New Jersey
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Courts
This Judge Asked A Sexual Assault Victim If She Closed Her Legs
Yeah... this judge probably needs to be sanctioned... -
Small Law Firms
Beleaguered Lawyer Politely Tells Attorney Ethics Director To Go Eff Himself
This probably didn't help his case... - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Government
Justice Won't Retry Bob Menendez, And Jersey Continues To Be The Shadiest Place In America
In New Jersey, there is no high-ground, just mounds of trash.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.17.18
* The Trump administration is planning to ask the Supreme Court for assistance in dismantling DACA. That is, because “[i]t defies both law and common sense” that a “single district court in San Francisco” has halted the Trump’s plans, the Supreme Court must intervene. [Washington Post]
* Unlike the vast majority of law review articles, here’s one you may actually care about: According to the Harvard Law Review, Trump’s tweets aren’t law. We’re thrilled to report this isn’t fake news. [National Law Journal]
* Some law schools are moving full steam ahead in their quest to accept the GRE over the LSAT for admissions purposes, but not this one. Marquette is going to sit around and wait for the ABA to make a decision before it does anything. [Marquette Wire]
* Twenty-two state attorneys general have filed suit against the FCC in an effort to stop the repeal of net neutrality rules. Cross your fingers that something good happens here before your bill for internet access goes up. [San Francisco Chronicle]
* Facing a $4.4 billion budget deficit, Governor Andrew Cuomo wants New York to pay for a study to see what the health, economic, and criminal justice impacts of legalizing recreational marijuana would be in the state. [New York Law Journal]
* Yesterday, New Jersey lawmakers unanimously voted to approve former Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal’s nomination to be state attorney general. Grewal is the first Sikh attorney general in U.S. history. Congratulations! [NJ.com]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.27.17
* Is SCOTUS walking back its landmark commitment to equal rights for the LGBTQ community? Considering what could happen in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case and the high court’s refusal to grant cert in Pidgeon, it seems like it. It’s not as if this hasn’t happened before. ::coughBrownvBoardcough:: [New Republic]
* A federal judge ruled that an American ISIS suspect who’s been detained as a “enemy combatant” in Iraq for the last three months is, in fact, entitled to a lawyer, and called the Trump administration’s quest to deny counsel in this case “both remarkable and troubling.” [New York Times]
* Everything really is bigger in Texas: According to the ABA, there are just 0.8 percent more first-year law students this year than last year, but entering classes at law schools in the Lone Star State were 4 percent larger than they were last year. Hopefully all these students will be able to lasso themselves jobs. [Texas Lawyer]
* Lawsuits have been rolling out ever since Apple admitted that it was slowing down iPhones with older batteries, and one of them was filed by two students who currently attend USC Law and hope to get the suit certified as a class-action. This is an absolutely awesome use of winter break. [RT]
* Which states are likely to legalize marijuana in the new year? Vermont, New Jersey, and Michigan may soon end their prohibitions on cannabis, either through legislative means or by puff-puff-passing a voter referendum. [Forbes]
* If you’re a journalist with three years of experience and cover the legal profession in your reporting, consider applying to be a fellow at Loyola Law School’s annual Journalist Law School. There is no cost to attend. The application deadline is February 9, 2018. [Journalist Law School]
* Judge Thomas Griesa, the Southern District of New York jurist who oversaw the Argentine debt battle in federal court, RIP. [New York Law Journal]
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Finance
If Pastors Are Being Jailed For Laundering It, Bitcoin Might Finally Be A Real Currency
Convicting New Jersey church operators of fraus is a big phase in the creation of any new form of money. -
Judge of the Day
Judges Don't Have To Snitch On Their Boyfriends To Avoid Official Misconduct Charges
Being a judge doesn't require you to be on the clock 24/7. -
Justice, Police
Lawyer Arrested For Not Talking To Police, Wins Settlement But The Cops Are Still On The Beat
Even when the state pays for police misconduct, the cops are not held accountable. - Sponsored
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
How solo lawyers, midsize firms, and global large law firms have an opportunity to adjust the way they work. -
Crime, Politics
Bridgegate Mastermind Skips Prison, Free To Cause Traffic Problems All Over Jersey
The trickster gods always end up walking away. -
Family Law, Health Care / Medicine, Kids
Happy Fourth To All ART-Formed Families! Enjoy Your Rights -- But We Still Have A Long Way To Go.
American citizens enjoy the freedom to marry who they want and to have kids with whom they want -- for the most part. -
Legal Ethics, Small Law Firms, Technology
Should Avvo's Legal Services Be Considered An Ethical Form Of Fee Splitting?
Avvo has argued that the fee-splitting prohibition could be a violation of the First Amendment. -
Legal Ethics
State Supreme Courts And Bar Associations Are Limiting Access To Legal Services
This is a real shame -- for the public and for lawyers. -
Biglaw, Law Schools, Politics
Did You Know A Former Biglaw Partner Is Running For Governor Today?
Arguably, running New Jersey is a step down from being in Biglaw.
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
How Transactional Lawyers Can Better Serve (And Maintain) Their Clients
Law Firms Now Have A Choice In Their Document Comparison Software
Sponsored
AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
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Continuing Legal Education / CLE, Sponsored Content
Why Bridge The Gap Is Not Just For Newly Admitted Attorneys
Get a jump-start on CLE credits and learn something new on Feb. 25 at New York Law School.... -
Biglaw, Partner Issues
40 Lawyers -- Including 15 Partners -- Are Leaving This Biglaw Firm
The new year finds this firm shedding the pounds. -
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.19.17
* The Seventh Circuit — in an opinion by Judge Diane Sykes, a top-tier SCOTUS possibility under President Trump — just struck down Chicago ordinances regulating shooting ranges as violative of Second Amendment rights. [ABC News]
* Speaking of firearms, law professor Fredrick Vars has an excellent proposal for preventing gun suicides. [Washington Post]
* Possible good news for legalizing sports betting in New Jersey: the U.S. Supreme Court wants to hear from the solicitor general on this issue (although we don’t yet know who the solicitor general will be). [How Appealing]
* But we think we know who the principal deputy solicitor general will be — Noel Francisco, whose imminent departure from Jones Day is now public. [National Law Journal]
* In other Justice Department news, what can we expect from Jeff Sessions’s DOJ in terms of civil rights enforcement? [New York Times]
* Are we seeing a “fragile recovery” in the number of people interested in law school? [ABA Journal]
* If you share my curiosity about the future of Chief Judge Merrick Garland in the wake of his unsuccessful SCOTUS nomination, it seems that the distinguished jurist is back on the bench — at least for now. [National Law Journal]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.13.17
* The University of Houston Law Center and the South Texas College of Law Houston (formerly known as the Houston College of Law and the South Texas College of Law) still haven’t been able to resolve their trademark tiff. A judge has encouraged both law schools to “keep at it” to avoid a trial. [Houston Chronicle]
* Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, a bill ending Chevron deference — perhaps the most important principal of administrative law. Apparently it will be much better for job creation and economic growth if judges ignore regulatory agencies’ legal interpretations. [Law360 (sub. req.)]
* Leslie Caldwell, the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, will be stepping down from her post today. She has no idea what’s ahead of her aside from a trip to the Caribbean next week. As far as her prospective successor is concerned, she thinks accessing data on encrypted devices will be “problem No. 1 to address.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* A New Jersey judge has refused to dismiss a gubernatorial candidate’s criminal complaint against Governor Chris Christie over the Bridgegate scandal, noting that a lower court judge “improperly denied counsel [to Christie] at a critical stage” of the case. If probable cause is found, Christie may face charges, just like his colleagues. [Reuters]
* “Even if we could justify the need … it is far from clear that the funding case could be made….” Given the turmoil at Charlotte Law, people are wondering whether it would be a good idea for UNC Charlotte to open a law school. Just because one law school may be closing, it doesn’t mean that another needs to open in its place. [Charlotte Observer]
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Sports
The Nuclear Path To Legal Sports Betting
A drastic solution to the stupid ban on sports gambling. -
Justice, New Jersey, Politics
Breaking: Bridget Anne Kelly And Bill Baroni Found GUILTY In Bridgegate Trial
Bridgett Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni have been convicted on all counts in the Bridgegate trial.