Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.21.18

* Lawyers for Brendan Dassey of Making a Murderer have filed a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to review a decision made by the en banc Seventh Circuit that upheld his conviction for murder. Earlier, a federal magistrate overturned his conviction and a panel of the Seventh Circuit affirmed. This is totally going to be in the show’s sequel. [ABC 2 WBAY] * A step in the right direction for gun control? During a Medal of Valor ceremony at the White House, President Trump announced that he'd directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to draft regulations that would effectively ban the use of bump stocks. Now we'll just wait a few months to see some action on AR-15s... [USA Today] * Could it be? Could Justice Neil Gorsuch be on your side when it comes to privacy? Believe it or not, “[h]e may even become the Supreme Court's next swing vote on Fourth Amendment issues,” and this term he’ll have more than an ample opportunity to swing on the issues of digital privacy and police search warrants. [VICE News] * If you thought you couldn't get rid of your student loans in bankruptcy, you were likely be right, but that could change. The Trump administration is looking into what it takes for borrowers to meet the "undue hardship" threshold for the discharge of federal loans in bankruptcy, and may clarify the standard. [Wall Street Journal] * In perhaps the best student event ever, Howard Law rented out an entire movie theater so that students, faculty, staff, and alumni could see an opening-night screening of Black Panther. The school's SBA co-hosted the awesomeness with Georgetown Law’s Black Law Students Association. Congratulations! [Law.com]

By Staci Zaretsky on February 21, 2018
Brendan Dassey

Brendan Dassey

* Lawyers for Brendan Dassey of Making a Murderer have filed a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to review a decision made by the en banc Seventh Circuit that upheld his conviction for murder. Earlier, a federal magistrate overturned his conviction and a panel of the Seventh Circuit affirmed. This is totally going to be in the show’s sequel. [ABC 2 WBAY]

* A step in the right direction for gun control? During a Medal of Valor ceremony at the White House, President Trump announced that he’d directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to draft regulations that would effectively ban the use of bump stocks. Now we’ll just wait a few months to see some action on AR-15s… [USA Today]

* Could it be? Could Justice Neil Gorsuch be on your side when it comes to privacy? Believe it or not, “[h]e may even become the Supreme Court’s next swing vote on Fourth Amendment issues,” and this term he’ll have more than an ample opportunity to swing on the issues of digital privacy and police search warrants. [VICE News]

* If you thought you couldn’t get rid of your student loans in bankruptcy, you were likely be right, but that could change. The Trump administration is looking into what it takes for borrowers to meet the “undue hardship” threshold for the discharge of federal loans in bankruptcy, and may clarify the standard. [Wall Street Journal]

* In perhaps the best student event ever, Howard Law rented out an entire movie theater so that students, faculty, staff, and alumni could see an opening-night screening of Black Panther. The school’s SBA co-hosted the awesomeness with Georgetown Law’s Black Law Students Association. Congratulations! [Law.com]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.