Supreme Court

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.28.22

* Oh look! The majority of the Supreme Court is once again shifting their interpretation of the law in order to support right-wing political objectives! In a 5-4 decision the Court held Title 42 must be kept in effect during the appeal of a lower court's decision to end the use of the public health law to quickly expel migrants that arrived to the United States amid the COVID-19 crisis. Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the dissent writing, "And it is hardly obvious why we should rush in to review a ruling on a motion to intervene in a case concerning emergency decrees that have outlived their shelf life." [Law360] * More law schools are kicking USNWR rankings to the curb. We're now at 10 percent of law schools that say they will not participate in the ranking process. [Law.com] * Kari Lake, the Republican that ran -- and lost -- for the Arizona governorship, may have avoided sanctions for using the courts to avoid accepting the election results, but that doesn't mean she won't be paying money. A Maricopa County Superior Court found Lake was responsible for the ~$33,000 in expert witness fees AZ Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs incurred. [Huffington Post] * There may not be a ton Congress can do about Republican George Santos's lies that won him his seat, but there are some suspicious campaign campaign finance disclosures... [Slate] * 2022 was the year that Constitutional Law dramatically shifted (to the right). [ABA Journal]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.27.22

* One of Donald Trump’s lawyers says the January 6 Committee’s criminal referrals against the former president are “pretty much worthless.” Suppose we’ll soon see what the Justice Department thinks about that. [The Hill] * Meanwhile, Justice Clarence Thomas and his election-denier wife Ginni Thomas got off scot-free in the January 6 Committee’s investigation of the insurrection. Why? Because “[w]hen you’re a justice, they let you do it.” [Slate via How Appealing] * The reported merger between Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling is in such “early” stages that Shearman partners are already heading for the exits with news of a “weighted” equity vote. [American Lawyer] * A nice win before SCOTUS kills affirmative action: According to the ABA, this year’s class of entering law students is the most diverse in history, with about 37% of first-years identifying as racial or ethnic minorities. [Reuters] * A jury convicted rapper Tory Lanez of three felonies in the shooting of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion. He’s facing more than 20 years in prison thanks to the guilty verdict. [Associated Press] * Have you done literally anything in your life? You may be entitled to compensation. Personal injury attorneys have taken over our televisions, and CNN has an interesting piece on how exactly that happened over the years. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky