Jerry Nadler

Federal Judge Sexual Harassment Case Sparks Congressional Interest

Harassment -- particularly in the federal courts -- is a real problem.

Morning Docket: 07.22.19

* In a series of wide-ranging interviews across the political spectrum — or “Fake News,” per President Trump — the commander in chief’s closest allies admitted that they didn’t think he had any idea what he’d done or what kind of havoc he’d wreaked with his racist tweets. [Washington Post] * According to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report contains "very substantial evidence" that the president is "guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.” Let’s see if Mueller’s testimony can change any minds on impeachment. [CNN] * After one scandal too many, it looks like Deutsche Bank has decided to hire someone new to look after its legal and regulatory affairs. [Corporate Counsel] * Students and alumni from Penn Law are calling for Professor Amy Wax’s ouster from faculty teaching duties following her latest foray into racism. [Big Law Business] * Aside from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld and Clayton Kozinski, who else will be clerking for Supreme Court justices for the upcoming October term? In addition to these controversial choices, we’ve got the second blind person to ever clerk at the high court, and someone who was picked dead last in the 2010 MLB draft. [Associated Press] * Joan Bullock, former dean of Thomas Jefferson Law School, has decamped to become Dean at the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Congrats! [National Jurist]

House Finally Gets Around To Issuing Subpoenas That Will Be Ignored

Whatever, this is all dumb.

Morning Docket: 06.07.19

* "We want him to testify openly. I think the American people need that. I think, frankly, it's his duty to the American people." House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said that he could subpoena former special counsel Robert Mueller in the next two weeks if they can't come to an agreement for his public testimony. [POLITICO] * After refusing even more subpoena demands, it’s highly likely that the House is going to hold AG Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress. Let’s see if this goes anywhere... [Washington Post] * Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says that he no longer supports the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being used for most abortions: “I can't justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to ... exercise their constitutionally protected right.” [CNN] * In case you missed it, just ahead of his sentencing, former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn fired his entire legal team from Covington. He has new lawyers, but hasn't announced who they are. [National Law Journal] * Denver Law has been sued once again for allegedly paying its female professors less than its male professors, despite the school's consent agreement with the EEOC. This time around, an associate professor at the school claims she's being paid more than $30,000 less than the average salary among her male colleagues. [Law.com]

Morning Docket: 04.29.19

* “President Trump views the Roberts Court as his potential, perhaps literal, ‘get out of jail free’ card.” While Trump thinks he’s got allies on the high court, Chief Justice Roberts has attempted to put the president in his place numerous times — to no apparent avail. [Washington Post] * AG Bill Barr says he may not show up at this week’s Mueller report hearing before the House Judiciary Committee unless Chairman Jerry Nadler changes the proposed questioning format. Au contraire, says Nadler: “The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period.” [CNN] * Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired after refusing to defend the Muslim travel ban, says that the Trump would “likely be indicted on obstruction” if he weren’t president. [The Hill] * In case you missed it, Anna Delvey-Sorokin, the “socialite” who skipped out on more than $250K in fees due to three Biglaw firms, was recently convicted on grand larceny charges. [American Lawyer] * A former Baker & McKenzie paralegal who alleged she was sexually harassed, sued the firm for $200 million, and later withdrew her suit is now on the hook for $35,445 in attorneys’ fees after disobeying court orders to substantiate her claims. [Big Law Business]

Morning Docket: 03.25.19

* In case you somehow missed it, according to Attorney General Bill Barr's summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, there was no collusion with Russia and with regard to obstruction, "[w]hile this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." And that's just fine, because AG Barr exonerated Trump himself. [New York Times] * Speaking of AG Barr, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says he wants to call Barr in to testify due to the “very concerning discrepancies and final decision making” at the DOJ when it came to the Mueller report. [The Hill] * Rudy Giuliani wants apologies and he wants them now: From legislators to former CIA chiefs, Trump’s personal attorney is demanding apologies from all manner of people who said there was evidence of Russian collusion. [Business Insider] * Want to see what the Mueller report actually said? Luckily, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a FOIA lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit to get the contents of the full report within an hour of it being submitted to AG Barr. [National Law Journal] * Justice Brett Kavanaugh has been hired as a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason’s ASS Law Antonin Scalia Law School, where he’ll be teaching a study abroad class titled “Creation of the Constitution.” [Fourth Estate] * I like dollars, I like diamonds, I like -- paper cups? Okurr... When she's not suing people for defamation, Cardi B is applying for a trademark for her catchphrase "Okurrr" to sell t-shirts, hoodies, and paper goods like cups and posters. [TMZ; BBC]

Morning Docket: 03.15.19

* "This is not a normal vote. This will be a vote about the very nature of our constitution and the separation of powers." The Senate voted to reject President Trump's declaration of the national emergency, with 12 Republicans joining with their Democratic colleagues. Now, we'll wait for the reality TV spectacular that will be the president's first veto. [Washington Post] * A poster of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the target of anti-Semitic graffiti in New York. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating. We’ll have more on this later. [New York Times] * Key prosecutors on special counsel Robert Mueller's team are leaving, which could signal that the Russian election interference is coming to an end. The latest prosecutor to head for the exit is Andrew Weissmann, who led cases against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. [NPR] * Was President Trump "dangling the possibility of a pardon" in front of Michael Cohen as a way to keep his former lawyer from telling the truth? If that's what happened, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says it would've been a "terrible" abuse of power.[CNN] * In a 420-0 vote, the House of Representatives "overwhelmingly" approved a resolution urging the Justice Department to make special counsel Robert Mueller's full report available to Congress. This might matter. Maybe? [POLITICO] * "About being fired, all I can say is it wasn't my decision and I wish the center the best." The Southern Poverty Law Center has fired its co-founder Morris Dees over a “personnel issue.” What happened here? [AL.com] * Marc Jacobs has filed a motion to dismiss the copyright lawsuit filed by Nirvana over the designer's use of Kurt Cobain's yellow smiley face, claiming that the fashion house "reinterpreted the design to incorporate [a Marc Jacobs] branding element into an otherwise commonplace image." [Hypebeast] * Former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, author of the Title IX law, RIP. [ESPN]

House Judiciary Requests Documents From 81 People And Entities, ‘Cause There’s No Harm In Asking, I Guess?

The House will not get document production from all these people, but let's enjoy this expansion of the Overton Window.

Morning Docket: 03.04.19

* Was Michael Cohen involved in any talk about potential pardons? Lawmakers are now very interested in exploring this topic to find out if anyone was allegedly obstructing justice. [Washington Post] * As we've been hearing for a while now, special counsel Robert Mueller will submit his final report soon, and it's going to turn into a political firestorm. [Bloomberg] * Meanwhile, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says it’s "very clear" that President Trump obstructed justice in Mueller's probe, and he’s sending out document requests for his own investigation. [Chicago Tribune] * Thomas Reid is out as the managing partner of Davis Polk after accepting the role of general counsel at Comcast. Congratulations and best of luck! [Corporate Counsel] * No one could have possibly seen this one coming: After his stint as White House counsel, Don McGahn will be returning to Jones Day. [National Law Journal] * Michael Cohen was disbarred just days ago, but it's possible he could practice law again the future. It won't be easy, of course, but it could happen. [Big Law Business] * Yay, more law schools... Concordia Law and Lincoln Memorial Law were granted full accreditation by the American Bar Association this weekend. [KTVB 7; WATE 6]

The Strange Fight Over Who Should Take John Conyers Spot Atop The Judiciary Committee

Some very important reshuffling.