Gabe Roth

Thomas got just under $6 million in gifts while on the Court.

The Court is basically spitting in our faces.

There is so much more that needs to be done.

The latest in the Supreme Court ethical saga.

A lifetime appointment means never having to say you're sorry.

Come on man, do better.

Judges are being treated to the high life.

Republican jurists may not think women deserve autonomy over their own bodies, but they sure can have their own bank accounts -- that just *happen* to accept money from right wing sources with business before the judges.

Woohoo -- live audio will be back this Term.

It's time to fix the court, the right way.

Sure, senators *want* Justice Thomas to recuse himself, but he doesn't have to.

That's... a LOT of cases.

Amy Coney Barrett murders irony with Mitch McConnell looking on.

Of course this guy wants back into the club of elite legal minds.

* Very interesting piece by Mark Joseph Stern on Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s dissent in Pavan v. Smith (aka the “LGBT parents on birth certificates” case). It seems to me that Justice Gorsuch’s statement is technically correct — the Arkansas Department of Health (1) was okay with giving the named plaintiffs their birth certificates and (2) conceded that in the artificial-insemination context, gay couples can’t be treated differently than straight couples (see the Arkansas Supreme Court opinion, footnote 1 and page 18) — but it’s either confusing, at best, or misleading and disingenuous, at worst (the view of Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, counsel to the plaintiffs). [Slate]

* Speaking of Justice Gorsuch, Adam Feldman makes some predictions about what we can expect from him in the future, based on his first few opinions. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Professor Rick Hasen has made up his mind on this: “Gorsuch is the new Scalia, just as Trump promised.” [Los Angeles Times]

* The VC welcomes a new co-conspirator: Professor Sai Prakash, a top scholar of constitutional law and executive power. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

* Now that Harvard Law School will accept GRE scores in lieu of LSAT scores, what do law school applicants need to know about the two tests? [Law School HQ]

* And what do Snapchat users need to know about the app’s new “Snap Map” feature? Cyberspace lawyer Drew Rossow flags potential privacy problems. [WFAA]

* Lawsuits matter: in the wake of the $140 million verdict against it in the Hulk Hogan sex tape case, Gawker Media is filing for bankruptcy and putting itself up for sale. [Gawker]

* Declaratory judgment: according to Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judging Statutes (affiliate link), by fellow feeder judge Robert Katzmann, is “a pleasure to read,” “succinct,” and “educational.” [Harvard Law Review]

* SCOTUS sez: a judge shouldn’t hear an appeal in a death penalty case that he worked on as a prosecutor. [How Appealing]

* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Gabe Roth of Fix the Court makes the case in favor of mandatory retirement for the justices. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

* Worst fellow airplane passenger ever (yes, even worse than the drunken law firm partner). [U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit]

* 9 “Musts” for Privacy & Data Security Risk Management and Compliance. [Legaltech News]

Are you already sick of Merrick Garland? Too bad. You are going to hear a lot more about him.