Alex Acosta

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.15.19

* President Trump had a hell of weekend on Twitter, where he implied that Democractic Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley -- all women of color -- weren't American citizens and told them to "go back" to their home countries. [CNN] * Federal prosecutors have now accused Jeffrey Epstein of witness tampering, alleging that the sex-trafficking defendant paid out six figures to buy the silence of those who could testify against him. [New York Times] * Speaking of people related to Alex Acosta's resignation as labor chief, Patrick Pizzella, formerly of K&L Gates legacy firm Preston Gates Ellis, an associate of Jack Abramoff who notably wasn't charged and convicted of corruption, has been named as acting labor secretary. [Big Law Business] * The D.C. Circuit didn't really seem all that receptive to Trump's attempts to block Congress from subpoenaing records from one of his accounting firms. Picture Judge Patricia Millett asking this with a raised brow: "When it comes to a president’s conflict of interest, there’s nothing Congress can do ... to protect the people of the United States?" [Washington Post] * How did Justice Clarence Thomas go from being a "Black Panther type" in law school to being the Supreme Court's "conservative beacon"? [NPR] * According to Citi Private Bank, law firm leaders are feeling a little less confident about the second half of the year, but no one is expecting a recession just yet. In fact, they seem downright "optimistic" about the rest of 2019. Yay! [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.12.19

* Conviction sends Bitcoin boss from blockchain to chain gang. [Law360] * Remember Popkin & Stern? Probably not since it collapsed in 1991. Its wild bankruptcy tale is finally coming to an end after art fights and marriage proposals. [Stltoday] * Drug smugglers are now suing their lawyers for saying they knew Alex Acosta but failed to get an "Epstein deal." This "Rule of Law" thing is not going well, folks. [Miami Herald] * Effort to quash the House subpoena of Trump's accountants heads to the DC Circuit today where new judge Neomi Rao will have an early opportunity to cook up some kooky ramblings to justify a purely political decision. [National Law Journal] * Andrew Cuomo steps up to disenfranchise voters to shield his political stooges. [Sunnyside Post] * Municipality hacks keep striking and it's a real problem for everyone's privacy. [Legaltech News] * R. Kelly arrested on new charges. [Huffington Post]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.11.19

* As Alex Acosta just digs himself in deeper, he's dragging Kirkland & Ellis with him as more people begin to ask questions about Jay Lefkowitz's role in setting up Epstein's sweetheart deal. [American Lawyer] * Ja Rule gets some good news in Fyre Festival suit. [NY Daily News] * Judges are -- finally -- starting to drop the hammer on copyright trolling. [Law360] * There's a fine line between well-reasoned regulation and backdoor efforts to squelch an industry and litigation finance increasingly worries that it's getting pushed to the latter side. [Law.com] * The rise of the legal engineer. [Fast Company] * Love Island may be new to America, but the Brits already have a legally themed translator for the show courtesy of the chief of the criminal bar. [Legal Cheek] * FCC tries to kill San Francisco ordinance encouraging broadband competition because they've completely given up pretending that their job isn't to protect ISP monopolistic behavior. [Ars Technica]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.22.19

* Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is in hot water for brokering the 2008 plea deal for Jeffrey Epstein. District Judge Kenneth Marra said the actions of then prosecutor Acosta violated federal law. [Slate] * When saying you're sorry just isn't enough: Roger Stone gets slapped with a gag order by Judge Amy Berman Jackson after Instagram debacle. [Law.com] * One of Michael Avenatti's sources has been identified as IRS analyst John C. Fry... and he's in trouble for disclosing Suspicious Activity Reports. [Law and Crime] * Most Americans understanding separation of powers better than the president. [The Hill] * If you're going to discuss bribing officials, you probably shouldn't do it over a video conference call -- this is the exact reason seedy dive bars exist. [Corporate Counsel] * The Jackson family is going after HBO over the documentary "Leaving Neverland," seeking $100 million in damages. [Deadline]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 12.09.18

* A fantasy from the fevered imagination of Lawprofblawg: playing the role of the Grinch who stole meetings. [Lawprofblawg] * Joel Cohen wonders: should jurors be instructed about the possible inaccuracy of descriptions of forensic evidence in "cop show" television programs? [Law and Crime] * David Oscar Markus isn't afraid to take on tough cases -- like defending embattled Secretary Alex Acosta in the court of public opinion. [Miami Herald via SDFLA Blog] * Former federal defender Stephen Cooper does not mince words: "The prospective gassing of human beings in Alabama is an abomination." [Alabama Political Reporter] * Jerry Goldfeder and Lincoln Mitchell offer up this hypothetical (which sounds far-fetched, but never say never given the times in which we live): "What if Trump loses but refuses to leave the White House?" [New York Daily News] * Looking for a special present for the legal nerd in your life? In addition to the items featured in the Above the Law holiday gift guide, check out the latest edition of the Solicitor General's Style Guide. [Amazon (affiliate link)] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman takes a data-driven look at the recent spat between President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts over partisanship in the federal judiciary. [Empirical SCOTUS]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.05.18

* Mueller suggests no jail time for Flynn based on the former National Security Advisor's extensive cooperation. Um... that's interesting. [CNBC] * Jeffrey Epstein settles a civil suit against him, and no one could be happier than Labor Secretary Alex Acosta who can hope this allows the story to blow over without any more inquiry into why he gave a sweetheart deal to a guy allegedly running a child sex ring. [Courthouse News Service] * If you're taking the bar exam, may I suggest the Marriott? [Law360] * State AGs make for the most feared regulators these days. Well, that's what happens when state AGs are the only ones doing any regulating. [Corporate Counsel] * Who are the finalists for "Law Firm of the Year"? [American Lawyer] * Ninth Circuit strikes down little-used law after ICE went after lawyers counseling undocumented immigrants. [SF Chronicle] * Michael Avenatti won't run for president to the surprise of no one. [NBC]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.29.18

* Trump's talking about pardoning Manafort again. The power of the president to pardon people is clear, but the power of the president to tease a pardon to tamper with a witness is an interesting legal wrinkle. In a way, the pardon power is a Yoda conundrum: "do or do not, there is no publicly Tweeting signals." [NPR] * Speaking of Manafort, his attorneys claim their joint defense agreement covered his tipping off Trump on details of the Mueller investigation. Except... he pleaded guilty. That kind of ends the "joint defense" part. [The Hill] * Jeffrey Epstein's massive child sex ring allegations ended in a 13-month sentence and the prosecutor who bent over backward to protect him is now in Trump's cabinet. Oh, and somehow Cy Vance's obsequious starf**king ass shows up in this story because of course it does. [Miami Herald] * It's been a few days, so it's time to remind everyone that the Big 4 accounting firms are about to wreak havoc on Biglaw. [American Lawyer] * Stacey Abrams is suing over Georgia's voting laws, and Professor Hasen is here to explain how brilliant this suit is. [Slate] * Uber ordered to pay more than $1 million in fines because they failed to notice the surge pricing on data breach liability. [Corporate Counsel] * Attorney poised to become godparent to royal baby. [Legal Cheek] * The author of this piece is confused by how Republicans seem to completely misunderstand Section 230. It's probably not confusing: they just want to kill it and lying about it is the easiest path. [The Verge]

By Joe Patrice