Supreme Court

* Everyone in the Trump administration who is in some way related to the Russia probe has now lawyered up with outside counsel, including the attorney general. AG Jeff Sessions is being represented by Chuck Cooper, a longtime champion of conservative causes. If you recall, Cooper also prepped Sessions for his confirmation hearing. [USA Today]

* Let’s not go crazy: Earlier this week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and outside counsel Keker & Van Nest were denied certiorari on the Lenz v. Universal Music case — perhaps better known as the “dancing baby” case. Thanks to the SCOTUS decision, or lack thereof, we’ll not know “whether or not the DMCA includes meaningful protections for online fair uses” anytime soon. [Law.com]

* Judge Gonzalo Curiel will not make a Trump University settlement objector post a $146,888 bond to pursue an appeal. Sherri Simpson, a Florida bankruptcy lawyer, paid $19,000 for Trump U. seminars and mentorship, but now she wants out so she can sue the president over the alleged fraud. [POLITICO]

* Concerned Veterans for America, a political action committee that’s funded by the Koch brothers, is running an ad in support of a Penn Law Professor Stephanos Bibas’s nomination to the Third Circuit. “Generally a candidate would have to be pretty inflammatory or at risk to justify this kind of spending,” said election law attorney Adam Bonin. [Legal Intelligencer via ABA Journal]

* UNC Law’s budget has officially been cut by the state Senate, but it’s not as bad as the $4 million budget buster that was previously proposed. The law school will have to do without $500K in state appropriations if the legislature approves the move. Yes, that’s the sound of your tuition going up. [News & Observer]

* Sometimes you fall for someone who is always jerking you around and the whole thing is just doomed from the start. That’s… probably how Norton Rose feels. [Big Law Business]

* Speaking of Chadbourne, Judge J. Paul Oetken has denied the firm’s motions to end the $100 million gender discrimination class action they’re facing. [Am Law Daily]

* Marcia Coyle points to the tragic coincidence that the Supreme Court is set to review a concealed carry case the day after yesterday’s shooting — mirroring their review of Sandy Hook legislation the day after the Orlando attack. It’s not really a coincidence… there are shootings every day now. [Law.com]

* A little preview of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Bristol-Myers Squibb decision where the Supreme Court is suspected to crack down on class action forum choices. Because mom and pop stores like Bristol-Myers Squibb just can’t be bothered to litigate in all the places they sell drugs. [Corporate Counsel]

* Since the NBA Finals weren’t really competitive, maybe you can get your competitive sports fix from this Wilkinson v. Kessler showdown over football. [National Law Journal]

* That Jim Harbaugh is the face of legal aid will never stop being insane. [ESPN]

* Looks like Anna Stubblefield will get a new trial. [Slate]

* Several people were reportedly shot this morning at a GOP baseball practice, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is now in stable condition. The gunman is in custody. We may have more on this later today. [The Hill]

* The Supreme Court has granted Acting Solicitor General Jeff Wall more time to file papers in order to respond to the recent Ninth Circuit decision upholding a lower court decision which blocked President Donald Trump’s travel ban. This means that any action taken by the high court on the administration’s emergency pleas for certiorari will be even further delayed. [Reuters]

* “I am protecting the right of the president to assert [executive privilege] if he chooses.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed to have no desire to speak about his interactions or conversations with President Donald Trump regarding James Comey’s handling of the Russia probe during his Senate hearing yesterday, and didn’t feel the need to provide a real legal basis for his refusal to answer questions on the topic either. [New York Times; Washington Post]

* In the meantime, even though rumors have been swirling about President Donald Trump’s supposed desire to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says he has no reason to fire Mueller at this time: “If there were good cause, I would consider it. If there were not good cause, it wouldn’t matter to me what anybody says.” [Law360 (sub. req.)]

* Marc Kasowitz may have taken a “career-defining” role representing the “predisent,” but one wonders what will happen to his law firm while he pursues this ambitious undertaking. Kasowitz Benson could suffer when it comes to recruiting new talent to the firm thanks to its leader’s choice of clientele, not to mention the fact that its revenue has been on the decline. [Am Law Daily]

* In an effort to fight the “historic drug epidemic” that in no way involves marijuana, AG Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to roll back the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prohibits the DOJ from using federal funds to prosecute states that have instituted their own laws authorizing the “use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” [Washington Post]

* Herma Hill Kay, the first female dean of Berkeley Law, RIP. [The Recorder]

* Happy Sessions Testimony Day. [New York Times]

* Trump reportedly mulling over firing Robert Mueller because he must think approval ratings are like golf scores. [Huffington Post]

* Police raid Herbert Smith Freehills office as part of a drug investigation. Hey, demand is down and firms have to find new ways to supplement their income, am I right? [Law.com]

* Canada is bringing back dueling, placing them comfortably in the lead in the “Make [Country] Great Again” race. [Smithsonian]

* The initial installment of an interview series with Justice Ginsburg. [Law360]

* When most law firms are cutting back, this one just doubled its Manhattan floor plan. [New York Post]

* Maybe Comey already has a job lined up. [Chronicle of Higher Ed]

* A deeper dive into Gorsuch’s first opinion and how it stacks up with those of the other justices. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Newt Gingrich sets land speed record on flip-flopping with his latest Bob Mueller tweet. [Salon]

* I already said it this morning, but it bears repeating. [Lawfare]

* Is it discriminatory to broadcast Cleveland Indians games? Canadian tribunal allows this argument to move forward. [Turtle Talk]

* What’s the official state exercise of Illinois? [Lowering the Bar]

* Interesting legal battle going on within the Catholic Church. [Canon Law Blog]

* President Donald Trump will reportedly visit the Supreme Court later this week for Justice Neil Gorsuch’s official investiture ceremony. Based on the president’s prior behavior, it may only be a matter of time before he refers to his appointee as an “absolute disaster” whose “mind is shot.” [USA Today]

* Former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by President Trump after he was asked to remain in his post, says phone calls he received from Trump made in an effort to “cultivate some kind of relationship” made him uncomfortable. In response, a spokesman for Marc Kasowitz called Bharara a “resistance Democrat,” and said “he deserved to be fired.” [Washington Post]

* In other news, Marc Kasowitz, who will likely be setting up an office on White House grounds where he can run President Trump’s defense, has reportedly told White House aides to hold off on hiring their own lawyers — a move that would only be in his client’s interest, and against their own. [New York Times]

* In defense to a lawsuit, the Justice Department has likened President Trump to George Washington (yup!), alleging that Trump isn’t violating the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by accepting payments for goods and services like hotel bills and golf club fees from foreign governments. [Bloomberg]

* In the wake of former FBI director James Comey’s tell-all appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will now have to testify himself on the ongoing probe into Russian’s election interference. Hmm, what will the recused AG have to say for himself? [New York Times]

* “It was really disgusting and really scary.” Joseph Amico of Las Vegas was arrested after he allegedly called New York lawyer Douglas Wigdor a “n**ger lover” and threatened to blow up his firm. Wigdor is representing plaintiffs in a racial discrimination lawsuit against Fox News Channel. [New York Daily News]

* Miguel A. Méndez, Stanford Law’s first Latino professor, RIP. [Stanford News]

* Prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, along with her husband, welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander. Congrats! [CNN]

* New reports suggest Donald Trump got his panties in a bunch when Jeff Sessions had an attack of ethics. [The Hill]

* The Supreme Court’s decision in the North Carolina racial gerrymandering case isn’t all good news. [Rewire]

* Involuntary manslaughter charges for two in connection with the Oakland Ghost Ship fire that killed 36, including a rising legal mind. [Los Angeles Times]

* Opening statements in the biggest defamation trial in American history. [The Hollywood Reporter]

* 89-year-old law professor still going strong. [Tax Prof Blog]

* How should mid-trial tears be handled? [Law and More]

* Commuting to work counts as “work,” according to the European Court of Justice. I think five-year-olds everywhere would agree. [Independent]

* Harvard College rescinded the offers of 10 prospective students for trading sexually explicit memes and messages targeting minorities. When reached for comment, the Alt-Right First Amendment brigade decried the school’s lack of “intellectual diversity” probably, before masturbating to Birth of a Nation. [Harvard Crimson]

* Adam Feldman Empirical SCOTUS breaks down how the Court can avoid the stupid Travel Ban. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Bill Cosby walked into his trial with Keshia Knight Pulliam. Pulliam played “Rudy” on the popular television show “The Cosby Show,” which has now been ruined forever. [The Root]

* Everybody is enjoying the Real Press Sec Twitter bot. [The Hill]

* Flint is one of those places where white people are winning the race war. [New York Daily News]

* Trump’s support didn’t predominately come for the white working class. It came from the white stupid class. [Washington Post]

* Since the Nazis have won anyway, sure, I’m ready for some football. I guess. Who cares. I envy the dead. [Deadspin]

* The Supreme Court has a few options when it comes to President Trump’s travel ban. The justices can grant or deny certiorari to hear the case, or grant or deny a stay on lower court rulings blocking various aspects of the ban. Either way, this case could become moot before it’s ever heard. [New York Times]

* Meanwhile, the man who’s the worst client in the universe lashed out at Justice Department lawyers this morning in a series of Tweets, demanding that the travel ban be referred to as a travel ban instead of the “watered down, politically correct version they submitted to [SCOTUS].” Congrats on undermining your case! [New York Times]

* Get your popcorn ready, because according to two senior administration officials, President Trump will reportedly not be invoking executive privilege to block former FBI director James Comey from testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week in the ongoing Russia probe. [The Hill]

* During a speaking engagement at Harvard, the Supreme Court’s freshman, Justice Neil Gorsuch, recounted the time he met Sandy, the dean of Oxford’s naked sex doll, who was dressed in only a boa. Although she could be counted on for answers, Gorsuch said she didn’t provide him with any. [Washington Post]

* Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will soon be the star of her very own fitness book. Co-authored by her longtime trainer Bryant Johnson and illustrator Patrick Welsh, “The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong … and You Can Too!” (affiliate link) will be out the first week of October Term 2017. [Associated Press]

* Womble Carlyle is entering into a transatlantic merger with British firm Bond Dickinson to become Womble Bond Dickinson. The combined firm will have about 1,080 lawyers across 23 offices, with revenues exceeding $410 million. A spokesperson claims the tie-up will not result in layoffs. [News & Observer]

* Let’s get ready to rumble: the Trump administration seeks Supreme Court review — and rescue — of its travel ban. [New York Times]

* In other federal judicial news, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that courts cannot routinely shackle defendants during proceedings; Judge Alex Kozinski wrote the majority opinion, and former Kozinski clerk Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote the dissent. [How Appealing]

* Judge Nicholas Garaufis (E.D.N.Y.) — who isn’t shy about telling lawyers how he really feels — has a new bee in his Article III bonnet: “I’m sick and tired of lawyers from white-shoe law firms marching into my courtroom and getting a deferred-prosecution agreement for their clients.” [ABA Journal]

* Why did President Donald Trump hire Marc Kasowitz to represent him in the Russia inquiry — and could DJT already be second-guessing that decision? [Weekly Standard]

* Speaking of the Russia probe, Robert Mueller is getting some high-powered help: outgoing Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann joins his former boss’s team. [Law360]

* Interesting new data from our friends at NALP: the $180K starting salary might not be as widespread as you think. [Law.com]

* President Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate deal — but withdrawal can’t be finalized until near the end of his term because of the accord’s legal structure and language. [Washington Post]