Philippines

* With Justice Anthony M. Kennedy off the Supreme Court, who has replaced him as the justice most often in the majority? The answer might surprise you (but note that this is based on only part of the Term). [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Speaking of SCOTUS, what does its recent copyright ruling in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com mean for creators? Here’s a clear and concise breakdown. [All Rights Reserved]

* In the wake of the giant college admissions scandal, is it time to rethink how elite institutions admit their students? David Orentlicher offers this proposal for reform. [PrawfsBlawg]

* Joel Cohen suggests that perhaps Ty Cobb should have kept his praise of Robert Mueller to himself. [The Hill]

* What’s the state of U.S. Philippines relations, including the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, in light of expanding Chinese influence in southeast Asia? It’s complicated, according to Mark Nevitt. [Just Security]

* How has the judicial confirmation process changed under President Donald Trump? Pretty significantly, as Thomas Jipping explains. [Bench Memos / National Review]

* Congratulations to the latest winner of the Joseph Story Award, Professor Samuel Bray — who delivered an acceptance speech that’s well worth your time. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* Is a federal law that prohibits federal agencies from using equipment from the controversial Chinese company Huawei an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder? Easha Anand, Charlie Gerstein, and Jason Harrow tackle this question, and more, in the latest episode of Versus Trump. [Versus Trump via Take Care]

* Federal investigators are delving into multimillion-dollar deals involving former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his son-in-law, Jeffrey Yohai. [New York Times]

* The Fifth Circuit lifts the injunction against H.B. 1523, Mississippi’s notorious “religious freedom” law that many regard as antigay (but the court ruled on jurisdictional rather than gay-hating grounds). [Texas Lawyer]

* In the wake of a mistrial in the criminal case against him, Bill Cosby plans to educate young men on how to avoid accusations of sexual assault. (My advice: don’t commit sexual assault.) [New York Times]

* The Fourth Circuit affirms almost all the convictions of ex-CIA officer in a leak case — a potentially significant ruling if the Trump administration follows through on its threats to prosecute leakers. [How Appealing]

* The Seventh Circuit declines to reinstate the conviction of Brendan Dassey, the defendant made famous by Making A Murderer. [ABA Journal]

* Martin Shkreli, aka “Pharma Bro,” is gearing up for trial — and, for the record, he is “so innocent.” [New York Times]

* More disturbing news from my ancestral homeland of the Philippines, involving accusations that the police are shaking down families in distress as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs.” [Washington Post]

* Senator Mike Lee, an influential member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (and a former Supreme Court clerk himself), explains why Republicans won’t confirm Judge Merrick Garland to SCOTUS in the lame-duck session. [Washington Post via How Appealing]

* Jaroslawa Zelinsky Johnson, former managing partner of Chadbourne & Parke’s defunct Kiev office, wants in on Kerrie Campbell’s sex discrimination suit against the firm. [American Lawyer]

* In other news about alleged gender bias in Biglaw, it looks like partner Traci Ribeiro’s lawsuit against Sedgwick is bound for arbitration. [Law.com]

* The latest bad news for Theranos: a hedge fund is suing the company for securities fraud, and it’s represented by a pair of high-powered Gibson Dunn partners, former federal prosecutors Reed Brodsky and Winston Chan. [Corporate Counsel]

* Kasowitz Benson’s recent legal work on behalf of Donald Trump is just the latest example of the firm representing litigious tycoons. [New York Law Journal]

* As some firms exit China, others enter the market; Hogan Lovells just announced a strategic alliance with Fujian Fidelity Law Firm in Shanghai. [Big Law Business]

* In my ancestral homeland of the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte poses a threat to the rule of law, but remains very popular with the people. [New York Times]

We don't have to imagine a Trump Administration, we can see it playing out in real time on the other side of the world.

What kind of parents would give their children such ridiculous names?

* CeeLo Green, through his attorney, tells the judge and prosecutors in his criminal case to, um, Forget themselves. He’s miffed that the judge and prosecutors set up cameras during his arraignment and left themselves out of the shot creating a false impression of guilt. This marks the first time this guy didn’t want a camera fixated solely on him. [TMZ] * Samsung wants a mistrial in its case with Apple because Apple’s attorney, Harold McElhinny, implied in his closing argument that American-made jobs building TV sets moved overseas because companies failed to protect intellectual property. Samsung is arguing that this is racist. [Bloomberg] * Remember the matter of the attorney supposedly stalking a jury? Well, the judge has overturned the verdict over it. [Courthouse News Service] * A week in the life of a Biglaw litigation associate. It’s a decent list, but where were the Thursday Night Football and Netflix? You’ll see what I mean in the next story. [Big Law Rebel] * JPMorgan is awfully sorry for making the conscious decision to sell toxic securities that helped destroy the economy. “Our bad, y’all!” [Gawker] * The justices who penned Bush v. Gore shamelessly admitted how terrible the decision was by trying to claim it had no precedential value. Unfortunately, no one listened to them. [Mother Jones] * In addition to the many law firms that are contributing to Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts, several Asian-American lawyer groups are organizing a fundraising event this coming Monday. If you’re in New York, please consider attending! [Facebook; AABANY] * In sad news, the son of Ninth Circuit Judge Jay Bybee shot and killed himself in the courtyard of the LDS Temple in Henderson, NV. Our thoughts are with Judge Bybee and his family. [Las Vegas Review-Journal (gavel bang: Las Vegas Law Blog)]

Which law firms -- large and small, domestic and international -- are supporting Philippine typhoon relief efforts?

Which Biglaw behemoth just cut a big check for Philippine typhoon relief?

* Above the Law promotes real-world change! Complaint filed against a Texas judge after Elie calls him out for being RACEIST! [ABA Journal] * If you were thinking of calling your friend from the Philippines a “skank” on Facebook, you may want to reconsider. [Philippine Inquirer] * If you’re a powerful financial executive, lay off the bath salts. [DealBreaker] * Judicial throwdown at the Second Circuit! Short version: Judge Raagi thinks Judge Jacobs should care way more about punishing guys sexting underage girls. Judge Jacobs thinks Judge Raagi watches too much Dexter. [Second Circuit / FindLaw] * Federal District Judge John Lungstrum calls out a couple trial teams for terrible trial work. Biglaw litigators may not be the best trial attorneys? You don’t say. [New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog] * Kenneth Anderson describes the U.S. government’s longstanding love affair with “imminence” in the context of the Obama drone strike white paper. To borrow from Rev. Lovejoy’s sermon: “Imminence…sweet imminence.” [Lawfare] * Judges: If you’re going to base a decision on a particular fact… don’t include pictures in the opinion that directly contradict that finding. Check out page six, line two and Appendix 2 [Court of Appeals, State of Oregon] * SCOTUSBlog and Bloomberg Law have a competition for law students. Beat your peers AND the SCOTUSBlog team and win $5000. [SCOTUSBlog]