Nebraska

Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Compares Vote Stealing Executives To Patty & Selma

Nebraskan voters won yesterday... but it was still very shady.

Passionate Lawmaker Teaches Us The Importance Of Issue Spotting

Well, there goes Furries being a protected class…

Morning Docket: 02.25.22

* And the winner is? Biden made his Supreme Court justice pick and we should know her name soon. [WaPo] * Beware of scrubs: A new California law may mean you better make sure your friend stays in the passenger side of the rental. [SF Gate] * The future of abortion rights are unclear in Nebraska. [Omaha] * Not that united: The DOJ wants to prevent an $8b United Health x Change Healthcare merger. [IBJ]

The Cornhusker State Has Chance To Do More Than Make Do For Parents

Is this just Nebraska's strange way of incentivizing same-sex marriage?

Morning Docket: 09.15.20

* A Florida city has repealed an ordinance against saggy pants over claims that the law unfairly targeted people of color. [Fox News] * An Iowa lawyer, who transferred a case to another lawyer without client consent, has been suspended from practice. [Bloomberg Law] * The Mayor of Rochester, New York, has fired the city's police chief and suspended the Rochester City Attorney over the death of Daniel Prude. [Hill] * The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that the Green Party will be off the presidential ballot in Wisconsin for the upcoming election. [CNN] * Law school deans are asking for an open-book bar exam given the hardships that bar candidates presently face. [ABA Journal] * A Nebraska lawyer has been sentenced to up to four years in prison for purportedly keeping thousands of dollars of settlement money meant for clients. [Lincoln Journal Star] * Attorneys General of several states are calling on Netflix to remove the show Cuties due to alleged sexualization of children. [ABC News]

Morning Docket: 06.29.20

* The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is suing Netflix for its depiction of Sherlock Holmes as a kind and caring sleuth. Wonder if there was ever legal action over Holmes and Watson... [CNN] * Texas law firms are rethinking reopening plans amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. [Texas Lawyer] * A disciplinary panel has suggested a two-year suspension for a lawyer who showed "aggressive tactics and relentless vindictiveness" in practicing law. Some clients might like those qualities. [ABA Journal] * A lawyer claims that he was retaliated against for exposing financial irregularities at a healthcare company. [Dallas Morning News] * Justin Bieber has filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit against women who have accused him of assault. [CNN] * A Nebraska attorney who accepted cocaine as compensation has been disbarred. He should have just stuck to cash, check, or credit card... [Associated Press]

Morning Docket: 03.31.20

* A federal judge has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a tattoo artist who claims his work was copied when the video game NBA 2K depicted Lebron James with his tattoo. That's a fact pattern worthy of a law school exam. [New York Post] * A Nebraska attorney has been disbarred for punching his 83-year old father in the face. [Bloomberg Law] * A federal judge in Texas has blocked the state's ban on non-essential abortions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. [CBS News] * A federal judge has agreed to advance a lawsuit against Panera alleging that it misled customers when it only used trace amounts of blueberries in its blueberry muffins. Please tell me they only don't use trace amounts of chocolate in their chocolate chip muffins... [Reuters] * An attorney who interrupted a deposition around 145 times and made 106 objections has been sanctioned $1,000. [ABA Journal] * In-house counsel at a variety of companies, including The Cheesecake Factory, are facing pay cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not even joking, I would gladly accept cheesecake as part of my compensation package. [Bloomberg Law]

Another State Adopts Duty Of Technology Competence, Bringing Total To 28

Welcome to the club, Nebraska!

Morning Docket: 12.27.16

* According to CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, sources have said that President-elect Trump has narrowed his list of potential Supreme Court nominees down to five candidates: Bill Pryor (Eleventh Circuit), Thomas Hardiman (Third Circuit), Steve Colloton (Eighth Circuit), Diane Sykes (Seventh Circuit), and Joan Larsen (Michigan Supreme Court). Which judge do you think the PEOTUS will choose? [Face the Nation / CBS News] * President-elect Trump isn't just inheriting a Supreme Court vacancy -- he's inheriting much, much more. Thanks to an "unprecedented level of obstruction" on the part of Republican senators when it came to President Obama's federal judicial nominees, there are more than 100 judicial vacancies, which will give the Trump administration the leeway to reshape the judiciary through lifetime appointments. [Washington Post] * Is the end near for the European and Middle Eastern branch of King & Wood Mallesons? As other Biglaw firms poach partners, the firm has filed a notice to appoint administrators, and according to a spokesperson, this legal move was "designed to protect the firm from its creditors ... as it continues to explore all available options." The firm is not expected to file for pre-pack administration until January. [Am Law Daily] * There is a dire shortage of rural lawyers in flyover country, and it's causing the justice gap to become even wider in some states. For example, Nebraska has 93 counties, and 11 of them are without a single lawyer. This is a problem that's left other lawyers traveling far and wide to see clients and potential clients attempting to handle their legal matters themselves -- which has caused errors in business matters, divorces, and wills. [NPR] * If you've applied to law school, you may be wondering how you can best prepare for a recorded video interview. You may think it's tough to impress an admissions committee through such impersonal means, but if you prepare for this as if it were a live interview, keep your answers short and sweet (think one minute or less), and be yourself, you'll have this one in the bag. You can review some of these practice questions. [U.S. News]

ICYMI: SCOTUS (Puff, Puff) Passes On NE & OK v. CO Marijuana Lawsuit

What is most important about this decision is that the highest court in our country refused to consider a challenge to state-legal marijuana.

Morning Docket: 03.24.16

* "If you give a judge a meeting, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk, because he is probably very thirsty from that one time you compared him to Idi Amin." In light of the stranglehold Republicans have on Chief Judge Merrick Garland's fate when it comes to his confirmation hearings, Dahlia Lithwick composed this cute riff on the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. [Slate] * In an attempt to get with the times, Vermont Law is offering a Reduced-Residency Juris Doctor program, where students will be able to take up to 15 credits online in an off-campus location. Unfortunately, this flexibility comes at a price -- the same exact price as the school's regular J.D. program. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * Considering the high tensions during oral arguments yesterday in Zubik v. Burwell, a legal battle having to do with the ACA's contraceptives mandate, the Supreme Court seems poised to issue another 4-4 split decision in one of the most controversial cases this term. If that happens, the lower court ruling would be left intact. [New York Times] * The ABA Journal wants to know how much you paid in law school tuition. If you graduated before the cost of a three-year legal education was akin to a mortgage, please take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are. If you're a recent graduate, you've got plenty of people to commiserate with about your hefty debt burdens. [ABA Journal] * "Did the Supreme Court make weed legal across America?" No, no it did not, and you must be stoned if you think that's what the high court did in its decision, or lack thereof, in the Nebraska v. Colorado case that it begged off on earlier this week. For now, the federal legalization of marijuana is nothing more than just a pipe dream. [Inquisitr]

Morning Docket: 02.17.16

* "There’s no unwritten law that says it can only be done in off years. That’s not in the constitutional text." Angering armchair constitutional scholars, President Obama vowed to appoint someone to replace Justice Scalia following his death, despite the fact that it's an election year. [New York Times] * "My gut tells me there is something fishy going on in Texas." The fact that Justice Scalia was found dead with a pillow over his head has made conspiracy theorists come out in droves. Some are "stunned" that an autopsy wasn't performed on the late justice. [Daily Intelligencer / New York Magazine] * Dickstein Shapiro partners were informed via letter that they'd face "the almost certain loss of all firm capital." For some equity partners, that's more than $1 million -- and the letter wasn't even signed "sincerely." How rude! [National Law Journal via ABA Journal] * Justice Scalia's passing could have an impact on the anti-marijuana legalization suit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado. The Court was supposed to discuss it this week, but the justices may not want to overpack their bowls, so to speak. [Guardian] * Troubled Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane will not be seeking reelection after her term expires in January 2017. With her license to practice law suspended and criminal charges pending, we'll see if she's even able to make it that far. [WSJ Law Blog] * Vigilante justice on the internet swift: Despite Google listing the firm as "permanently closed" and its brutal one-star Yelp rating, "Making a Murderer" prosecutor Ken Kratz assured reporters his law firm was still open, contrary to appearances. [Post-Crescent] * Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former U.N. Secretary General, RIP. [New York Times]