Patrick Leahy

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.28.16

* Kimberly Kitchen, the woman who was parading around and pretending to be a lawyer for a decade before she was caught in the act, was recently convicted of forgery, unauthorized practice of law, and felony records tampering. On the bright side, at least she doesn't have six figures worth of law school debt to worry about right now. [WSJ Law Blog] * President Obama published an op-ed in praise of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland on AL.com, pleading with Alabamians to let their senators know that it's their duty to give Scalia's would-be replacement a hearing and a vote, lest we "jeopardize our system of justice, hurt our democracy, and betray the vision of our founding." [AL.com] * Who is the real Merrick Garland? Not only does he have a “résumé that makes you want to cry," but he's also a pretty endearing gent. He used to want to be a doctor, he loves singing show tunes, and he was once so nervous when officiating a wedding that he began the ceremony before the bride even walked down the aisle. [New York Times] * "We are heartened by this development and look forward to the Committee making this request directly ... as is standard practice." Republicans may be willing to accept Merrick Garland's nominee questionnaire, but the White House has yet to receive one from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley or Senator Patrick Leahy. [BuzzFeed] * Judge Pamela A.M. Campbell, who presided over Hulk Hogan v. Gawker, has had more decisions reversed on appeal than any other judge in her county, but "a judge who's not afraid to make a decision and a not afraid to be reversed, is quite naturally going to be reversed more, and that doesn't mean the judge is not a good judge." [Tampa Bay Times] * A judge has ruled that Ropes & Gray, the firm that once represented ex-New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, must turn over the murder convict's cellphone to his new attorneys so they can analyze it for his defense in the double murder case he's being prosecuted for by the Suffolk County DA's Office in Massachusetts. [Boston Herald]

By Staci Zaretsky
Attorney Misconduct

Morning Docket: 06.20.12

* It’s not just media groups that are urging the Supreme Court to allow live coverage of the announcement of the ACA decision. Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee have joined the club. [Blog of Legal Times] * Dewey know whether this failed firm’s former partners will be settling their claims any time soon? Team Togut hopes to reach a deal in the next six weeks, and claims that cooperation will absolve D&L’s deserters of all future liability. [Am Law Daily (sub. req.)] * From Biglaw to the big house: former Sullivan & Cromwell partner John O’Brien, who is serving time for tax evasion charges, has been suspended from practicing law in New York. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight] * A Stradling Yocca partner and his wife, a Boalt Hall graduate, stand accused of planting drugs on a school volunteer who supervised their son. Looks like the only thing they’re straddling now is jail time. [OC Register] * Dharun Ravi was released early from jail yesterday after completing a little more than half of his 30-day sentence. Funny how bad behavior got him into the slammer, but good behavior got him out of it. [CNN] * “Why would somebody so smart do something so stupid?” Kenneth Kratz, the sexting DA from Wisconsin, claims that the answer to that question is an addiction to sex and prescription drugs. [Herald Times Reporter] * Jay-Z’s got 99 problems and this bitch is one. He’s been accused by Patrick White of plagiarizing parts of his own best-selling memoir, “Decoded,” and slapped with a copyright infringement suit. [New York Daily News]

By Staci Zaretsky
Cyberlaw

If the Government Wants Your Email, It Gets Your Email

We've been talking a lot recently about the secretly authorized stuff our government does to us -- like killing us, or molesting us at airports. Here's another one for the list: digging through our emails or Twitter feeds or cell phone data, without probable cause, our permission, or our knowledge. How does the U.S. government circumvent basic probable cause and search warrant requirements when it wants electronic information? Let's see....

By Christopher Danzig
Cyberlaw

If the Government Wants Your Email, It Gets Your Email

We've been talking a lot recently about the secretly authorized stuff our government does to us -- like killing us, or molesting us at airports. Here's another one for the list: digging through our emails or Twitter feeds or cell phone data, without probable cause, our permission, or our knowledge. How does the U.S. government circumvent basic probable cause and search warrant requirements when it wants electronic information? Let's see....

By Christopher Danzig