Pennsylvania

He's joining... lots of people who want out.

* A lawyer for a Pennsylvania man, who allegedly pretended to be his dead mother to cast an extra vote, claims his client was engaged in “civil disobedience.” Pretty sure Gandhi and MLK didn’t use that strategy… [Yahoo News]

* President Trump issued a flurry of pardons and commutations yesterday to many individuals in his political circle and others. [CNN]

* A Colorado lawyer is accused of allegedly mishandling $2 million earmarked by clients to purchase personal protective equipment. [Denver Post]

* Walmart is being sued over allegations that the company helped fuel the opioid crises. [New York Times]

* A New York lawyer, who allegedly went on a racist rant at a restaurant in 2018, has been disciplined for his conduct. [New York Post]

* Somewhat relatedly, a Texas judge, who allegedly used racial slurs against Mexicans, has been sanctioned. [Texas Lawyer]

* Netflix has settled a lawsuit over the “Choose Your Own Adventure” trademark. Guess Netflix chose the adventure that doesn’t end in a trial… [Hollywood Reporter]

* Two women, who were detained in northern Montana for speaking Spanish, have settled a lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection. [Reuters]

* A new lawsuit alleges that a 70-year-old worker at the grocery store chain Publix contracted COVID-19 and died as a result of lax policies of his employer. [NBC News]

* Check out this article on the legal prowess of Daredevil and She-Hulk (had no idea She-Hulk was a comic-book character!). [Screen Rant]

* A Texas man is in hot water for allegedly filing a mandamus petition on behalf of two clients even though he is not a licensed attorney. [Bloomberg Law]

* A Pennsylvania lawyer has been found guilty of identity theft and other crimes. So tempted to make a My Cousin Vinny joke right now… [Legal Intelligencer]

* A lawyer for Edward Snowden claims the whistleblower has received permanent residency from Russia. Guess he’ll be going without Hot Pockets for a while longer… [New York Daily News]

* A judge has thrown out the Trump Campaign’s lawsuit against New Jersey’s mail-in-voting plans. [Politico]

* A Pennsylvania lawyer who was disbarred in 2000 for substance abuse issues and criminal convictions was denied reinstatement, even though he completed rehabilitation. [Bloomberg Law]

* President Trump has seemingly selected his pick to replace Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the Seventh Circuit. [Chicago Tribune]

* Walmart has sued the federal government in anticipation of being litigated against for opioid claims. [Wall Street Journal]

* A lawyer has been suspended from practice for five drunk driving arrests. This attorney needs to learn how to “pass” a bar… [Bloomberg Law]

* A pregnant Pennsylvania lawyer completed a hearing in a murder case last week after her water broke during the proceedings. [Today]

* A curfew in Miami, Florida, has been eliminated thanks to a lawsuit filed by a local strip club. [Fox News]

* Los Angeles is facing a lawsuit over mamajuana delivery licenses. [Independent]

* Goodwin Procter has promoted a trans lawyer to equity partnership. [Bloomberg Law]

* A Rhode Island criminal trial may be decided by a semicolon in a statute. Still waiting for the Oxford comma to make an appearance in a criminal trial… [Providence Journal]

* A California family is being sued by an animal rights group for allegedly mistreating their cows. Maybe the farmers were lactose intolerant… Bet they’ll file a “moo”tion to dismiss…(I can go all day!). [My Valley News]

* A veteran Oregon attorney has surrendered his law license amid allegations of theft and other illicit conduct. [Oregonian]

* A woman has been charged with damaging the car of a lawyer representing a former cop allegedly involved in the death of George Floyd. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

* A federal judge has dismissed the Trump Campaign’s lawsuit concerning election procedures in Pennsylvania. [AP]

* An ethics board has approved of a New York lawyer withdrawing from a representation involving a court appearance out of fear of contracting COVID-19. [Bloomberg Law]

* A woman was cited over the weekend for allegedly drunk driving at over four times the legal limit and crashing into a bridge causing a traffic nightmare. Maybe she’ll get four times the normal punishment… [Fox News]

* The Supreme Court has decided not to hear a copyright infringement case involving Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Was really looking forward to a live performance at the Supreme Court… [Fox News]

* The St. Louis couple, who allegedly pointed guns at protesters earlier this year, has been indicted for multiple felonies. [New York Times]

* Two South Florida attorneys are alleged to have participated in a scheme to steal foreclosure sale proceeds. [NBC News]

* John McAfee, the software engineer and namesake of the antivirus products, has been arrested on tax evasion charges. [New York Times]

* E. Jean Carroll is seeking to prevent the Justice Department from becoming involved with her lawsuit which accuses President Trump of sexual assault. [CNN]

* A local Pennsylvania District Attorney is in hot water after empty beer cans were found in his office. Hopefully the Pennsylvania residents were drinking a few Yuenglings… [NBC News]

* A PA lawyer has been sentenced to prison for allegedly stealing client funds to purchase (among other things) tickets to Superbowl LII in which the Eagles beat the Patriots. Maybe it was worth it to see Tom Brady lose… [Lehigh Valley Live]

* A lawyer at the Department of Labor has been reassigned after accusing the Secretary of Labor of retaliation. [Bloomberg Law]

* New details have surfaced about the Chicago attorney couple who were found stabbed to death in their home earlier this year. [Chicago Tribune]

* Senator Ted Cruz is another potential Supreme Court pick on President Trump’s most recent list to indicate he has no desire to serve on the high court. [CNN]

* An employee at the Washington State Attorney General’s Office has been put on administrative leave after leaving a note on a restaurant check that read: “BLM pin = no tip.” [Spokesman-Review]

* A contractor is in legal hot water for allegedly fleecing a congregation of $454,000 to build a church and then performing little work. The contractor should be most afraid of getting struck by lighting or something like that… [Stamford Advocate]

As judges, explaining your reasoning is supposed to be part of the job.

Online exams aren't dealing with accommodations very well.

The emergency diploma privilege petition took a clever angle and the bar examiners hope the court ignores that entirely.

* A Pennsylvania golf course has defaulted in a lawsuit alleging illicit discrimination. Maybe they knew it would be a “fore”gone conclusion they’d lose… [Patriot News]

* The New York Attorney General has sued the Trump Organization over financial investigations into the company. [Forbes]

* Apparently, the ongoing pandemic is making it difficult to tell Scott Peterson his death penalty sentence has been overturned. [Fox News]

* The Attorney General of the Virgin Islands has subpoenaed billionaire Leon Black and his business in a probe related to Jeffrey Epstein. [CNN]

* The social media app TikTok has sued the U.S. Government over a ban recently announced by the Trump Administration. Did they serve process by video? [CNBC]

* A new lawsuit claims that Chipotle restaurants are not providing customers with appropriate change when they pay for meals in cash. Maybe they are charging more for guac now? [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

* Utah is allowing individuals without law licenses to offer legal services under certain circumstances. [Desert News]

* A federal judge has halted a lawsuit aimed at challenging Pennsylvania’s mail-in-voting plans for the upcoming election. [Hill]

* A lawyer accidentally offered $10,000 to settle a case instead of the intended $100,000 and this lower number was accepted. This attorney should review the law surrounding scrivener’s error… [Daily Business Review]

* Check out this profile of a patent lawyer who became a professional poker player. [Card Player]

* A lawyer in Texas will appear at a jury trial virtually while his adversary attends the trial in person. The virtual attendee should consider hiring a surrogate to appear in person in his place. [Texas Lawyer]

The NCBE may have proven too much.

He's apologized for his 'absolutely wrong' remarks.

* An entrepreneur who created the world’s first “robot lawyer” has secured $12 million in funding. Hope this guy doesn’t make a robot Morning Docket writer… [Forbes]

* A Pennsylvania lawyer has been disbarred for defrauding his firm by referring people who came to the firm to other lawyers in exchange for a percentage of the fees. [ABA Journal]

* An appeals court has ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.1 billion for damages allegedly sustained from baby powder that was purportedly laced with asbestos. And this amount is lower than the original verdict of $4.69 billion. [Hill]

* A Florida lawyer is in hot water for filing allegedly frivolous lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Daily Business Review]

* The unexpected deaths of two attorneys and a series of tornadoes was no excuse for a late filing according to a federal judge. This ruling seems kind of harsh. [ABA Journal]

* Two Virginia lawyers have pleaded guilty to extortion for trying to persuade Monsanto to pay them $200 million for a “consulting agreement” to settle Roundup litigation. Sounds like these attorneys could have learned a lesson from Michael Avenatti… [ABC News]

* SmileDirectClub has filed a $2.8 billion lawsuit against NBC for broadcasting an allegedly defamatory and misleading story about the company. They sound more like FrownDirectClub… [Hill]

* A well-known Texas lawyer is suing his estate planning attorney for a Texas-sized tax liability he wasn’t able to avoid. [Texas Lawyer]

* A New Orleans lawyer has been disbarred for spending her client’s settlement money received because of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. [Advocate]

* The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a law requiring the licensing of lactation specialists. First learned about this profession from The Office. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

* A lawsuit against the parents of a killer who murdered four people is being allowed to proceed. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* An Iowa attorney has been suspended from practice for overbilling a public defender’s office, sometimes logging more than 24 hours in a day. Maybe the lawyer had Doc Brown’s DeLorean? [Bloomberg Law]

* A divided House of Representatives voted to “strongly condemn[] President Donald Trump’s racist comments” that were recently lodged against four Democratic congresswomen of color “that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.” [NBC News]

* Plaintiffs in the census citizenship case are seeking sanctions against the Department of Justice for committing “fraud on the court” after allegedly hiding the truth about the case’s origins during trial. This should be interesting, considering the Supreme Court seemed to agree… [Reuters]

* Which Biglaw firms are playing host to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates? Quite a few, actually! From Milbank to Kirkland to Paul Weiss, these politicians are getting cozy with their future lawyers. [American Lawyer]

* Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has Pennsylvania Supreme Court to declare the death penalty unconstitutional because he claims it’s arbitrary and racially biased. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* Salary news you can use: If you’ve got a law degree and you work in a compliance role, you can expect to make more money than your colleagues without JDs at each and every stage of your career. [Corporate Counsel]

* Retired Justice John Paul Stevens, the former leader of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, RIP. [New York Times]

Lawyering like it is 1995.

The difference between two invocations delivered to the Pennsylvania legislature, one by a secularist and another by a Christian, illustrates why religion, and not the rise in non-belief, continues to be the greatest threat to religious freedom.