Trademarks

* President Trump included a signing statement when approving the funding legislation that will keep the government running through the end of September. In it, he questioned the limits of his spending power and suggested he’d ignore advance notice requirements for Congress when taking foreign policy and military actions, amid other troubling stances on legal matters. [Bloomberg Politics]

* In other news, sometime this week — possibly even later today — President Trump is expected to announce some of his picks for the more than 120 vacancies in the lower federal courts, all of whom are known for their “scholarly credentials and ‘intellectual boldness.'” As luck would have it, we already scooped predicted the names of many of the nominees. [New York Times]

* #NoFilter necessary for this case: The End, a Brooklyn coffee shop, has filed suit against Starbucks, claiming the coffee giant copied its Unicorn Latte with its highly Instagrammable Unicorn Frappuccino. The End registered the name of its whimsical drink with the Patent and Trademark Office in January, and seeks all profits Starbucks made from its sale of its mythical sugar bomb. [Newsweek]

* Even if you’re a passenger in a car, you’ll have no reprieve from police searches in this state. The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that police may ask for passengers’ identification and run background checks on them — without any suspicion of wrongdoing — during traffic stops, and that doing so will not stand as a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. [FOX 13 Salt Lake City]

* Think you’ve found the perfect person to write you a law school rec letter? Think again. “Like in the world of dating, it helps if your partner/prospective partner is supportive of your plans.” Here are some red flags to look out for that may indicate your reference isn’t going to meet your deadlines, isn’t going to remember who you are, and isn’t going to write you a glowing letter. [U.S. News]

* Celebrity trial attorney Mark Geragos has filed a $100 million class-action lawsuit against rapper Ja Rule and entrepreneur Billy McFarland, the organizers of the ill-fated Fyre Festival, an event marked by “incompetence on an almost inconceivable scale.” In an interview with Variety, Geragos referred to the disastrous event as a “Petri dish of fraud, incompetence and hubris.” [Variety]

* “You care day and night for your children, grandchildren and your family,” the Russian president said in his annual statement. “Even today, on International Women’s Day, you are still caught up in your routine, working tirelessly, always on time. We often ask ourselves, how do they manage it all?” — Vladimir Putin honoring International Women’s Day, or perhaps a very punctual dairy cow. It’s hard to tell. [Quartz]

* Real estate lawyer Joshua Stein, who thinks Trump shouldn’t be forced to sell his businesses to hold office, instead thinks Trump should run his businesses like a prisoner while in office. [Wall Street Journal]

* In what I’m sure is totally unrelated news to the prior link, China has provisionally approved 38 Trump trademarks. [The Guardian]

* Researchers find strong evidence that racism helps Republicans win elections. When reached for comment, Trump supporters said that the researchers were the real racists because they studied racism instead of what makes America great like it was when there was more racism. [Washington Post]

* Here’s another article about how judges in Kansas are trying to force lawmakers to educate students equally. [The Atlantic]

* The Constitutional Accountability Center has a new job opening. Maybe there are some people out there who showed up to work wearing red today who might be interested? [Constitutional Accountability Center]

* Justice Ginsburg says she’s feeling “very well.” Has anyone else noticed that we’ve resorted to monitoring the Supreme Court like the 1970s Kremlin? [Law.com]

* Jewish centers across the country are receiving bomb threats. But dealing with anti-Semitism is hard, so let’s definitely deport more people to Mexico. [Huffington Post]

* The most important thing to remember about the Constitution is that no one has standing to challenge the most egregious breaches of its terms. [National Law Journal]

* Salvation Army wins trademark battle with itself. That sounds ridiculous, but this is an organization that’s had it’s bell rung a few times. [Corporate Counsel]

* The ACLU is finding uses to all the money getting dropped on them. [Litigation Daily]

* Orrick nabs tech partner from Squire Patton Boggs [The Recorder]

* Sidley allegedly aided and abetted an imprisoned con man. Honestly, if any readers have more detail on this bizarre story, let us know. [Am Law Daily]

* Mary Jo White will rejoin Debevoise because revolving doors and the best doors. [Wall Street Journal]

* Yesterday, we linked to an article asking “where’s Don McGahn?” Well, we found out during yesterday’s press conference and he probably wants to get out of the limelight. [Litigation Daily]

* RBG’s marriage advice. [Quartz]

* San Diego wins sea lion poop case. [Courthouse News Service]

* Second Circuit declines to hear Louis Vuitton parody suit. So parody remains legal for at least a little while longer. [Law360]

* Donald Trump is launching a “major investigation” into voter fraud because the rest of us pointed out that his popular vote claims were pure bull hockey. This is fantastic. We’ve known that voter fraud really isn’t a thing for years but now there’ll be proof. [CNN]

* A deeper dive into the Dentons conflict check snafu. [Litigation Daily]

* The original patent troll firm is no more. [Ars Technica]

* Sergey Aleynikov’s conviction reinstated. “The decision is a ‘big victory’ for Vance and helps to enhance his reputation as a ‘no-nonsense’ prosecutor who will aggressively prosecute financial fraud.” Wasting years pursuing a conviction the federal courts threw out just to appease Goldman Sachs donors in their private vendetta… sure that’s the kind of financial fraud everyone’s looking to see aggressively prosecuted. [Bloomberg]

* Deutsche out $110 million. [Law360]

* Hughes Hubbard files trademark application for Trump’s reelection slogan “Keep America Great.” Which he stole from The Purge, if you’re wondering what’s next on his agenda. [The Am Law Daily]

* Oh. And we have our first martial law sighting! [Salon]

* “Every single racial slur you can think of for Asian Americans is a trademark right now. And almost any kind of slur you could think of for any group is a registered trademark right now. The law’s not working.” Asian-American rock band The Slants will make their debut before the Supreme Court this week, and when all is said and done, trademark law’s prohibition on the registration of disparaging marks may be forever changed thanks to their First Amendment argument. [Washington Post]

* Zachary Warren, the low-level Dewey & LeBoeuf employee who wound up being criminally charged along with the failed firm’s head honchos, has been cleared of all charges. After completing 350 hours of community service in accordance with the requirements of a deferred prosecution agreement, Warren’s indictment has been sealed, and he’s now working as an associate at Williams & Connolly. [Big Law Business]

* For all of their talk about wanting to prevent women from leaving the practice of law, many Biglaw firms that once made big promises about onsite day-care facilities have allowed those plans to fall to the wayside after being hamstrung by significant costs and liability issues. Today, about 10 law firms have set up day-care programs for attorneys’ children, and for those that have, it’s a real “distinguisher in recruiting.” [Am Law Daily]

* According to the results of a new study performed by Justice Goodwin Liu of the California Supreme Court in conjunction with students at Yale Law School, while Asian-Americans are plentiful within our country’s attorney workforce, very few of them have managed to ascend to the most prestigious leadership roles in the legal profession. What could be causing this to occur? Implicit bias may be playing a role. [Washington Post]

* “[I]t would be your word against mine and nobody will believe you.” A Republican politician in Connecticut who “love[s] this new world” because he “no longer [has] to be politically correct” currently stands accused of grabbing a town employee by the p*ssy pinching a town employee’s groin. He’s been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, and he’s scheduled to appear in court at the end of the month. [Westport Daily Voice]

* The University of Washington at Tacoma is rethinking its plans to create a law school that’s separately accredited from the one at the University’s Seattle campus. Before moving forward, UWT wants to build up its undergraduate pre-law program to make sure the demand will be there in the future. Unlike some schools, “[t]he last thing [UWT] want[s] to do is to start a law school and it not to be successful early.” [News Tribune]

* The University of Houston Law Center and the South Texas College of Law Houston (formerly known as the Houston College of Law and the South Texas College of Law) still haven’t been able to resolve their trademark tiff. A judge has encouraged both law schools to “keep at it” to avoid a trial. [Houston Chronicle]

* Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, a bill ending Chevron deference — perhaps the most important principal of administrative law. Apparently it will be much better for job creation and economic growth if judges ignore regulatory agencies’ legal interpretations. [Law360 (sub. req.)]

* Leslie Caldwell, the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, will be stepping down from her post today. She has no idea what’s ahead of her aside from a trip to the Caribbean next week. As far as her prospective successor is concerned, she thinks accessing data on encrypted devices will be “problem No. 1 to address.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* A New Jersey judge has refused to dismiss a gubernatorial candidate’s criminal complaint against Governor Chris Christie over the Bridgegate scandal, noting that a lower court judge “improperly denied counsel [to Christie] at a critical stage” of the case. If probable cause is found, Christie may face charges, just like his colleagues. [Reuters]

* “Even if we could justify the need … it is far from clear that the funding case could be made….” Given the turmoil at Charlotte Law, people are wondering whether it would be a good idea for UNC Charlotte to open a law school. Just because one law school may be closing, it doesn’t mean that another needs to open in its place. [Charlotte Observer]