Gay Marriage

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.08.22

* I know we call ourselves AbovetheLaw, but trust that it is tongue in cheek. However, this guy trying to wipe clean ~400 crimes committed by cops... [NY Daily News] * Remember that bill Congress passed on to check if police departments and the military were fostering white supremacists? This guy just got fired for the reason he wanted to join the Army. [CNN] * Don't avocado that toast yet! Biden's student loan load lighting isn't guaranteed yet. [CNBC] * Flip flopping on what the Constitution means because you're caving to what is politically acceptable at the time? Gotta love politics! [Business Insider] * The new trend of just ignoring laws because the Supreme Court may overturn them at some point in the future is growing. This time? Gay marriage. [JS Online]

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.20.22

* It wasn't ever really about zygotes: Candidate throws dirt on abortion because women are better off barefoot and pregnant. [Vanity Fair] * 17 Congress members leave a protest with a photo op. [CBS News] * Doctor who helped the 10 year old rape victim forced to cross state lines sues Indiana's AG for defamation. [FOX 59] * I've never met a Co. like you before: Meta sues Meta for being too...Meta? [The Verge] * Some House Republicans are civil enough to vote to protect gay marriage. Let's see how the Senate responds. [Politico]

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.30.17

Ed. note: Early wishes for a happy July 4th weekend! We'll be back on Wednesday, July 5 (barring unforeseen news). * I don't know that free speech is under cultural attack, as this post argues. But I do think people are using lawsuits to bash speech they don't like. Instead of lecturing people about the sacred right of Nazis to intimidate people on Twitter, I'd rather the First Amendment crowd came up with a real regime of sanctions for people who bring lawsuits against clearly protected speech. I just don't know that the Deplorable fanboys would recognize that as a sufficient way to fight for their freedom to talk out of their asses. [Popehat] * The Fifth Circuit has now conferred qualified immunity on expert witnesses, deployed to spout whatever nonsense the government thinks will help them gain a conviction. The Democrat who runs on a criminal justice reform platform that included changing the rules around qualified immunity would probably get my vote. Instead they'll probably run a Goldman executive with an innovative plan to retrain bigoted hill people for the hi-tech jobs of the future. [Simple Justice] * What Trump is actually trying to do with his voter fraud investigation is horrifying. But Professor Rick Hasen says it won't work, and I'm going to trust him because I do not want to get pissed off about a whole new thing this close to a long weekend. [Slate] * Texas isn't sure that same-sex marriage means that same-sex couples get marriage benefits. Sigh. Look, Texas is going to lose its fight against gay people, eventually. YOU HEAR THAT YOU HAT WEARIN' COWBOYS? Gay people are going to kick your ass and have sex in your Alamo. [Texas Tribune] * Based on the settlement data, The Root came up with a methodology to calculate the worth of a black life. Ballpark, the state pays about $3,364,875 per family for the right to kill us without criminal accountability. If you've got thoughts about how the state spends too much money in settlements, keep them to yourself. [The Root] * Stay safe out there this long weekend. The Texas Law Hawk has some fireworks safety tips. [Texas Law Hawk] * Checking in with the Alt-Right, I could go with all the stories about how people have called Kellyanne Conway "ugly," which is apparently the Alt-Right defense for the president mocking Mika Brzezinski? But this headline is just too good: "Germany Surrenders to Trump, Waters Down G20 Climate Plan #Winning" They're making water puns, y'all. They are defiant. You can't even blame the Earth for trying to kill all of us. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.30.17

* Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams pleads guilty to accepting a bribe, ending his ongoing federal corruption trial and his tenure as DA -- and sending him straight to jail, since Judge Paul Diamond denied bail. [ABA Journal] * The Trump administration moves forward on implementing the travel ban (and has reversed its earlier determination that being engaged to marry an American doesn't count as "a bona fide" connection to this country). [New York Times] * Colorado baker Jack Phillips, petitioner in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case that the Supreme Court will hear next Term, explains his refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. [How Appealing] * DLA Piper, hit by a major ransomware attack earlier this week, endures its third consecutive day without email. [Law360] * And DLA isn't the only Biglaw firm with big weaknesses in cybersecurity, as Ian Lopez reports. [Law.com] * Lawyer turned television host Greta Van Susteren has been let go by MSNBC (after just six months). [Vanity Fair] * The tragic case of Charlie Gard comes to an end: the European Court of Human Rights declines to review prior court rulings refusing to let the terminally ill 10-month-old boy travel to the U.S. for experimental treatment. [Washington Post] * Drs. John Eastman and Sohan Dasgupta break down the Trinity Lutheran case. [Claremont Institute]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.28.17

* 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]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.13.17

* Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the nation's first female Muslim judge and the first African-American woman to serve on New York's highest court, was found dead in the Hudson River. We'll have more on this later. [New York Daily News] * The Ukraine-related activities of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are under legal scrutiny -- and one of his daughters, lawyer Andrea Manafort, described some of her father's actions as "legally questionable." [New York Times] * Hawaii says "aloha" to the Ninth Circuit in its challenge to Trump Travel Ban 2.0 -- and seeks initial en banc review, bypassing a three-judge panel. [ABA Journal] * So the filibuster is now dead for SCOTUS nominees; are blue slips for lower-court nominees next? [Roll Call via How Appealing] * Melania Trump settles her defamation litigation with the Daily Mail, getting an apology, a retraction, coverage of her legal fees, and what her lawyer Charles Harder describes as "millions of dollars in damages." [New York Law Journal] * Biglaw firms aren't the only workplaces with gender pay gaps; it's an issue for in-house legal departments too, including Google's. [Corporate Counsel] * Seriously, North Carolina? After its half-hearted repeal of the "bathroom bill," three lawmakers in the state want to ban gay marriage. [WNCN] * Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit seems to be a fan of Justice Neil Gorsuch's views on Chevron deference. [Law.com] * And Justice Elena Kagan will be throwing a party to welcome Justice Gorsuch to the Court. [Washington Post via How Appealing]

By David Lat