Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.10.17

* Former FBI Director James Comey found out that he'd been fired in the worst way possible. He apparently saw the news of his sudden termination on television, and originally thought that it was some sort of a prank being played on him. When you get fired and everyone in the world knows about it before you do, that takes trolling to a whole new level. Ice cold. [New York Daily News] * In other news, with Comey out of the way, President Donald Trump really wants to drill home the alternative fact that he has no connections to Russia. According to White House press secretary Sean Spicer, Trump hired a "leading law firm in Washington, D.C." to send a letter to that effect to Senator Lindsey Graham. Which "leading law firm in Washington, D.C." could it be? [NBC News] * The Law School Admissions Council has named Dean Kellye Y. Testy of the University of Washington School of Law as its new president and CEO. Testy will step down from her current position to take the lead on several new initiatives at LSAC, including increasing the frequency of when the LSAT is administered and offering free online prep materials for the exam. Congratulations! [ABA Journal] * "[W]e are reviewing all Department of Justice policies to focus on keeping Americans safe and will be issuing further guidance and support to our prosecutors executing this priority." Attorney General Jeff Sessions seems interested in reinstating harsh punishments for low-level drug crimes, up to and including severe mandatory minimum sentences. [Washington Post] * Andrew Luger was once the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, but in March, AG Jeff Sessions demanded that as an Obama-era holdover, he resign from his position. A few months have passed, and now Luger will actually have an opportunity to work intimately with the Trump administration. He's now a member of the partnership at a firm with close ties to the president: Jones Day. [Am Law Daily] * Travel bans, and SCOTUS appointments, and executive powers, oh my! Donald Trump's first 100 days in office were filled with such legal lunacy that professors at the Cardozo School of Law were inspired to create a 10-week course on Trumpism and the rule of law. Were they worried that the president would stop providing for material for them to work with? No, absolutely not. [HuffPost]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.18.15

* Jose Baez of Casey Anthony trial fame gave the commencement address at Valparaiso Law this weekend and let graduates know that they, too, can be attorneys, even if they've been financially irresponsible. They're letting this man teach at Harvard Law now. [The Times] * Suffolk Law and Cardozo Law will have new deans this summer, and both are planning for smaller classes. Considering Suffolk's plummeting LSAT scores (and standards?), its new dean may have bigger problems to deal with than filling seats. [National Law Journal] * He "Pressure Drop[ped]" the ball: If you could take the LSAT or open for the Rolling Stones with Toots and the Maytals, which would you pick? This Paul Hastings partner took the test, and says it's his only regret about choosing law over music. [Am Law Daily] * Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may have been sentenced to death last week, but it's highly unlikely that his punishment will be carried out any time soon, if at all. Instead, he'll be putting his lawyers to work for time ad infinitum. [WSJ Law Blog] * "[D]on’t let anyone say that Charleston School of Law was already in trouble." A local attorney says that this soon-to-fail law school only started circling the drain after its proposed sale to InfiLaw was announced. That's quite the indictment. [Post and Courier]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.06.15

* At the annual Association of American Law Schools meeting, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg handed out a delightful piece of marriage advice that she sometimes uses when dealing with her colleagues on the Supreme Court: “It helps to sometimes be a little deaf.” [National Law Journal] * Thomas Gilbert Jr., the man accused of killing his father -- who just so happened to be the founder of the Wainscott Capital hedge fund -- allegedly shot him to death over a $200 cut in his monthly allowance. This is why rich people can't have nicer things. [New York Post] * Litigants on both sides of a First Amendment issue headed to SCOTUS are using a law review article penned by none other than Justice Elena Kagan in an attempt to influence all of the justices. See, people do read law review articles. [New York Times] * Musical chairs, dean-poaching edition: Fordham Law just named Matthew Diller as its new dean, but he's still going to remain as dean at Cardozo until the end of the year. Let's see how he tackles the school's enrollment decline. [New York Law Journal] * Per a study conducted by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, law school graduates who participated in a practice-ready program fared better as attorneys than those who did not. Whoa, nice going. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Death Penalty

Non-Sequiturs: 05.05.14

* Pet therapy? This is what you’re doing with your time? This is why Cardozo can’t have nice things. [Cardozo Law] * Nobody likes name-calling, but opting for the death penalty just because you don’t want to be called “retarded”? That’s, um, what’s the word I’m looking for? [Cincinnati Enquirer] * Remember when Mary Jo White was going to bring teeth to the SEC? Well, that’s all over. [New Republic] * Live tweeting a prostitution sting. Yeah there’s no way this could go wrong. [Slate] * Law student says cops beat him so hard he lost a testicle. Um. That’s horrible. [KOB] * Do you fancy yourself a funny lawyer? Then enter New York’s Funniest Professional competition. Lawyers square off later this month. [Gotham Comedy Club / Manhattan Comedy School] * Judge sentences rapist to 45-days and community service… working in a rape crisis center. How could anyone be this tone-deaf? Oh, it’s in Texas? Never mind. [CNN] * California lawyers now must promise to be courteous. Play nice, kids. [LA Times] * Finally, it’s time to wish a happy birthday to Winston & Strawn’s Jonathan Amoona, who was on the 2014 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. I guess he won’t be anymore. His 30th birthday invitation went out to the managing partner and a bunch of the top rainmakers, which isn’t toolish at all. The invite is available after the jump….

By Joe Patrice