Murder

  • Morning Docket: 12.05.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 12.05.16

    * Although it may seem far from what’s occurred given some questionable statements and tweets about freedom of speech and freedom of religion, House Speaker Paul Ryan says that he’s discussed the Constitution “extensively” with President-elect Donald Trump, including the separation of powers. Let’s see if any of Ryan’s Con Law lessons have an impact. [Huffington Post]

    * Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is dropping her recount bid in Pennsylvania because of an inability to afford the $1 million bond required by the state to proceed; after all, “petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means.” She may not be done with her efforts to prevent President-elect Trump from securing an electoral victory, though. She’ll probably try her hand at a federal case. [New York Times]

    * After months of sometimes violent protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to turn down the permit necessary to grant an easement to build a segment of the Dakota Access pipeline under Lake Oahe, which could contaminate the water supply and damage sacred tribal lands. Will President-elect Trump reverse this decision after he is inaugurated? [Reuters]

    * Cook County Circuit Judge Valarie Turner — who allowed former law clerk Rhonda Crawford to don her robes and hear cases in her stead — has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, which has led the Judicial Inquiry Board to declare her “mentally unable” to perform her job. It is unclear whether Turner had been diagnosed prior to this summer’s incident with Crawford. [Chicago Sun-Times]

    * Valparaiso is facing down a tough decision after years of admitting students with less-than-desirable credentials: Continue to do more of the same, or “face reality and close its law school.” Given the way that things like this generally proceed with law schools, we suppose we can expect the school to try for at least a few more years with diminishing returns for graduates before it decides to throw in the towel. [Chicago Tribune]

    * Katherine Magbanua, the woman indicted on first-degree murder charges and accused of acting as a conduit between two alleged hitmen and whoever ordered Professor Dan Markel’s murder, can access the grand jury testimony of Luis Rivera, who has already taken a plea deal and is working with prosecutors. [Tallahassee Democrat]

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  • Morning Docket: 10.20.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.20.16

    * A law school peeping tom? Police have arrested and charged 30-year-old Yiyan Wang with 15 counts of voyeurism for allegedly videotaping women inside a bathroom in UConn Law’s library. He allegedly placed his phone beneath the stall walls to film them. He is currently being held on $250,000 bond, and will face a judge in early November. [FOX 61 Connecticut]

    * “Walmart is the new marketplace. It’s where people go. It makes sense to be there.” Look out, Missouri, because The Law Store is coming to a Walmart Supercenter near you. The firm has three locations now, and COO Kurt Benecke says the firm is priced to compete with LegalZoom, charging flat fees without any hourly rates. [Springfield News-Leader]

    * Zucker Goldberg & Ackerman, a defunct New Jersey foreclosure law firm which laid off hundreds of its employees last year, is now suing Wells Fargo, with the bankrupt firm claiming that the bank’s extreme delays in correcting its robo-signing problems and its refusal to pay $2.5M for work performed caused the firm to fail. [Wall Street Journal]

    * “Justice shouldn’t be about the money in your pocket. Justice has to be the same for everybody, no matter your station in life, color of your skin or resources in your pocket.” Jonathan Lippman, who recently retired as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, will lead Fordham Law’s new justice initiative. Congrats! [Big Law Business]

    * Judge Vicente Bermudez, a Mexican federal jurist who handled appeals in several cartel cases, including those of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the jailed leader of the Sinaloa cartel, and Miguel Trevino, the former leader of the Zetas cartel, was assassinated at his home on Monday. Descanse en paz, Su Señoría. [Reuters]

  • Morning Docket: 10.18.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.18.16

    * “I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up.” So much for honoring the will of the people: Senator John McCain has pledged that Senate Republicans will continue to block Supreme Court nominees from receiving hearings to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the high court. We’ll have more on this later today. [CNN]

    * Matthew Apperson, the man who fired a gun at George Zimmerman during a road rage incident, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Apperson’s wife said Zimmerman is getting “a hall pass to go out there and continue to be reckless.” [New York Daily News]

    * “Returning to Cadwalader at an exciting time of growth for the firm was an easy decision.” After losing two of its litigation practice leaders earlier this year, Cadwalader has started to replenish its ranks by rehiring Jason M. Halper, a former 14-year veteran of the firm who decamped to Orrick in 2014. Welcome back! [Big Law Business]

    * Sigfredo Garcia, the suspected shooter in the murder of Florida State law professor Dan Markel, was supposed to be tried on November 14, but his trial date was pushed back to December 6. In the meantime, perhaps co-defendant Katherine Magbanua will be inclined to flip on those who allegedly arranged the hit. [Tallahassee Democrat]

    * Citing a lack of evidence, a judge has thrown out riot charges against radio journalist Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! for her coverage of the North Dakota oil pipeline protests. She says she’ll continue to cover the protests, noting that “[t]he state’s attorney must respect freedom of the press and the First Amendment.” [New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 10.12.16
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 10.12.16

    * From a SCOTUS mention to what seems like a final exam hypo: Kim Kardashian filed a defamation suit against celeb gossip site Media Takeout for reporting she’d faked her robbery and filed a fraudulent insurance claim. In her complaint, she alleges that the site victimized her again by “referring to her as a liar and thief.” [Reuters]

    * A legal recruiter claims that she received a series of death threats after she made political donations to Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. Because she “fear[ed] for her life and safety,” the disturbing calls were reported to the police, and the matter is still under investigation. We may have more on this later. [Big Law Business]

    * “It seems to me that the design is applied to the exterior case of the phone. [T]here shouldn’t be profits awarded based on the entire price of the phone.” Thanks to SCOTUS, will Samsung get another bite at the apple when it comes to not giving up all of its profits as damages in its design patent dispute with Apple? [DealBook / New York Times]

    * The results of the July 2016 administration of the bar exam are out, and with a 91.96 percent pass rate for first-time takers, Duquesne Law boasted the second-best passage rate for first-timers out of all 10 Pennsylvania-area law schools, with only Penn Law coming out ahead. But which school did the worst? [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

    * “Katie is the woman in the middle doing everything. It’s all because of Katie, man.” Katherine Magbanua, the woman who is alleged to have facilitated the successful murder-for-hire plot against Florida State law professor Dan Markel, has been denied bond. She will remain in prison behind bars until her trial. [Tallahassee Democrat]