Law School Exams

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.04.16

* Guess what? Science says political incorrectness is an insincere sham. Sounds about right to me. [The Denver Post] * How are Law and Order: SVU and law school exams the same? The both desperately try to wedge current events into their same old, boring fact patterns. In related news, expect both to soon feature the issue of spousal privilege when the wife of a celebrity accused of rape is forced to give testimony against him. [The Guardian] * Can the Netflix show Making a Murderer actually lead to a pardon? Probably not, but it'll make you feel better about the binge watching you did over the holidays. [Time] * This is why China's new counterterrorism law is terrifying for tech companies doing business there. [Slate] * The ABA has released the full, school-by-school bar passage rates for 2014. Which school was the best? More interestingly, which was the worst? [Bar Exam Stats] * Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York State Court of Appeals is retiring. He took a larger view of the law, where getting justice was not about money. [Guile Is Good]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.18.14

* 3D printing and lightsabers and intellectual property. [Concurring Opinions] * Speaking of IP law, let's talk Santa Claus and intellectual property. [Trademark & Copyright Law Blog / Foley Hoag LLP] * "ExamExtensionGate" stirs up conservatives, but also a lot of liberal to moderate Boomers, because... "Lazy Millennials!" Forgetting of course that law students in the 1960s did the exact same thing. But those were mostly white kids talking about Vietnam, so it's like... different, man. [PrawfsBlawg] * If you're excited to hear this year's annual report on the federal judiciary and can't hardly wait until Chief Justice Roberts unleashes it upon the world, perhaps you can sate your appetite with this prebuttal. [Fix the Court] * The Texas judge who kicked a lawyer out of court for thoughtlessly appearing with a broken leg has earned the ire of the Dallas legal community. [Legal Juice] * More than 70 years later, a judge concludes that South Carolina shouldn't have executed a 14-year-old based on a one-day trial. Took ya long enough. [WTOP] * Interesting academic piece on Muslims in the Antebellum South. In other news, there were Muslims in the Antebellum South. [The Faculty Lounge]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.17.14

* Rudolph sues for discrimination. This is why you should always let guys play in your reindeer games. [Bolek Besser Glesius LLC] * Congressional gridlock may call off... the Super Bowl? At least the Bears have other things to worry about than planning for the post-season. [Redline] * Hot damn, Keith Lee. "ABA 509 Matriculant Data On All Ranked Schools." That's... wow. [Associate's Mind] * The Senate torture report may be an ugly, but there's an argument that it hides a silver lining. [What About Clients?] * What isn't the D.C. Circuit doing today? [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Document reviewers may have known that emails weren't really private for years, but other professions understood the lack of true privacy much longer. [Law and More] * David is interviewed about Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [ABA Journal] * Bill O'Reilly invites on an "HLS student" -- who is also a conservative commentator -- to say a bunch of racial codewords under the guise of exam extensions. Look, I wouldn't ask for an exam extension if my leg were caught in a bear trap, but you know what? I couldn't care less if other people got extensions. Quit your whining (and appearing on TV) and go study for your own damn self! [Fox News]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.16.14

* "If you can't disagree on the law without taking it personally, find another day job. You shouldn't be an appellate judge." You've really got to admit that sometimes, Justice Scalia has an absolutely wonderful way of putting things. [Associated Press] * David Boies sent everyone and their mother and their dog a letter asking them to destroy all docs leaked from the Sony hack, lest they face legal consequences, but there's just one problem with that pesky First Amendment. [WSJ Law Blog] * The law students who requested exam delays due to unfair grand jury decisions claim they're not "coddled Millennials" -- no, they're members of the new regime of lawyers who are willing to ask, "If not us, then who?" [National Law Journal] * Please keep in mind that these students are likely the same ones who may be missing out about learning the intricacies of rape law because they want their professors to "protect them from causing or experiencing discomfort." [New Yorker] * Well, this is an interesting round of musical chairs: Vice Media just poached James H. Schwab, the chairman of the media and entertainment practice group at Paul Weiss, to join the company as co-president. [DealBook / New York Times] * Undergrad students at Boston University are trotting out the latest edition of the school's pre-law review. Feast your eyes upon the genius of future gunners, or don't, because it'll help them learn early that no one actually reads law reviews. [BU Today]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.08.14

* The NAACP Legal Defense Fund took to Twitter to name every unarmed person of color killed by the police since 1999. Gawker compiled short bios on each. [Gawker] * Texas planning to ban the "affluenza" defense. [Lowering the Bar] * Pillsbury just moved into a cozy little office. Emphasis on "little." [The National Law Journal] * Georgetown Law students of color raise similar concerns as Columbia students. Again, I don't understand emotional trauma and I definitely think extensions should be measured in days and not weeks, but it strikes me all the people complaining about the extensions are just exposing themselves as bad students. If you think your neighbor getting 2 more days will hurt your grade, you're the one with the studying problem. [Georgetown Law Coalition] * And now Harvard. [Harvard Law Coalition] * If you rent a refrigerator, you consent to an arbitrator hearing your case after a repairman robs and beats you. Sounds about right. [Public Justice] * Uber ban after rape allegations. [Redline] * The Supreme Court told BP that no matter how much it tried, it can't slip out of its settlement agreement like an oil-soaked seagull. [Think Progress] * Finally, in the wake of the Eric Garner case, it's worth looking back at what Justice Marshall told us about police chokeholds. [Mother Jones]

By Joe Patrice