Capital Punishment

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.10.16

* Lawsuits matter: in the wake of the $140 million verdict against it in the Hulk Hogan sex tape case, Gawker Media is filing for bankruptcy and putting itself up for sale. [Gawker] * Declaratory judgment: according to Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judging Statutes (affiliate link), by fellow feeder judge Robert Katzmann, is "a pleasure to read," "succinct," and "educational." [Harvard Law Review] * SCOTUS sez: a judge shouldn't hear an appeal in a death penalty case that he worked on as a prosecutor. [How Appealing] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, Gabe Roth of Fix the Court makes the case in favor of mandatory retirement for the justices. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch] * Worst fellow airplane passenger ever (yes, even worse than the drunken law firm partner). [U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit] * 9 "Musts" for Privacy & Data Security Risk Management and Compliance. [Legaltech News]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.22.15

* Getting arrested on federal criminal charges accusing you of conspiring with loathed pharma CEO Martin Shkreli is very stressful — so one can understand why Biglaw partner Evan Greebel needs a Cancun vacation right about now. [USA Today; BloombergBusiness] * Speaking of Evan Greebel, here is a closer look at the charges against him, […]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.22.15

* Brush that dirt off your shoulder: Jay-Z may have 99 problems, but this copyright lawsuit about his song "Big Pimpin'" is no longer one of them. The suit filed against the rap mogul in 2007 was dismissed on standing grounds, but the plaintiff says he plans to appeal. [Los Angeles Times] * When it comes to the death penalty, Justice Antonin Scalia says that it "wouldn't surprise [him]" if the Supreme Court were to strike it down as unconstitutional. It seems that a capital punishment case could become the next SCOTUS blockbuster. [CBS Minnesota] * No one is a fan of the Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house court system, and legislation to give financial defendants the right to opt out will be introduced in Congress later this week. Would you rather face trial before a federal judge or jury? [WSJ Law Blog] * Earlier this week, a state-court judge brought a live grenade to the courthouse, but only because he wanted to have it properly disposed of by police. The jurist currently remains unidentified, which is a good thing, because this is pretty embarrassing. [CBS Los Angeles] * Jurors in New York are paid $40 per day for their service, so you may be wondering how the confused members of the jury in the Dewey & LeBoeuf (mis)trial were able to survive on only $2,920 after five months spent in the courtroom. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.19.15

* After a recent vote, the Florida Bar flat-out rejected a supposedly "controversial" proposal for bar reciprocity. Attorneys in the Sunshine State absolutely, positively do NOT want you practicing law there if you haven't taken the Florida bar. [WSJ Law Blog] * Tomorrow, Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison after having only served a fifth of a five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend, a law school graduate. He'll begin a stint of house arrest, and he's not allowed to have guns there... for very obvious reasons. [UPI] * The case of the missing mistrial? After four weeks of deliberation, and after having acquitted the defendants of a slew of lesser charges, the jury in the criminal trial against the ex-execs of Dewey & LeBoeuf will enter a new month without a full verdict. [Reuters] * The Nebraska Legislature voted to abolish the death penalty in the state, but supporters of capital punishment have forced a November 2016 referendum vote instead. Not to worry, "[n]obody’s going to be executed in Nebraska anytime soon.” [New York Times] * This week, Connecticut's Appellate Court will hear cases at the state's most famous -- and most prestigious -- law school. Don't get too excited, Yalies, because this has nothing to do with you. In fact, you've probably never even heard of this place. [Associated Press]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.01.15

* ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams is suing his neighbors over his lawyerly lair -- and one of the defendants is a Biglaw partner at a top firm. Expect more on this later. [New York Post] * Speaking of Biglaw, a familiar tale of financial performance: gross revenue at Am Law 100 firms grew by 4 percent in the first half of 2015, but driven by rate increases rather than demand growth. [American Lawyer] * If you want the Supreme Court to hear your case, try to steer your cert petition clear of the "long conference," known as the place "where petitions go to die." [New York Times] * Speaking of SCOTUS, the Court won't come to the rescue of the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- time to issue those licenses or quit, Kim Davis. [How Appealing] * But the justices did come to the (temporary) rescue of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, allowing him to remain free until SCOTUS acts on his petition for certiorari. [SCOTUSblog via How Appealing] * Are criticisms of the S.E.C.'s administrative-law procedures correct? Here's a study from Professor David Zaring. [New York Times] * The Show-Me State leads when it comes to showing defendants to their deaths: Missouri has displaced Texas as the "epicenter of the American death penalty." [The Marshall Project] * Speaking of capital punishment, I predicted that these particular Ninth Circuit judges wouldn't be too sympathetic to this challenge to the death penalty -- and based on yesterday's oral argument, it seems I was right. [How Appealing]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.26.15

* District Judge Henry Wingate suspends Mississippi's death penalty. The full written decision is expected later this week. [BuzzFeed] * Wondering why Roger Goodell is taking a hardline over Deflategate? He's just acting like any good dictator and securing his power. [Washington Post] * Trying to get bail set in a massive insider trading case? It helps if you've got God as a character reference. [Dealbreaker] * Of all the dumb, stupid, obvious, %^$*#, frustrating AF horse hockey. Alabama is in the process of closing 45 out of 49 DMVs around the state. For the uninitiated: Alabama passed a strict voter ID law in 2011 and now there's this new barrier to getting the proper identification. I guess it isn't a stretch to pencil in Alabama as red in 2016. [Daily Kos] * In less depressing news, read contemporary coverage of the passage of the 19th Amendment. [The Nation] * ... And right back to the depressing: a commenter places the blame for a lack of women lead counsel squarely with clients. Oh good, I was afraid for a minute that the legal industry might actually have to do something about gender issues. [What About Paris?] * Rest in peace, Amelia Boynton Robinson. The civil rights activist died today at age 104. Best known for her fight for voting rights in the 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march, she was portrayed by Lorraine Toussaint in the movie Selma. [WTOP]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.15.15

* After closing arguments in the Dark Knight movie massacre trial, the case against accused shooter James Holmes now goes to a jury. He's facing 165 criminal charges, and if found guilty, he may be sentenced to death. [NBC News] * A federal magistrate judge ordered the NCAA to pay almost $46 million in legal fees and costs to lawyers representing student-athletes in their antitrust suit against the organization, and he even likened the case to Game of Thrones in his decision. This is a monumental win. [Reuters] * Last night, SCOTUS denied a stay of execution for Mississippi death row inmate David Zink, even though his lawyers cited Justice Breyer's recent death penalty dissent in Glossip with high hopes that the Court would act in their client's favor. [National Law Journal] * For your information, the gender gap in the legal profession extends far beyond pay and partnership prospects. According to a recent study by the American Bar Association, about two-thirds of all attorneys who appeared in federal civil trials were men [WSJ Law Blog] * Going to law school in an underserved community that isn't overflowing with lawyers is great for résumés, because the University of New Mexico School of Law is seriously bucking the trend of its students having difficulty finding jobs after graduation. [KOB 4]

By Staci Zaretsky