Rank Stupidity
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Education / Schools, Free Speech, Kids, Privacy, Rank Stupidity, Technology, Twittering
Why the F*** Was This High School Student Expelled for Tweeting the F-Word?
An Indiana high school student was expelled for a 2:30 a.m tweet from his home -- a tweet that was simply a juvenile exploration on the word “f***." You have to be f***ing kidding me.… -
2nd Circuit, Education / Schools, Kids, Rank Stupidity
This Ten Year Old Told a Bad Joke, But Was It Bad Enough To Earn Him a Six-Day Suspension?
It was completely absurd when a 10-year-old was suspended from school for six days because he unsuccessfully tried to be funny and drew kind of a violent picture in class. Yesterday, the Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the boy's parents five years ago, but the dissenting judge's opinion showed at least someone behind the bench still understands what it means to be a kid… - Sponsored
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Bad Ideas, Blog Wars, Blogging, Defamation, Free Speech, New Orleans, Rank Stupidity, Technology, U.S. Attorneys Offices
When Anonymous Commenting Goes Real Wrong
Our inbox was flooded over the weekend with the emerging scandal of a prosecommenter (yeah, you read that right) in New Orleans. This is what happens when a federal prosecutor takes his case to the interwebs instead of the court. Bad times…
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Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Rank Stupidity
Benchslap of the Day: The Lawyer Loves Me... Lawyer Loves Me Not
In our Benchslap of the Day, let's watch a federal magistrate judge shoot down complaints that his judicial colleague is part of a “large, amorphous conspiracy" like a boss... -
Facebook, Pictures, Police, Quote of the Day, Rank Stupidity, State Judges
Quote of the Day: Florida Has Idiots, Too
Protip: you probably won't be accused of stealing a judge's nameplate in Florida if you don't put pictures of it on Facebook. -
Guns / Firearms, Judge of the Day, Rank Stupidity, Rape, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Ex-Judge of the Day: Yes, Flashing Your Piece in Court Is a 'Poor Rhetorical Point'
Last week, a now ex-judge in Georgia pulled out a handgun during a bond hearing, pretended to hand it to an alleged rape victim who was testifying, and said she was “killing her case” and “might as well shoot” her lawyer. What? -
Pornography, Rank Stupidity, Rape, Texas
How to Destroy Your Career As a Court Employee: Watch Porn During a Rape Trial and/or Fall Asleep on the Bench
At any job, there are various levels of misconduct that an employee can usually get away with or at least occasionally pull off without repercussions. Then there are things you cannot do. Period. Things that any competent employee should simply know are unacceptable. Included in this category of utterly verboten workplace activities are watching porn during a rape trial when you're the on-duty court clerk. The list would also include falling asleep during a youth justice hearing -- when you're the judge running the proceeding.... -
Crime, Facebook, Police, Rank Stupidity, Rape, Social Media, Social Networking Websites
He Trolled the Law, and the Law Won
It's always tempting to call people like the guy in this story the stupidest (alleged) criminal ever. But, somehow, the bar for getting arrested via internet idiocy keeps getting set lower and lower. Until yesterday, we'd never heard of a wanted man posting on his local sheriff's Facebook wall, commenting on a story about the fact that police were looking for him. Wait, did we say commenting? This dude started a whole thread. You can't make this stuff up.... - Sponsored
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Bad Ideas, Law Schools, Rank Stupidity
How Many Law Schools Can You Fit In Indiana?
Honestly, how many law schools does Indiana need? Two? Five? 317? I just want to know. I just want somebody — Peyton Manning, Mitch Daniels — to tell me how many freaking law schools are required in the great state of Indiana before its legal needs are met. As we mentioned in Morning Docket, Indiana […] -
Law Schools, Rank Stupidity
At NYU Law, Using The Same Exam Three Times In A Row Is Apparently Not A Problem
The faculty at NYU Law are our poster children for law professors who lazily reuse old exams, instead of ripping themselves away from their largely unread law review articles long enough to write a new issue spotter. Apparently, the school really likes being on that poster. Despite the fact that we’ve been highlighting this issue […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Facebook, Rank Stupidity, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Wannabe Rapper Convicted of Making Criminal Threats on Facebook
I am constantly amazed at how dimwitted some criminals can be. We have covered them in these pages before, from the guy who left evidence of his violent plans open on his desktop, to the robber who reached out to his victim via Facebook. On Thursday in Pennsylvania, a federal jury convicted Anthony D. Elonis […] -
Constitutional Law, Craigslist, Crime, Facebook, Police, Rank Stupidity, Technology
You Want to Click That Mouse? Bite Me, Get a Warrant!
Before we get to the meat of this story, let’s quickly state the obvious: if you plan to commit a violent crime, you probably should not post details about it on Facebook or Craigslist. If you simply must tell the Interwebs of your devious agenda, it’s probably best to close the incriminating window ASAP, so […] -
Depositions, Email Scandals, In-House Counsel, Litigators, Rank Stupidity, Screw-Ups
Inside Straight: Avoiding E-Mail Stupidity
There’s one guy in your outfit who understands the need not to write stupid e-mails: That’s the guy who just spent all day in deposition being tortured with the stupid e-mails that he wrote three years ago. That guy will control himself. He’ll write fewer and more carefully phrased e-mails for the next couple of […]
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so…
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Benchslaps, Federal Judges, Politics, Quote of the Day, Rank Stupidity, Screw-Ups
Benchslap of the Day: Judge Rebukes Birther Queen for Abortive Attempt at Redaction
Lawyer and dentist Orly Taitz, popularly known as "Queen of the Birthers," needs to work on her redaction skills, according to a federal judge. -
Google / Search Engines, Lexis-Nexis, LexisNexis / Lexis-Nexis, Old People, Rank Stupidity, Screw-Ups, Summer Associates, Technology, Westlaw
All This Techno-Ignorance Will Make Your Head Explode
Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about some über expensive and embarrassing examples of lawyers making technological mistakes. Those stories involved sexily scandalous blunders, but they were relatively extreme scenarios. (If turning over thousands of privileged documents happens regularly at your firm, may God help you.) More frequently, firm employees deal with little technological […] -
Bad Ideas, Lawyer of the Day, Politics, Rank Stupidity
Lawyer of the Day: Another Midwestern Prosecutor
What is up with state prosecutors in the Midwest? Over the past year or so, they’ve been making huge fools of themselves. See, e.g., Wisconsin’s Ken Kratz (of “I am the prize” fame); Michigan’s Andrew Shirvell (of “homophobic nut job” fame); and Indiana’s Jeff Cox (of “Use Live Ammo” fame). Our latest Midwestern prosecutor to […] -
Bad Ideas, Crime, Facebook, Rank Stupidity, Social Networking Websites, Technology
World's Dumbest Criminal Would Like to Add You As a 'Friend'
The following tale of legal technology took place in our nation’s capital, although it seemed to draw more attention overseas. Last December, as winter’s grip began to take hold over Washington, D.C., Rodney Knight Jr. found himself in serious need of a heavy jacket. So he did what any of us would have done in these circumstances: he […] -
Bad Ideas, Law Schools, Rank Stupidity
A Miami Law Student Wants a 'Student Bill of Rights.' Really?
Usually I’m happy to stand with law students against the slings and arrows of outrageous law school administration. But not this time. This time, instead of a noble law student fighting the good fight, I see an annoying whiner who wants law school to be about teddy bears and rainbows. A student at the University […] -
Law Schools, Rank Stupidity, Rankings, Ridiculousness, U.S. News
Latest Cooley Law School Rankings Achieve New Heights of Intellectual Dishonesty
It’s Christmas morning here at Above the Law. Thomas M. Cooley Law School has released a new set of law school rankings designed to make Thomas M. Cooley Law School look good. Back in 2009, Cooley incredibly ranked itself the 12th-best law school in the country. Now the farce reaches new and glorious heights. In […] -
Constitutional Law, Immigration, Racism, Rank Stupidity
Born in the U.S.A. No Longer Good Enough for Republican Lawmakers
I’m not a constitutional scholar, and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night. But I really struggle to find the ambiguity in this line from the Fourteenth Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State […]