Christopher Sprigman

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 10.14.18

* Adam Feldman examines the historical record to look at how Justice Brett Kavanaugh's brutal confirmation process could affect his jurisprudence. [Empirical SCOTUS] * And Joel Cohen looks at how Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation fight might affect his judging of the accused. [Law and Crime] * Meanwhile, David Oscar Markus argues that criminal defendants in federal court get treated much worse than Justice Kavanaugh. [The Hill] * Jemele Hill points out the support and sympathy for Justice Kavanaugh from a possibly surprising quarter: African-American men. [The Atlantic] * Packing the Supreme Court? There ought to be a constitutional amendment about that, Jim Lindgren says. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * In fact, is it time for progressives to fight against, rather than within, the courts? Howard Wasserman offers thoughts on the recent Slate debate between Daniel Hemel and Christopher Jon Sprigman. [PrawfsBlawg] * Patrick Gregory reports on the latest controversy in the world of lower-court nominations: the ABA's "not qualified" rating of Eighth Circuit nominee Jonathan Kobes. [Big Law Business] * Edmund Zagorski has multiple legal challenges to his execution (which is now on hold); former federal defender Stephen Cooper looks at the one based on the method of execution. [Tennessean] * Congratulations to Pedro Hernandez on the dismissal of his case -- and to his counsel, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, on the great result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2YPLmtwkug

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.12.18

* Thanks to the not-so-orphaned Kennedy clerks, this Term could see a record number of clerks at the Supreme Court, as Tony Mauro reports. [National Law Journal] * Speaking of clerks, I talk quite a bit about them and their role in this interview with Kaley Pillinger about my writing career (from Underneath Their Robes to Above the Law to Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link)). [The Politic] * Speaking of SCOTUS, and more specifically of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the high court, Ed Whelan responds to the arguments of Senate Democrats against -- yes, against -- the prompt provision of records from Kavanaugh’s years as White House counsel. [Bench Memos / National Review] * If Judge Kavanaugh becomes Justice Kavanaugh, how will that affect the Court's business jurisprudence? Adam Feldman has this analysis. [Empirical SCOTUS] * The failure of Ryan Bounds's Ninth Circuit nomination could be a "teachable moment" for Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), according to Will Folks. [FITSNews] * Speaking of disappointing failures to confirm, Paul Mirengoff shares my frustration over the inexcusable delays in Department of Justice confirmations. [Power Line] * It's unfair to dismiss Seinfeld as "a show about nothing"; episodes offer insight into numerous legal issues -- for example, the law of conspiracy. [Seinfeld Law] * Kal Raustiala and Christopher Jon Sprigman offer interesting reflections on how data-driven authorship might affect the way we think about creativity and copyright. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * If you're interested in litigation finance, there's a conference coming up next month here in New York that you might want to check out. [LF Dealmakers Forum]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 02.11.15

* Katy Perry’s lawyers from Greenberg Traurig lob another volley at the sculptor of Left Shark. Amazingly, they’re trying to use his sculpture in their trademark application. Can’t make this up. [Political Sculptor] * Former ATL Lawyer of the Year, Paul Weiss’s Roberta Kaplan, has an interesting new project. She’s asking Americans to co-sign an […]

By Joe Patrice
Animal Law

Non-Sequiturs: 12.16.13

* Mayor Bloomberg is filing suit to overturn New York’s Living Wage law, because wasting a bunch of money pursuing a lawsuit for the last two weeks of his term is the kind of efficiency he brings to the table as a biznessmun. [DNAInfo] * Judge Richard Leon puts the NSA metadata surveillance program on ice. Looks like someone's going to get bugged. [Slate] * Someone’s asking for a fake college transcript in Baton Rouge. Pretty sure LSU’s athletic department could give you a hand. [Law and More] * Considering the polygamy ruling in Utah, here’s an interesting analysis of the constitutionality of bestiality laws. This seems like an appropriate place to link this song about a guy who broke into the Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * Here’s a fun game: replace the name of the school and the course of study and marvel at how easily it could pass for an article Elie wrote. [Huffington Post] * These folks got smacked with a cybersquatting charge because they used a logical domain name to publicize an ongoing dispute. It’s a lot easier to sue people than to build a solid home. [IT-Lex] * In sad news, the victim in a recent carjacking-related killing was Dustin Friedland, a Syracuse law grad who worked with Adam Leitman Bailey. Our thoughts are with the Friedland family. [NY Daily News] * The Beastie Boys are suing GoldieBlox over the latter’s viral ad set to a parody of “Girls.” Unlike GoldieBlox, NYU Law professor Chris Sprigman doesn’t need an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine to burst the Beastie Boys’ bubble. Video embedded after the jump… [Bloomberg Law via YouTube]

By Joe Patrice