Jury Duty

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.04.16

* "Say you'll remember me, standing in a black robe, waiting for a hearing, babe. Begging the SJC, say you will confirm me, even if it's just in my wildest dreams, ah-ha ohh." SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland has something in common with an overwhelming number of teenage girls: he loves Taylor Swift sing-alongs. That's cute! [People] * "A judge does not check his First Amendment rights at the courthouse door." Judge Olu Stevens has filed suit against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission on free-speech grounds in an attempt to stave off an ethics sanction for publicly commenting on Facebook about all-white juries and their "disproportionate and disparate impact on black defendants." [Courier-Journal] * Hardly any partners leave Cravath, but a very important one just did, and his exit is making people talk. Scott Barshay, once a top M&A partner at the firm that tends to set the associate bonus scale, has defected to Paul Weiss, where he'll become its global head of M&A. Which clients will he take to the "dream team"? [DealBook / New York Times] * This plaintiff's antitrust allegations against Uber's CEO may be "wildly implausible" and representative of an "impossibly unwieldy conspiracy," but in Judge Jed Rakoff's eyes, they were enough to overcome a motion to dismiss that was filed by Boies Schiller. Something tells us Uber's legal bills are going to see some surge-pricing. [WSJ Law Blog] * Per a study by Ravel Law, in a new index that tracks federal judges by their rulings and subsequent citations to those rulings, Michigan produces the most influential judges on the federal bench, followed by Chicago, Harvard, and Yale. Harvard has finally gotten one over on Yale -- but for a measly bronze trophy. [Crain's Detroit Business] * According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector gained 1,200 jobs in March. On top of that positive news, February's numbers were revised from a loss of 1,500 jobs to a gain of 100 jobs. In any case, what with the huge discrepancy, we're happy to see Dewey's bookkeepers found new work. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.25.16

* The "best way to get a handle on a circuit judge's judicial philosophy is to look at the judge's concurrences and dissents," but that's a bit problematic in Chief Judge Merrick Garland's case -- in his 19 years on the D.C. Circuit, he's only dissented 16 times. That's less than one dissent for each year he's been on the bench. We'd probably be able to get to know him better if he got a hearing. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Recent law school graduates aren't thrilled about their life choices: Per a survey of more than 7,000 law school alumni, less than half of those who graduated since 2000 "strongly agreed" that if given the chance, they'd choose to go to law school again, and just 20 percent "strongly agreed" that law school was worth the cost. [WSJ Law Blog] * "[L]aw schools systematically deceived students with misleading statistics, with the blessing of the American Bar Association." The jury's verdict in the Alaburda v. TJSL case continues a long history of law schools being left unaccountable and off the hook for their disingenuous employment and salary statistics. [DealBook / New York Times] * "I was not 'instructed' to strike black jurors so much as I was advised or encouraged to do so as a matter of trial strategy." Assistant District Attorney Nathan Wood of Wharton County, Texas, has accused his boss of excluding black residents from juries in criminal cases to improve the prosecution's odds of receiving guilty verdicts. [Houston Chronicle] * One week after resigning from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court over his role in the infamous "Porngate" scandal, citing "disgust" with his conduct, former Justice Michael Eakin was fined $50,000 by the state's Judicial Conduct Board. At least Eakin will be able to keep his state pension, with an estimated $140K annual value. [Associated Press]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.21.16

* Just because you showed up drunk for jury duty, it doesn’t mean you should have to go to jail for it -- at least according to the Florida Supreme Court. [Daily Business Review] * George Will on why Republicans may wind up wishing they’d confirmed Chief Judge Merrick Garland when they had the chance. [Washington Post] * Amal Clooney, speaking at a government communications summit in the United Arab Emirates, urges governments to be vocal, consistent, principled, expedient, and transparent when dealing with human rights issues. [Yahoo News] * High academic achievement now linked to... failure in the workplace? Well, that's simultaneously depressing and comforting. [Law and More] * A former U.S. State Department employee faces up to 8 years in jail for a massive phishing scheme aimed at getting young women to share nude photos. [CS Monitor] * Check out The Merrick Garland Project by NYU Law Review. It’s a curation of select opinions written by Chief Judge Garland, organized by topic. [The Merrick Garland Project] * The obstructed Supreme Court nomination process gets a children’s book treatment. [Slate]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 03.15.16

* A harrowing tale of regret from a former juror who sentenced a man to death for his crimes. [The Marshall Project] * I guess tears and apologies weren't enough: Michael Eakin has resigned from the Pennsylvania bench for sending racy emails on the job. [Penn Live] * Disappointing news for proponents of cameras in the courtroom. The Judicial Conference of the U.S. voted against expanding the pilot program testing cameras in federal courts. [Fix the Court] * Breaking news: student debt causes stress in law students. Film at 11. [Chronicle of Higher Education] * The latest filing in the Paramount/Star Trek fan film copyright case is a treasure trove of all the Trekkie trivia anyone could possibly ask for. [Slate] * As much as liberals may dream about this, actually prosecuting a case against Donald Trump for inciting a riot would be legally difficult to prove. [Law Newz] * The struggles is real! It is hard to do things that we know are good for us, especially amid the crazy schedule most lawyers keep. [Forbes] * Jane Sanders tweeted about the horrific condition found in the jail tent city created by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I guess she wasn't broken up when Sheriff Joe endorsed someone other than her husband for president. [The Slot]

By Kathryn Rubino
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By Barbri
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 01.26.16

* Harvard Law professor Larry Lessig is now depending on a future President Trump to enact the campaign finance reforms he built his failed presidential bid upon. He'll be waiting for a while. [The Crimson] * Ted Cruz has pretty much always been a douche. [Funny or Die] * The People v. O.J. Simpson explores racism, sexism, and more -- all through costume. [Fashionista] * U.S. Senators: They're just like us! Claire McCaskill live-tweets her jury duty experience. [The Slot] * How can you avoid burnout as a lawyer? [Associate's Mind] * Why are embattled public defender offices actually excited about the lawsuits against them? [Christian Science Monitor] * Practical advice for taking advantage of the opportunities that are staring you right in the face. [Guile is Good] * Get the inside scoop on why Rudy Giuliani jumped ship to Greenberg Traurig. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dso0lnNsoRA&feature=youtu.be

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 12.02.15

* The trial of William Porter, the cop accused of killing Freddie Gray has begun and you are already asking the wrong question. This is how spectacles begin. [Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle] * Did this Tiger Mandingo ever stand a chance in court? Not if his lawyer can help it. [Gawker] * This is what it's like when you're at jury duty and a lawyer. [Associate's Mind] * The Supreme Court will tackle tribal jurisdiction and there'll be a rally on Monday in support of  the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. [Native News Online] * A chat with Harrison Dillon, founder of Solazyme. [Hsu Untied] * Lessons learned from a failed attempt at carving out a niche practice. [Reboot Your Law Practice]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 11.30.15

* Delaware bucks the trend of declining bar passage rates! Not such good news for Ohio. [Bar Exam Stats] * Yeah, you've got tax law to blame for the terrible Star Wars prequels. [Federal Tax Blog] * A second juror in the Sheldon Silver case tries to get out of jury deliberations. Judge denies it, the juror will do their "best or whatever." [Wall Street Journal] * The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court just named 5 attorneys as public advocates. Get the scoop on who they really are. [Ars Technica] * Ayelette Robinson, a former corporate lawyer turned actress, is featured on a new podcast. [Hsu Untied] * You wanna fix the problem of chronic overwork, stress, and dissatisfaction in Biglaw? Then LEAVE. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

By Kathryn Rubino