Carrie Severino

Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 05.05.19

* If you shared my skepticism that the murder trial in the Dan Markel case will actually start next month, almost five long years after Markel's murder, then you won't be surprised by this latest development -- Saam Zangeneh, counsel to Sigfredo Garcia, has moved for a continuance. [Tallahassee Democrat] * As predicted, President Donald Trump just had his 100th Article III federal judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate; he's now up to 102 judicial appointees, as noted by Carrie Severino. [Bench Memos / National Review] * If my writeup of Preet Bharara's recent event at Cleary Gottlieb left you wanting more, check out Randy Maniloff's wide-ranging interview with the former U.S. attorney (including advice on how not to get hired at the S.D.N.Y.). [Coverage Opinions] * Jonathan Adler flags a thoughtful debate between Michael McConnell and Josh Chafetz on the battle over subpoenas between President Trump and Congressional Democrats. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Howard Wasserman identifies an interesting argument against police officers using body-worn cameras aka bodycams -- but as he also observes, we don't really have a better solution yet to the abuse of police discretion. [PrawfsBlawg] * My money's on Capital Loss Carryover in the Preakness Stakes. [TaxProf Blog] * Of course "real lawyers" take notes -- but there are some nuances here, which Joel Cohen explores. [New York Law Journal] * Frank Cross, a longtime professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law, rest in peace. [Balkinization]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 04.28.19

* Adam Feldman poses -- and answers -- an interesting question: are particular justices more or less partial to certain lawyers' or law firms' positions? [Empirical SCOTUS] * Speaking of the federal judiciary, Carrie Severino offers this helpful scorecard of President Donald Trump's track record on judicial appointments -- which underscores, as she notes, the importance of the 2020 elections. [Bench Memos / National Review] * And speaking of President Trump, Joshua Matz and Laurence Tribe have this excellent explanation of why the Supreme Court does not have a role in adjudicating impeachments. [Take Care] * In the wake of the Mueller Report, Ilya Somin pushes back against conventional wisdom and takes this position: "Not all foreign interference in elections is unjustified. Far from it, in fact." [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Fair use in the copyright context is an infamously amorphous concept -- so the Fourth Circuit's recent ruling in Brammer v. Violent Hues Productions deserves your attention. [All Rights Reserved] * Congratulations to Westlaw Edge, voted the "best new analytics product" by the readers of Dewey B Strategic. [Dewey B Strategic] * And congrats to Kira Systems on being picked by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner as its AI solution for "high-volume workstreams" across the firm. [Artificial Lawyer] * If you're a libertarian-leaning lawyer with two to six years of experience under your belt, check out these great employment opportunities over at IJ. [Institute for Justice via Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 01.27.19

* Regarding the nomination of Patrick Bumatay to the Ninth Circuit, "Why are Democrats fighting the judicial nomination of a qualified gay minority?" Good question! [The Federalist] * Speaking of highly qualified minority nominees under attack, Carrie Severino argues that it's the critics of D.C. Circuit nominee Neomi Rao, not Rao herself, who are being inflammatory. [Bench Memos / National Review] * And KC Johnson, reviewing the collegiate writings by Rao that have generated the attacks against her, argues that Rao's views on campus sexual assault -- from 25 years ago, so who knows whether or not she still holds them -- are "align[ed] both with statute and today’s mainstream opinion." [City Journal] * Litigation over a watchdog commission for handling complaints of prosecutorial misconduct in New York State involves a lot of legal luminaries, including Jim Walden and Jacob Gardener of Walden Macht, Jim McGuire and Daniel Sullivan of Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, and Andrew Rossman, Kathleen Sullivan, and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel. [New York Law Journal] * Could Nick Sandmann and the Covington boys file libel lawsuits over some of the commentary on their controversy? It could be an uphill climb, according to Eugene Volokh (a First Amendment expert, and hardly anyone's idea of a leftist). [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * But if Covington cases do get filed, they could give rise to some interesting issues of civil procedure, as Howard Wasserman notes. [PrawfsBlawg] * Many lessons can be learned from the Fyre Festival debacle -- and one of the legal ones is that FTC disclosures actually matter. [All Rights Reserved] * If you're a liberal or progressive appellate litigator interested in taking on the Trump Administration, check out this new job posting from the good folks at the CAC. [Constitutional Accountability Center]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 01.06.19

* It's baaack: partisan gerrymandering returns to the Supreme Court -- and in the view of veteran SCOTUS watcher Amy Howe, it's unlikely that the justices will duck the merits this time around. [SCOTUSblog] * Article III standing and the Stored Communications Act: Orin Kerr argues that it should be viewed through the lens of property rather than privacy. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Carrie Severino calls out Senate Democrats for their persistent -- and in her view, unjustified -- questioning of judicial nominees about their religious views and affiliations. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Joel Cohen identifies an interesting issue: should a defendant prejudiced by government misconduct in a case receive a break at sentencing? [Law & Crime] * Here are some highlights from Chief Justice John Roberts's year-end report on the federal judiciary, courtesy of Howard Wasserman. [PrawfsBlawg] * The new year is a time of beginnings -- and endings. Concurring Opinions, you will be missed. [Concurring Opinions]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 12.16.18

* In case you missed it (the news broke on Friday night), Judge Reed O’Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare is unconstitutional, in the wake of last year's tax reform that reduced the ACA's "shared responsibility payment" for lacking health-care coverage to zero. [MedCity News] * Josh Blackman agrees with Judge O'Connor the constitutionality of the individual mandate, but disagreed with his severability analysis. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * Meanwhile, fellow Volokh Conspirator Samuel Bray is glad that the court didn't issue a national injunction. [Reason / Volokh Conspiracy] * Adam Feldman takes a closer look at the Federal Circuit's relationship to the Supreme Court -- including which members of the Federal Circuit are most frequently vindicated by SCOTUS. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Carrie Severino shares the disappointment of her former boss, Justice Thomas, in Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh voting against certiorari in Gee v. Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Eric Turkewitz calls out members of the media for misreporting on a routine trip-and-fall case because they don't like the plaintiff's famous father. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Oakland is going on the offensive against the NFL, firing off a 49-page complaint signed by James Quinn of Berg & Androphy, among others. [The MMQB / Sports Illustrated] * Speaking of Berg & Androphy, name partner David Berg offers expert insights on what it takes to win as a trial lawyer. [YouTube]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.22.18

* Which lawyers write the best Supreme Court amicus briefs? Adam Feldman uses Ross Guberman's BriefCatch tool to find out. [Empirical SCOTUS] * In advance of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's SCOTUS confirmation hearings, Carrie Severino has this handy roundup of eight important Kavanaugh opinions. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Speaking of which, Professor Steve Vladeck raises some good possible questions for the nominee about the interaction between Morrison v. Olson and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. [Lawfare] * I don't think Roe is getting overruled -- but if it were to be overturned, what would happen to state abortion prohibitions that have not been officially repealed? [Josh Blackman] * On that same subject, Professor Michael Dorf wonders: could Justice Thomas save abortion rights? [Take Care] * Wherein Jonathan Adler and James Ho (now Judge James Ho) agree with Elie Mystal on the wrongness of that recent Washington Post op-ed about birthright citizenship. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Is your legal department a "goat rodeo"? You're not alone, according to Casey Flaherty. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog]

By David Lat