Public defenders
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Nauseating Things, State Judges
Lawyer Claims Judge Forced Her To Pee Her Pants During Murder Trial
Ugh! This is incredibly embarrassing. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.17.17
* Leaders and prominent partners at Biglaw firms across the country are speaking out against President Donald Trump’s most recent comments concerning the deadly Charlottesville rally, where he blamed “both sides” for the violence that occurred. Has anyone among the leadership at your firm denounced Trump’s remarks? We’ll have more on this later. [Big Law Business]
* In case you missed it, James Alex Fields, the man accused of second-degree murder in the death of Charlottesville counter-protester Heather Heyer, was supposed to be represented by an attorney from the public defender’s office, but it seems there was a conflict of interest — a relative of an employee was injured in the car crash that led to Heyer’s untimely death. [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
* Judge Jim Hinkle of Gwinnett County, Georgia, has been suspended thanks to his Facebook comments about the events that unfolded in Charlottesville. Hinkle compared the
protesters“nut cases tearing down monuments” to ISIS, referring to them as “snowflakes” with “no concept of history.” Hinkle said he didn’t “see anything controversial” about his posts. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]* Retired Judge Robert Echols, formerly of the Middle District of Tennessee and now a partner at Bass Berry & Sims, once donated about $3,000 to the Mary Noel Kershaw Foundation, which funds firearms training for the League of the South, a hate group tied to the violent Charlottesville rally. The firm has launched an internal investigation into the matter. [Tennessean]
* Austin Gillespie — d/b/a Augustus Sol Invictus, the DePaul Law grad who opened his own Florida solo practice, closed it via this unhinged memo, and later sacrificed a goat and drank its blood — was an organizer of the Charlottesville alt-right rally and is now running for Senate, again. [Am Law Daily]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.05.17
* While it’s taken most justices about three to five years to get adjusted to life on the Supreme Court, it seems as if Justice Neil Gorsuch has already hit his stride over the course of just a few months. This gunner wrote one majority opinion, three dissents, three concurrences, and one statement during his first two months on the bench. [New York Times]
* DLA Piper — the first Biglaw firm to fall to a cyberattack — has finally restored its email service after five days of going without it thanks to being the victim of the worldwide Petya ransomware attack. The firm still claims no client data was compromised by the hackers who gained access to their systems. [ABC News]
* Ty Cobb of Hogan Lovells will reportedly be brought on to attend to Russia-related issues within the Office of White House Counsel. Cobb met with Trump last week, but wouldn’t offer any comment on his prospective role except to say that he was on vacation. Enjoy your time off while it lasts — working on Russia-related matters at the White House will certainly be no vacation. [Reuters]
* Harvard Law School has established an endowed professorship to honor the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who graduated from the school in 1960. According to outgoing Dean Martha Minow, the professorship is “especially meaningful” because the justice “had a great love of learning.” [Harvard Law Today]
* Overworked and
underpaidnever paid? Public defenders working as independent contractors in Massachusetts aren’t being paid in a remotely timely fashion. They sometimes go up to two months without receiving paychecks, and say that this has been going on for at least five years. [WWLP 22News]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.29.16
* A fun new hobby for legal and political junkies to enjoy together: A Trump litigation watch list. [CNN]
* Let’s hear it for regulations! An EU law mandating that large trucks have an advanced emergency braking system is believed to have saved additional lives in the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12. [Washington Post]
* Burke Ramsey, JonBenet’s brother, is suing CBS — as well as experts and consultants — for defamation over a TV special that advanced the theory he killed his sister. [Entertainment Weekly]
* There might actually be some good news on the horizon for public defender offices that have seen their budgets slashed. [ABA Journal]
* A now-defunct medical laboratory is challenging the authority of the Federal Trade Commission to regulate online security. [National Law Journal]
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Police, Public Interest
Inspirational Public Defender Billed As Hero Of Charlotte Protests
He withstood tear gas to try to keep people from being arrested. -
Politics, Public Interest
With Public Defenders Like These, Who Needs Prosecutors?
After sexual harassment allegations and multiple citations of ineffective assistance, maybe there's something wrong with this office. -
Holy Crap, Politics, Public Interest
After Repeated Budget Cuts, Pissed-Off Public Defender Appoints State Governor As Defense Counsel
Properly fund your public defender offices -- or else. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 06.02.16
* A judge has ruled that Andrew Schmuhl, the attorney accused of torturing and nearly killing the managing partner of the law firm his wife was fired from, will not be allowed to use an involuntary intoxication defense at trial. We may have more on this later today. [Washington Post]
* Congratulations to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! A newly discovered species of praying mantis with a decorative neck plate, the Ilomantis ginsburgae, has been named after Her Honor thanks to her “commitment to women’s rights and gender equality… and her appreciation of the jabot.” This is an honor that is truly fitting for the Notorious R.B.G. [New York Magazine]
* Partners continue to head for the exits at Kenyon & Kenyon. This time, the chair of the IP firm’s life sciences and chemical prosecution practice fled for Fox Rothschild, and he took two others with him. What’s going on as this firm, and did they decide finally decide to officially pull the plug on the summer program? Let us know. [Big Law Business]
* “There’s absolutely no showing of any federal violation. The citizens of California are smart enough to know what their rights are.” Sorry, Bernie bros, but because unaffiliated voters’ rights haven’t been harmed, voter registration will not be reopened ahead of next week’s primary in the Golden State. Best of luck in the polls. [Los Angeles Times]
* People are still raging against this JOP: The Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a group of defense lawyers 150 strong, have filed an ethics complaint against Judge Conrad Hafen, saying he showed a “complete disregard for the law” when he handcuffed a public defender as she tried to represent her client. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
* Boyce Martin Jr., chief judge emeritus of the Sixth Circuit, RIP. [Courier-Journal]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 05.31.16
* Do not mess with federal judges: Shortly after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern District of California at a political rally by calling him a “hater,” the judge ordered that internal Trump University documents from a consumer fraud trial be unsealed. [POLITICO]
* The Clark County Defenders Union that represents Zohra Bakhtary condemned Judge Conrad Hafen in an open letter, writing, “[h]andcuffing an attorney who is merely doing her job to teach her a lesson is simply improper and has never been done in the history of Nevada.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* When we last checked in with Stephen DiCarmine, Dewey’s ex-executive director, he told a judge that due to financial constraints, he’d like to represent himself at retrial. Now, he’s hired Rita Glavin of Seward & Kissel for the job. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Uh-oh… Mossack Fonseca, the law firm behind the Panama Papers leaks, announced via Tweet its plans to close offices in several offshore tax havens. The firm will shutter offices in the island nations of Jersey, Gibraltar. and the Isle of Man. [VICE News]
* Who knew a Libor-rigging trial could be so exciting? Former Barclays trader and criminal defendant Ryan Reich was scolded by a judge after he interrupted a co-defendant’s testimony with shouts of “no, no, no, no.” [Big Law Business]
* Cassandra Q. Butts, former deputy White House counsel and longtime friend and advisor to law school classmate President Barack Obama, RIP. [Washington Post]
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Public Interest
Louisiana Legislature Attempting To Cure What Ails Public Defenders
This bill may restore basic public-defender services in Louisiana while increasing support for abolishing the death penalty. -
Public Interest, State Judges
Unprofessional Judge Calls Public Defender Unprofessional
Condescending judge goes viral... again. -
Public Interest
Who Was Clara Shortridge Foltz?
Have you ever heard this story of a truly impressive lawyer? -
Public Interest
New Orleans Judge Orders Hearing On PD Funding Woes
Sometimes an aggressive judge can make a big difference.
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Crime
Dennis Quaid Helps John Oliver Rewrite Miranda Warnings
The Public Defender system is so screwed up it's not funny, but John Oliver tries. -
Public Interest
Life As A Public Defender In Louisiana
Just how bad is it these days for Louisiana public defenders -- and their clients. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.01.15
* More concrete rumors are swirling that President Obama will teach at Columbia Law School once his term is up, with Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger seemingly confirming Obama would have some role at the school in 2017. [Quartz]
* We told you Amal Clooney just lost a big case, but did the AP lose even more when they tweeted about the case referring to the human rights lawyer as an “actor’s wife”? [Legal Cheek]
* Everyone knows the legal profession has a… problem when it comes to substance abuse. But do lawyers overshare their issues? Or does an open attitude about these problems create a culture where more are willing to seek help? [Law and More]
* Yes, that clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, is still refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Maybe we should blame her lawyers. [Slate]
* If you want to be the best, learn from the best — writing tips from none other than Justice Kagan. [Business Insider]
* Some tough words for lawyers that want the easy life: you shouldn’t get the clients. [It’s Not About The Lawyers, Teacups]
* How do we go about changing the public defense system, which serves ~80% of all defendants? [Fulling the Promise]
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Politics
The (Mostly Liberal) Political Ideologies Of American Lawyers, Law Schools, And Firms
Some findings from the most extensive analysis of the politics of U.S. lawyers ever conducted -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.13.15
* The legal battle over the AIG bailout rolls into the Federal Circuit. [DealBook / New York Times]
* What does a lawyer say when he gets caught swapping fees for oral sex? Claim sex addiction, of course! [Legal Profession Blog]
* The New Orleans public defender office is a testament to underfunding. [Buzzfeed News]
* Charleston School of Law loses a dean right before school resumes. Yep, nothing wrong here! [South Carolina Lawyers Weekly]
* Neighbors sue 8-year-old girl for being kind to animals (or sues her parents anyway). [KIRO]
* A friend remembers John Ralston Pate. [What About Clients?]
* A counterargument to the suggestion of suspect classification for poverty (final item). [PrawfsBlawg]
* The ABA is diving into the world of legal publishing, riding the success of Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). [Chicago Tribune]
* A domestic violence defendant got the first name of his judge tattooed on his neck. Paul Clement has similar ink that reads “Nino.” Check out the pic. [North Carolina Lawyers Weekly]
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Public Interest
Midwestern States Up Funding For Public Defenders And Legal Aid
A pair of states buck the trend and increase public defender budgets. -
Public Interest
Defendant Brings Stuffed Animal To Court -- To Be His Lawyer
It starts as the story of a stupid stunt, but in the end his stuffed animal teaches us something important about the legal system.