Sports

The NFLPA’s most recent plea to the federal judicial system - alleging that the league colluded to set a secret 2010 salary cap - has fallen flat.

What does the NFLPA President have to say about Deflategate?

* Murder rates are up! OK. Except… barely. And only in a few cities. But, you know, SCARY! More importantly though, why devote the second paragraph of a post to a stupid, racist argument so easily debunked in the third paragraph? There’s no reason to give it the imprimatur of credibility at all. This is the problem with “objective” journalism — some ideas don’t deserve a fair exposition. [ABA Journal]

* Did Arizona Summit falsify data? Is the Pope Catholic? All pressing questions! [TaxProf Blog]

* Speaking of Infilaw, the newly appointed president of Charleston School of Law — and Infilaw National Policy Board member — Joseph Harbaugh has resigned. But hey, he lasted longer than 8 days so that’s an improvement. [National Law Journal]

* Senator Lindsey Graham thinks that Kentucky clerk needs to comply with the law or resign. Because Senator Graham is all about law and order. And that’s certainly the only reason Senator Graham feels strongly about this. [Huffington Post]

* If you’d forgotten that Walter Mondale accomplished anything besides losing a historic landslide, here’s a profile on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, which he authored. [Washington Post]

* Arent Fox partner Robert Hirsch is doing double-duty as a nightclub owner in Montauk. Makes sense. Spoiled rich people embarrassing themselves every night… perfect fit for a bankruptcy partner. [The Am Law Daily]

* Settlement approved in class action that accused the NHL of conspiring to increase broadcast fees like the inflated scoring with the two-line pass. [Law360]

* District Judge Henry Wingate suspends Mississippi’s death penalty. The full written decision is expected later this week. [BuzzFeed]

* Wondering why Roger Goodell is taking a hardline over Deflategate? He’s just acting like any good dictator and securing his power. [Washington Post]

* Trying to get bail set in a massive insider trading case? It helps if you’ve got God as a character reference. [Dealbreaker]

* Of all the dumb, stupid, obvious, %^$*#, frustrating AF horse hockey. Alabama is in the process of closing 45 out of 49 DMVs around the state. For the uninitiated: Alabama passed a strict voter ID law in 2011 and now there’s this new barrier to getting the proper identification. I guess it isn’t a stretch to pencil in Alabama as red in 2016. [Daily Kos]

* In less depressing news, read contemporary coverage of the passage of the 19th Amendment. [The Nation]

* … And right back to the depressing: a commenter places the blame for a lack of women lead counsel squarely with clients. Oh good, I was afraid for a minute that the legal industry might actually have to do something about gender issues. [What About Paris?]

* Rest in peace, Amelia Boynton Robinson. The civil rights activist died today at age 104. Best known for her fight for voting rights in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march, she was portrayed by Lorraine Toussaint in the movie Selma. [WTOP]

You still can't bet on this season.

A chat about the Southern District of New York case against the NFL.

And the Indiana AG's office has thrown its support behind ESPN.

Football fans and frankly fans of all sports should really shift their attention to Florida where a federal judge is set to hear oral argument today as to whether a class action lawsuit against DraftKings can move forward.

* Michael Jordan was present during jury selection for his case against defunct supermarket Dominick’s, but potential jurors didn’t seem the least bit fazed. In fact, just a single one of them considered the basketball star their “personal hero or idol.” Ouch. [Chicago Tribune]

* Maryland Law will be offering a very topical “Law and ______” class this semester, entitled “Freddie Gray’s Baltimore: Past, Present and Moving Forward.” Students enrolled in the course will be asked to create fixes for social problems. This’ll be interesting. [WSJ Law Blog]

* According to the GC of Fannie Mae, Biglaw’s profit structure is broken, but the solution he proposes to the problem may not sit well with associates who are slaves to the billable hour — but only if they care about their hourly rates. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Unlike most of his colleagues, Larry Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini didn’t immediately join a brand name Biglaw firm after he graduated from law school. Instead, he created his own brand name Biglaw firm, so that worked out well. Your own mileage may vary. [Forbes]

* It seems that New York City’s Responsible Banking Act is unconstitutional because it conflicts with existing state and federal banking laws. To be fair, between dueling mayoral policies, this law was completely FUBARed from the get go. [DealBook / New York Times]

* “[H]e’s just a litigious person. Unless he has something going on in the public eye, he can’t exist.” Former Clippers owner Donald Sterling filed a suit against V. Stiviano and TMZ, accusing them of invading his privacy by sharing a recording of his racism. [New York Post]

* A jury found that an ex-municipal court judge who was convicted of insurance fraud was lying when he claimed that he’d been attacked outside the courthouse by thugs wielding a toilet tank lid. We guess you could say that the jurors were able to flush out all of this guy’s crap. [ABA Journal]

* Talk about a Hail Mary suit: Ted Wells of Paul Weiss and NFL locker-room bullying report fame is being sued for defamation by the former Miami Dolphins offensive-line coach who happened to be one of the casualties of his investigation. [Washington Post]

* Deutsche Bank’s general counsel will step down from his position at the end of the year. Deutsche Bank joins JPMorgan and Bank of America as the third big bank to have announced a change in GC within the past month. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* If you’re considering applying to law school, here are five steps you can take to write a “great” personal statement. Surprisingly, one step isn’t mentioning your guaranteed employment at a family firm after graduation. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

Even the appearance of impropriety, let alone any actual wrongdoing, is apparently enough to warrant harsh penalties in the NFL.

* Donald Trump’s lawyer responds to the flap over his spousal rape comments. Sort of. Not really. [Funny or Die]

* Does the Supreme Court need an ethics code? And yes, yes it does. [The Faculty Lounge]

* James Woods is suing a Twitter troll for claiming the actor is a “cocaine addict.” They probably just misspelled “hypersensitive blowhard.” [Gawker]

* In baseball, does the “tie go to the runner”? Are you sure? [PrawfsBlawg]

* Tom Brady provides that rare opportunity for sports fans to care about forum selection clauses. But the best part of this story is the comment: “Out of habit, the NRA filed an amicus brief on behalf of the NFL when they heard ‘Clinton’ & ‘Brady’ in the same sentence.” It’s refreshing when commenters are funny. [Deadspin]

* Keeping up with Supreme Court is hard. Even the Fifth Circuit struggles with it (though they’ve since seen the error of their ways). [Huffington Post]

* If you think academia can be a cushy job, you should see what retiring from academia looks like? [TaxProf Blog]

* Can you quit your job without another one lined up? Leigh Abramson has thoughts. [CNN Money]

* A comprehensive snapshot of the business record of the Roberts Court. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

When a good-natured softball game goes awry.

A law clerk enlists a star athlete to break important news to her husband.

Allen Iverson gets a S/O from a federal judge.

* After closing arguments in the Dark Knight movie massacre trial, the case against accused shooter James Holmes now goes to a jury. He’s facing 165 criminal charges, and if found guilty, he may be sentenced to death. [NBC News]

* A federal magistrate judge ordered the NCAA to pay almost $46 million in legal fees and costs to lawyers representing student-athletes in their antitrust suit against the organization, and he even likened the case to Game of Thrones in his decision. This is a monumental win. [Reuters]

* Last night, SCOTUS denied a stay of execution for Mississippi death row inmate David Zink, even though his lawyers cited Justice Breyer’s recent death penalty dissent in Glossip with high hopes that the Court would act in their client’s favor. [National Law Journal]

* For your information, the gender gap in the legal profession extends far beyond pay and partnership prospects. According to a recent study by the American Bar Association, about two-thirds of all attorneys who appeared in federal civil trials were men [WSJ Law Blog]

* Going to law school in an underserved community that isn’t overflowing with lawyers is great for résumés, because the University of New Mexico School of Law is seriously bucking the trend of its students having difficulty finding jobs after graduation. [KOB 4]

Everyone talks about how rich Floyd Mayweather is, but boxing has a history of hiding its real numbers from the public.

* The Dissent World: This is what happens when justices start being real… and stop being polite. Conservative SCOTUS justices weren’t interested in playing nice last week in their dissents. Just how much “personal dissension” is there among their ranks? [POLITICO]

* “I knew I was a workaholic and law wasn’t for me, but the circus is.” A law school graduate who only goes by Paz is now working as a world-class juggler. Law school career services officers would really like to know if this is considered a J.D. Advantage position. [Grand Forks Herald]

* A new nickname is being bandied about for John Roberts: “Umpire in Chief.” During his confirmation hearings, he said judges should be more like baseball officiants, and you could say that last week, all he was doing was calling balls and strikes. [New York Times]

* SCOTUS may have issued a landmark ruling on gay marriage, but that doesn’t mean the fight is over as far as gay rights are concerned. Protip: Next time you make a historic decision, let lawyers know what level of scrutiny is being applied. [National Law Journal]

* Some think what SCOTUS did with gay marriage was “simply putting its imprimatur on a practice that was already legal in more than two-thirds of the states.” People wonder whether the highest court will do the same with marijuana legalization. [24/7 Wall St.]

Wherein I explain to Clarence Thomas why blacks are good at basketball.

* Partners at this law firm tried a threesome, but it didn’t exactly work out as expected, so now they’re scaling it back to just one at a time. (And by this, we of course mean that Porter Scott’s three co-managing partners plan was a no-go.) [Sacramento Business Journal]

* More than 40 class-action suits have been filed since the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, with many litigants alleging that they were “duped” into its purchase. Maybe one of them will pack a better punch than the so-called “Fight of the Century.” [National Law Journal]

* Just because one Biglaw firm went under, in part, because of its brand-spanking new administrative hub, that doesn’t mean your firm shouldn’t consider opening one. The risk might be worth the reward of saving millions in expenses. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Concordia Law launched a media campaign to attract students, touting the fact that it’s been kind of provisionally approved by the ABA as its selling point. It’s new slogan is likely “Meh, we’re good enough for the ABA, so we’re good enough for you.” [Idaho Statesman]

* Here’s some good news for the people who are actually considering taking the D.C. bar exam instead of just waiving in like the rest of civilized society: the D.C. Court of Appeals will finally allow you to type the essay portion of the exam on your laptops. [Legal Times]