SCOTUS

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  • Non-Sequiturs

    Non-Sequiturs: 08.17.15

    * A look back at the impact Justice Scalia’s signature snarky style has had on the high court. [Jost on Justice]

    * Decry “big government” all you want, but this is a great use of its power: one Wal-Mart declared a public nuisance. [Law and More]

    * A horse! A horse! My law license for a horse! One attorney faces sanctions for his love of racing horses. [Legal Profession Blog]

    * The NLRB might have dashed Northwestern’s football players’ unionization hopes, but they still won a lot of concessions. [Fox Sports]

    * More than 50 days after the landmark Obergefell case, there are still pockets of the country where same-sex couples can’t get married. [BuzzFeed]

    * What can the RNC offer Donald Trump to GTFO of the Republican primary? [Funny or Die]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.14.15

    * Judge Lance Mason, who was suspended from his duties earlier this year, recently pleaded guilty to charges related to a brutal attack made on his wife. He’ll be sentenced in September, and faces up to 36 months in prison. [Northeast Ohio Media Group]

    * No one will be getting lucky in Kentucky under this clerk’s watch: Two months after SCOTUS declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, this state court clerk is still turning away gay couples and refusing to issue marriage licenses. [New York Times]

    * Per the latest report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, even though this year started out well, the bank is revising its financial performance forecast, and not in a good way. Hopefully firms will be able to weather the latest monetary storm. [Am Law Daily]

    * Starting in mid-October, lawyers and law firms will be able to purchase .law domain names. A few influential law firms — DLA Piper, Skadden Arps, and SCOTUSblog-affiliated Russell & Goldstein — have gotten first dibs on them. Congrats! [WSJ Law Blog]

    * Law librarians at large and medium-sized firms feel underutilized and underpaid, and that’s unfortunate, because like Liam Neeson in Taken, they’ve got a very particular set of skills, skills they’ve acquired over a very long career. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.13.15

    * “When it’s convenient, we’re alumni; when it’s not convenient, we are not alumni.” Grads of Texas Wesleyan Law — which is now known as Texas A&M Law — are suing because the school won’t grant them new degrees or recognize them as alumni. Harsh, y’all. [Houston Chronicle]

    * The ABA Journal wants to know who you think the smartest judge in the U.S. is. Let’s hear it for the wonderful women of the Supreme Court: Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. [ABA Journal]

    * Now that same-sex marriage is legal across the country, it only seems logical that bans on adoptions by same-sex couples should be overturned. Mississippi will have Roberta Kaplan of Windsor fame to thank when its ban is struck down. [New York Times]

    * Pa. Attorney General Kathleen Kane has claimed innocence with regard to the criminal charges she recently racked up. She blames the entire ordeal on blowback from the state’s “Porngate” scandal. AG Kane has got one hell of a moneyshot. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * Did you know that there’s such a thing as barbecue law? Further, did you know that a Biglaw attorney who serves as counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright who’s never handled a barbecue case has cornered the market on BBQ law books (affiliate link)? [Legal Times]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.07.15

    * Graffiti artist Rime alleges that Katy Perry wore a dress designed by Moschino that ripped off some of his copyrightable work. This dark horse has injected herself into a lot of IP issues this year. Your lawyer fans thank you. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * The Seventh Circuit is totally sorry about the case that it completely forgot about for the past five years. It seems that the court pleadings were “placed in the wrong stack” on remand from the Supreme Court in 2010. Congratulations, America: This is your justice system. Oopsie! [ABA Journal]

    * Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been charged with perjury, conspiracy, obstructing justice, and several other crimes in connection with a grand jury leak. She’s the second state AG to be criminally charged this week. Nice job. [USA Today]

    * Arizona Summit Law filed a motion to dismiss former employee and alumnus Paula Lorona’s pro se retaliation and consumer fraud lawsuit with prejudice. The school claims the complaint is pleaded deficiently. Well… you educated her. [National Law Journal]

    * Rapper Busta Rhymes was charged with second degree assault this week after he allegedly threw a protein drink at a gym employee. His lawyer calls the charge “a bunch of bull.” Hmm, we apparently should’ve listened when he told us he was dangerous. [MTV]

  • Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.06.15

    * Another American doctor is accused of illegally killing another lesser-known lion in Zimbabwe, but this time, Biglaw is in the doctor’s corner. Apparently when you’re a hunter who’s become the hunted, you turn to Blank Rome. [Am Law Daily]

    * Where Dewey eat when allegedly conspiring to scam the firm’s creditors about its financial situation? According to testimony in the D&L trial, criminal activity reportedly tastes better when paired with fine dining experiences. [WSJ Law Blog]

    * At some point in the very near future, it’s likely that one or more new Supreme Court justices will need to be appointed, and some say that it’s obvious that Justice Don Willett, the Tweeter Laureate of Texas, is plotting a course to be a nominee. #blessed [Forbes]

    * The Fourth Circuit handed down an important opinion on cellphone location records, and it looks like the police need a warrant. Thanks for the circuit split. Quick, someone write a law review note before SCOTUS takes it. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

    * For some would-be law students, applying early decision may not be the right choice. After all, if you think you can get into ALL of the T14 schools, we bet you’d probably like to see if your huge ego is correct. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News & World Report]