Janice Rogers Brown

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.10.17

* Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit is soon expected to publicly announce her retirement, and once she takes senior status, President Trump will have the ability to appoint another conservative judge to one of the nation's most powerful courts -- one that often serves as a training ground for future Supreme Court justices. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)] * Shortly after his father became the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump Jr. reportedly met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who had Kremlin ties, after he was allegedly promised damaging information about then Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. For his part, Trump's eldest son has denied any Russian collusion having to do with the 2016 presidential election. [New York Times] * When it comes to the AT&T / Time Warner merger, "[t]he business community is watching intensely to see what an antitrust D.O.J. will look like in the Trump administration and how much of the rhetoric from the campaign trickles down into policy." Meanwhile, Makan Delrahim, President Trump’s nominee for antitrust chief, hasn't had his Senate hearing yet. [DealBook / New York Times] * Marc Kasowitz has moved to dismiss a sexual harassment suit filed against the president by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, claiming that thanks to the SCOTUS ruling in Bill Clinton's sexual harassment case, presidents cannot be sued in state court for personal conduct while in office. If this flies, will it give rise to more federal filings against the president? [The Hill] * "These are dedicated people doing very difficult work and not paying them is like not paying teachers, cops, social workers, or firefighters. The public should be outraged." Court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts who represent the indigent are struggling financially thanks to the state's budget woes. Some of these attorneys are owed thousands of dollars. [Boston Globe]

By Staci Zaretsky
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
D.C. Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 08.26.13

* DOJ busts giant fortune telling ring. You’d think they would have seen that coming. [Lowering the Bar] * Today’s New York Times points out that Judge Kopf penned an eloquent post regarding his reaction to the news that Shon Hopwood — a man Kopf sentenced to a lengthy prison term — is poised to clerk for Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit. Funny, it seems like I read that news before… [New York Times] * The government just doesn’t know what documents Edward Snowden stole. That’s part of the reason British authorities stopped David Miranda. That and the Brits love irony. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * The message here is not bad per se, but to all the law school apologists spreading it around based on the quote, “Yeah, I know, the legal market sucks, blah blah blah. But you don’t need thousands of jobs. You just need one,” well, that’s not a sustainable model. For students that is. [Medium] * In the midst of cracking down on the NYPD, Judge Scheindlin also issued a new opinion on e-Discovery. IT-Lex provides an in-depth review. [IT-Lex] * Another sign of the discrimination against women in business — women lag far behind in the commission of high-level corporate fraud. [Law and More] * BP has taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal to complain about how much money they’ve had to spend cleaning up that one time they catastrophically devastated an ecosystem through their own recklessness. It’s the most recent curious PR move on BP’s part…

By Joe Patrice
Baseball

Non-Sequiturs: 08.09.13

* This gem of a listing just showed up in the “legal/paralegal jobs” section of Craigslist. Be sure to send a “nude picture” with your résumé! Perhaps someone has been watching too many Maggie Gyllenhaal films. If it gets taken down a screenshot is here, and the klassy alternative picture in the listing is here. [Craigslist] * From the “no good deed goes unpunished” department, Georgetown Law has figured out how to bilk taxpayers into covering the costs of increasing tuition. The federal government forgives law school debt for those in the public sector if they agree to make an income-based payment. Georgetown is covering those costs, passing it on to future students (who also won’t be paying it back), and then encouraging students to shelter income to guarantee the school comes out ahead. This is why we can’t have nice things. [Wonkblog / Washington Post] * The always outspoken Judge Kopf shares his thoughts on Shon Hopwood’s selection as a clerk for Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Judge Kopf sentenced Hopwood to 147 months in the 90s. [Hercules and the Umpire] * A delightful “man bites dog” story: a bank didn’t read a customer’s amendments to a credit card application before issuing him a card and went to court whining about how hard it is to pay attention to the fine print. Boo hoo hoo. [The Telegraph] * How to deal with your mistakes. This only applies to associates, though. Partners have two steps: (1) find an associate; (2) blame the associate. [Associate's Mind] * Everything’s bigger in Texas, including their misreading of the Supreme Court’s precedent. [Election Law Blog] * China is way serious about prosecuting corruption. [Legal Juice] * The Mets muscle man whose comic inability to open a water bottle went viral on YouTube is actually a lawyer from White Plains. If you haven’t seen the clip yet, it’s after the jump. Watching the water bottle battle is the only excuse for subjecting yourself to a Royals-Mets game…

By Joe Patrice
2nd Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 08.07.13

* Texas Hold ‘Em loses to Second Circuit on the River. [The Volokh Conspiracy] * Compiling a collection of historical White House counsel advice was a labor of love. The collection includes advice on issues ranging from dealing with Leon Trotsky to blockading Cuba. Advice on treaty with Roswell visitors conspicuously absent. [WSJ Law Blog] * An incoming 1L at Ole Miss takes to Craigslist to find a “young cute girl” to be “arm candy I spoil.” Ick. [Craigslist (in case that comes down, here's a screenshot)] * Johnny “Football” Manziel’s alleged autograph-for-pay scheme has prompted Texas A&M to hire Lightfoot, Franklin and White, the law firm that helped out Auburn when Cam Newton totally got paid to play was wrongfully accused of taking payments. [USA Today] * D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown has hired former bank robber and jailhouse lawyer Shon Hopwood as her new clerk. An awesome story actually. [Blog of the Legal Times] * Oh closed circuit surveillance, is there anything you can’t do? A police officer in Italy’s Supreme Court has earned some Internet fame after being caught dancing to YMCA while waiting for the verdict in Silvio Berlusconi’s trial. Original video after the jump. Check out Legal Cheek for some viewer-created homages. [Legal Cheek]

By Joe Patrice