped Debo Adegbile’s nomination to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. [Washington Post]

* In happier nomination news, congratulations to former Breyer clerk Vince Chhabria, as well as to Beth Freeman and James Donato, on getting confirmed to the federal bench for the Northern District of California. [San Francisco Chronicle]

* It’s been a good week for amicus briefs. Congrats to Professors Adam Pritchard and Todd Henderson for getting the attention — and perhaps the votes — of several SCOTUS justices. [New York Times]

* How a Cornell law student got her father to foot the bill for half of her pricey legal education. [ATL Redline]

* As I predicted, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in United States v. Maloney didn’t sweep the alleged prosecutorial misconduct under the rug by granting the government motion without comment. [The Atlantic]

* RACEISM™ alert: federal prosecutors allege that deputies to a North Carolina sheriff accused of racial profiling of Latinos shared links to a violent and racist video game. [Raleigh News & Observer]

* Speaking of mistreatment of Latinos, a recent Third Circuit decision spells good news for some immigrant communities. [Allentown Morning Call]

* Sarah Tran, the law professor who taught class from her hospital bed, RIP. [Give Forward]