Stand your ground

Oh, did I mention the officer shot the black man in the back?

* It’s probably sociopathic to make “I just killed a deer” part of your online dating banter, but it’s downright stupid when you make it part of your online dating banter while trying to woo a game warden. [CNN]

* Ahoy maties! Maritime firms Jones Walker and Fowler Rodriguez merge. [Daily Business Review]

* Coming legal developments that could revolutionize the law. [Law.com]

* Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law now covers police officers shooting innocent people in the back. [Slate]

* Federal judge calls for “bone-crushing” discovery. Hopefully the sets a new precedent and judges start asking for “disemboweling” briefing and “waterboarding” voir dire. [Law360]

* Another online J.D. program — and this one’s bringing in students with higher LSAT scores than the residential program. [New York Law Journal]

* The good and bad news for employers when it comes to workplace class actions. Isn’t the good news for employers always, “the Supreme Court is about to make these illegal”? [Corporate Counsel]

The rare instance where a Louisiana jury does not embarrass itself.

* In case you were confused with Trump’s position on white supremacy because he condemned Nazis today, Trump is reportedly thinking of pardoning Sheriff Joe. Actions speak louder than two-day late statements read without taking questions. [The Hill]

* Trump is launching a trade probe of China. Given the general competence of this administration, I expect a full report on Japanese trade practices in a few months. [Talking Points Memo]

* In light of Ken Fraizer from Merck leaving the service of our Dear Leader over Trump’s response to Charlottsville, maybe it’s time to put pressure on other business leaders to distance themselves from Trump? [Going Concern]

* The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that it would start providing feminine hygiene products for free. I wanted to put one good news story in here, and I thought this was it. But then I starting thinking, “wait, so before now federal prisoners had to pay for feminine hygiene products? And what about state prisons? What other kind of medieval prison conditions do we still allow to persist?” [Law Street Media]

* The doxxing of white supremacists continues. This is my good news story. [Jezebel]

* There’s been a 75% increase in “lawful homicides” in Florida since its “Stand Your Ground” law took effect a decade ago. But there’s also been a 22% increase in straight up murders. So, Florida’s general attempt to kill itself to rid us of their stupidity seems to be going well. [Reuters]

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Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.

* Looming legal battle over the confidentiality agreement at the center of lawsuit over which team John Travolta plays for. [Gawker] * The fallout from yesterday’s Obamacare Appellageddon continues. The D.C. Circuit and the Fourth Circuit are going to have some awkward parties until this gets resolved. [Federal Regulations Advisor] * Somebody got confused and thought that Stand Your Ground laws applied to protect black people. [News 4 Jax] * In Louisiana, a justice of the peace is given public money to hire all their staff and buy all their equipment and pay themselves whatever salary they want out of the remainder. One guy had a very clever idea about how to allocate that money and it set off a legal fight. Oh, and apparently the best job in Louisiana is to be a constable. So now you know. [Times-Picayune] * Do you know the 12 Rules of Client Service? Are you at least ready to fight over them? [What About Clients?] * Newark police can’t even come up with constitutional excuses for 75 percent of what they do. [Slate] * Lululemon figured that patent trolls were onto something and patented its clothing designs and aggressively pursues anyone who dares design a tank top with a built-in bra. Who would ever have thought of such an original idea? [Jezebel] * The University of California is increasing non-resident enrollment for budget reasons. Law schools presumably follow suit. [TaxProf Blog]

Tamara Tabo responded to my post about Stand Your Ground laws in the wake of the Renisha McBride shooting. It was what I'd expected.

Before leapfrogging over the specifics of Renisha’s case and launching a politically motivated rant, let’s look at what we do and don’t know about the tragedy that occurred on that Dearborn Heights porch.

Another state's Stand Your Ground law is about to become a big issue, even if it never comes up in the case.

These Labor Day killings would certainly be punished in some states, but they happened in Florida, so who knows.

* While “Stand Your Ground” only played a small role at the criminal trial, it can still loom large over a subsequent civil suit. [Time] * Nancy Grace summed up her objection to the Zimmerman verdict thusly: “Give Zimmerman back his life? He’s out on bond driving through Taco Bell every night, having a churro.” For some reason I couldn’t get this American Dad scene out of my head after hearing that. [Newsbusters] * The Twitterverse killed Juror B37′s book, but this article asks if that’s a good thing? For my part, it seems disturbing to profit off a civic duty like that, but on the other hand, it would’ve been interesting to get more insight into B37′s psyche now that the other jurors are calling her crazy. [The Read Zone] * How about some non-Zimmerman news? Ever wonder which firm is the most liberal and which is the most conservative? Here are the charts you need. [Excess of Democracy] * Incoming law students: Here’s a guide to building your law school wardrobe. Or more accurately, a networking wardrobe because you can basically wear pajamas to class. [Corporette] * Yale is offering a Ph.D. in law because there are so few lawyers with ample experience looking for academic jobs. In all seriousness, though, I think it would be worth it — there’s a study out there that says a Law Ph.D. is really worth $2 million! [Ramblings on Appeal]

Angela Corey's next high profile case looks... a whole lot like her last high profile case.

I stand my ground for the maligned duty to retreat.

Defense lawyers exhibit an ulterior motive in pushing for prejudicial evidence.

* Really, Prometheus was the kind of movie that allows you to think “putting in some lawyers couldn’t have hurt.” [Point of Law] * Republicans are just better at naming laws than Democrats. I don’t know why that is, but it is. [Recess Appointment] * Stand your ground laws increase homicides. Tomorrow, the gun lobby will tell us that we need to arm ourselves because of the epidemic of people standing their ground and killing innocent, unarmed Americans who weren’t able to buy a gun. [WSJ Law Blog] * I almost feel bad for Anthony Kennedy. Every objective indicator proves that he was wrong about what the impact of Citizens United would be, and every month brings a new opportunity to shame Kennedy again. [Election Law Blog] * Do you take the Metro North home every day? Like Pete Campbell, you might need an apartment in the city. [Dealbreaker] * Defense rests in Roger Clemens trial. I guess the jurors will have to go back to counting sheep in order to get their rest in. [NPR] * A judge who meditated would freak me out. Especially if the judge meditated about how you shouldn’t judge people. [Underdog]