Same-Sex Marriage

Congratulations to Jim Obergefell and all the parties and their lawyers on this historic win.

Will June 26 become known as "Justice Anthony Kennedy Day" for the LGBT community?

* Supreme Court actually limits speech rights and upholds a Florida ban on judicial candidates’ direct fundraising. Here’s the excellent plain English breakdown of Williams-Yulee. [SCOTUSblog]

* Former NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver pleaded not guilty to a superseding indictment. [NY Law Journal]

* Professor Dorf analyzes the sex discrimination rationale in the same-sex marriage case. [Dorf on Law]

* $1 million in sanctions upheld against a Philadelphia lawyer. [Legal Intelligencer]

* So this is what they mean by practicing “sexy” law. 2015 list of 100 top Hollywood attorneys revealed. [Hollywood Reporter]

* In an increasingly rare bipartisan act, patent reform is back on the agenda. [Corporate Counsel]

* According to a new study by Harvard University, nearly 50% of millennials believe the criminal justice system is unfair. Welcome to the party kids. [NY Post]

* A unanimous Seventh Circuit panel, in an opinion by Judge Posner, just struck down Wisconsin and Indiana’s bans on same-sex marriage. The result isn’t surprising in light of the blistering benchslaps delivered by Judge Posner at oral argument, but the timing is faster than usual (for a federal appellate opinion in a high-profile case, not for the prolific Posner). [BuzzFeed]

* Bad news for Cahill Gordon: the Third Circuit just revived a fraud case against the high-powered firm and one of its clients, a unit of BASF. [WSJ Law Blog]

* And badder news for BP: a federal judge just concluded that the oil giant was grossly negligent in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [New York Times]

* Freshfields gets fresh talent, adding former Wachtell partner Mitchell Presser and former Skadden partner James Douglas to its ranks. [American Lawyer]

* The dean of Seton Hall Law, Patrick Hobbs, will step down from the deanship at the end of the current academic year. Congratulations to Dean Hobbs on a long and successful tenure. [South Orange Juice]

* And congratulations to John Grisham and Jason Bailey, winners of, respectively, the 2014 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and the 2014 ABA Journal/Ross Short Fiction Contest. [ABA Journal]

* Brittany McGrath, Brooklyn Law class of 2014, RIP. [TaxProf Blog]

A federal judge in Louisiana just upheld that state's ban on same-sex marriage; was that the correct ruling?

* Could Columbia law professor Tim Wu become New York’s next lieutenant governor? He has a shot, according to the Times. [New York Times]

* Which same-sex-marriage case is the best vehicle for Supreme Court review? [BuzzFeed]

* A federal judge takes the wheel in steering Detroit into the future. [American Lawyer]

* Is it “shameful” of the ALS Association to attempt to trademark the phrase “ice bucket challenge”? [ABA Journal]

* Jury deliberations are expected to begin today in the corruption trial of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. [Washington Post]

* Voter ID laws are back on trial, this time in Texas. [New York Times]

* Speaking of Texas, the state seeks to stay a recent ruling that struck down the requirement that abortion clinics comply with standards for ambulatory surgical centers. [ABA Journal]

Judge Posner didn't go easy on lawyers trying to defend the Indiana and Wisconsin bans on same-sex marriage.

Conservative columnist Tamara Tabo argues against using the law to force businesses to provide services to same-sex couples’ weddings.

* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was chatty this week. In terms of same-sex marriage, the Notorious R.B.G. thinks “[t]he court handled both of those cases just the way they should have.” [Bloomberg]

* And just like a mean girl, Ruthie’s claws were out. After calling the Roberts Court “one of the most activist courts in history,” she offered comments on Justice Samuel Alito’s eye-rolling. [New York Times]

* Don’t cry for Argentina, the truth is it never respected you. After losing an appeal at the Second Circuit, the country has vowed to defy any of the court’s rulings with which it doesn’t agree. [Reuters]

* Texas takes the bull by the horns: the state’s Supreme Court will consider if it has the power and jurisdiction to grant gay divorces despite the fact that it bans gay marriage. [Houston Chronicle]

* “I have a temperament that doesn’t adapt well to politics. It’s because I speak my mind so much.” Joaquim Barbosa, chief justice of Brazil’s highest court and one of the most influential lawyers in the world (according to Time), isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. [New York Times]

* Since she was already acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox (fka Foxy Knoxy) will not be returning to Italy for her retrial. That would be as silly as admitting to participation in orgies. [CNN]

* Following a settlement on undisclosed terms, the suit filed against Paula Deen has been dismissed. It’s too bad that the Baroness of Butter’s career sunk like a spoiled soufflé in the process. [Businessweek]

* New York’s AG filed a $40M suit against Donald Trump, a rich man who can’t afford a decent hairstylist and allegedly makes students at Trump University weep with his “bait-and-switch” tactics. [NBC News]

A federal judge takes a state court judge to task for his extra-judicial writing.

* Former Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez arrested. In other news, that Patriots offense was killing people last year. [NBC News] * Elie appeared on HuffPo Live to explain how today’s rulings changed his marriage. [Huffington Post Live] * For all the role-playing game nerds out there, a guide to the SCOTUS alignments. I’m not sold that Scalia isn’t “Lawful Good” and Alito “Chaotic Good,” but the point remains. [It's a Great Life If You Don't Weaken] * Aaron Zelinsky has a solution for the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the VRA formula — force every jurisdiction to adhere to Section 5 preclearance. That would make way too much sense. [Concurring Opinions] * Iowa’s Supreme Sausage Fest to reconsider “irresistible attraction” ruling, which you may remember from stories like this or this. [On Brief: Iowa's Appellate Blog] * Ilya Somin on the strange bedfellows emerging on questions of standing. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Congratulations to Saccharomyces cerevisia, the newly minted Official State Microbe of Oregon. The bacteria is also known as “brewer’s yeast,” so it makes a lot of sense when Portland has the most breweries per capita in the country. [Lowering the Bar] * This judge makes important observations about rodent control. Or at least some clerk slipped footnote 5 in because Caddyshack deserves more legal citation. Unfortunately it does not conclude with, “By Order of this Court, We’re All Gonna Get Laid.” Opinion below…

What were the best quotes from today's Defense of Marriage Act arguments in the Supreme Court? Here are Michelle Olsen's top five.

Law nerd protest is the best protest.

How early did Supreme Court bar members have to arrive to make it into the courtroom for the Prop 8 arguments? What was the atmosphere like before the arguments began?

What was the scene like at the U.S. Supreme Court for today's arguments in the Proposition 8 case? Here are some photos.

Did you seriously think you could get away with asking Justice Scalia a rhetorical question during oral arguments?

Praying for a miracle: that both Ted Olson and Don Verrilli have a bad day in court next week.

NFL players Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo take their opposition to Prop 8 to the Supreme Court.

Who are some of the prominent Republican politicians signing an amicus brief in support of gay marriage? And which major law firm is behind the effort?

Gay marriage brings with it gay divorce. And when same-sex unions fall apart, things can get especially complicated....