Federal Prosecutors

* “How Tough-on-Crime Prosecutors Contribute to Mass Incarceration.” My review of Emily Bazelon’s new book, Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (affiliate link). [New York Times Book Review]

* When it comes to prosecutors, as former prosecutor Joel Cohen explains, it’s all about discretion. [New York Law Journal]

* Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.) defends Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s exercise of her prosecutorial discretion — and argues that Thomas Turco’s criticisms of Rollins are unfair. [Boston Globe]

* Another ex-prosecutor, Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro, is representing tennis star Naomi Osaka in the “repugnant” lawsuit filed against her by her former coach. [Tennis365]

* Former federal prosecutors, many of them now partners at Biglaw firms, represent more than half of the defense lawyers in Operation Varsity Blues, aka the college admissions scandal. [Big Law Business]

* High-stakes litigation is just one of many factors contributing to Biglaw’s robust profit margin these days — hovering around 40 percent, its highest value in almost 30 years, according to Madhav Srinivasan of Hunton Andrews Kurth. [Law.com]

* Ronald Collins interviews Joan Biskupic about her latest judicial biography, The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts (affiliate link). [SCOTUSblog]

* And speaking of SCOTUS, Will Baude believes that the death penalty “is justifiable and constitutional” — but argues that the Court has not acquitted itself well in its recent handling of capital cases. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* “How to Con Black Law Students: A Case Study,” by our very own Elie Mystal. [New York Times]

* Professor Rick Hasen responds to Judge Alex Kozinski’s colorful dissental in the travel-ban litigation. [Slate]

* Speaking of the Ninth Circuit, should it be broken up? Prominent appellate lawyer Ben Feuer makes the case against. [Los Angeles Times]

* Professor Ilya Somin hopes senators ask Judge Gorsuch these questions at tomorrow’s hearing. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* But his co-blogger, Professor Orin Kerr, isn’t holding his breath for revealing answers. [Volokh Conspiracy]

* Walt Pavlo wonders: are former prosecutors from the S.D.N.Y. padding their résumés? [Forbes]

* Almost three years have passed since the death of Eric Garner — and we still have many more questions than answers. [CityLand / New York Law School]

* Jane Genova: What can legal media and marketers learn from Jimmy Breslin? [Law And More]

* The Supreme Court takes on an issue of major importance to the patent bar (and the Eastern District of Texas): where can an infringement suit be filed? [How Appealing]

* And SCOTUS also grants cert to a case raising the scope of what prosecutors must disclose to the defense under Brady v. Maryland and a case about a criminal lawyer’s erroneous advice to his client about immigration consequences of a guilty plea. [New York Times via How Appealing]

* Sheriff of Wall Street Preet Bharara loses another deputy to private practice: Katherine Goldstein, head of the S.D.N.Y.’s securities-fraud unit, will join several of her former colleagues — Adam Fee, Antonia Apps and George Canellos — at Milbank Tweed. [WSJ Law Blog]

* President-elect Donald Trump won’t take office for a few weeks, but he’s already inspiring new law school courses. [National Law Journal]

* And Trump might also trigger new lawsuits from state attorneys general seeking to rein in his administration. [New York Times]

* As for existing litigation between Trump and celebrity chefs José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian, both the real estate tycoon and his adversaries are repped by big Biglaw names: Seyfarth Shaw and Steptoe & Johnson. [BuzzFeed]

* Speaking of Seyfarth, it’s the firm representing ExxonMobil in litigation alleging anti-gay discrimination in its hiring practices — litigation that continues even as CEO Rex Tillerson prepares to leave the company to head the Trump State Department. [Washington Blade]