Guns / Firearms

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.23.19

* “Trump is screaming. He’s so mad at Rudy.” After yet another botched interview, President Trump is reportedly “furious” with Rudy Giuliani, and word on the street is that he’s being told to dump the former New York mayor before any additional damage can be done. Best of luck, because he very obviously needs it. [Vanity Fair] * Justice will prevail... at least until the end of the month: The federal judiciary is still clinging to life amid the government shutdown, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts just announced its final funding extension to continue operations through January 31. [National Law Journal] * The Supreme Court’s conservative wind just low-key alerted the nation that big changes could be on the way by deciding to hear a Second Amendment case for the first time since 2010. Will the high court swing further to the right now that its perennial swing justice has retired? [Washington Post] * Stormy Daniels’s lawsuit against President Trump could be tossed out of court because there no longer seems to be a case. “They admitted what we said all along,” ATL’s 2018 Lawyer of the Year Michael Avenatti said. “So any attempt by anyone to claim that this is not a victory for Stormy Daniels is completely bogus and nonsense and dishonest.” [TIME] * The ABA’s House of Delegates will reconsider a 75 percent bar pass rate within two years of graduation for law schools to maintain their accreditation. This time around, the proposal could actually pass. Stay tuned, because the effort to push through a stronger bar pass standard will be taken up this coming Monday. [Law.com] * Congratulations to Chief Judge Stephen Dillard (@JudgeDillard) of the Georgia Court of Appeals, who was recently named as the state’s Twitter laureate. Just as you take judicial notice of my birthday each year, I take editorial notice of your constant kindness. Thank you for being you! [Daily Report]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.10.19

* It's probably sociopathic to make "I just killed a deer" part of your online dating banter, but it's downright stupid when you make it part of your online dating banter while trying to woo a game warden. [CNN] * Ahoy maties! Maritime firms Jones Walker and Fowler Rodriguez merge. [Daily Business Review] * Coming legal developments that could revolutionize the law. [Law.com] * Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law now covers police officers shooting innocent people in the back. [Slate] * Federal judge calls for "bone-crushing" discovery. Hopefully the sets a new precedent and judges start asking for "disemboweling" briefing and "waterboarding" voir dire. [Law360] * Another online J.D. program -- and this one's bringing in students with higher LSAT scores than the residential program. [New York Law Journal] * The good and bad news for employers when it comes to workplace class actions. Isn't the good news for employers always, "the Supreme Court is about to make these illegal"? [Corporate Counsel]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.02.19

* Out of the mouths of babes federal judges: “Those conclusions – that the president’s statements on national security are not always to be taken literally or to be trusted – are legal victories for his Justice Department....” Did you think you’d ever see a something like this written about the U.S. president? That’s our Trump! [USA Today] * A good New Year’s resolution for the federal judiciary? Chief Justice John Roberts says that while progress has been made when it comes to protecting law clerks from sexual harassment, “[t]he job is not finished until we have done all that we can to ensure that all of our employees are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect.” [Washington Post] * The American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union for federal employees, has filed suit against the government, claiming that requiring essential employees to work without pay during the shutdown — an "inhumane" practice for people who don’t know when their next paycheck is coming — violates the Fair Labor Standards Act. [CNN] * Barbara Underwood really made a name for herself during her short tenure as New York’s first female attorney general. After she was thrust into the role, she quickly began her assault against President Donald Trump, eventually taking down his charitable foundation after alleging that he was using it as a front for his his private businesses and political campaign. [NBC News] * Yet again, it’s time for women in Biglaw to celebrate fractional achievements for gender equality. According the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance, 39 percent of new partners named at Am Law firms were women, which was a “slight uptick,” but “the numbers really haven’t changed that much in the last five years.” Hooray. [Big Law Business] * It’s a new year, so you know there are going to be a bunch of interesting new laws. Here are just a few: In California, domestic-violence convicts can lose their gun rights for life; in Hawaii, physician-assisted suicide is now legal; in Virginia, legislators and their staff members must undergo mandatory sexual-harassment training; and in New York City, non-binary people can now list their gender as “X” on birth certificates. [Wall Street Journal]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 11.20.18

* ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights score win with court order proclaiming the obvious: No, you can't blanket deny asylum seekers. [Associated Press via Huffington Post] * Cyrus Vance accuses someone of seeking publicity over justice. [Variety] * Are you suggesting that law firms and clients don't listen to each other? [American Lawyer] * The Trump administration wanted to share census answers with the cops... which is why they were so hot to get those illegal citizenship questions on there. It's like 3D checkers of bumbling xenophobia over here. [Washington Post] * The SEC's whistleblower program handed out more awards this year than ever before! Unsurprisingly, the article makes no mention of Justice following up on any of these financial crimes. [Law360] * Third Circuit taking a stab at New Jersey's ban on high-capacity magazines -- just as the Framers' envisioned. [New Jersey Law Journal] * What are law schools training students for? Debt management, maybe?[Forbes]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.14.18

* Paul Manafort pleading guilty. Because... witch hunt or something. [CNN] * Brett Kavanaugh could "halt or reverse our progress toward gay equality." Is this all it takes to get an op-ed in a mega circulation paper these days? Just say obvious stuff? I've really been overthinking this. [USA Today] * Betsy DeVos reversing campus rape rules to make Baylor great again. [Law.com] * Bill Brewer bounced from NRA case because it was absolutely the right thing to do. [Washington Post] * A close look at three law-abiding people who are about to be converted to "illegal" humans by this administration. [Courthouse News Service] * Tish James will be New York's next Attorney General and all she had to do to win was promise not to use the powers of the Attorney General. [Law360]

By Joe Patrice