Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.04.17

* "Judge Garland is respected on both sides of the aisle. That he did not even get so much as a hearing will be a stain on the legacy of the Republican Senate." After languishing for a total of 293 days, D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court officially expired yesterday at noon with the formal adjournment of the 114th Congress. [Wall Street Journal] * Following eight years at the helm of one of the most prestigious schools in the county, Dean Martha Minow of Harvard Law will be stepping down from her position at the end of the academic year. Minow plans to return to teaching a full course load this summer, and according to inside sources at the school, a search for her successor will begin "soon." We'll have more on this news development later today. [Harvard Crimson] * Judge William Pryor (11th Cir.) was named acting chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Pryor, who is under consideration to be President-elect Trump's SCOTUS nominee, says he looks forward to "developing federal sentencing policies that further the goals of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984." [U.S. Sentencing Commission] * President-elect Trump has chosen Skadden Arps partner Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative. Lighthizer served as deputy U.S. trade representative in the Reagan administration, and Trump believes he "will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity." [USA Today] * As days go by without word of a resolution as to the school's federal loan issues, lawsuits continue to pile up against the Charlotte Law. Students now claim the school has sentenced them "to years of indentured servitude" by saddling them "with crushing, non-dischargeable debt that will take literally decades to pay off." [Charlotte Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky on January 04, 2017 8:57 am
Merrick Garland is probably depressed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Merrick Garland is probably depressed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

* “Judge Garland is respected on both sides of the aisle. That he did not even get so much as a hearing will be a stain on the legacy of the Republican Senate.” After languishing for a total of 293 days, D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court officially expired yesterday at noon with the formal adjournment of the 114th Congress. [Wall Street Journal]

* Following eight years at the helm of one of the most prestigious schools in the county, Dean Martha Minow of Harvard Law will be stepping down from her position at the end of the academic year. Minow plans to return to teaching a full course load this summer, and according to inside sources at the school, a search for her successor will begin “soon.” We’ll have more on this news development later today. [Harvard Crimson]

* Judge William Pryor (11th Cir.) was named acting chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Pryor, who is under consideration to be President-elect Trump’s SCOTUS nominee, says he looks forward to “developing federal sentencing policies that further the goals of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.” [U.S. Sentencing Commission]

* President-elect Trump has chosen Skadden Arps partner Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative. Lighthizer served as deputy U.S. trade representative in the Reagan administration, and Trump believes he “will do an amazing job helping turn around the failed trade policies which have robbed so many Americans of prosperity.” [USA Today]

* As days go by without word of a resolution as to the school’s federal loan issues, lawsuits continue to pile up against the Charlotte Law. Students now claim the school has sentenced them “to years of indentured servitude” by saddling them “with crushing, non-dischargeable debt that will take literally decades to pay off.” [Charlotte Observer]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.