Pennsylvania

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.21.18

* The President apparently got around? Former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal has filed suit against American Media, Inc., owner of The National Enquirer, to get out of an agreement that's preventing her from discussing her alleged affair with Donald Trump, which reportedly occurred around the same time as the Stormy Daniels affair. [CBS News] * What's going on at Latham & Watkins in the wake its former chairman Lathaming himself over inappropriate conduct involving "communications of a sexual nature"? According to a source at the firm, "[e]veryone is shocked" and no one has any idea who will replace Bill Voge as chair. [American Lawyer] * "This is not what the impeachment power is for...." Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers are moving to impeach the Democratic state Supreme Court justices who ruled the state’s congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. [Huffington Post] * Dechert has settled an age and sex discrimination case filed by female staff members. There are no details of the settlement available, but if you recall, the firm countered the ex-staffers' claims by saying that technological advances had made their jobs redundant. [Legal Intelligencer] * On Monday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the country, banning abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. Less than 24 hours later, Judge Carlton Reeves granted a temporary restraining order in favor of the state's lone abortion clinic. [Associated Press]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.13.16

* What happens when a Biglaw associate at a prestigious firm is allegedly injured so badly in the D.C. subway that he's prevented from working as an associate at that firm? He files a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Washington Metro Transit Authority, obviously. We'll have more on this later. [Big Law Business] * A federal judge has dismissed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's bid for a recount in Pennsylvania as absurd, writing in a 31-page opinion that her theory of the hacking of the state's electronic voting machines "borders on the irrational." Ouch. [Reuters] * Justice Stephen Breyer continued his assault against capital punishment this week, dissenting from his Supreme Court colleagues' decision not to hear a death row inmate's case. In that dissent, he didn't discuss the evidence against the inmate, but rather, he discussed the evidence against the death penalty in America. [New York Times] * Abortion-rights activists from the Center for Reproductive Rights have sought an injunction against the implementation of a controversial Texas regulation that would require the burial or cremation of fetal remains because it "imposes a funeral ritual on women who have … an abortion." As if HB 2 wasn't bad enough... [WSJ Law Blog] * School-by-school results from the July 2016 administration of the California bar exam have finally been released (albeit not publicly, until now), and considering that the overall pass rate was the lowest it's been in 32 years, law schools did not fare well. Which did the best, and which did the worst? We'll have more on this later. [The Recorder]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.05.16

* Although it may seem far from what's occurred given some questionable statements and tweets about freedom of speech and freedom of religion, House Speaker Paul Ryan says that he's discussed the Constitution "extensively" with President-elect Donald Trump, including the separation of powers. Let's see if any of Ryan's Con Law lessons have an impact. [Huffington Post] * Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is dropping her recount bid in Pennsylvania because of an inability to afford the $1 million bond required by the state to proceed; after all, "petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means." She may not be done with her efforts to prevent President-elect Trump from securing an electoral victory, though. She'll probably try her hand at a federal case. [New York Times] * After months of sometimes violent protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to turn down the permit necessary to grant an easement to build a segment of the Dakota Access pipeline under Lake Oahe, which could contaminate the water supply and damage sacred tribal lands. Will President-elect Trump reverse this decision after he is inaugurated? [Reuters] * Cook County Circuit Judge Valarie Turner -- who allowed former law clerk Rhonda Crawford to don her robes and hear cases in her stead -- has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and memory loss, which has led the Judicial Inquiry Board to declare her "mentally unable" to perform her job. It is unclear whether Turner had been diagnosed prior to this summer's incident with Crawford. [Chicago Sun-Times] * Valparaiso is facing down a tough decision after years of admitting students with less-than-desirable credentials: Continue to do more of the same, or "face reality and close its law school." Given the way that things like this generally proceed with law schools, we suppose we can expect the school to try for at least a few more years with diminishing returns for graduates before it decides to throw in the towel. [Chicago Tribune] * Katherine Magbanua, the woman indicted on first-degree murder charges and accused of acting as a conduit between two alleged hitmen and whoever ordered Professor Dan Markel’s murder, can access the grand jury testimony of Luis Rivera, who has already taken a plea deal and is working with prosecutors. [Tallahassee Democrat]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.25.16

Ed. note: As mentioned on Wednesday, we will be publishing today, but at a reduced level. We'll be back in full force on Monday. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! * President-elect Donald Trump will likely pick a lawyer as his nominee for Secretary of State: Rudy Giuliani (NYU Law '68) or Mitt Romney (Harvard Law '75). [New York Times] * Where do broken hearts go? Some precedents for Chief Judge Merrick Garland to follow from unsuccessful Supreme Court nominees. [Associated Press via How Appealing] * A pre-Thanksgiving ruling from the Florida Supreme Court that gave one prisoner something to be grateful for could signal more upheaval to come in the nation’s second largest death row. [BuzzFeed] * Three more judges participated in Pennsylvania's "Porngate" email exchanges -- but it seems that Bruce Beemer, the state's new attorney general, won't be naming names. [ABA Journal] * What does the future hold for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its chief, Chicago Law grad and former SCOTUS clerk Richard Cordray? [New York Times] * It's not just a plot line from Suits: Reginald Taylor, accused of posing as a lawyer by stealing an attorney's bar number, apparently delivered decent results for his clients. [The Daily Beast] * Don't mess with (federal judges from) Texas, Mr. President; Judge Amos Mazzant, who blocked President Obama's proposed extension of overtime pay, isn't the first Lone Star jurist to cause problems for the Obama Administration. [New York Times via How Appealing] * Thinking of hitting the movies over the long weekend? Tony Mauro shares our own Harry Graff's enthusiasm for Loving. [National Law Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.25.16

* From prosecutor to prisoner: former Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane gets sentenced to 10 to 23 months. [CNN] * Oh, the irony: the ABA won’t publish a report calling Donald Trump a “libel bully” because of “the risk of the ABA being sued by Mr. Trump.” [New York Times] * How the AT&T/Time Warner […]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.12.16

* From a SCOTUS mention to what seems like a final exam hypo: Kim Kardashian filed a defamation suit against celeb gossip site Media Takeout for reporting she'd faked her robbery and filed a fraudulent insurance claim. In her complaint, she alleges that the site victimized her again by "referring to her as a liar and thief." [Reuters] * A legal recruiter claims that she received a series of death threats after she made political donations to Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. Because she "fear[ed] for her life and safety," the disturbing calls were reported to the police, and the matter is still under investigation. We may have more on this later. [Big Law Business] * "It seems to me that the design is applied to the exterior case of the phone. [T]here shouldn’t be profits awarded based on the entire price of the phone." Thanks to SCOTUS, will Samsung get another bite at the apple when it comes to not giving up all of its profits as damages in its design patent dispute with Apple? [DealBook / New York Times] * The results of the July 2016 administration of the bar exam are out, and with a 91.96 percent pass rate for first-time takers, Duquesne Law boasted the second-best passage rate for first-timers out of all 10 Pennsylvania-area law schools, with only Penn Law coming out ahead. But which school did the worst? [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] * "Katie is the woman in the middle doing everything. It's all because of Katie, man." Katherine Magbanua, the woman who is alleged to have facilitated the successful murder-for-hire plot against Florida State law professor Dan Markel, has been denied bond. She will remain in prison behind bars until her trial. [Tallahassee Democrat]

By Staci Zaretsky