Trials
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Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Justice Delayed?
Defendant Katherine Magbanua's trial has been pushed back -- amid claims of new evidence.... - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Boutique Law Firms, Small Law Firms
A Legendary Litigator Jumps From Biglaw To Boutique
He's joining Berg & Androphy after more than forty years at Weil Gotshal.
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Federal Judges, Music, Trials
Play That Funky Music... Your Honor?
A clever solution to a recurring problem at trials. -
Crime, Trials
Representing Someone Who's Guilty -- The Dylann Roof Case
Dylann Roof faces the death penalty in two different jurisdictions -- state and federal. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.03.17
* Kellyanne Conway, President-elect Trump’s campaign manager, has accepted a position as his counselor once his administration takes over at the White House, and now her husband, George Conway of Wachtell Lipton, has found himself on the shortlist to become the U.S. solicitor general. He’s argued only one Supreme Court case, which is unusual for those being considered for the position. [Bloomberg Politics]
* In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts managed to steer clear of controversial topics — such as the high court being short handed since Justice Scalia’s death or the Senate’s failure to confirm Judge Merrill Garland — instead choosing to focus on the “underappreciated” role of district court judges, writing that “[t]his is no job for impulsive, timid, or inattentive souls.” [Washington Post]
* “There’s no legitimacy to a Supreme Court justice in a seat that’s been stolen from one administration and handed to another. We need to do everything we possibly can to block it.” When it comes to the confirmation process for President-elect Trump’s SCOTUS nominee, we can expect to see a battle thanks to Senate Democrats in the wake of Senate Republicans’ obstruction of Judge Garland’s nomination. [The Guardian]
* One day before they were set to go into effect, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services. O’Connor is the same judge who issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Obama administration’s transgender protections in schools. [BuzzFeed]
* Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who is representing himself for the penalty phase of his trial, has rejected a defense based on mental illness because he is “morally opposed to psychology.” He’ll make an opening statement, but won’t call any witnesses or present any evidence. If Roof is sentenced to death, it will be the first time a jury has done so in a case involving a federal hate crimes law. [New York Times]
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Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Watch Your Words About Wendi Adelson
Wendi Adelson's lawyer is considering legal action against those who malign his client online. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.16.16
* I’ve had an interesting week. [Simple Justice]
* But at least I’m real. [Popehat]
* Next week will be an interesting week for the Electoral College. [Balkinization]
* Huma Abedin’s lawyers politely request that the FBI explain exactly how they screwed over America. [New York Daily News]
* I don’t really understand the Department of Justice “bid rigging” investigation into ad agencies. I don’t really understand why it’s important. But apparently some ad execs could go to jail behind this, so I understand that whatever is happening is pretty cool. [Business Insider]
* Ashley Madison agrees to a $1.6 million settlement with the FTC over its alleged failure to protect user data. That doesn’t seem like a lot to me. That seems like a “my wife saw my info on Ashley Madison and I had to sleep on the couch for a week” kind of penalty. Not a “my wife saw my info on Ashley Madison and now I live in my brother’s basement while the lawyers figure out how often I can still see my children” penalty. [ABA Journal]
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Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Slow Your Roll On Wendi Adelson
The prosecution does NOT take the position that Wendi Adelson ordered her ex-husband's murder. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 12.15.16
* The jury deliberated for just two hours before convicting Dylann Roof of the Charleston church murders. [The Daily Beast]
* Tables turned: how Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) got the Second Circuit, which normally reviews his judgments, overturned. [Bloomberg BNA]
* Keith Lee takes a deep dive into newly released law school data (the ABA 509 disclosures). [Associate’s Mind]
* Eugene Volokh breaks down a new Fourth Circuit ruling that protects the right of police officers to criticize department policies on Facebook. [Volokh Conspiracy]
* David Lander evaluates the pluses and minuses of law schools relying upon adjunct professors to fill curricular gaps. [PrawfsBlawg]
* What variables best explain the decisions of the Roberts Court? [Tennessee Law Review via Hangley Aronchick]
* Check out Womble Carlyle’s new podcast, Bulldog Bites. Says host Mark Henriques, “I promise it won’t feel like work. If you don’t learn something, hopefully you’ll laugh with us about something.” [Womble Carlyle]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.14.16
* “As a federal prosecutor for 19 years… I know better.” Leslie Caldwell, who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, sent a letter of apology to federal prosecutors across the country for remarks made at a Federalist Society event where she intimated that many of them don’t understand rules for white-collar criminal cases. [WSJ Law Blog]
* It seems that D.C.-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are hoping to bump into each other under the mistletoe this year, because they’re reportedly in close merger talks. A combination would create a firm with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily; Real Deal]
* Biglaw behemoth Dentons is politely bowing out of the competition when it comes to a takeover of the European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons. With Dentons out of the picture, it’s unlikely that a single firm will rescue the entirety of the branch, but numerous firms are interested in picking apart bits and pieces. [Legal Week]
* Calling their behavior “uncivil,” Judge Steven O’Neill was forced to scold lawyers on both sides during a dramatic shouting match that erupted at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial after the defense team insisted that the comedian’s accusers ought to be named in public documents, saying they’re “witnesses in a trial, not children.” [USA Today]
* Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Brennan, who was accused of using a metal pipe to smash a man’s windshield this summer (but was never formally charged), is going to step down from her position on the bench. Her last day will be December 31, and per her resignation letter, she is “looking forward to the future.” [Miami Herald]
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Crime, Trials
Pro Se Madness During Criminal Trials
What do you tell a client who wants to be his own lawyer? -
Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: A Not-So-Merry Christmas For Katherine Magbanua
Friday brought bad news for this defendant in the Dan Markel murder case.
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Why Isn't Katherine Magbanua Cooperating?
Is Katherine Magbanua innocent, or incentivized? -
Justice, Trials
Here's How Black People Could Use Jury Nullification To Break The Justice System
Jury nullification is a surgical strike on an illegitimate justice system that has failed us. -
Justice, Racism
Jury Can't Decide If Shooting A Fleeing, Unarmed Black Man Five Times In The Back Is A Crime
You debase yourselves if you let this man walk free. -
Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua Indicted For First-Degree Murder
The possibility that we raised earlier this week has come to pass. -
Litigators, Technology, Trials
Trial Lawyers – You're Doing It Wrong
Storytelling methods have come a long way, and so have people's expectations for how they receive information. -
Crime, Dan Markel, Deaths, Murder
The Dan Markel Case: Katherine Magbanua's Date With Destiny
A first-degree murder charge might be back on the table. -
Guns / Firearms, Justice, Trials
Dylann Roof To Represent Himself; Could He Get Off?
Roof is a self-described white supremacist and those people are IN CHARGE these days.