Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.22.16

* "You're going to make a federal case out of this - a dispute between two sorority sisters?" A fight between two sorority sisters recently landed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but it turns out the suit was dropped quicker than a misbehaving pledge. We'll have more on this later today. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * "Generally, it is God who decides whether presidents get Supreme Court appointments." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be the oldest member of SCOTUS, but that doesn't mean she's preparing to step down, even if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency. She's already hired clerks for the October 2017 term. [Washington Post] * The Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that in cases of employment discrimination, religious rights trump transgender rights. The ACLU says this case has set a "dangerous precedent," in that it has "exempted [a business that was "not a particularly religious operation"] from civil rights law with regard to transgender people." [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA has closed a probe regarding allegations of religious discrimination (i.e., expulsion of students who left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bans of sexual activity between students of the same sex) that were said to have occurred at BYU Law School. The school is said to have changed its honor code. [ABA Journal] * Infamous Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has lucked out thanks to some actions taken by the Sixth Circuit. A new state law removed the names of clerks from marriage licenses, thus enabling the appeals court to refuse her claims, allowing a judge to toss a suit she was facing over her unwillingness to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. [WSAZ]

By Staci Zaretsky on August 22, 2016 8:59 am

sorority life* “You’re going to make a federal case out of this – a dispute between two sorority sisters?” A fight between two sorority sisters recently landed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but it turns out the suit was dropped quicker than a misbehaving pledge. We’ll have more on this later today. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

* “Generally, it is God who decides whether presidents get Supreme Court appointments.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be the oldest member of SCOTUS, but that doesn’t mean she’s preparing to step down, even if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency. She’s already hired clerks for the October 2017 term. [Washington Post]

* The Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that in cases of employment discrimination, religious rights trump transgender rights. The ACLU says this case has set a “dangerous precedent,” in that it has “exempted [a business that was “not a particularly religious operation”] from civil rights law with regard to transgender people.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* The ABA has closed a probe regarding allegations of religious discrimination (i.e., expulsion of students who left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bans of sexual activity between students of the same sex) that were said to have occurred at BYU Law School. The school is said to have changed its honor code. [ABA Journal]

* Infamous Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has lucked out thanks to some actions taken by the Sixth Circuit. A new state law removed the names of clerks from marriage licenses, thus enabling the appeals court to refuse her claims, allowing a judge to toss a suit she was facing over her unwillingness to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. [WSAZ]

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.