Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.22.17

* Senate Republicans take another step forward on repealing the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. [MedCity News] * Shocker: President Donald Trump has no "tapes" of his conversations with James Comey. [Talking Points Memo] * Our own Elie Mystal breaks down this morning's Supreme Court decisions, in conversation with Brian Lehrer of WNYC. [WNYC] * And if you want to read the SCOTUS rulings for yourself, Howard Bashman has links to all of them. [How Appealing] * Professor Ilya Somin explains how zoning and other land use controls exacerbate the affordable housing crisis. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Professor Richard Re argues that Bivens isn't dead -- at least not yet. [PrawfsBlawg] * A great profile of a great rainmaker: Bill Carmody of Susman Godfrey. [Lawdragon] * A Thomson Reuters tool that takes torture out of timekeeping. [LawSites]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.21.17

* "Trump's Most Lasting Legacy? America's courts." [The Atlantic via How Appealing] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, which justice is most frequently first out of the gate when it comes to questioning at oral argument? Adam Feldman runs the numbers. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Floyd Abrams, celebrated First Amendment lawyer and author (affiliate link), laments the sad state of freedom of speech on college campuses today. [Concurring Opinions] * Well, this is interesting: DOJ Pride, the Justice Department's group for LGBT employees, will honor Gavin Grimm this year, as Chris Geidner reports. [BuzzFeed] * Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who's not exactly a Donald Trump fan, thinks the Donald has a better than even chance of winning reelection in 2020. [Instapundit] * And he's not alone, as Ann Althouse's round-up of reactions to Jon Ossoff's failed congressional run suggests. [Althouse]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.19.17

* I’m bringing up the Carrie Fisher story just to say that it would have been nice if people called for this kind of respect in the face of drug use after Whitney Houston died. [Variety] * This is a very good breakdown of what’s at stake when the Supreme Court looks at partisan gerrymandering […]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.16.17

content/uploads/2017/02/Philando-Castile-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" class="size-medium wp-image-454758" /> Generated by IJG JPEG Library[/caption] * Cop found not guilty for killing Philando Castile because it's simply not illegal for cops to kill black men. Maybe this will just sag, like a heavy load. Or maybe explode. [NPR] * Professor Orin Kerr thinks that self-driving cars will change police strategies. Maybe, but cops will still find a way to murder unarmed black men for automated "menacing" driving or something. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Hero Pop shows these men of will what will really is. And Trumpsters are "heartbroken." https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/875592455365599234 * David Lat was on The Takeaway today to talk about the Avengers-level team of witch hunters Robert Mueller has assembled. [The Takeaway] * Dreamers can stay, their parents must go. This passes for a "victory" in these times. [ABA Journal] * There's a scene in Star Trek 3 where Captain Kirk asks Klingon Christopher Lloyd to beam up teenage Spock. The Klingon says no, Kirk asks why, and Lloyd says, "Because you wish it!" Trump's Cuba reversal, and general political strategy, seems to follow the same logic as Klingon Christopher Lloyd. If Captain Obama wished it, the Trump does not do it. [New York Times] * Breitbart is covering and promoting a protest in response to the Congressional shooting. A protest of -- I'm not making this up -- a protest of CNN. Guns don't kill people, fact-based journalism kills people. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.15.17

* CNN is suing to get a hold of Comey's Trump memos. [CNN] * Exactly whose ass is Sessions covering? [Slate] * Gunning for Mueller. [Huffington Post] * Jeh Johnson is the latest attorney offering public testimony in the Russia probe. [Politico] * Intense confrontation on the courthouse steps at the Cosby trial. [Jezebel] * Trump is being sued a bunch over emoluments -- here's what it all means. [Law Newz] * The role of Trump's anger in the Russia investigation. [Law and More] * Has the legal scholarship bubble burst? [TaxProf Blog]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.14.17

* Time to nerd out! We'll start with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) firing a shot across on the bow on blue slips. [Politico via How Appealing] * Speaking of judicial nominees, Professor Stephanos Bibas, nominated to the Third Circuit, has a long, long paper trail -- including not just lots of law review articles, but letters to the editor from when he was a college kid. [CA3blog] * Who knew that singer John Legend was a legal nerd? He's all about "the challenge and the opportunity of federalism," as Chris Geidner reports. [BuzzFeed News] * It's time for the courts to recognize that the Lemon test "is really and truly dead," according to Daniel Blomberg of Becket. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Meanwhile, Professor Orin Kerr identifies "an interesting question worth flagging for the Fourth Amendment nerds" out there. [Washington Post] * Finally, Fifth Circuit guru David Coale has found something even wonkier than the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. [600 Camp]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.13.17

* Professor Ann Althouse wants to know: What's the theory that take-home exams redress gender inequity? [Althouse] * Legal analytics versus legal research: what's the difference? Owen Byrd of Lex Machina explains. [Law Technology Today] * Professor Noah Feldman is not a fan of the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling on Trump Travel Ban 2.0. [Bloomberg View via How Appealing] * And Professor Sam Bray is not a fan of nationwide injunctions in the travel ban litigation. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * My colleague Elie Mystal yesterday offered an ideological critique of Justice Ginsburg's opinion in Morales-Santana; Professor Will Baude has a technical one (and I think he might be right). [PrawfsBlawg] * Mollie Hemingway respectfully dissents from the James Comey lovefest. [The Federalist]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.12.17

* Maybe Comey already has a job lined up. [Chronicle of Higher Ed] * A deeper dive into Gorsuch's first opinion and how it stacks up with those of the other justices. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Newt Gingrich sets land speed record on flip-flopping with his latest Bob Mueller tweet. [Salon] * I already said it this morning, but it bears repeating. [Lawfare] * Is it discriminatory to broadcast Cleveland Indians games? Canadian tribunal allows this argument to move forward. [Turtle Talk] * What's the official state exercise of Illinois? [Lowering the Bar] * Interesting legal battle going on within the Catholic Church. [Canon Law Blog]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.09.17

* Donald Trump has said that he is willing to testify, under oath, to dispute James Comey's Senate testimony. The progressive stages of grief go something like this... Denial: He'll never do it. Anger: He SHOULD, lying orange f**k. Bargaining: 'Course, he's crazy enough that he just might do it. Depression: Like any of these spineless Republicans would prosecute him for the perjury he'd certainly commit anyway. Acceptance: Donald Trump is going to be president for the rest of my life. [CNN] * Deutsche Bank is standing by their man, and their man is Donald Trump [Levin Report] * ACLU is suing Missouri to stop implementation of Voter ID law. [Election Law Blog] * Uh oh, the police mistakenly left their latest young black shooting victim alive to tell his side of the story. [The Root] * This week in white people. [CNN] * Trump's social media director violated the Hatch Act. If Obama's social media director did that, it'd lead the news. If Hillary's social media director did that, there'd be Senate hearings. But it's Trump's so... people will treat it like the minor story it is. [Huffington Post] * White victimization media is very concerned about bad language. Yeah, the same people who elected the most openly foul-mouthed president since recording devices were invented are very concerned that Senator Kristen Gillibrand has been dropping some F-bombs at events. And they seem giddy that Reza Aslan has been dropped from CNN after some Tweets where he called President Trump a "piece of s**t." I gotta agree with CNN here: insulting fecal matter is unprofessional. Most decent people would rather have a steaming turd representing America than the orange embarrassment we're currently stuck with, so Aslan seems way out of line. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.08.17

* How I learned to stop worrying and love the First Amendment. [Slate] * The most burning question after James Comey's testimony. [The Slot] * Remain ever vigilant. [Salon] * Big new jobs in legal academia. [National Jurist] * Remembering tax law legend Bill Andrews. [Tax Prof Blog] * Will the Russia probe make stars of the lawyers involved? [Law and More] * If you're in New York and want to know more about litigation finance, check out this event. [Eventbrite]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.07.17

* Ben Wittes on James Comey's prepared testimony (which he'll deliver tomorrow): "the most shocking single document compiled about the official conduct of the public duties of any President since the release of the Watergate tapes." [Lawfare] * Could the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program be eliminated -- retroactively? Thoughts from Professor Gregory Crespi. [SSRN] * The California Supreme Court appears less than enthused about a ballot measure that would compel the courts to decide death penalty cases more quickly. [How Appealing] * Behind every great bestseller is... a tiger mother? How Amy Chua mentored J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy (affiliate link). [The Atlantic] * Picking up on Shannon Achimalbe's post from earlier today, here's additional financial advice for young lawyers. [SoFi] * Legal technology is a godsend -- but what do you do when problems arise? [Reboot Your Law Practice] * Mark your calendars: one week from today, on June 14 in San Francisco, it's the Battle of the (Law Firm) Bands! [Family Violence Appellate Project]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.06.17

* Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, along with her husband, welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander. Congrats! [CNN] * New reports suggest Donald Trump got his panties in a bunch when Jeff Sessions had an attack of ethics. [The Hill] * The Supreme Court's decision in the North Carolina racial gerrymandering case isn't all good news. [Rewire] * Involuntary manslaughter charges for two in connection with the Oakland Ghost Ship fire that killed 36, including a rising legal mind. [Los Angeles Times] * Opening statements in the biggest defamation trial in American history. [The Hollywood Reporter] * 89-year-old law professor still going strong. [Tax Prof Blog] * How should mid-trial tears be handled? [Law and More]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.05.17

* Commuting to work counts as "work," according to the European Court of Justice. I think five-year-olds everywhere would agree. [Independent] * Harvard College rescinded the offers of 10 prospective students for trading sexually explicit memes and messages targeting minorities. When reached for comment, the Alt-Right First Amendment brigade decried the school's lack of "intellectual diversity" probably, before masturbating to Birth of a Nation. [Harvard Crimson] * Adam Feldman Empirical SCOTUS breaks down how the Court can avoid the stupid Travel Ban. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Bill Cosby walked into his trial with Keshia Knight Pulliam. Pulliam played "Rudy" on the popular television show "The Cosby Show," which has now been ruined forever. [The Root] * Everybody is enjoying the Real Press Sec Twitter bot. [The Hill] * Flint is one of those places where white people are winning the race war. [New York Daily News] * Trump's support didn't predominately come for the white working class. It came from the white stupid class. [Washington Post] * Since the Nazis have won anyway, sure, I'm ready for some football. I guess. Who cares. I envy the dead. [Deadspin]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.02.17

* Michael Bloomberg has offered to pay the United States' share to the United Nations as part of the Paris climate agreement that Trump is trying to stop. It's a nice gesture, but it also feels like how Old World oligarchs used to pay people to look the other way instead of overthrowing the incompetent king. [Forbes] * Former Penn State officials, including former president Graham B. Spanier, have been sentenced to jail time in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. [New York Times] * Evergreen State remains on lockdown due to threats related to its "Day of Absence." Massa don't like it much when you lock him out. [KIRO 7] * Thief stole a backpack off one of the dying heroes in the Portland attack. Looks like they caught him. [Gizmodo] * You're still not allowed to protest at the Supreme Court. [Courthouse News Service] * Wasn't there a Law and Order about a fertility specialist who used his own sperm instead of the donor sperm people thought they were getting? [Slate] * Time for some promos: If you are interested in Loving, there's a great event centered around it at the WNYC Green Space on Monday, June 12th. [Greene Space] * If, on the other hand, you happen to be in San Francisco, join us on June 13th for Better Know A Circuit. We'll be discussing the Ninth Circuit... which has been in the news recently, for some reason. [Above the Law] * Now for our weekly check-in with White Pride media. ... Oh God, they're still on the Kathy Griffin story. When it comes to having a persecution complex, right-wing media makes Jesus on the Cross look like a brother crying over a splinter. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal