Texas

  • Morning Docket: 08.10.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.10.20

    * TikTok is allegedly preparing to sue the Trump Administration over an order that may force the company to leave United States markets. If given permission, TikTok can likely serve process in some really creative ways… [Verge]

    * A lawyer behind a lawsuit aimed at overturning California’s school closure order says that closing schools impacts fundamental rights and violates equal protection. [Fox News]

    * The Attorney General of Texas welcomed the National Rifle Association to the Lone Star State after the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit to dissolve the group. [New York Post]

    * A Fort Worth, Texas, attorney is walking to the governor’s mansion in Austin in order to bring attention to police reform. [Fox News]

    * Lawyers for Jussie Smollett claim that a recording proves that key witnesses in the case were coached by prosecutors into conveying a narrative to avoid prosecution. [Chicago Tribune]

    * A New York landowner is suing a landscaper for $355,000 for allegedly destroying a tree. Maybe money grew on it? [Advance Media]

  • Morning Docket: 08.04.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 08.04.20

    * A Texas lawyer is accused of smuggling meth into a county jail. Maybe this lawyer has been watching too much Breaking Bad. [Houston Chronicle]

    * The lawyer for a man accused of firing shots after an argument over masks escalated claims his client is “not handling the pandemic well.” That seems like an understatement. [NBC News]

    * A Chinese artificial intelligence company has filed a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Apple, alleging that Apple infringed on its patents. [CNBC]

    * Senate Republicans are divided over whether they would move to fill a Supreme Court vacancy that occurs before the election. [Hill]

    * A mysterious death has resulted in a $2 million life insurance settlement. Sounds like the plot of a John Grisham novel… [Daily Business Review]

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  • Morning Docket: 06.10.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 06.10.20

    * A convicted murderer will get a new evidentiary hearing because his trial lawyer started dating and later married a key witness in the case. Guess the client’s wedding invitation got lost in the mail. [Hudson County View]

    * A Los Angeles lawyer is being investigated by the LAPD for allegedly posting on social media that cops should be “picked off.” [Fox News]

    * A lawyer for one of the officers charged in the death of George Floyd is arguing that bystanders should have done more to stop the police. Wouldn’t try that argument in court. [Miami Herald]

    * A judge has halted efforts to take down a statute of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virgina, since the 130-year-old deed for the land upon which the statute stands allegedly requires that the statute remain. [CBS News]

    * A Texas attorney has been charged with egging a judge’s car in order to protest stay-at-home orders. Does this lawyer think it’s “Cabbage Night”? (“Mischief Night” or “Devils Night” for all you people who didn’t grow up in North Jersey.) [New York Post]

  • Morning Docket: 05.26.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.26.20

    * A New Jersey judge has ordered a local gym to remain closed for the time being. Guess “gym, tan, laundry” is currently impossible in the Garden State. [NewJersey.com]

    * The FBI is reportedly evaluating whether the the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery was a hate crime. [Seattle Times]

    * President Trump has said that Jeff Sessions was not “mentally qualified” to be Attorney General. [Guardian]

    * A Texas criminal defense lawyer has been arrested for trying to hire an undercover cop to commit murder. [Daily Mail]

    * As many of us Empire State lawyers know from firsthand experience, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on everyone involved with the New York courts system. [Daily News]

    * A Vermont attorney who pointed a gun at a store clerk due to social distancing restrictions has been suspended from practice. [CBS News]

    * Mets pitcher Noah Syndergraard is being sued by his landlord for missing payments on his $27,000-a-month New York City duplex. Maybe Syndergraard qualifies for unemployment while the Mets aren’t playing, but don’t think it’ll cover his rent… [Yahoo News]

  • Morning Docket: 05.19.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 05.19.20

    * SmileDirectClub has filed a $2.8 billion lawsuit against NBC for broadcasting an allegedly defamatory and misleading story about the company. They sound more like FrownDirectClub… [Hill]

    * A well-known Texas lawyer is suing his estate planning attorney for a Texas-sized tax liability he wasn’t able to avoid. [Texas Lawyer]

    * A New Orleans lawyer has been disbarred for spending her client’s settlement money received because of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. [Advocate]

    * The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down a law requiring the licensing of lactation specialists. First learned about this profession from The Office. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

    * A lawsuit against the parents of a killer who murdered four people is being allowed to proceed. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

    * An Iowa attorney has been suspended from practice for overbilling a public defender’s office, sometimes logging more than 24 hours in a day. Maybe the lawyer had Doc Brown’s DeLorean? [Bloomberg Law]

  • Morning Docket: 04.29.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.29.20

    * New lawyers in Texas are now being allowed to take their attorney oaths through Zoom and other teleconferencing apps. Hopefully they aren’t shirtless and in bed when they are sworn in. [Houston Chronicle]

    * Former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin is the latest high-profile figure to be released from prison early because of COVID-19. [NBC News]

    * The SEC has scored a slam dunk against an attorney who allegedly defrauded NBA star Charles Barkley of millions of dollars. [Bloomberg Law]

    * A New Jersey petting zoo operator has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly abusing dozens of pigs. Wonder if he calls himself “Pig King,” although the name doesn’t have a ring to it. [New Jersey Herald]

    * Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has sued the New York State Board of Elections for canceling New York’s Democratic presidential primary. [Politico]

    * The Supreme Court narrowly held that Georgia could not place its entire state code behind a paywall. Along similar lines, hopefully the Supreme Court will soon find that PACER fees should be eliminated. [New York Times]

  • Morning Docket: 04.22.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.22.20

    * A lawyer who got ejected from the Second Circuit last year is asking the Supreme Court to hear his case. Since the high court is conducting arguments by phone currently, maybe he’ll just get hung up on. [New York Law Journal]

    * A lawyer who stole $128,000 from a mentally ill client has been suspended from practice. [Bloomberg Law]

    * Missouri has become the first U.S. state to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic. Not sure this is a distinction to be proud of. [U.S. News and World Report]

    * A Texas judge has been forced to take down a rainbow flag after an attorney filed a complaint and compared the symbol to a swastika and Confederate flag. [Hill]

    * Attorney General Barr has called stay-at-home orders “disturbingly close to house arrest” and the Justice Department might take actions against states that go too far. [NBC News]

    * Lawyers are having a difficult time determining if COVID-19 is an act of God. Maybe they should subpoena the Almighty to get more clarity… [Bloomberg Law]

  • Morning Docket: 04.15.20
    Morning Docket

    Morning Docket: 04.15.20

    * A Texas judge has been disciplined for posting Facebook congratulations to attorneys who won jury verdicts in her courtroom. Should have saved that conduct for LinkedIn… [Texas Lawyer]

    * An attorney representing Anheuser-Busch in a lawsuit involving a Bud Light Super Bowl ad has requested a new oral argument date because he tested positive for COVID-19. [Bloomberg Law]

    * Michael Sussman, the attorney for the alleged Monsey stabber (and a former adversary of mine), is requesting an autopsy of the victim even though autopsies run counter to Jewish burial traditions. [Forward]

    * Jeff Sessions has stated that he has no regrets about leaving the Senate to serve as the Attorney General of the United States. [Hill]

    * The owner of a strip club in Flint, Michigan, has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Payroll Protection Program improperly excludes businesses in the sex industry. This story is kind of reminiscent of another “Flynt”… [Michigan Live]