The Not-So-Young and the Restless: Drama at One First Street?
Are Justice Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts on the outs over Obamacare? And how has public opinion of the Supreme Court shifted in the wake of the Affordable Care Act decision?
Morning Docket: 06.29.12
* You don’t necessarily have to agree with what Chief Justice John Roberts did with respect to his health care opinion, but you’ve got to admit that it was an act of statesmanship that will forever define his legacy on the Court. [New York Times] * CNN, one of the world’s most reliable news networks, reports that no many legal scholars were surprised unsurprised by yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to strike down uphold the Individual Broccoli Mandate Affordable Care Act. [CNN] * Word to the wise: don’t get cocky over in the Eighth Circuit, because apparently boosting the length of a prison term based on whether or not a defendant is smiling at sentencing is not considered an abuse of discretion. [National Law Journal] * Dewey know why the number of law firm mergers and acquisitions in the United States dropped during the second quarter? Truth be told, they’re all scared, because “[n]obody wants to wind up with a lemon.” [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * George Zimmerman, the man charged in Trayvon Martin’s death, is returning to court today to try to get himself released on bond… again. Let’s give him some credit, because he sure is tenacious. [ABC News] * Listen, it’s not an easy thing to perform an exorcism these days. Sometimes a priest really just needs to kiss and caress the demon out of your body — a sexorcism, if you will. Nothing to sue over, nothing at all. [MSNBC]
Labor and Employment Federal Litigation Trends 2026
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Quote of the Day: Good F*%&in’ Luck With That
Will the Supreme Court provide live audio access to the announcement of its opinion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act case (aka Obamacare)?
Quote of the Day: That Makes One of Us…
I have complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine when recusal is warranted. They are jurists of exceptional integrity and experience whose character and fitness have been examined through a rigorous appointment and confirmation process. — Chief Justice John Roberts, defending the Supreme Court’s ethical standards in light of calls for Justices […]
A Portrait of Elena Kagan as a Young Justice
The latest issue of New York magazine contains a very interesting profile of the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest member, Justice Elena Kagan, penned by Dahlia Lithwick. Here’s the bottom-line summary of the piece (via Ezra Klein): “While Kagan is assuredly a liberal, and likely also a fan of the health-reform law, a close read of […]
Inside Straight: How The Legal System Brands The Beef
Many prominent people have raised their voices about the increasing irrelevance of academic writing to practicing lawyers and judges. Yet, despite railing at the academy, those judges -- and law firms, and sophisticated purchasers of legal services -- all rely on the academics to identify talented lawyers. Law schools brand the beef, and purchasers buy based on the brand. Why is that process natural and appropriate?
Opus 2 Steps Up Its AI Game With Acquisition Of A Legal Tech Startup
With the addition of Uncover’s technology, the litigation software is delivering rapid innovation.
Non-Sequiturs: 07.08.11
* Chief Justice Roberts tries to explain why law reviews are so damn useless and boring. [Adjunct Law Prof Blog] * Look, I like Jimmer Ferdette Fredette. I think that he was discriminated against because he’s white and I’ll bet all the money in my pocket that he ends up having a better career than […]
Quote of the Day: When You Set Aside the Text, It’s Off to the Races
It should not be surprising that the two dissents have sharply different views on how to read the statute. That is the sort of thing that can happen when statutory analysis is so untethered from the text. — Chief Justice John Roberts, benchslapping the dissents by Justices Breyer and Sotomayor in Chamber of Commerce v. […]