CNN

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.16.18

* After delaying the decision, Judge Tim Kelly will be releasing his ruling in CNN's First Amendment case at 10 a.m. Is it lawful to revoke a reporter's press pass after an argument with the president? We'll soon find out. [USA Today] * "[W]e’re not going to leave any judges behind over these next two months." According to Senator Tom Cotton, the Senate is apparently planning to work through Christmas and New Year's Eve to confirm all of President Trump's judicial nominees in an effort to head off any obstruction by the Democrats. [Washington Times] * "I’m not trying to be rude. I can see your résumé. You’re a rock star." Despite her strong résumé, Allison Jones Rushing, the 36-year-old Fourth Circuit nominee, was repeatedly questioned by the Judiciary Committee about her "life experience" -- or lack thereof, since she graduated from law school 11 years ago. [National Law Journal] * What is David Boies planning for his next act? Is retirement on the table? He and the other name partners at Boies Schiller Flexner have apparently "been planning succession for 15 years." He said if he retired today, "the firm would be in good shape," but he thinks he "still [has] some things to contribute." [New York Law Journal] * Stormy Daniels says that while the "serious and obviously very troubling" domestic violence allegations against her lawyer Michael Avenatti are "only allegations" and that she'll "reserve judgement" [sic] until the investigation ends, she'll be "seeking new representation" if it turns out that the allegations are true. [New York Magazine]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.15.18

* Michael Avenatti arrested on domestic violence charges. There's not a lot of detail yet -- initial reports indicated his ex-wife made the call, but when reporters talked to her, she debunked that. [Vox] * We should be seeing a CNN case ruling today. Does anyone else feel like Don McGahn's absence looms over all of this? Like, he'd have put a stop to this nonsense out of the gate, wouldn't he? [National Law Journal] * This was, literally, a sitcom. [The Recorder] * Law firms aren't up to snuff when it comes to cybersecurity. [Law360] * Jeff Flake says he'll block all judicial nominees until he gets some guarantees about the sanctity of the Mueller probe. We're all looking forward to watching him cave on this like he has everything else. [Courthouse News Service] * You can't copyright a cheese. In case you were wondering. [Washington Post]

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.07.17

* Indiana Jones v. Hobby Lobby. JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the court. [Held] As applied to closely held corporations, regulations prohibiting the purchase of stolen antiquities violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which clearly states the Christian companies like Hobby Lobby can indirectly fund ISIS should the black market or stolen artifacts have relevance to their deeply held beliefs. Petitioners' claim that it belongs in a museum is denied. [NBC News] * The Supreme Court lifted the injunction against Wisconsin's "cocaine mom" law, which allows the state to send expectant mothers to jail because it claims jurisdiction over the unborn fetus. It just goes to show that it's better to be unborn in Wisconsin than actually having to live there. [ABA Journal] * States are suing because Betsy DeVos is delaying Obama regulations designed to protect students from for profit colleges. Given that the head of one of these "universities" is now the President of the United States, I do wonder what good a few regulations are going to do. The fox is already in the hen house, do I really care if he opens the gate for the rest of his friends? At this point, I blame the dumb ass chickens for being such easy prey anyway. [U.S. News] * Man arrested for assaulting his roommate during an argument about Star Wars vs. Star Trek. We don't know what side he was on, but I'd like to point out that the alleged assailant is black. Dear everybody who called me "oreo" in middle school: this brother here was willing to go to jail over Trek v. Wars. He grabbed the blade end of a knife with his bare hands. Please, go tell him he's not black enough because he has a deeply held opinion about science fiction. Report back how that goes for you. [The Root] * Penn State football is being counter-sued by a coach who claims that there were "intolerable" working conditions. I know nothing about the veracity of the coach's claims, but I'm pretty sure they could have forced him to diagram plays in his own blood and that wouldn't make the top ten "intolerable things that have happened in the Penn State locker room." [Deadspin] * Obviously, the big Alt-Right story this week was the CNN blackmail letter. The Alt-Right pot caught the kettle being black as night with CNN's veiled doxxing threat. The thing that's weird about the Alt-Right's obsession with CNN is: they seem to be the only ones watching the network. Like, this story details CNN's recent ratings struggles, but who is really surprised by that? CNN is not a #resistance network, and it's not a white supremacist network. Running a network for "moderates who like to be screamed at by partisans from both sides," seems like a good idea to who? CNN is not balanced: it just gives equal airtime to both extremes, creating a dystopian false equivalency that venerates Don Lemon's ability to make every thoughtful person on the planet hate his guts. If CNN is the great scalp the Alt-Right wants to take, they can have it. Wake me up when they come for the NewsHour. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.16.17

content/uploads/2017/02/Philando-Castile-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" class="size-medium wp-image-454758" /> Generated by IJG JPEG Library[/caption] * Cop found not guilty for killing Philando Castile because it's simply not illegal for cops to kill black men. Maybe this will just sag, like a heavy load. Or maybe explode. [NPR] * Professor Orin Kerr thinks that self-driving cars will change police strategies. Maybe, but cops will still find a way to murder unarmed black men for automated "menacing" driving or something. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Hero Pop shows these men of will what will really is. And Trumpsters are "heartbroken." https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/875592455365599234 * David Lat was on The Takeaway today to talk about the Avengers-level team of witch hunters Robert Mueller has assembled. [The Takeaway] * Dreamers can stay, their parents must go. This passes for a "victory" in these times. [ABA Journal] * There's a scene in Star Trek 3 where Captain Kirk asks Klingon Christopher Lloyd to beam up teenage Spock. The Klingon says no, Kirk asks why, and Lloyd says, "Because you wish it!" Trump's Cuba reversal, and general political strategy, seems to follow the same logic as Klingon Christopher Lloyd. If Captain Obama wished it, the Trump does not do it. [New York Times] * Breitbart is covering and promoting a protest in response to the Congressional shooting. A protest of -- I'm not making this up -- a protest of CNN. Guns don't kill people, fact-based journalism kills people. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.15.17

* CNN is suing to get a hold of Comey's Trump memos. [CNN] * Exactly whose ass is Sessions covering? [Slate] * Gunning for Mueller. [Huffington Post] * Jeh Johnson is the latest attorney offering public testimony in the Russia probe. [Politico] * Intense confrontation on the courthouse steps at the Cosby trial. [Jezebel] * Trump is being sued a bunch over emoluments -- here's what it all means. [Law Newz] * The role of Trump's anger in the Russia investigation. [Law and More] * Has the legal scholarship bubble burst? [TaxProf Blog]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.03.17

* The Jeff Sessions Justice Department will decline to bring charges against Baton Rogue police officers involved in the death of Alton Sterling. The shooting of Sterling was caught on videotape and led to protests last summer. [Washington Post] * A new lawsuit alleges a funeral home in Mississippi refused to cremate a man's husband because he was gay. [CNN] * Is Apple prepping for a massive acquisition? Let the guessing game begin. [LA Times] * A judge has ruled that a defamation suit against CNN will go forward. The allegations surround a story about infant mortality at a Florida hospital. [Law.com] * The machinations behind the latest push to repeal and replace Obamacare have hit a snag over preexisting conditions. [New York Times] * The United States may pull out of the climate change Paris Agreement as early as next week. [Huffington Post]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.25.17

* Donald Trump is launching a "major investigation" into voter fraud because the rest of us pointed out that his popular vote claims were pure bull hockey. This is fantastic. We've known that voter fraud really isn't a thing for years but now there'll be proof. [CNN] * A deeper dive into the Dentons conflict check snafu. [Litigation Daily] * The original patent troll firm is no more. [Ars Technica] * Sergey Aleynikov's conviction reinstated. "The decision is a 'big victory' for Vance and helps to enhance his reputation as a 'no-nonsense' prosecutor who will aggressively prosecute financial fraud." Wasting years pursuing a conviction the federal courts threw out just to appease Goldman Sachs donors in their private vendetta... sure that's the kind of financial fraud everyone's looking to see aggressively prosecuted. [Bloomberg] * Deutsche out $110 million. [Law360] * Hughes Hubbard files trademark application for Trump's reelection slogan "Keep America Great." Which he stole from The Purge, if you're wondering what's next on his agenda. [The Am Law Daily] * Oh. And we have our first martial law sighting! [Salon]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.02.15

* Unfortunately, it seems that if you want to get an elite legal education in this country, you're going to have to pay an arm and a leg for it. This year's NLJ Top 10 Go-To Law Schools each have a sticker price that's greater than $50K. [National Law Journal] * Hamline University's president thinks it was smarter for her law school to merge with William Mitchell Law than for it to close altogether -- hey, it'll still bear the Hamline name and its dying carcass won't be on her books anymore! [Star Tribune] * Later this week, SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell, a case that could decimate the Affordable Care Act as we know it. At this point, the justices must be contemplating how many people will lose if the plaintiffs here win. [Wall Street Journal] * An ADA from the Brooklyn DA's office who prosecuted drug cases was canned after his colleagues learned that he failed to report his personal connection to an admitted cocaine dealer. Perhaps they were jealous he refused to share his hookup. [New York Daily News] * In case you missed it, Above the Law, your favorite legal website, has been "rankle[d]" by a new series on CNNMoney called "Above the Law." We know you're as ticked off about this as we are, so we hope you'll help us write our cease-and-desist letter. [Am Law Daily]

By Staci Zaretsky