Maryland

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.16.17

* It's not just Hawaii; a federal judge in Maryland has also ruled against Donald Trump's revised immigration order. [CNN] * Every woman to ever argue before the Supreme Court. [Supreme Court Brief] * Accusations abound that former Yahoo GC Ronald Bell "took the hit" for CEO Marissa Mayer in the hacking matter. Now if she can someone to take the hit for the company's overall performance, she'll be golden. [CNBC] * Emma Watson pursuing legal action against hackers over leaked photos of a fitting. Expecto litigious! [Time] * Relatedly, Lisa Bloom warns against revenge-porn dealers peddling Mischa Barton pics. [USA Today] * Video game cheating can be a costly industry -- Blizzard is suing a cheat-maker for $8.5 million. Or, you know, 1/200th of what Blizzard brings in annually. [Kotaku] * Immigration could disrupt the happily ever after ending of The Bachelor before the customary 2 months. [Chicago Tribune] * The Mormon Church is getting lessons in the breadth of the First Amendment. [Salt Lake Tribune]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.26.16

* Could it be? Could she really do such a thing? Rumor has it that Amal Clooney may be quitting her law firm job at Doughty Street Chambers to become a fashion designer for the likes of fashion house Oscar de la Renta. We may have more on this later today. [Inquisitr] * Maryland's AG intends to contest a ruling granting "Serial" podcast subject Adnan Syed a new trial, saying that the state would "defend what it believes is a valid conviction." Syed has been servicing a life sentence for the murder of Hae Min Lee since 2000. [Baltimore Sun] * Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert may be behind bars for a 15-month term for attempting to conceal secret payments to his underage sexual assault victims in a cover-up scheme, but that doesn't mean he's not going to fight a lawsuit seeking the full $3.5 million he allegedly said he would pay to buy a victim's silence. [Chicago Tribune] * Vermont Law School, which was hit relatively hard by the recession in terms of its ability to fill its seats, has applied for a $15 million loan from the federal government to help restructure its debts. Unlike what its students face in terms of their debt, the law school may be able to get a good interest rate upon approval. [VTDigger / Valley News] * "[A]ttempting to fit the sale of Bitcoin into a statutory scheme regulating money services businesses is like fitting a square peg in a round hole." Congratulations (or perhaps condolences?) digital currency aficionados, because a judge just ruled that Bitcoin isn't money for the purposes of money-laundering statutes. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 02.05.16

* Today the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention held WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for more than three years, is being "arbitrarily detained" arguing he should be allowed freedom of movement without fear of being extradited to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning for a variety of charges including rape. Though the decision has no formal authority, but Assange, who has maintained his innocence on the Swedish charges, can at least claim a moral victory. That's something at least. [Washington Post] * The Fourth Circuit found that Maryland's gun law, passed in the wake of the horrific Newton shooting, should be reviewed under a strict scrutiny standard since it "significantly burdens the exercise of the right to arm oneself at home" and remanded the case back to the district court. [Wall Street Journal] * Uber had an actual victory amid all of its legal woes. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decided against combining over a dozen employment cases into a MDL. [National Law Journal] * Meet the woman recently hired as the NFL's senior vice president for investigations. Lisa Friel, formerly a New York prosecutor in the Sexual Victim's Unit under District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, is charged with investigating all potential violations of the league's personal conduct code. Hopefully she can bring some consistency to the process. [New York Times] * The human cost behind a life led in immigration limbo. No wonder last night's Dem debate spent so much time talking about the need for comprehensive immigration reform. [CNN]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.18.15

* Both Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel (formerly of Katten Muchin) and Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli pleaded not guilty to securities fraud charges. Now, the world is left to weep because Skhreli's Wu-Tang album wasn't seized. [Reuters] * “You are not an American because you got sworn in on a Koran." The Hate Crimes Unit of the New York Police Department is investigating a series of threatening calls made to Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo, Brooklyn's first Muslim judge. [WSJ Law Blog] * David Lola, the contract attorney who sued Skadden and Tower Legal for overtime pay with claims he wasn't practicing law, settled his claims for $75,000. But now we don't know if doc reviewers are entitled to overtime pay. :( [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Slater & Gordon, the world's first publicly traded law firm, continues to watch as its stock price tumbles. The firm's shares are now worth A$0.89 after it decided to pull its earnings guidance, and they've lost 90 percent of their value since April. [The Guardian] * That's not how you're supposed to examine briefs: A Maryland court commissioner was charged with visual surveillance with prurient intent and misconduct in office after allegedly using his cellphone to take an upskirt photo of a courthouse employee. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky