Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.01.17

This week in the legal blogosphere.... * Everyone gets their day in arbitration really doesn't have a great ring to it. But, Benchmark Capital's lawsuit against former Uber head Travis Kalanick is headed there anyway. [Law and More] * New York City Department of Education Chancellor Carmen Farina spoke at New York Law School about the partnerships and programs that create a truly comprehensive education for public school kids. Anyone interested in the state of public education should pay attention to Farina's remarks. [Cityland] * "I betrayed my people and will be known as a modern day Dathan, all for tax cuts, but all I got was this stupid hat" -- Gary Cohn soon. [The Levin Report] * Is the judge in Senator Menendez's trial unfairly disenfranchising voters by preventing him for attending Senate votes? [The Hill] * Remember William C. Bradford? Well, he says it was the hackers who made his account call Obama's mother a whore. That sounds totally plausible! [CNN] * Law student caught on video trying to burn money in front of a homeless man won't be expelled. He's a still a dick though. [Legal Cheek] * Judge Harold Murphy took senior status at 90. A look back at a distinguished career. [Bloomberg BNA] * Another reminder that doing good usually puts you behind the 8 ball financially. [Medium]

By Above the Law
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.25.17

* Trump is ready to pardon Joe Arpaio. Senate Republicans get ready to shrug their shoulders and say "As long as the GOP has a strategy to prevent Latinos from voting, this will not be a problem." [CNN] * Trump is ready to end DACA. Senate Republicans get ready to shrug their shoulders and say "Seriously Kris Kobach, this whole "Latinos don't get to vote" plan REALLY needs to work now." [NBC News] * Every extreme weather event now results in the same conversation: Media: Did global warming cause this [thing that happens from time-to-time] Scientists: No. Climate Change doesn't work like that. Probably makes things worse though. Trumpsters: TOLD YOU. #ClimateChangeHoax #GodsWill #MAGA #WaitWhatIsFloodInsurance? [Quartz] * The stupid Zillow case, where plaintiffs argued that the "Zestimate" made their homes harder to sell, has been tossed in federal court. And by "stupid" I mean "Zestimate overvalues my house by like 30% and I'm seriously considering selling before they fix their algorithm." [Crain's Business Review] * Shorter Gary Cohn: I hate Nazis, but I also hate high taxes so... [Financial Times] * Shorter GOP: The only thing that can defeat Nazis is tax cuts. [Levin Report] * I'll admit, I took the whole "Steve Mnuchin and his wife were in Kentucky on eclipse day to talk about tax reform and check in on Fort Knox" cover story for Louise Linton's shopping trip at face value. Which was stupid. NEVER believe anything coming out of this administration. The Mnuchins were in Kentucky to watch the eclipse. [Fox News] * Breitbart is awash in potshots at Gary Cohn. But further down, you find this perfect Breitbart story: "France’s Macron Spends £24,000 on Makeup in Three Months." If these guys really want to be outraged, they should investigate how much Trump spends on his hair. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.24.17

* If you get hurt by a tree in New York City, who is going to pay your medical bills? [Cityland] * I don't care what anyone says, 100% Law & Order got me through Evidence. [Law and More] * Now there's a lawsuit to eliminate this shocking program. [SCOT Blog] * Can you sell used MP3 files? (Legally, I mean.) [Copyright Alliance] * Speaking of judges using their position to make changes... [Slate] * Building meaningful mentoring relationships. [Legal Executive Institute] * What are the best practices when conducting a multilingual document review? [United Language Group] * This crazy story keeps getting more interesting. [Huffington Post] * What tools do you use to stop overthinking? [Corporette]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.23.17

* ESPN removed announcer "Robert Lee" from coverage of the University of Virginia's opening football game because... well, there's a "Robert E. Lee" statue in Charlottesville and ESPN just assumes that everybody in the country has CTE and can't figure out what's real life anymore. [Deadspin] * Two more female law professors are suing the University of Denver for pay discrimination. [Law.com] * The former head of the FBI, James Comey, will be giving the opening address at Howard University, the nation's most well-known black college. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. [The Root] * We move ever closer to Kris Kobach having the authority to throw away votes he doesn't like. [Election Law Blog] * Galaxy Note 8 is out. I'm giddy imagining what will be wrong with this one. "The stylus goes into tracheotomy mode if your breathing is obstructed to 8 seconds, or you just have a big gulp of water." "The phone automatically switches to its orgasmic vibrate function, when in a pocket or low-light environment." "It has dual cameras, one for you, and one for the NSA." Being an early adopter on the 8 is like being a human test subject for anti-venom manufacturers. [CNET] * "Research Finds Justifiable Homicide Rulings More Likely to Benefit White Americans." Oh, I remember being a 1L. I remember sitting on my chaise lounge in my apartment, reading my Crim Law, when it really hit me that the entire concept of "reasonableness" was designed by white people to make it okay for them to slaughter any black man who they perceived as a "threat." I remember my non-law-student white roommate telling me that I was surely misunderstanding my homework. I remember wondering if "anybody else was aware of this." And I remember the pain of learning that everybody else knew the system worked this way but there was nothing to be done about it. I... really hated law school. Every casebook is like an acid enema to clear your system of its expectation of moral decency. [Law Street Media]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.22.17

* Members of the Charlottesville City Council had to briefly hide from their own meeting as citizens lambasted them over their failures to protect the community. When they resumed, they quickly voted to remove the Confederate monuments that served as a rallying cry for alt-right and neo-Nazi activists. Keep trying to figure out which way your people are running so you can lead them, local pols. [CBS News] * Dear police officers, I'm going to make this really simple for you. If your "color" comes off when you DO THE GODDAMN LAUNDRY... you're not a "race." Nobody is being "racist" towards you. If people don't like you, it's because of something you did, or something people who wear your uniform did. People don't hate you because you're "blue." People hate you because you're the Yankees -- only you get to kill people. [Independent] * I didn't know that some of George Washington's dentures were made from slave teeth. I mean, I know that's not the point of this excellent strip, but... dude, slave teeth, man. [The Oatmeal] * Here's an obligatory link to something about Afghanistan. [Foreign Policy] * Lawyers are pretty satisfied with their careers. Disclosure: I'm buddies with the professor who did the study, but that's not why I'm positively disposed to its results. I'm happy that lawyers are (relatively) happy because WE NEED THEM TO FIGHT NOW, and happy warriors are the best ones. [TaxProf Blog] * In the second item here, Matt Levine expresses his displeasure with the increasing scope of "securities fraud" lawsuits. [Bloomberg View] * Millennials would rather be fired over text than in person? What? The only good thing about being fired is that look on your boss's face when he realizes that some of his office furniture is about to get smashed to bits. [CNBC]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.21.17

* So we care about science today? Okay. Medical exemptions to school vaccinations are soaring in California, now that personal exemptions are not being offered. [Scienceblogs] * Sam Clovis thinks that legalized same-sex marriage could lead to legalized pedophilia. Luckily, he's just Trump's pick to be "chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture." He's free to slut shame all the asexually reproductive plants he wants, they're not going to listen to him. [CNN] * About once a year, I feel the need to remind people that Charles Barkley is not my president. [The Root] * Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is trying to explain to his Yale classmates why he is NOT resigning from the Trump administration. It's not a novel argument: I'm not here for the Nazi sympathizing, but for what's really important... tax cuts. [Vox] * Confederate statues = bad. Voter suppression by Confederates against minorities = worse. [Election Law Blog] * Robert Mueller's investigation is so coming for Don Trump Jr. [BuzzFeed]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.18.17

* The first letter of every paragraph in this rebuke to President Trump from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities spell out the word "Resist." That's putting your English degree to its highest possible use. [Politico] * "[The Statue to Stephen Foster] was commissioned in 1900 by a local newspaper editor who imagined Foster, 'catching the inspiration for his melodies from the fingers of an old darkey reclining at his feet strumming negro airs upon an old banjo,' per a 2010 City Paper article." The "culture" some people are defending is embarrassing for y'all. [Very Smart Brothers] * This is why we can't have nice things like democracy vouchers. Alternative headline: we can have democracy vouchers and catch the people who try to abuse them. [Election Law Blog] * The ABA is rolling out a "fact check" website for the public looking for legal information. It's an interesting idea. I wonder if they should do it for law schools? Hmm... if only there were some body, some "accreditation association" of some kind, that could professionally fact check law schools, and deny an imprimatur of legitimacy on schools that routinely mislead their students. I'm telling you, the ABA might be onto something here. [Simple Justice] * I'm in the Daily Caller pooping on Roger Taney. I'm sure no minds have been changed but, hey, Dred Scott didn't win either. [Daily Caller] * Cass Sunstein heroically managed to talk about infrastructure. [Bloomberg View] * This is probably the first day that I've been excited to check in with Breitbart. "Get Ready For Bannon The Barbarian," they say. Yeah. This popcorn is so good, you guys. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.17.17

* Which celebrity court appearances were the very best? [Jezebel] * What's in a name? The legal battle over the trademark for "Charlotte." [The Fashion Law] * Going crazy waiting for bar exam results? Some tips to get through the waiting game. [Excellence in Law School] * A law prof asks: Should I retire? [TaxProf Blog] * ICYMI, here's a recap of yesterday's #LegalCareerChat on Twitter, with our very own David Lat. [ABA Legal Career Central] * The crimes in Charlottesville could be prosecuted as hate crimes. They won't, but they could. [The Hill] * The role of income inequality in criminal justice reform. [Harvard Magazine] * A look at voting rights litigation under President Trump. [Take Care]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.16.17

* Not wasting any time: Judge Amul Thapar, recently confirmed to the Sixth Circuit, authors his first published opinion as a member of that court. [How Appealing] * "Can private employers fire employees for going to a white supremacist rally?" It depends, as Eugene Volokh explains. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Joel Cohen explores special counsel Robert Mueller's decision to impanel a grand jury in D.C. [Huffington Post] * Neha Sampat identifies three ways to hire resilient lawyers -- and the benefits to diversity of focusing on resilience. [Law Practice Today] * Adam Feldman looks at which lower-court judges see their dissents most often vindicated at the Supreme Court. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Gerard Magliocca raises some interesting issues about possible ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). [Concurring Opinions]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.15.17

* Unwilling to relinquish his 15 minutes of fame, Anthony Scaramucci goes for laughs with Stephen Colbert. [The Hollywood Reporter] * If, and admittedly that's a big if, Donald Trump gets impeached, Mike Pence will be ready. Just ask his personal PAC. [Huffington Post] * Check out these tax professor rankings. [TaxProf Blog] * Should the 1st Amendment trump the 2nd Amendment? It is first, after all. [Slate] * Someone has had it with free speech absolutism. [Richmond.com] * Are you ready to go off the grid? [Law and More] * No good will come from this lawsuit. [Salon] * This is what Trump should have said. [Dorf on Law]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.14.17

* In case you were confused with Trump's position on white supremacy because he condemned Nazis today, Trump is reportedly thinking of pardoning Sheriff Joe. Actions speak louder than two-day late statements read without taking questions. [The Hill] * Trump is launching a trade probe of China. Given the general competence of this administration, I expect a full report on Japanese trade practices in a few months. [Talking Points Memo] * In light of Ken Fraizer from Merck leaving the service of our Dear Leader over Trump's response to Charlottsville, maybe it's time to put pressure on other business leaders to distance themselves from Trump? [Going Concern] * The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that it would start providing feminine hygiene products for free. I wanted to put one good news story in here, and I thought this was it. But then I starting thinking, "wait, so before now federal prisoners had to pay for feminine hygiene products? And what about state prisons? What other kind of medieval prison conditions do we still allow to persist?" [Law Street Media] * The doxxing of white supremacists continues. This is my good news story. [Jezebel] * There's been a 75% increase in "lawful homicides" in Florida since its "Stand Your Ground" law took effect a decade ago. But there's also been a 22% increase in straight up murders. So, Florida's general attempt to kill itself to rid us of their stupidity seems to be going well. [Reuters]

Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.

By Elie Mystal
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.11.17

* SNL's take on the Mooch. [Huffington Post] * Outside of the T14, the news for law schools isn't good. [TaxProf Blog] * Ethics, smethics. The one thing the Trump presidency is good at is making money -- for Trump. [Business Insider] * Penn Law is bucking the GRE trend. [Daily Pennsylvanian] * You aren't being paranoid, they're coming after your civil rights. [The Slot] * Advice for providing legal representation to iGen. [Law and More] * A look at the procedure involved in Sarah Palin's defamation case. [PrawfsBlawg] * Who is next on Trump's Twitter frenemy list? [Salon]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.10.17

* Anthony Scaramucci may be out of the White House, but he isn't off Twitter. [Slate] * A GOP donor has filed a lawsuit over the party's inability to repeal Obamacare. Shocker -- Trump agrees with the suit. [Salon] * Interesting podcast exploring career options in the law. [Legal Executive Institute] * Money is the big downside for lawyers considering a career in politics. [Law and More] * Assessing the threats to constitutional democracy. [Dorf on Law] * More justifications for going to law school. [TaxProf Blog] * The new normal: the horrors never stop. [The Hill] * Which countries have blasphemy laws on the books? [Volokh Conspiracy]

By Kathryn Rubino
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.09.17

* Which justices dissent most frequently in constitutional cases? The top few probably won't surprise you, but Adam Feldman has other interesting data too. [Empirical SCOTUS] * A hefty -- think 132 pages -- ruling from the Tenth Circuit, overturning a Native American man's murder conviction and death sentence, could have major implications. [How Appealing] * Warm words from Eugene Volokh for his co-blogger Nick Rosenkranz, a possible Second Circuit nominee. [Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post] * Drew Rossow poses an interesting question: Could Your Roomba Soon Be Sucking Up Your Privacy Rights? [Huffington Post] * Ann Althouse analysis on President Trump's controversial "fire and fury" comments. [Althouse] * "THE HORROR. THE HORROR. Newark Terrorized by Whole Foods." [National Review via Instapundit]

By David Lat
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.08.17

* What's the "best" way to end a work email? [Corporette] * All mistakes are not created equal. [Law and More] * The Trump grand jury apparently brings out the racist in people. [Slate] * Not shocking, but still frustrating: Trump DOJ changes course from Obama admin on voter roles. [Huffington Post] * Up until the moment is gets thrown out of court, this lawsuit will be hilarious. [Salon] * Attorney and first African-American Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, has a happy ending. [Jezebel]

By Kathryn Rubino