India

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.16.21

* The Supreme Court ruled that a low-level crack-cocaine offender was unable to receive a reduced sentence under a recently passed law. That's whack... [CNN] * A defendant acting as his own lawyer yelled at lawyers during opening arguments at his murder trial yesterday. [NBC News] * An Indian lawyer accidentally showed that he was wearing shorts during a virtual hearing earlier this week. [India Today] * Check out this article on the persuasive impact of Supreme Court briefs. [Juris Lab] * Kodak officials must testify in a probe about insider trading. That should be a Kodak moment... [Bloomberg Law]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.22.20

* A lawyer in India appeared at a virtual hearing in a T-shirt lying in bed last week. This attorney should have read our earlier coverage of American lawyers making similar mistakes during remote appearances. [Tribune] * The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan made clear that he was fired and did not voluntary step down. [Reuters] * Black female YouTube creators have filed suit alleging that the algorithm used for the video-sharing website is racist. [AdWeek] * Some New Jersey attorneys are in hot water for allegedly agreeing to pay bribes to secure government contracts for legal services. [New Jersey Law Journal] * A Texas lawyer is now facing a $6 million judgment even though he failed to attend the summary judgment hearing due to scheduling confusion caused by COVID-19. Seems like this attorney has good arguments for a reconsideration motion... [Texas Lawyer]

By Jordan Rothman
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.29.18

* Robert Bowers, the suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 dead and six wounded, has been charged with 29 federal criminal counts including hate crimes and using a firearm to commit murder and 36 state criminal counts including homicide and ethnic intimidation. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those who lost their lives this weekend. [New York Times] * According to the criminal complaint filed against Cesar Sayoc, the pipe bomb he allegedly tried to mail to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was addressed to his office at a "certain law firm" -- a certain law firm that's better known as Covington & Burling. Good thing the package never made it there. [National Law Journal] * When asked to reflect on the misconduct allegations against Yale Law School Professor Jed Rubenfeld, alumni from the school are not the least bit shocked. "It was not a surprise to basically any woman in my class that this investigation is going on," said one 2015 graduate. Will the school take appropriate action? [Yale Daily News] * Partners from Allen & Overy and O'Melveny & Myers are cozying up to each other as merger talks between the two firms continue, but there may be trouble in paradise. "There is some opposition in London," said a former A&O partner, "but it’s fairly disorganised—there’s a lot of moaning but nobody leading a charge." [International] * In case you missed it, after the involuntary revocation of its accreditation, Arizona Summit Law School will eventually close its doors. But first, the school must finalize a teach-out plan for its remaining students, and when it's all over, "that would be the life of the school." What a sad little life. Farewell to AZ Summit Law. [Arizona Republic] * You might not have known it, but the Michigan State University College of Law has been operating as a private school for all these years. Soon, the school will be fully integrated into the university, and you know what that means: in-state tuition costs will be coming to the MSU Law. Congratulations! [Lansing State Journal] * RBG is my Patronus, and a course on Harry Potter and the Law is coming to a law school near you -- if you live in India, that is. The National University of Juridical Sciences will be teaching the class, and muggles students are "expected [to] have already read all the books at least twice, if not more." [The Guardian]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.07.18

* In case you missed it, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh refused to condemn President Donald Trump's attacks on the judiciary (specifically, his insults of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), refused to say whether he believed same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, and once again denied discussing the Mueller probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson. What will happen today? [Washington Post] * President Donald Trump has reportedly called Attorney General Jeff Sessions "a dumb Southerner" and an "idiot" without an Ivy League law degree who "couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama." This Alabama Law professor wonders what's so bad about a degree from Alabama Law. [New York Times] * Per a new study from the American Bar Association, the sky is blue and women and minorities continue to face racial and gender bias within the legal profession. But, here are some tools to fight these problems. [DealBook / New York Times] * Allen & Overy has published its 2018 gender pay gap figures, and it's the first U.K. firm to include data from its "overwhelmingly male" partners in its disclosures. A&O's median gender pay gap is 39 percent, a slight improvement. [Financial Times] * It seems that the Justice Department no longer thinks that employers should be forced to consider job applicants with criminal histories, going against Obama-era guidance that the EEOC has been following since 2012. [National Law Journal] * In an historic opinion, India's Supreme Court ruled that gay sex between adults is not a crime, casting aside an "irrational, arbitrary, and incomprehensible" colonial-era law that made the act a punishable offense within the country. [Times of India] * Fire alarms sounded at Miami Law as smoke poured through vents into a student lounge, and some students evacuated their classrooms, but others ran back in to save their laptops. Well, obviously -- they're law students, after all. [Miami Hurricane]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.03.17

* In the dead of night, Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bipartisan bill to fund legal services for the poor. [The Slot] * Fighting the good fight for open access to courtrooms around the country. [Katz Justice] * Is this a good way to avoid a lawsuit with your therapist? [Law and More] * Regrets? Chuck Schumer has a few. [The Hill] * India's Supreme Court bans political campaigns based on identity politics. [New York Times] * Excellent advice: always check the dataset. [Lawyers, Guns & Money]

By Kathryn Rubino