War on Terror

Non-Sequiturs: 03.30.07

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* Screenwriter mistaken for a terrorist saves his ass by pretending to have written an episode of Scrubs. I totally saw that on 24. [LA Weekly]
* [Heart] anything without legal consequence. [WRAL]
* I declare a moratorium on the word “songstress.” [New York Post]
* If you’re a fan of the “long-lost classic” Killer of Sheep, or if, indeed, you have ever heard of such a film, you are in luck. [Info/Law]

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Morning Docket: 03.30.07

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* SCOTUS considers whether to open new Gitmo appeals. [New York Times]
* Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Gates calls for Gitmo closure. [CNN]
* Spears and Federline have reached a divorce settlement, so no crazy litigation for now. [MSNBC]
* Sorority that allegedly kicked out unattractive members sues University for totally being not cool about it. [AP via Dispatch]
Have a good weekend, and Go Buckeyes!

Non-Sequiturs: 03.28.07

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* Since charges have been dropped, we can only hope nothing more severe than spray painting occurred. Those poor goats and sheep, always such pervert-magnets. [LoHud.com (The Journal News)]
* I think the Vietnamese president lost a bet to our president. [Jurist]
* This, hopefully, will not offend anyone. [New York Times]
* The upside is that such drama is indispensable to country song-writing, so better her than me. [AP via Yahoo! News]

Morning Docket: 03.28.07

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D Kyle Sampson Kyle Sampson Kyle D Sampson Kyle Samson Above the Law blog.jpg* Return of the Equal Rights Amendment? [Washington Post via How Appealing]
* Rumsfeld torture charges dropped because his actions were related to his government position. [CNN]
* DOJ: Monica mum, but Sampson speaking. [MSNBC]
* On that subject, here’s a chart and timeline with links for all you need to know about “Attorneygate.” [Slate]
* Now that his ex-wife has become a man, the ex-husband is seeking to end alimony payments on that basis. [CNN]

Morning Docket: 03.27.07

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* Officers face sanctions in Pat Tillman death in Afghanistan. [CNN; Sportsline]
* Australian at Gitmo pleads guilty to terror charges. [New York Times]
* Is Coke suing itself… for taste infringement? [Law.com]
* DOJ’s Monica Goodling to plead the 5th. [CNN]
* Border protection agent gets jail time for taking bribes. [MSNBC]

Morning Docket: 02.23.07

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* The war on terror on trial in Miami. [The Nation via How Appealing]
* Death for South Carolina cop-killer; I wonder if the fact that he gets to choose between the chair and the needle in SC helps the constitutionality any. [CNN]
* 100 years for U.S. soldier in Iraq rape-murder case. [CNN.com]
* Speaking of concerns about the death penalty, Maryland’s new governor wants it done away with in that state. [Jurist]
* Aaron Sorkin: heavy recycler of tv actors and fictitious law firms. [WSJ Law Blog]

Charles ‘Cully’ Stimson: You Won’t Have Him To Kick Around Anymore

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charles stimson charles d stimson.jpgWe were wrong in speculating that the parties had decided to use Friday afternoon to quietly settle Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell. As it turns out, S&C has actually opened up a new front in that war. How exciting!
But we were absolutely right in observing that “[w]hen a disgraced Washington political figure wants to resign, they wait until Friday after 3 PM.” Look at what the cat dragged in, at 4:05 PM: Charles “Cully” Stimson, the Pentagon official who made controversial remarks about lawyers who represent terrorism suspects.
Stimson didn’t last very long as deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs. But at least his tenure was longer than that of Jack Scheich as president of LeGal.
Defense Official Resigns Over Remarks [Associated Press via How Appealing]
Cully Stimson Resigns [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: For Breakfast at Cully Stimson’s House: Pop Tarts Filled With Crow
Make the Gitmo Detainees Pay for Their Own Damn Photocopies

Morning Docket: 02.02.07

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football 3 Above the Law Legal Gossip Site.jpg* More details constantly emerging from the Scooter Libby trial [CNN]
* That Boston duo is out of custody for ATHF ads that caused a bomb scare. They gave a bizarre press conference, insisting on speaking only about ’70s haircuts. One reporter asked, “[Lawyer], are you disappointed by your client’s behavior?” to which the attorney responded, “My client is a performance artist.” [CNN]
* Yesterday an article discussed the NFL’s IP enforcement. Today, they enforce. [SI]
* Of course, “Dodgeball” is also subject to IP enforcement. [Hollywood Reporter Esq.]
* When fantasy football meets “legal prowess,” you get the WSJ Law Blog Football Hall of Fame. [WSJ Law Blog]
Have a great Super Sunday, Big Game weekend, lawyers! All billing stops at 6:25 EST.

Not All Indians Who Get Shot At Own Convenience Stores

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glock gun Above the Law Above the Law handgun Above the Law.jpgLaw school can be stressful. Very stressful. Sometimes people crack under the pressure.
Several tipsters directed our attention to this unusual story:

A University of Pennsylvania law student couldn’t shake his paranoid suspicion that his two neighbors, Drexel University graduate students, were foreign spies sent to work on some sort of a terrorism plot, police said.

His anger-laced curiosity grew after he approached the roommates, both Indian-born bio-engineering majors, during a seemingly friendly conversation yesterday morning….

At about 12:30 p.m, the 31-year-old Korean-American law student returned home, took out his legal Glock-9, and knocked on his neighbors’ front door.

The 22-year-old Drexel student, the only one inside, ignored the pounding. The Penn student’s anger exploded as he fired about 15 shots into the apartment’s door, three of which sliced through the door’s lock.

The wannabe lawyer, whose name wasn’t released, left the building as the graduate student hid in a bedroom, police said.

“It is a strange case,” said Lt. John Walker..

You can say that again. Here’s are quotes from two area students:

“Spies – that is out of left field. Spies in West Philly – that is ridiculous.”

“You’d think a law student would be smarter than that.”

Indeed. A serious law student wouldn’t mess up his stereotypes. It’s the Arabs who are plotting to kill us all, not the Indians.
(The Penn Law student’s name will become a matter of public record upon his arraignment. But perhaps it will emerge in the comments to this post before that time…)
P.S. Jeez, running a blog aimed at lawyers can suck sometimes. Lawyers are critical by training and serious by disposition (for the most part). We are therefore compelled to issue the following disclaimers:

1. Please do not take offense at the title of this post. It cannot be denied that (a) many South Asians own convenience stores and (b) many are held up at gunpoint. Pointing this out is no more offensive than the character of “Apu” on the Simpsons.

2. The sentence about getting stereotypes straight is tongue-in-cheek. We are NOT saying that Arab-Americans are terrorists, etc.

3. Please do not write to us to point out that the Penn law student in question is probably mentally ill, that mental illness is no laughing matter etc. We know. If you want to have a pissing contest with us over sensitivity to mental illness, bring it.

Student shoots at ‘spies’ [Philadelphia Daily News]
Law student arrested for firing at neighbors [Daily Pennsylvanian]

Morning Docket: 01.29.07

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typewriter typewriting keyboard Above the Law.jpg* With tax law, the sky’s the limit. Seriously. [CNN; TaxProf Blog]
* Slow… Typist… Sues… His… Law… School. Must have taken forever to type the complaint (especially with a last name like “Zachariasewycz”). [WSJ Law Blog]
* ACLU seeks disclosure on NSA wiretaps in the Sixth Circuit. [SCOTUSblog]
* Vote Roberts for Chief Justice! [SCOTUSblog]

Morning Docket: 01.18.07

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alberto gonzales alberto r gonzales attorney general.JPG* AG Gonzales: Federal judges are unqualified to make national security decisions. [MSNBC]
* AG Gonzales: Federal judges should be making national security decisions. [MSNBC; Washington Post]
* Affirmative action takes center stage at Boalt. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Dahlia asks, “Have the Supreme Court’s opinions become suggestions in Texas?” [Slate]
* Linda discusses the Texas death penalty cases as well. [New York Times]
* Former Cendant Chairman Walter Forbes get sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, on accounting fraud charges. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey; Forbes was represented by Williams & Connolly. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Picking a jury for the Scooter Libby trial in D.C., the biggest small town in America: it ain’t easy. [Washington Post]

For Breakfast at Cully Stimson’s House: Pop Tarts Filled With Crow

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charles stimson charles d stimson.jpgSometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes a government official unwisely shooting his mouth off is just a government official unwisely shooting his mouth off.
When Charles D. Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, criticized lawyers at top law firms for representing Guantánamo Bay detainees, we speculated that perhaps his statements were part of a Bush Administration effort to discourage such representation. It appears that we were wrong.
Today’s Washington Post contains a letter of apology from Stimson. In the letter, he states that he “believe[s] firmly that a foundational principle of our legal system is that the system works best when both sides are represented by competent legal counsel.”
After making his controversial remarks, Charles Stimson was roundly criticized by numerous law school deans. His abrupt about-face raises an amusing possibility: Could an open letter from law school deans — typically as worthless and irrelevant a piece of paper as a parking ticket on a diplomat’s windshield — have had an actual impact in the real world?
The full text of Cully Stimson’s apologetic letter, plus related links, after the jump.

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