Jury Selection

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.02.16

* WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN HULKAMANIA SELECTS A JURY TO RUN WILD ON YOU?!?! Jury selection has started in Hulk Hogan's $100M sex-tape case against Gawker. The trial begins next week, and if he wins, his 24-inch pythons could put the site out of business. [New York Post] * President Obama met with Senate leaders yesterday to talk about his impending Supreme Court nomination, and the Republicans present held steady in their adamant refusal to hold hearings or vote on any of his prospective candidates. After all, President Trump's 2017 nominee will obviously be a far greater choice. [The Hill] * "They're just normal people. They weren't always judges." Being a federal judge with a lifetime appointment may be a "surprisingly monastic existence" at times, but the fact of the matter is that our Supreme Court justices are really just like us. Off the bench, some of them are social butterflies, and others are complete hermits. [Washington Post] * According to a recent study on federal law clerks, "judges appointed by Republicans are more likely to hire clerks who come from the left-side of the ideological spectrum," but that's likely because the pickings are slim when it comes to conservative clerks. Top law school grads tend to lean liberal, so the applicant pool is a bit skewed. [WSJ Law Blog] * K&L Gates is leaking partners, practice leaders, and executive committee members like a sieve once again, but Peter Kalis, the firm's usually outspoken chairman, hasn't said a peep about the departures yet. What's going on at the firm? If you have any information, please feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477). [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 11.09.15

* From Jackie Robinson to Missouri: Money is more important to white people than hating on blacks. [ATL Redline] * Are you right to be outraged when the government lies to you? [Guile is Good] * A glimmer of hope in 2015 bar exam results, but mostly more bad news. [Bar Exam Stats] * On the minutiae of sentencing: one man’s prison term all comes down to a comma. [The Economist] * Do you have a reputation? Or a personal brand? [Associate's Mind] * The science and art of jury consultation. [Life of the Law] * A blueprint on the future of "spoofing" cases. [New York Times]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 10.26.15

* More bar exam results! Which school saw its passage rate take a 15 point hit? [Bar Exam Stats] * This is the right way to break up a protest at Planned Parenthood: with a smiling clit cartoon. [Slate] * How we can rethink the history of slavery and the Constitution. [Berkeley News] * Maybe Judge Stevens is onto something -- the Supreme Court to take on the issue of racial bias in jury selection. [Gawker] * Hillary wants to keep marijuana illegal -- is this her version of she "didn't inhale?" [Al-Jazeera] * Kickstarter class actions. What hell hath we wrought? [Associates Mind] * In this corner we have the Oregon Attorney General. In the other we have vitamin giant GNC. Who will win this battle royale? Not so fast -- it's a trick question since one side's dietary supplements were laced with illegal drugs. [Vox] * The latest in The Atlantic's series on the Reconstruction. [The Atlantic]

By Kathryn Rubino