Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.17.18

* President Trump wants a court to step in to determine whether Saturday Night Live may continue to "defame & belittle" him, wondering if it could be "collusion." That's our Trumpy! [New York Daily News] * Aww, you thought you could build a natural gas pipeline across two national forests and the Appalachian Trail? Cute. The Fourth Circuit is so pissed that a three-judge panel quoted The Lorax in their opinion: "We trust the United States Forest Service to 'speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.'" [NPR] * On Saturday night, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg drew a sold-out audience at the Museum of the City of New York where she participated in a Q&A session with Nina Totenberg and announced that Friday was her "first day doing [her] whole workout routine" after breaking three ribs. Get it, Your Honor! [NBC News] * Move over, Aaron Schlossberg. Yet another New York lawyer has been caught on camera, this time physically attacking a fellow subway passenger as she shouts obscenities, spits on people, and lets loose with racial slurs. [American Lawyer] * Her hips may not lie, but her tax filings allegedly do. Spain has charged pop singer Shakira with tax evasion thanks to her claimed Bahamian residency. [Forbes]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.26.18

* In an effort to bypass the decisions -- and injunctions -- of lower appellate courts, the Trump administration has taken the "highly unusual step" of asking the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on its transgender military ban. [USA Today] * In other news, the Trump administration has reportedly struck a deal with Mexico that will completely overhaul our asylum system so that seekers will have to Remain in Mexico (the plan's eloquent name) while their cases move through our courts. [Washington Post] * Sorry, but you're not "immune" to this one: A New York judge has asserted jurisdiction over Donald Trump in a lawsuit brought by AG Barbara Underwood against the Trump Foundation, the president, and three of his children. [NPR] * "We shouldn’t be in this position where the future of certain policies turn on whether this old woman is healthy or not." The Supreme Court's future is resting on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's health, and people are starting to get nervous. [The Hill] * "Let's have a hearing and invite everyone to see." Former FBI director James Comey says he'll fight a subpoena to testify privately before the House Judiciary Committee if for no other reason than because he wants the world to know what happened. [CNN] * In case you missed it amid this year's bonus frenzy, senior associates at top-tier Biglaw firms taking in $465K are now making more in total compensation than partners from at least a dozen Am Law 200 firms. Ouch. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 11.11.18

* The unstoppable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg maintains her three-Term streak as author of the Supreme Court's first signed majority opinion -- and, interestingly enough, it's a unanimous affirmance of the Ninth Circuit (opinion by my former boss, Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain). [Empirical SCOTUS] * When he's not busy issuing landmark decisions (and feeding his clerks to SCOTUS), Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) writes erudite essays for the New York Review of Books -- like his latest, a review of Joel Richard Paul's new biography of Chief Justice John Marshall (affiliate link). [New York Review of Books] * President Donald Trump is transforming the federal judiciary with his youthful and conservative appointments -- but the extent of the transformation should not be exaggerated, for reasons identified by Ed Whelan. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Ann Althouse analyzes some of the juiciest passages in Michelle Obama's new memoir (affiliate link). [Althouse] * It has been a long time -- specifically, more than four years -- since the Department of Justice has issued an opinion about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as FCPA guru Mike Koehler points out. [FCPA Professor] * Peter Schuck responds, in thoughtful and civil fashion, to the (many) critics of his and Rogers Smith's argument that the Fourteenth Amendment does not require birthright citizenship for the children of unlawfully present aliens. [PrawfsBlawg] * After last Tuesday's elections, in which Louisiana approved a state constitutional amendment requiring a unanimous jury to convict in a criminal case, Oregon is the only state that allows conviction in some criminal cases without a unanimous jury -- and Gerard Magliocca wonders if this is constitutional. [Concurring Opinions] * He's no stranger to our pages, but Isaac Lidsky -- the child actor (Saved By The Bell) turned first blind SCOTUS clerk turned successful entrepreneur -- still has many insights to share, as he does in this wide-ranging podcast with Goli Kalkhoran. [Lessons From A Quitter]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 10.21.18

* Orin Kerr offers his thoughts on the Allison Jones Rushing controversy (aka how young is too young to be a federal judge). [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * If President Trump and Senate Republicans are packing the courts with conservatives, then it's time for Democrats to pack back, according to Michael Klarman. [Take Care] * Howard Wasserman offers some insights into the recent dismissal of Stormy Daniels's defamation lawsuit against Trump. [PrawfsBlawg] * And while we're on the subject of media law, Gerard Magliocca has an interesting observation about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the right of publicity. [Concurring Opinions] * Speaking of RBG, Jonathan Adler argues that she could learn a thing or two from her newest colleague, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when it comes to hiring law clerks. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Joel Cohen raises an intriguing question about prosecutors: to what degree are they required to fight their own biases? [New York Law Journal]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.19.18

* John Quinn of Quinn Emauel has no plans to step down as managing partner, no plans to retire any time soon, and no desire to do any succession planning (aka "an example of superfluous business school-speak that adds nothing”) for his firm. After all, the business of law "is a pretty dumb business." [American Lawyer] * Elon Musk has been sued by a Tesla shareholder in the Delaware Court of Chancery over his "erratic behavior" and the company's board has been dragged into the suit for their alleged "gross mismanagement" of Musk's Twitter antics. [Delaware Business Court Insider] * If you're in the Los Angeles area and you're a fan of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, you may want to stop by the Skirball Cultural Center to see its latest museum exhibition, which will be going on until mid-March: “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg." [Los Angeles Times] * An expert witness says this Biglaw partner's deposition tactics and demeanor gave him a health scare. "I felt like a prisoner before a Nazi-administered trial and became seriously concerned and stressed about what was happening." [Law.com] * Fix your gaze on this, pre-law students: If you want to learn how you can ace the LSAT, you may want to take a look at this study on eye tracking. [Berkeley News]

By Staci Zaretsky