Instead of invoking subjective, unequally applied concepts of 'mercy' within our harsh system of criminal sentencing, victims and society would be better served by simple pragmatism.
Reputation be damned, she had lives to change.
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Without proper planning, follow through, and training, the First Step Act is doomed to fail.
She attended with the attorneys who are helping her learn the law.
It's literally better than nothing.
* Eighty-three judicial ethics complaints against Brett Kavanaugh have been tossed out by the Judicial Council of the Tenth Circuit due to an "intervening event": his SCOTUS confirmation. The Council, set up to fail by Chief Justice John Roberts, "[l]ack[s] statutory authority to do anything more." [National Law Journal] * The Senate passed the First Step Act in an 87 to 12 bipartisan vote, and now the sweeping criminal justice reform legislation will move on to the House for approval before being sent to the White House. This is a major victory. Thanks for the assist on this, Jared Kushner! [Washington Post] * The tax man commeth, but not for Donald Trump. Judge Karen Henderson of the D.C. Circuit has denied a Freedom of Information Act request for the President's IRS tax records, citing the agency's confidentiality protections for all citizens. [CNN] * Cross-border mergers are on the rise, and one firm has been responsible for the vast majority of them. In 2018 alone, with about 9,000 lawyers and counting, Dentons has completed more global mergers than all other U.S. firms. [American Lawyer] * Brooklyn Law will have a new dean come July 1. Michael Cahill, who's been serving as co-dean of Rutgers Law, will return to the place where he spent 13 years as a professor, associate dean, and vice dean. Congrats! [New York Law Journal] * People and things in the legal profession dominated Google's most searched for queries over the course of 2018, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford's SJC testimony, Aaron Schlossberg, and taking some top spots. [ABA Journal]
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* Yale Law School's list of the most memorable quotes of the year is out, and Rudy Giuliani's "truth isn't truth" and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's "I still like beer" coming in first and second place, respectively. Congratulations on all of your success. [Newsweek] * After some dealmaking with Republicans, Senator Kamala Harris will remain on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The problem here is that another GOP seat will be added, but right now, it seems like there's no one out there who wants to take up this important role. [Washington Post] * Yup, I'm just going to leave this one right here: "Senate Lawyer Deemed 'Not Qualified' by ABA Confirmed to Eighth Circuit." [National Law Journal] * Kirkland & Ellis will have a new leader soon, but that doesn't mean the firm's lateral hiring spree will end. "[T]he Kirkland threat of poaching isn’t going away anytime soon and might get worse," says one of the firm's partners. [American Lawyer] * The Senate will take a look at a criminal justice reform in a revised version of the First Step Act later this month. Per President Trump, the bill "looks like it’s going to be passing, hopefully, famous last words, on a very bipartisan way." [Reuters] * Remember that dustup at GW Law between the SBA and the Jewish Law Student Association? Students say the administration has "swept the incident under the rug" and won't resolve the situation until next semester. [GW Hatchet] * When do women get seats on corporate boards? When it's required by law. That's certainly less than than inspiring. Time to start lobbying. [Big Law Business]
The bill is extremely modest in its reforms, yet the opposition remains uncompromising and committed to a campaign of false, fear-mongering rhetoric.