Orly Taitz

Non-Sequiturs: 01.05.12

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Mountain Dew: a mouse could not survive in this environment, according to PepsiCo counsel.

* Pepsi lawyers offer a creative (if disturbing) defense to a lawsuit by a man who claims he found a mouse in his Mountain Dew. [Madison County Record via The Atlantic Wire]

* Will birther queen Orly Taitz get to depose — i.e., “rupture the jurisprudential hymen” — of President Barack Obama? That would be kind of awesome. [Columbus Ledger-Inquirer]

* Professor Ann Althouse raises an interesting “who decides?” question about Cleveland’s controversial ban on trans fats. [Althouse]

* Please, lawyers, stick to cocaine. Allegations of crystal meth usage are très déclassé. [NewsOK.com]

* Kudos to Kirkland & Ellis for coming to the defense of lesbian and gay public employees in Michigan. [Poliglot / Metro Weekly]

* It seems that the Montana Supreme Court isn’t a fan of the Citizens United decision. [Huffington Post]

* Jamin Soderstrom, a (rather cute) former S&C associate and current Fifth Circuit clerk, has written a book (affiliate link) analyzing the qualifications of presidential candidates and the relationship between résumés and presidential success. [Tex Parte Blog]

* If you’re a law professor / blogger who wants to get a rise out of fellow profs, write posts in praise of Paul Campos (just voted our 2011 Lawyer of the Year — congrats again, Professor Campos). [PrawfsBlawg]

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Morning Docket: 12.23.11

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* Merry Christmas! House Republicans will get one less lump of coal in their stockings this year after accepting a two-month extension of unemployment benefits and payroll tax cuts. [New York Times]

* Another birther lawsuit has been thrown out, but Orly Taitz won’t be stopped. She’s like the Energizer Bunny of questionable litigation. She’ll keep appealing, and appealing, and appealing… [Los Angeles Times]

* John Edwards is trying to delay his criminal trial, claiming to have a mystery medical diagnosis. What kind of disease does karma hand you for cheating on your sick wife? [New York Daily News]

* Nora Demleitner will be will be stepping in as the new dean of Washington and Lee University School of Law. Hofstra Law, you M.A.D.? [National Law Journal]

* Is the American Bar Association really driving up the cost of law school tuition, or is it the law schools themselves? Here are some graphs that might surprise you. [Am Law Daily]

Benchslap of the Day: Judge Rebukes Birther Queen for Abortive Attempt at Redaction

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[W]asting the Court’s time with nonsense is not the way for plaintiff to have any hope of prevailing in this case…. Plaintiff is either toying with the Court or displaying her own stupidity. She made the correct redactions when she re-filed her Complaint and Amended Complaint. There is no logical explanation she can provide as to why she is now wasting the Court’s time, as well as the staff’s time, with these improper redactions.

– Chief Judge Royce Lamberth (D.D.C.), benchslapping the so-called “Queen of the Birthers,” lawyer cum dentist Orly Taitz (pictured), for improper redactions in her court filings. Check out the complete order, via The BLT.

(Chief Judge Lamberth, as you may recall, knows how to dole out a benchslap. See also his condemnation of an e-discovery screw-up.).

Morning Docket: 08.17.10

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Orly Taitz, Queen of the Birthers

* Former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) celebrates the Justice Department’s decision to drop its six-year investigation of his dealings with ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. [Washington Post]

* Speaking of money and politics, state judicial elections are being flooded with cash. [How Appealing]

* Two Stanford Law students strike a blow against California’s three-strikes law. [Los Angeles Times]

* Davis Polk, which has long had a soft spot for Asia (see first blockquote), launches a Hong Kong law practice. [Am Law Daily]

* The latest law firm to get work out of the BP oil spill: Cozen O’Connor. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Shocker: The Supreme Court won’t stay $20,000 in sanctions against Orly Taitz, “Queen of the Birthers.” [The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times]

* Musical chairs: Charles “Chuck” Greenberg — former head of Pepper Hamilton’s sports law practice, and the new managing partner and CEO of the Texas Rangers — is taking his team of sports lawyers to Reed Smith. [Am Law Daily]

* Crowell & Moring gets embroiled in litigation over legal fees and settlement money from a lawsuit arising out of the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Pakistan. [ABA Journal]

* Last week was a record week for Cahill. No wonder they paid out mid-year bonuses. [Cahill Gordon & Reindel]

Morning Docket: 06.09.10

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Orly Taitz, Queen of the Birthers

* California businesswomen fared well in last night’s primaries. [Washington Post]

* But former lawyer of the Day Orly Taitz, aka “The Birther Queen,” lost in the Republican primary for California secretary of state. [Washington Wire]

* Meanwhile, a vote over in the Swiss parliament could derail the delicate deal reached between UBS and the Justice Department in part of an ongoing tax evasion investigation. [New York Times via WSJ Law Blog]

* Speaking of escaping taxation, Texas billionaire Dan Duncan may be able to pass his fortune to his heirs tax-free, thanks to the one-year lapse in the estate tax law — unless the tax can be reinstated and applied retroactively. [New York Times]

* Could we be witnessing the end of libel law? [New York Observer]

* Musical chairs: Ronald Cami leaves Cravath to become the general counsel for a private equity firm. [Am Law Daily]