Madhav Srinivasan

Non-Sequiturs

Non Sequiturs: 04.14.19

* "How Tough-on-Crime Prosecutors Contribute to Mass Incarceration." My review of Emily Bazelon's new book, Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (affiliate link). [New York Times Book Review] * When it comes to prosecutors, as former prosecutor Joel Cohen explains, it's all about discretion. [New York Law Journal] * Judge Nancy Gertner (Ret.) defends Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins's exercise of her prosecutorial discretion -- and argues that Thomas Turco's criticisms of Rollins are unfair. [Boston Globe] * Another ex-prosecutor, Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro, is representing tennis star Naomi Osaka in the "repugnant" lawsuit filed against her by her former coach. [Tennis365] * Former federal prosecutors, many of them now partners at Biglaw firms, represent more than half of the defense lawyers in Operation Varsity Blues, aka the college admissions scandal. [Big Law Business] * High-stakes litigation is just one of many factors contributing to Biglaw's robust profit margin these days -- hovering around 40 percent, its highest value in almost 30 years, according to Madhav Srinivasan of Hunton Andrews Kurth. [Law.com] * Ronald Collins interviews Joan Biskupic about her latest judicial biography, The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts (affiliate link). [SCOTUSblog] * And speaking of SCOTUS, Will Baude believes that the death penalty "is justifiable and constitutional" -- but argues that the Court has not acquitted itself well in its recent handling of capital cases. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.16.18

* Will Senator Susan Collins be persuaded by the campaign to get her to vote against Judge Brett Kavanaugh? Ed Whelan has his doubts. [Bench Memos / National Review] * Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman identifies his "Supreme Court All-Stars" (2013-2017): the lawyers and law firms with the most arguments -- and wins -- before the high court. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Greg Lukianoff and Adam Goldstein offer tips for protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, inspired by a new book, The Coddling of the American Mind (affiliate link) by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason] * Charles Glasser to news organizations, on the subject of self-policing: do better. [Daily Caller] * How should we evaluate the success of law firm mergers? Madhav Srinivasan of Hunton Andrews Kurth has some thoughts on methodology. [Law.com] * And Orin Kerr offers a proposal for applying the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to compelled "decryption" of a locked phone, computer, or file. [SSRN] * Speaking of privacy, Google is taking some heat in Arizona over its alleged practice of recording location data of Android device owners even if they opted out of such tracking. [Washington Post] * When it comes to learning how to integrate technology into the delivery of legal services, American law firms can learn a thing or two from the Brits -- as the latest move by CMS suggests. [Artificial Lawyer]

By David Lat