Jed Rakoff

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.26.17

Ed. note: Above the Law will not be publishing on Monday, May 29, in honor of Memorial Day. We'll see you on Tuesday, May 30 -- which is when we plan to issue our latest ATL Law School Rankings. * A Texas police chief is under investigation for allegedly calling a woman a "black bitch" after an altercation in a Walmart parking lot. The police chief was giving his 14-year-old daughter driving lessons at the time, and I'm comfortable drawing a straight line from the police/father's behavior to 53% of white women voting for Donald Trump. [The Root] * I think this link has something to do with art. Potentially, there's a lawsuit about somebody who copies art? I really don't know. Somebody at Above the Law sent me a link about art, told me to put it here, but didn't summarize the relevant art facts to me, and... well, I'm just not going to muster the focus to read a whole story about art. [Jezebel] * Joel Cohen, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, and Judge Richard Posner debate "alternative facts," because this is now an issue in our crumbling society. [Slate] * Long Island family awarded over $8 million because cops Tased disabled man four times. [New York Law Journal] * Preet Bharara says recently elected Montana Congressperson, Greg 'The Body-Slammer' Gianforte, would "face deportation" if he was an immigrant. [The Hill] * Most respectable publications are reporting on Trump's embarrassing performance in Europe. Do you think that has filtered all the way down to the white supremacist media that is in charge of the country? [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.15.16

* The jury deliberated for just two hours before convicting Dylann Roof of the Charleston church murders. [The Daily Beast] * Tables turned: how Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) got the Second Circuit, which normally reviews his judgments, overturned. [Bloomberg BNA] * Keith Lee takes a deep dive into newly released law school data (the ABA 509 disclosures). [Associate's Mind] * Eugene Volokh breaks down a new Fourth Circuit ruling that protects the right of police officers to criticize department policies on Facebook. [Volokh Conspiracy] * David Lander evaluates the pluses and minuses of law schools relying upon adjunct professors to fill curricular gaps. [PrawfsBlawg] * What variables best explain the decisions of the Roberts Court? [Tennessee Law Review via Hangley Aronchick] * Check out Womble Carlyle's new podcast, Bulldog Bites. Says host Mark Henriques, "I promise it won’t feel like work. If you don’t learn something, hopefully you’ll laugh with us about something." [Womble Carlyle]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.07.16

* There are many questions, but no answers, as Judge Merrick Garland's "final reckoning" approaches. His nomination will die if Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is elected, but would he be confirmed in a lame-duck session if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins? In that case, if Senate Republicans refuse to confirm him after the election, will Clinton re-nominate him after she's sworn in? Will he ever receive a hearing? Someone please help this poor man. [Reuters] * With apologies to Judge Garland, the only thing that seems to remain certain is that Senate Republicans are firm in their stance that they'll continue to prevent the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court from being filled. Senator John McCain, for example, asked supporters to re-elect him so he can assist his GOP brethren in "prevent[ing] that four-to-four split from tilting to the left." [Huffington Post] * According to FBI director James Comey, after review of additional emails found in an unrelated investigation into Anthony Weiner, there's still no evidence that Hillary Clinton should face any criminal charges over the handling of her email communications while she was Secretary of State. Voters can breathe a little easier now, because there will be no indictments coming for the Democratic presidential nominee. [New York Times] * Chadbourne & Parke has finally responded to partner Kerrie Campbell's $100M gender discrimination suit, and the firm didn't pull any punches, alleging that her practice area was a "poor fit" for the firm, that she "exhibited questionable legal judgment," and that its decision to ask her to leave was for "entirely legitimate and proper business reasons and without a scintilla of consideration being given to her gender." [WSJ Law Blog] * "No purpose will be served by letting him rot in prison for years on end." Judge Jed Rakoff, a longtime critic of federal sentencing guidelines, has sentenced Harvard Law School graduate-cum-Ponzi schemer Andrew Caspersen to four years in prison for his $38.5M fraud, even though prosecutors sought almost 16 years of time behind bars for his financial crimes -- a proposition which Rakoff referred to as "absurd." [Reuters] * E. Barrett Prettyman Jr., founder of the first appellate practice, RIP. [Hogan Lovells] * Janet Reno, first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.02.16

* Remember that Donald Trump tell-all from a former lawyer? Does the piece violate rules against the disclosure of privileged information? [New York Personal Injury Blog] * Judge Jed Rakoff slams consumer consent to arbitration agreements as a "legal fiction." [Law360 (sub. req.)] * According to a HUD report, a New Orleans judge is running a home for the elderly and disabled with "dangerous health and safety risks." [NOLA.com] * Advice on prepping for an oral argument. [Lawyerist] * Canadian Supreme Court justices are going to be chosen in an all new way. [The Star] * Field-administered drug tests are not as reliable as the criminal justice system would like you to believe. [Guile is Good] * Stuff lawyers say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GNyobx3Agk

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.04.16

* "Say you'll remember me, standing in a black robe, waiting for a hearing, babe. Begging the SJC, say you will confirm me, even if it's just in my wildest dreams, ah-ha ohh." SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland has something in common with an overwhelming number of teenage girls: he loves Taylor Swift sing-alongs. That's cute! [People] * "A judge does not check his First Amendment rights at the courthouse door." Judge Olu Stevens has filed suit against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on free-speech grounds in an attempt to stave off an ethics sanction for publicly commenting on Facebook about all-white juries and their "disproportionate and disparate impact on black defendants." [Courier-Journal] * Hardly any partners leave Cravath, but a very important one just did, and his exit is making people talk. Scott Barshay, once a top M&A partner at the firm that tends to set the associate bonus scale, has defected to Paul Weiss, where he'll become its global head of M&A. Which clients will he take to the "dream team"? [DealBook / New York Times] * This plaintiff's antitrust allegations against Uber's CEO may be "wildly implausible" and representative of an "impossibly unwieldy conspiracy," but in Judge Jed Rakoff's eyes, they were enough to overcome a motion to dismiss that was filed by Boies Schiller. Something tells us Uber's legal bills are going to see some surge-pricing. [WSJ Law Blog] * Per a study by Ravel Law, in a new index that tracks federal judges by their rulings and subsequent citations to those rulings, Michigan produces the most influential judges on the federal bench, followed by Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. Harvard has finally gotten one over on Yale -- but for a measly bronze trophy. [Crain's Detroit Business] * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector gained 1,200 jobs in March. On top of that positive news, February's numbers were revised from a loss of 1,500 jobs to a gain of 100 jobs. In any case, what with the huge discrepancy, we're happy to see Dewey's bookkeepers found new work. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky