Budget Cuts

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.24.17

* Big scoop: here's what Merrick Garland is really up to. [Clickhole] * “I love the First Amendment. Nobody loves it better than me." ...and other lies the president told me. [Huffington Post] * Hey! Remember law school? Remember torts? Remember the "spring gun case"? Here's an interview with the lawyer behind that one. [Coverage Opinions] * In an alternative universe, Melania Trump is a deportation priority, not the First Lady. [Slate] * Yes, after 20 pages even a federal judge's eyes start to glaze over. [Law Prose] * Budget cuts are behind the IRS's 10 year low audit rate. [TaxProf Blog] * The robots can't duplicate expert opinions. [Law and More] * Can two people keep a secret if one of them is a robot? [Ars Technica]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.09.15

* Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed over her refusal to give marriage licenses to gay couples, was released by order of Judge David Bunning -- with a warning not to interfere with her deputy clerks' duties. Hmm, yeah, she's totally going back to jail. [New York Times] * The law school applicant pool is still dwindling after all these years, so it's interesting to see which schools are offering students the biggest bribes scholarships and grants (some of which may later disappear) so they can fill the seats in their classes with asses. [Bloomberg via PreLaw] * This Montana Law professor claims that he was forced to retire from his teaching position early due to the school's ongoing budget cuts: "I am the first full-time member of the law faculty upon whom the ax has fallen." We'll have more on this later. [Missoulian] * Hmm, what Dewey know about the standard of evidence for conviction in the D&L fraud trial? "Woulda, coulda, shoulda is fine for cocktail party conversation. In this courtroom and in any courtroom, the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt." [Reuters] * Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, who received an LL.M. in taxation from NYU School of Law, is making a $20 million donation to the school, its largest gift ever. We wonder how much he's giving to his alma mater, Wayne State Law. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Attorney Misconduct

Morning Docket: 08.16.13

* Former SCOTUS clerks earn more money for having clerked at the high court than SCOTUS justices earn for their yearly salaries. Consider how ridiculous that is. [The Economist] * As it turns out, the National Security Agency oversteps its legal authority thousands of times each year, but that’s only because it’s a “human-run agency.” [Washington Post] * Federal judges have come together to bemoan sequestration. “We do not have projects or programs to cut; we only have people.” Eep! Don’t give them any ideas. [National Law Journal] * Ready, set, lawgasm! The comment period for proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure opened up yesterday, and yet again, e-discovery rules are on the table for debate. [Forbes] * NYU professors want Martin Lipton to step down from the school’s board of trustees, but the Wachtell Lipton founding partner has had a honey badger-esque response — he don’t give a s**t. [Am Law Daily] * As was widely expected, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s army of New York City lawyers will soon take the first step to appeal Judge Shira Scheindlin’s stop-and-frisk ruling. [New York Law Journal (sub. req.)] * A West Virginia judge was federally indicted for attempting to frame his secretary’s husband with drug charges. Did we mention that the secretary is the judge’s ex-lover? Quite dramatic. [Charleston Gazette] * Consortium: Not just for straight couples. A same-sex couple in Pennsylvania is trying to appeal the dismissal of a loss of consortium claim in light of the Supreme Court’s Windsor ruling. [Legal Intelligencer] * Christian Gerhartsreiter, aka poseur heir Clark Rockefeller, was just sentenced to 27 years to life in prison in a California cold-case murder. Maybe Lifetime will make a sequel to that god-awful movie. [Toronto Star] * Jacques Vergès, defender of notorious villains and perpetual devil’s advocate, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 03.14.12

* Who will play starring roles in the Obamacare arguments before SCOTUS? A bunch of older white guys. Good thing this isn’t televised, because the ratings would probably suck. [Legal Times] * The judiciary is on the cusp of a “financial crisis,” and some trials may be put on hold. That, or they’re just going to get rid of people. Which do you think it’ll be? [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * When rankings like these are available, who cares about U.S. News? Here’s a list of the law schools you should go to if you want to actually make bank as a lawyer. [Forbes] * Covington & Burling is the latest Biglaw firm to sign up for an office in Seoul. Memo to partners: this is not the spring “bonus” your associates care about. [Capital Business Blog / Washington Post] * The jury in the Dharun Ravi privacy trial is set to begin its deliberations this morning. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that room — or, more on point, a webcam. [Statehouse Bureau] * Thomas Puccio, a former Biglaw partner known for his notorious clientele, RIP. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky