Politics

Even after some emotional losses nationwide, the blue wave’s crest was able to topple the wall of incessant gerrymandering.

* Republicans’ control over the Senate grew after the midterm elections, but Democrats managed to take the House. Here are six interesting reasons why that means President Donald Trump could be in “huge legal trouble” now. [Law & Crime]

* Florida voters approved an amendment to their state constitution to restore felons’ voting rights, which will now be automatically restored after prison time is completed and restitution paid. That’s at least 1.4 million more voters! [Orlando Sentinel]

* Remember Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed after she refused to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples? Last night, she lost her reelection campaign to Elwood Caudill Jr., a Democratic challenger. [Lexington Herald Leader]

* In case you missed it, President Donald Trump chose former White House counsel and current O’Melveny of counsel A.B. Culvahouse to go Down Under to put another shrimp on the barbie serve as U.S. ambassador to Australia. [National Law Journal]

* A California appellate court has paved the way for former Winston & Strawn partner Constance Ramos to get out of an “unconscionable” arbitration agreement with the firm. This may be the first Biglaw gender bias case to make it to trial. [The Recorder]

* Sorry, but you can’t deduct the cost of your law degree on your taxes because it qualified you for a new trade or business. The U.S. Tax Court says that even with a shiny new J.D. in your possession, you’ve only enhanced your current skills. [Law360]

* Grab ’em by the public interest: Per a new Gallup survey, pre-law students don’t care about Biglaw money; no, they say the top reason to go to law school is to “pursue a career in politics, government, or other public service.” [Idaho Business Review]

* A group of crypto investors has filed suit against rapper T.I., alleging that they could not have whatever they like because he tricked them into backing FLiK Token. The Rubberband Man’s lawyer says, “Tip is truly disheartened by the lawsuit.” [Complex]

It’s time to hear politicians singing a different tune regarding the public performance of music at campaign rallies, rather than remain tone deaf to the consequences.

* A fun bit of trivia (via Adam Feldman): which Supreme Court justice cites law review articles most often? (Hint: he does so a lot in dissent.) [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Charles Glasser argues that Senator Claire McCaskill — who’s in a tough reelection fight against a former SCOTUS clerk, Josh Hawley — advocates a move that “represents a clear and present danger to investigative journalism.” [Daily Caller]

* It’s helpful to Josh Hawley that President Donald Trump is so popular in Missouri — even among women, interestingly enough. [Althouse]

* Immigration law is a hot topic these days, thanks in large part to President Trump — so it makes sense that Fastcase and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) are launching a new law journal focused on this interesting and complex area of law. [Dewey B Strategic]

* Speaking of immigration, Ilya Somin refutes the argument that migrants should just stay home and “fix their own countries.” [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Who says bankruptcy lawyers and judges don’t know how to have a good time? [Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Blog]

* Trump says he will end the Fourteenth Amendment by executive order. This is your Andrew Jackson-John Marshall moment right here. Thankfully, he probably knows he can’t do this and is just ranting in a desperate bid to energize a racist base to turn out for the Midterms. That’s actually what passes for “thankfully” these days. [CNN]

* Milwaukee judge puts defense attorney in chains for defending his client. The American justice system of 2018 is cruising along swimmingly. [Journal-Sentinel]

* GCs making a lot more money to tell outside counsel that they can’t afford the bills. [Corporate Counsel]

* …Of course our client was planning to bomb people, but that was if Hillary Clinton had won, so, in a sense, Trump saved all these potential victims! [Huffington Post]

* Judicial Conference hearing testimony today about reforming the judiciary to address sexual misconduct. This should be a powerful meeting that results in lackluster reform. [National Law Journal]

* Florida prosecutors are challenging the constitutionality of the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law for forcing them to try self-defense claims without a jury. Too bad we couldn’t have had this challenge several years ago. [Miami Herald]

* Cravath on the outside looking in when its long-time client embarked on its biggest software acquisition ever. [American Lawyer]

* New York judge rules that daily fantasy games are gambling because this stupid battle will never end. [Law360]

As every defense attorney knows, if you want to cross-examine a witness well, you bring in a defense attorney, not a prosecutor.

Rosenstein looks to be on his way out.

Hearings should be held not just for the sake of the accuser, but for the sake of Judge Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court.

No game changers in Judge Kavanaugh's answers, but a few interesting nuggets.

The claims that Judge Kavanaugh lied under oath are without merit.

Everything you need to know about Kendra Fershee.

* Charles Glasser proposes replacing “Trump Derangement Syndrome” with “Trump Obsession Syndrome” — which might be more accurate, but isn’t nearly as fun. [Daily Caller]

* Speaking of anti-Trump sentiment, here’s an interesting new ranking — from Adam Bonica, Adam Chilton, Kyle Rozema, and Maya Sen — showing just how liberal certain law schools are. [TaxProf Blog]

* Trying to date in law school? You’re looking for love in all the wrong places, according to 3L Korey Johnson. [Black Girl Does Grad School]

* Speaking of law school, here’s Kat Griffin’s roundup of the best blogs for women law students (with a shoutout to ATL; thanks, Kat!). [Corporette]

* An “Abolish ICE” t-shirt might not be very fashionable — but it is constitutionally protected speech, as Eugene Volokh explains. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Joel Cohen wonders: should more states ban secret recording of conversations — and could the odious Omarosa be the catalyst for such change? [The Hill]

* Neha Sampat discusses the problem of “imposter syndrome” — and what we can all do to address it. [Attorney At Work]

* “Sex pigs halt traffic after laser attack on Pokémon teens.” Yeah, you know you wanna click…. [Instapundit]

* Where does your law firm fall along the AI adoption spectrum? Jean O’Grady lays out the stages. [Dewey B Strategic]

Nino and Me will appeal to readers who appreciate good writing on multiple levels.

* Joel Cohen tackles a tricky issue: how far should a lawyer go when defending a controversial client — e.g., Bill Cosby — in the court of public opinion? [Law and Crime]

* How much does being a conservative or libertarian hurt you when applying for a position as a law professor? James C. Phillips attempts to quantify the “rank gap.” [SSRN]

* Some thoughts on the case involving 3D-printer gunmaking instructions, from Eugene Volokh — who, not surprisingly, has a take that’s a bit more nuanced than Elie Mystal’s. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Happy blogiversary to Artificial Lawyer — a great resource for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and the law. [Artificial Lawyer]

* C. Boyden Gray, a former White House Counsel, offers a clear and persuasive explanation of why seeing all the documents that Brett Kavanaugh sent or received during his time as White House Staff Secretary isn’t going to aid in evaluation of his SCOTUS nomination. [The Hill]

* From leading Supreme Court lawyer Lisa Blatt: “I’m a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here’s Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh.” [Politico]

* And here’s more support for the SCOTUS nominee, from Kathryn Cherry, a former Kavanaugh clerk (and an African-American woman — one of Judge Kavanaugh’s many female or minority clerks).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBjEJPdAOPo&feature=youtu.be

It's high time for these nominees to receive the confirmation votes they deserve.

We speak with Judge Jeffrey Sutton about amending state constitutions versus the federal constitution, originalism versus living constitutionalism, and the growing prestige of state judiciaries.

When it comes to American constitutional law, state judges don't get no respect -- and this needs to change, as Judge Jeffrey Sutton argues in an important new book.

* Vice President Mike Pence says he’s “confident” that Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the Supreme Court “before the fall is out” — and he’s probably correct about that. [FOX Business]

* In other news related to the high court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’s got “at least five more years” on the Supreme Court before she’ll think about stepping down. As always, RBG continues to remain NO-NO-NO-NOTORIOUS! [CNN]

* According to one of President Trump’s former lawyers, Rudy Giuliani has weakened the case against Michael Cohen by flip-flopping on the man’s credibility, referring to him as an “an honest, honorable lawyer” and later as a “pathological liar.” [CNN]

* Just in case you forgot, not only did Michael Cohen go to the “worst law school in the country,” but “[h]e’s bitter Trump didn’t give him a job.” [Page Six / New York Post]

* Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has filed a “political conspiracy” lawsuit over his failed bid for the U.S. Senate seat that was left vacant by AG Jeff Sessions, claiming that false advertisements were behind his loss. [Newsweek]

* Last week, Facebook lost more than $100 billion in value, the biggest single-day loss in stock market history. Shareholders have responded in the most obvious way possible, with a proposed class-action lawsuit. [New York Law Journal]

* After its unexpected closure, Savannah Law School will soon find new life — as an art school. The Savannah College of Art and Design purchased the law school building from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law for a cool $27.5 million. [Savannah Morning News]

* Lanny Davis, lawyer to Michael Cohen, was instrumental in leaking the Trump/McDougal tape to CNN last night. It’s now official: Cohen has turned on Donald Trump. Listen to it here. [CNN]

* Michael Avenatti, lawyer to porn actress Stormy Daniels, says he’s interested in discussing a settlement with Michael Cohen about his client’s “hush agreement” to keep quiet about her 2006 affair with Trump. Avenatti says a meeting was scheduled, then canceled by Cohen’s other lawyer, and now they’re calling each other liars. This is all par for the course. [CNN]

* A split three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Second Amendment allows the open carrying of guns in public. This comes two years after the court ruled that the Second Amendment did not allow the concealed carrying of guns in public. You can expect this to be appealed to the Ninth Circuit en banc. [Associated Press]

* Dentons has come out swinging with denials against a sexual harassment case that was filed by a business development specialist last month, claiming that not only is the suit without merit, but that it also “misappropriates” the #MeToo movement. We’ll have more on thisinteresting development later today. [American Lawyer]

* If you live in a two-lawyer household, should you be sharing client secrets? The Ohio Supreme Court is about to answer that question for us, since there’s apparently no case on the books about anything remotely like this. [Big Law Business]

* If you’re thinking about applying to law school ahead of a career in politics, then you may have to work a little harder to — wait, nevermind, you can go to pretty much any law school since having a J.D. seems to be the gateway to government. [U.S. News]

Stay tuned...