Libel

Truth, remember, is an absolute defense.

Trump may be opening up a bottomless can of legal worms.

* Michael Chertoff, who once led the Whitewater congressional investigation, in now endorsing Hillary Clinton. [Bloomberg View] * No, Donald Trump does not understand libel laws. [GQ] * The New York City Council's investigation into the removal of deed restrictions from Rivington House. [Cityland] * Thoughts on strategies for surviving this year's election for African-Americans. [Equal Citizenship Movement] * The year in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions. [FCPA Professor] * Tim Kaine's tortured history with the death penalty. [Buzzfeed]

* Roger Ailes hires Hulk Hogan and Melania Trump lawyer Charles Harder for a possible suit against NY Mag. [Huffington Post]

* As expected, Haynes & Boone has merged with Curtis Davis Garrard [Texas Lawyer]

* Berkeley’s Sujit Choudhry still coming to work amid sexual harassment claims. [ABC 7]

* An update on the revenge porn law that’s seen over 200 prosecuted in England and Wales. [CNET]

* Avvo defends its fixed-fee legal services after a South Carolina ethics ruling dinged the practice. [Corporate Counsel]

* Sullivan & Cromwell tapped to make one lucky French fan base learn what it’s like to have Frank McCourt as an owner. [The Am Law Daily]

* Second Circuit throws procedural roadblocks in front of workers seeking back wages. Happy Labor Day! [Law360]

Check out the update! Lawyers love to kvetch, but rarely consider their complaints may be the basis of a lawsuit.

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

* Bill Cosby files suit against 7 women who accused him of sexual assault, because accusers say the darnedest things. [BBC News]

* NY to 193!!! If you’re a state judge. Maybe. [NY Daily News]

* Bowe Bergdahl faces court-martial for desertion. It’s like Saving Private Ryan meets Earnest Goes To Fort Leavenworth. [NY Times]

* Jury convicts the Bryan Cave attorney accused of fraud in an effort to take over Maxim magazine. [NY Post]

* A Missouri lawmaker proposes a bill to strip athletes of scholarships if they refuse to play because one possible scrap of power for black people hasn’t been regulated yet. [Huffington Post]

* Rather than accept the $200 million judgment against Andrews Kurth, a Texas judge orders the parties back to mediation. [Law360]

* Putin signs law allowing Russia to overturn international human rights decisions in a move that, frankly, I’m surprised wasn’t taken years ago. [Reuters]

Pop quiz, hotshot: does a business have a cause of action for a negative Yelp review?

Donald Trump goes after a conservative group for calling him a liberal.

Even after the Rolling Stone debacle, many dubious beliefs persist about women who allege that they have been sexually assaulted, the men those women accuse, and how the media reports on it.

Can the maker of a product use contract law to shut up its users?

* Parties in Utah’s gay marriage case are boosting their legal backbones. Utah picked up Gene Schaerr, of Winston & Strawn, who is leaving the firm to serve as lead outside counsel. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)]

* New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called upon Randy Mastro of Gibson Dunn to assist with Bridgegate’s fallout. Because messing with people’s commutes into New York City is that big of a deal. [Am Law Daily]

* Come next year, Yale Law School will be joining the majority of law schools located on this planet by holding its fall finals before winter break. They’ll still be studying anyway… just for fun! [Yale Daily News]

* “Being in Portland … is hard to facilitate when you are based in Eugene.” Oregon Law, sadly unable to master the fine art of teleportation, will allow students to take their 3L classes in Portland as soon as in 2015. [National Law Journal]

* Courtney Love was in court this week testifying in the first “Twibel” (Twitter + libel) trial in the nation. Oh, that’s so interesting, but what America really wants to know is what she was wearing. [Businessweek]

This prestigious pair had their criminal charges dismissed, and now they're mad as hell...

* Federal judges are going to keep getting their cost of living raises. Sequestration be damned! [CBS DC] * Florida passes “anti-Sharia law” law. Accidentally outlaws Jewish divorce instead. [Gawker] * Why are people so stupid? Legal threat based on the name of a blog. Not the actual content, just the name. In a related note, we’d like to let everyone know that if we write about you, you are not, in fact, “above the law.” [Popehat] * This is curious. Convicted of stealing $1 million dollars and walking away without jail time. And no written opinion to explain it. Moral of the story? Commit your crimes in Judge Carney’s court. [Navelgazing / OC Weekly] * You’ve got to move fast if you want to take the profit off a disaster. Best part? A tipster says the explosion pictured isn’t even of the fertilizer plant explosion. [Baron & Budd] * Newsmax videoed an interview with Logan Beirne, author of Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency (affiliate link). Apparently, George Washington was a badass. No kidding. [Newsmax] * Well you must have expected something like this. Michael Shannon delivers a dramatic reading of the sorority girl’s memorable cease and desist letter….

Straight from the glue factory, a special guest makes an appearance to discuss all of the lawsuits Lance Armstrong is currently facing.

A prominent Manhattan lawyer is suing his own daughter -- for libel. Throw a seven-figure trust fund into the mix, and we have ourselves a Lawsuit of the Day....

Tianna Madison's family is suing their gold medalist daughter, because they love her that much...

And this is why bloggers always hyperlink….

An anonymous commenter's lawyer responds to a libel suit filed by two Las Vegas prosecutors...

In late 2011, television viewers expressed outrage over the pageant industry's tendency to sexualize children. After all, with mothers dressing their daughters like surgically-enhanced country singers, fake breasts and all, or hookers with hearts of gold, how could viewers be anything but horrified? In all honesty, some of these little girls look like complete prosti-tots. This backdrop brings us to today's Lawsuit of the Day, where the mother of one of these tiara-toting toddlers alleges that a well-known celebrity gossip site had a hand in scandalizing her daughter....