Ninth Circuit

* Jesus is fighting back against the bum rap he got. [The Onion]

* Kansas is the canary in the coal mine for the future of the United States. It… doesn’t look great. [Slate]

* When John Roberts is incredulous at a line of questioning an assistant solicitor general is going down, well, that’s not good for business. [Salon]

* Donald Trump hates the Ninth Circuit, wants to break them up. [Huffington Post]

* Getting fired really, really sucks. [Law and More]

* It’s like we live in the upside down. [Politico]

* Settlements have been reached between Berkeley Law, the school’s former dean, and the dean’s former assistant. If you recall, then dean Sujit Chaudry was accused of sexually harassing his assistant, and as part of the settlement, he’ll have to pay $100K in fees and charitable donations, but will be considered to be on “sabbatical” until May 2018, keeping all of his benefits. Hmm, do we think this is fair? [Mercury News]

* “We have not livestreamed before, but that’s not to say that won’t happen in this case.” The Fourth Circuit is considering livestreaming oral arguments for travel ban 2.0, much like what the Ninth Circuit did with oral arguments for Trump’s first travel ban. Maybe you’ll be able to do some “professional development” billing… [National Law Journal]

* “Arkansas does not intend to torture plaintiffs to death.” Judge Kristine G. Baker (E.D. Ark.) has halted a whirlwind series of eight executions — the state’s first executions scheduled since 2005 — citing a “threat of irreparable harm” if the drug midazolam is used as part of the lethal injection drug protocol and somehow fails. [New York Times]

* More and more out-of-state Biglaw firms are flocking to Houston, Texas, to open their own offices, which has inspired many lawyers to leave their current firms for greener pastures — in terms of both money and opportunities. But is there enough legal work to go around with all of the new competition? Only time will tell. [Houston Chronicle]

* Ten Harvard Law student affinity groups are gunning for Professor David B. Wilkins to become the next dean of the school after Martha Minow steps down at the end of the year. They’ve written a letter to the university president, imploring him to take their advice and select their dean candidate for the position. Check it out. [Harvard Crimson]

* Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the nation’s first female Muslim judge and the first African-American woman to serve on New York’s highest court, was found dead in the Hudson River. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Daily News]

* The Ukraine-related activities of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are under legal scrutiny — and one of his daughters, lawyer Andrea Manafort, described some of her father’s actions as “legally questionable.” [New York Times]

* Hawaii says “aloha” to the Ninth Circuit in its challenge to Trump Travel Ban 2.0 — and seeks initial en banc review, bypassing a three-judge panel. [ABA Journal]

* So the filibuster is now dead for SCOTUS nominees; are blue slips for lower-court nominees next? [Roll Call via How Appealing]

* Melania Trump settles her defamation litigation with the Daily Mail, getting an apology, a retraction, coverage of her legal fees, and what her lawyer Charles Harder describes as “millions of dollars in damages.” [New York Law Journal]

* Biglaw firms aren’t the only workplaces with gender pay gaps; it’s an issue for in-house legal departments too, including Google’s. [Corporate Counsel]

* Seriously, North Carolina? After its half-hearted repeal of the “bathroom bill,” three lawmakers in the state want to ban gay marriage. [WNCN]

* Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit seems to be a fan of Justice Neil Gorsuch’s views on Chevron deference. [Law.com]

* And Justice Elena Kagan will be throwing a party to welcome Justice Gorsuch to the Court. [Washington Post via How Appealing]

* “How to Con Black Law Students: A Case Study,” by our very own Elie Mystal. [New York Times]

* Professor Rick Hasen responds to Judge Alex Kozinski’s colorful dissental in the travel-ban litigation. [Slate]

* Speaking of the Ninth Circuit, should it be broken up? Prominent appellate lawyer Ben Feuer makes the case against. [Los Angeles Times]

* Professor Ilya Somin hopes senators ask Judge Gorsuch these questions at tomorrow’s hearing. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* But his co-blogger, Professor Orin Kerr, isn’t holding his breath for revealing answers. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Walt Pavlo wonders: are former prosecutors from the S.D.N.Y. padding their résumés? [Forbes]

* Almost three years have passed since the death of Eric Garner — and we still have many more questions than answers. [CityLand / New York Law School]

* Jane Genova: What can legal media and marketers learn from Jimmy Breslin? [Law And More]

* What does the future hold for the U.S. Supreme Court? Analysts (including yours truly) opine. [Bloomberg BNA via Storify]

* Another prediction of ours has come to pass: congrats to Sullivan & Cromwell partner Brent McIntosh on his nomination as general counsel for the Treasury Department. [Corporate Counsel]

* Is it time to break up the Ninth Circuit (as President Trump recently called for)? Professors John Eastman and Brian Fitzpatrick say yay; Judges Sidney Thomas, Carlos Bea, and Alex Kozinski say nay. [House Judiciary Committee]

* Anthony Kronman: from dean of Yale Law School to “born-again pagan” (affiliate link). [New Yorker via How Appealing]

* Looking for smart, timely takes on the Trump Administration, from an all-star cast of law professors and legal experts? There’s a site for that. [Take Care]

* Guess who: “Cat-loving judge makes case that has nothing to do with cats all about cats.” [Chicago Tribune]

* Professor Orin Kerr chats with Professor Barry Friedman about Friedman’s latest book, Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission (affiliate link). [Volokh Conspiracy]

* The current SCOTUS Term isn’t super-sexy — but there are a few interesting cases on the docket, as Adam Feldman points out. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Attention 2Ls & 3Ls, here’s a cool contest — with $100K in scholarships as prizes! [PR Newswire (press release)]

* So, is the Ninth Circuit really the court that gets most frequently overturned by the Supreme Court? [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Buckle in marijuana enthusiasts, it’s going to be a long four years. [Huffington Post]

* Is there ideological discrimination in law school hiring? A debate. [TaxProf Blog]

* Death penalty sentences are down. Does the Dallas District Attorney want to change that? [Slate]

* You can stop talking like a lawyer. [Law and More]

* RIP to partner Andrew Thompson. [Cravath]

* Livestream: State of Washington v. Trump. [U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit]

* What does the decision to broadcast this case mean for court transparency? [Fix the Court]

* Here’s what lawyers really say to each other. [Guile is Good]

* A critique of the IRS’s decision to not allow tax deductions for the cost of gender reassignment surgery. [Tax Prof Blog]

* Navigating the fallibility of the judicial system requires more nuance than Twitter allows. [New York Magazine]

* Trump threatens lawmaker’s career, is greeted with laughter. [Huffington Post]

* The job market the class of 2017 will encounter. [Law and More]