Kim Davis

* Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed over her refusal to give marriage licenses to gay couples, was released by order of Judge David Bunning — with a warning not to interfere with her deputy clerks’ duties. Hmm, yeah, she’s totally going back to jail. [New York Times]

* The law school applicant pool is still dwindling after all these years, so it’s interesting to see which schools are offering students the biggest bribes scholarships and grants (some of which may later disappear) so they can fill the seats in their classes with asses. [Bloomberg via PreLaw]

* This Montana Law professor claims that he was forced to retire from his teaching position early due to the school’s ongoing budget cuts: “I am the first full-time member of the law faculty upon whom the ax has fallen.” We’ll have more on this later. [Missoulian]

* Hmm, what Dewey know about the standard of evidence for conviction in the D&L fraud trial? “Woulda, coulda, shoulda is fine for cocktail party conversation. In this courtroom and in any courtroom, the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.” [Reuters]

* Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, who received an LL.M. in taxation from NYU School of Law, is making a $20 million donation to the school, its largest gift ever. We wonder how much he’s giving to his alma mater, Wayne State Law. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Not the most exciting law clerk story of the last couple days, but a federal clerk texting defense lawyers “as of 3:34 today you owe me a beer (or wine!)” right after they won a big motion from her judge was… unwise. [Blog of the Legal Times]

* The defense rests early in the Dewey trial, calling no witnesses in a move designed to express confidence. Hey, it’s not like these guys have wildly misjudged anything before. [Law360]

* Biglaw is splurging on cushy amenities for their offices. Is it helping net clients? [Wall Street Journal]

* But maybe the amenity Biglaw really needs is a place to sleep — Biglaw associates need to take more naps, you guys. If you want to know where to shop, there’s four places. There’s the Hammock Hut, that’s on Third… [Bloomberg View]

* Right-wing SCOTUS clerks landing plum jobs on Capitol Hill with help from Federalist Society connections. [National Law Journal]

* With Kim Davis jailed, her deputies waste no time assuring the public that they will be issuing same-sex marriage licenses. [Associated Press via MSN]

* Speaking of Kim Davis, if you were expecting her to receive a flood of donations from like-minded culture warriors through a GoFundMe account, think again. The website has had it up to here with bad publicity and has officially banned campaigns to fund people facing formal charges. [Addicting Info]

* The defense rests early in the Dewey trial, calling no witnesses to express confidence. Hey, it’s not like these guys have wildly misjudged anything before. [Law360]

* Biglaw is splurging on cushy amenities for their offices. Is it helping net clients? [Wall Street Journal]

* But maybe the amenity they really need is a place to sleep — Biglaw associates need to take more naps, you guys. If you want to know where to shop, there’s four places. There’s the Hammock Hut, that’s on Third… [Bloomberg View]

* Right-wing SCOTUS clerks landing plum jobs on Capitol Hill with help from Federalist Society connections. [National Law Journal]

* With Kim Davis jailed, her deputies waste no time assuring the public that they will be issuing same-sex marriage licenses. [Associated Press via MSN]

* Speaking of Kim Davis, if you were expecting her to receive a flood of donations from like-minded culture warriors through a GoFundMe account, think again. The website has had it up to here with bad publicity and has officially banned campaigns to fund people facing formal charges. [Addicting Info]

* Who could be mad at this cute little hamster? Oh, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner for whom the toy was named… without her consent. [Jezebel]

* You like song parodies. So checkout these law-based ones that are “funny to lawyers who have had three drinks after the dessert course.” Bonus: it also raises money for Legal Aid. [Connecticut Law Tribune]

* Handy guide to law schools that offer the biggest tuition discounts. [Tax Prof Blog]

* Fun way to end Throwback Thursday: scroll through the wills and probate records for historical figures like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Eli Whitney, and Daniel Webster. [Pictorial]

* Interested in a private legal networking site? Not so fast, you’ll be banned if you write about it. [Law Sites]

* Ugh, this Kentucky clerk/Kim Davis debacle is still going on, now with 100% more jail time. [New York Times]

* Tips on how to get over that awkward hurdle and actually talk to a colleague who recently lost their job. [Law and More]

* What traits make for good lawyers? [It’s Not About The Lawyers, Teacup]

* We’ve told you before about Covington partner Mark Mosier’s son, Michael, who passed away at age 6 from DIPG, a rare brain tumor. Now Eric Holder has recorded a video to raise awareness of the disease. [Defeat DIPG]

* More concrete rumors are swirling that President Obama will teach at Columbia Law School once his term is up, with Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger seemingly confirming Obama would have some role at the school in 2017. [Quartz]

* We told you Amal Clooney just lost a big case, but did the AP lose even more when they tweeted about the case referring to the human rights lawyer as an “actor’s wife”? [Legal Cheek]

* Everyone knows the legal profession has a… problem when it comes to substance abuse. But do lawyers overshare their issues? Or does an open attitude about these problems create a culture where more are willing to seek help? [Law and More]

* Yes, that clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, is still refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Maybe we should blame her lawyers. [Slate]

* If you want to be the best, learn from the best — writing tips from none other than Justice Kagan. [Business Insider]

* Some tough words for lawyers that want the easy life: you shouldn’t get the clients. [It’s Not About The Lawyers, Teacups]

* How do we go about changing the public defense system, which serves ~80% of all defendants? [Fulling the Promise]

* ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams is suing his neighbors over his lawyerly lair — and one of the defendants is a Biglaw partner at a top firm. Expect more on this later. [New York Post]

* Speaking of Biglaw, a familiar tale of financial performance: gross revenue at Am Law 100 firms grew by 4 percent in the first half of 2015, but driven by rate increases rather than demand growth. [American Lawyer]

* If you want the Supreme Court to hear your case, try to steer your cert petition clear of the “long conference,” known as the place “where petitions go to die.” [New York Times]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, the Court won’t come to the rescue of the Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples — time to issue those licenses or quit, Kim Davis. [How Appealing]

* But the justices did come to the (temporary) rescue of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, allowing him to remain free until SCOTUS acts on his petition for certiorari. [SCOTUSblog via How Appealing]

* Are criticisms of the S.E.C.’s administrative-law procedures correct? Here’s a study from Professor David Zaring. [New York Times]

* The Show-Me State leads when it comes to showing defendants to their deaths: Missouri has displaced Texas as the “epicenter of the American death penalty.” [The Marshall Project]

* Speaking of capital punishment, I predicted that these particular Ninth Circuit judges wouldn’t be too sympathetic to this challenge to the death penalty — and based on yesterday’s oral argument, it seems I was right. [How Appealing]

* Should town clerks opposed to gay marriage be required to issue licenses to all couples? The Sixth Circuit says…. [How Appealing]

* John H. Ray III, the African American ex-associate at Ropes & Gray who claimed the elite firm discriminated against him, loses in court again, this time before the First Circuit. [National Law Journal]

* Vester Lee Flanagan aka Bryce Williams, the Virginia television broadcaster who killed two colleagues on-air before killing himself, was also no stranger to the legal system: he filed multiple lawsuits alleging racial discrimination. [New York Times]

* Why are in-house lawyers more likely than their non-attorney corporate colleagues to fall for phishing emails? [ABA Journal]

* Dewey know when the prosecution will rest in this seemingly endless trial? Probably today. [Wall Street Journal]

* State judges get nasty with each other in Oregon. [Oregonian]

* Federal judges around the country are advocating for a second look at how defendants get sentenced. [New York Times]

* The Dilly in Philly: Paul Clement v. Ted Olson. [Am Law Litigation Daily]

* A T14 law graduate turned “traveling artist” gets charged with criminal sexual assault in Chicago. [Chicago Tribune]

* Speaking of sexual assault laws, Emily Bazelon explains how the St. Paul’s Rape Case shows why these laws must change. [New York Times]

* Update: convicted Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes didn’t get just a life sentence, but 12 life sentences — plus 3,318 years on top of that. [CNN]

* Linda Hirshman, author of the forthcoming book Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World (affiliate link), explains how Justices O’Connor, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor brought wisdom to SCOTUS (but where’s the love for Justice Kagan?). [Slate via How Appealing]

* Judge Lance Mason, who was suspended from his duties earlier this year, recently pleaded guilty to charges related to a brutal attack made on his wife. He’ll be sentenced in September, and faces up to 36 months in prison. [Northeast Ohio Media Group]

* No one will be getting lucky in Kentucky under this clerk’s watch: Two months after SCOTUS declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, this state court clerk is still turning away gay couples and refusing to issue marriage licenses. [New York Times]

* Per the latest report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group, even though this year started out well, the bank is revising its financial performance forecast, and not in a good way. Hopefully firms will be able to weather the latest monetary storm. [Am Law Daily]

* Starting in mid-October, lawyers and law firms will be able to purchase .law domain names. A few influential law firms — DLA Piper, Skadden Arps, and SCOTUSblog-affiliated Russell & Goldstein — have gotten first dibs on them. Congrats! [WSJ Law Blog]

* Law librarians at large and medium-sized firms feel underutilized and underpaid, and that’s unfortunate, because like Liam Neeson in Taken, they’ve got a very particular set of skills, skills they’ve acquired over a very long career. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]