Dylann Roof

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.24.17

* President Donald Trump has hired his longtime lawyer, Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson, to represent him as his independent counsel in the investigation of claims that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Is anyone really surprised that Trump chose to hire Kasowitz? Moreover, is anyone really surprised that he'd further complicate hiring Joe Lieberman as FBI director by doing so? [FOX Business] * In somewhat related news, despite having worked as a partner at WilmerHale -- a firm that represents former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as well as Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner -- Robert Mueller has been approved by ethics experts at the Justice Department to go ahead as special counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation, as he did not participate in those matters. Things are about to start heating up. [NPR] * President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 fiscal budget includes a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the Department of Justice. The $27.7 billion request for the DOJ represents a 3.8 percent decrease from its current funding level, while the antitrust division's funding will remain the same, at just under $165 million. It makes you wonder which initiatives will be discontinued. [Big Law Business] * Speaking of the Trump budget, American Bar Association President Linda A. Klein has spoken out against it, criticizing its "egregious cuts to the Constitution’s promise of a fair legal process." Funding for the Legal Services Corporation and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have been completely eliminated, and if the money is not reinstated, "severe damage [could be done] to the most vulnerable people in our society." [ABA Journal] * Convicted killer Dylann Roof, who was found guilty of 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and religious rights violations, has appealed his conviction and his death sentence to the Fourth Circuit. According to his lawyers, Roof wanted to appeal to drag the case on as long as possible, since he thinks white supremacists will eventually take over the country and pardon him. Wow. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.17.17

* "I hope you can let this go." Former FBI director James Comey was writing memos detailing his conversations with Donald Trump to document what he believed were the president's improper attempts to influence the Michael Flynn investigation. Comey, a damn good lawyer, likely knew that an FBI agent's notes are admissible in court as credible evidence. [New York Times] * The Securities and Exchange Commission just got a Biglaw-style facelift: SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, formerly of Sullivan & Cromwell, has asked Willkie Farr partner Robert Stebbins to serve as his general counsel and SullCrom associate Sean Memon to serve as his deputy chief of staff. [Big Law Business] * Rolling your eyes and calling a federal judge's ruling on an objection "f*cking bullsh*t" will certainly do you absolutely no favors in Judge Amy St. Eve's courtroom. In fact, it just might get you suspended from practice for three months and barred from being a lead trial attorney for a year. [Chicago Tribune] * "I'm an attorney in a capital case!" In videos introduced into evidence during Dylann Roof's mental competency hearings, the convicted killer said his attorneys were "evil," "the spawn of hell," and "liars," and only wanted to keep them while representing himself "so I can abuse them." [Post and Courier] * Drake Law School has entered into an agreement with three historically black colleges and universities to increase its diversity. Entering students will be guaranteed a scholarship to cover at least half of their tuition. Drake's first-time bar pass rate in Iowa was 82 percent in July 2016. [Iowa Public Radio]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.11.17

* After hearing powerful testimony from victims' relatives, a federal jury sentenced Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof to death. [BuzzFeed] * Dahlia Lithwick on yesterday's Jeff Sessions hearing: the nominee "will be handily confirmed," and Democrats "are rightly very, very afraid." [Slate] * An interesting puzzle for the Supreme Court: free speech and credit card fees. [New York Times via How Appealing] * Also from Howard Bashman, also about free speech: Gibson Dunn partner Miguel Estrada "warns City of Philadelphia that his hourly rate is very expensive." [How Appealing] * More about Morrison & Foerster snagging former Justice Department national security chief John Carlin -- the latest in a series of high-profile hires of former government lawyers, including Kathryn Thomson and Jessie Liu. [Law.com] * Some good news out of the Charlotte School of Law: students might be getting their spring semester loan proceeds after all. [ABA Journal] * Speaking of money, Volkswagen is going to pay a lot of it -- perhaps $4.3 billion in fines -- to resolve the federal criminal investigation into its cheating on vehicle emissions tests. [New York Times]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.03.17

* Kellyanne Conway, President-elect Trump's campaign manager, has accepted a position as his counselor once his administration takes over at the White House, and now her husband, George Conway of Wachtell Lipton, has found himself on the shortlist to become the U.S. solicitor general. He's argued only one Supreme Court case, which is unusual for those being considered for the position. [Bloomberg Politics] * In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts managed to steer clear of controversial topics -- such as the high court being short handed since Justice Scalia's death or the Senate's failure to confirm Judge Merrill Garland -- instead choosing to focus on the "underappreciated" role of district court judges, writing that "[t]his is no job for impulsive, timid, or inattentive souls." [Washington Post] * "There’s no legitimacy to a Supreme Court justice in a seat that’s been stolen from one administration and handed to another. We need to do everything we possibly can to block it." When it comes to the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's SCOTUS nominee, we can expect to see a battle thanks to Senate Democrats in the wake of Senate Republicans' obstruction of Judge Garland's nomination. [The Guardian] * One day before they were set to go into effect, Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services. O'Connor is the same judge who issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Obama administration's transgender protections in schools. [BuzzFeed] * Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who is representing himself for the penalty phase of his trial, has rejected a defense based on mental illness because he is "morally opposed to psychology." He'll make an opening statement, but won't call any witnesses or present any evidence. If Roof is sentenced to death, it will be the first time a jury has done so in a case involving a federal hate crimes law. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.19.16

* Uh-oh! What's going on at Kirkland & Ellis? Sources say that the firm recently changed its framework for allocating equity partner profits, making deep cuts to some partners' shares. Litigation partners were reportedly hit so hard by these changes that multiple sources called the situation a "bloodbath." We'll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily] * Talk about a money shot: Attorneys Paul Hansmeier and John Steele, formerly of Prenda Law, have been charged in a "massive extortion scheme" after allegedly uploading porn videos they produced themselves to file-sharing websites so they could then sue those who downloaded the films for copyright violations. [NBC News] * Kerrie Campbell, the Chadbourne & Parke partner who sued her firm for $100 million over allegations of gender discrimination, has asked a court to dismiss C & P's counterclaim, referring to the claims therein as "in terrorem tactic" to silence other women at the firm and elsewhere who have similar bias claims. [Big Law Business] * Here's a question that far too many law school deans were faced with this fall: "What's the best way to share a school's bad bar exam results?" Some chose to be blunt and others chose to be empathetic, but at the end of the day, the news is devastating to recent graduates, so there's only so much one can really do to soften the blow. [ABA Journal] * Charleston church gunman Dylann Roof was convicted on federal hate crime charges and is now awaiting the punishment phase of his trial. In case you didn't know, he's also waiting to stand trial on state murder charges, which means he's the first person in the modern era to face the possibility of federal and state death penalty sentences. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.15.16

* The jury deliberated for just two hours before convicting Dylann Roof of the Charleston church murders. [The Daily Beast] * Tables turned: how Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.) got the Second Circuit, which normally reviews his judgments, overturned. [Bloomberg BNA] * Keith Lee takes a deep dive into newly released law school data (the ABA 509 disclosures). [Associate's Mind] * Eugene Volokh breaks down a new Fourth Circuit ruling that protects the right of police officers to criticize department policies on Facebook. [Volokh Conspiracy] * David Lander evaluates the pluses and minuses of law schools relying upon adjunct professors to fill curricular gaps. [PrawfsBlawg] * What variables best explain the decisions of the Roberts Court? [Tennessee Law Review via Hangley Aronchick] * Check out Womble Carlyle's new podcast, Bulldog Bites. Says host Mark Henriques, "I promise it won’t feel like work. If you don’t learn something, hopefully you’ll laugh with us about something." [Womble Carlyle]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.25.16

* Sorry to ruin your childhood, but a Pennsylvania judge found that there is enough evidence for Bill Cosby to stand trial for his felony assault charge in the Andrea Constand case. Cosby has waived his right to a formal arraignment, and could face up to 10 years in prison if he's convicted. Cosby has been free on $1 million bail since December. [Associated Press] * "You need to have order in a courtroom. And there needs to be proper decorum with attorneys." A Las Vegas Justice of the Peace ordered that a deputy public defender be handcuffed for interrupting him as she tried to represent a client. A tipster has referred to this judge as "demented." We may have more on this. [Las Vegas Review-Journal] * According to inside sources, Hunton & Williams is in advanced merger talks with Addelshaw Goddard, a London-based firm. These talks have reportedly been going on for months, and Addelshaw partners supposedly met last night to discuss the tie-up. If successful, the combined firm would have more than 1,300 lawyers. [Big Law Business] * Silicon Valley staple Fenwick & West is opening up an office outpost in New York City. The firm's clients in Manhattan include BuzzFeed, FanDuel, Blackrock, Citi, and JPMorgan. Associates will be working around the clock in the city that never sleeps -- with a roster like that, they won't be getting shuteye anytime soon. [WSJ Law Blog] * AG Loretta Lynch announced yesterday afternoon that the Justice Department would be seeking the death penalty against Dylann Roof, the suspect alleged to have gone on a shooting spree in a Charleston church last summer, killing nine and wounding numerous others. It's said Roof hoped to incite a race war as a result of the massacre. [USA Today] * Carl Buchholz, managing partner of DLA Piper's Philadelphia office, RIP. [Philadelphia Business Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.29.15

* Judge uses hearing to take out lost luggage irritation on airline appearing before him. [Legal Cheek] * Law schools should teach entrepreneurship, because students should be learning something they can apply when the job market turns up empty. [Tax Prof Blog] * Meet Dylann Roof's defense counsel, David Bruck. [The Marshall Project] * Lawyer quits law and opens a brewery. Good idea. [Click on Detroit] * Making "patently offensive racial, ethnic, homophobic, sexist, and other derogatory remarks to attorneys" nets a three-month suspension in New York. [Legal Profession Blog] * A new white paper on law enforcement and electronic communications, co-authored by Viet Dinh, the keynote speaker at our recent Technology & Law event. [Bancroft PLLC] * After Bruce MacEwen expressed doubts over the usefulness of the Am Law 200 as "a conceptual category," Kimberly Kleman, editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer, responds to the criticism. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=24&v=5_S9y8bHMlY

By Joe Patrice
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 07.14.15

* A positive review of Go Set a Watchman (affiliate link) from Professor Brophy. I haven't read it, but it strikes me as a weird choice to make Doctor Manhattan a racist in this one. [The Faculty Lounge] * Standard gun nut operating procedure is to stay quiet after a mass shooting, but this guy decided to explain why Dylann Roof didn't take advantage of a "loophole" to avoid a background check. And he's right. "Loophole" suggests there was a drafting mistake as opposed to an intentional, cynical effort to gut the one gun regulation pretty much everybody agrees on. [National Review] * Everyone knows that the federal government is comprised of three equal branches. But, why do you think that? The Constitution certainly never says that. An interesting question. [Concurring Opinions] * Arts students work harder than law students. Let that sink in. [Legal Cheek] * The Economist just can't help itself from writing contrarian reviews. They're like hipsters if hipsters were old-timey Tories with handlebar mustaches and... actually, wait, is The Economist run by hipsters? [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * The Welsh government responded to an official inquiry in Klingon. Which, admittedly, is easier to understand than Welsh. [Lowering the Bar] * Important practice tip when dealing with a new client: check out the last several complaints filed against them and search for a pattern. [What About Clients?]

By Joe Patrice