Pope Francis

Morning Docket: 01.12.20

* Pope Francis has changed church law to allow women slightly larger roles in church services. Maybe he was inspired by the movie On the Basis of Sex... [Washington Post] * An NYPD lawyer is under investigation for allegedly threatening to shoot another attorney in her unit. [New York Daily News] * A show based on the film The Lincoln Lawyer has been greenlit for a 10-episode run on Netflix. [Deadline] * A black lawyer claims he was racially profiled by law enforcement for not wearing a suit in court. [New York Post] * A lawsuit against the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons has been settled. Maybe they resolved the case using 20-sided dice... [Polygon]

By Jordan Rothman
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 06.12.17

* Maybe Comey already has a job lined up. [Chronicle of Higher Ed] * A deeper dive into Gorsuch's first opinion and how it stacks up with those of the other justices. [Empirical SCOTUS] * Newt Gingrich sets land speed record on flip-flopping with his latest Bob Mueller tweet. [Salon] * I already said it this morning, but it bears repeating. [Lawfare] * Is it discriminatory to broadcast Cleveland Indians games? Canadian tribunal allows this argument to move forward. [Turtle Talk] * What's the official state exercise of Illinois? [Lowering the Bar] * Interesting legal battle going on within the Catholic Church. [Canon Law Blog]

By Joe Patrice
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.01.15

* Vatican officials confirmed -- or rather, didn't deny -- that Pope Francis did, in fact, have a secret meeting with infamous Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. Hmm, apparently all it takes is denying people their newfound civil rights to get an audience with the Pope. [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA Accreditation Committee will recommend that the ABA approve the merger between Hamline and William Mitchell. The merger byproduct could be operational in 2016 if all goes well. Is this something we should be excited about? [Hamline University] * On the ninth day of deliberations in the criminal trial of Dewey & LeBoeuf's former executives, jurors were still unable to come to a consensus, and one juror mentioned she'd have to leave early on October 9. Oy vey! Dewey think this jury is hung? [Am Law Daily] * Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin stayed the execution of Richard Glossip -- you may recognize his name from his recent unsuccessful Supreme Court case -- because the drugs the Corrections Department received didn't match protocol. Figures. [Associated Press] * "We are heartened the district attorney has agreed that even a misdemeanor charge would be inappropriate." Prosecutors will not be charging Caitlyn Jenner with vehicular manslaughter in the fatal car crash she was involved in earlier this year. [USA Today]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 09.25.15

* Well, this is one way to deal with the Free the Nipple campaign: ban sideboob and underboob. And while you're at it, legalize public boners because consistency is hard. Heh. [Vice] * The Pope's homelessness chops are on point. [What About Paris?] * This is the absolute best way to troll prestige whores. [Daily Lawyer Tips] * Is this the best recommendation letter ever? [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * This is how bigamy cases go down in the world of Facebook. [Legal Juice] * Using forensic evidence to document human rights abuses. [Pacific Standard] * What's going on with Janet Yellen? [Dealbreaker] * Interesting to legal nerds (and maybe others). The Justice Department's very influential Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) -- the division that produced the torture memos, among other things -- cranks out a lot of law professors. [Yale Journal on Regulation]

By Kathryn Rubino
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.24.15

* Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be in attendance during Pope Francis's Congressional address. Here's hoping a certain someone doesn't nod off in the middle of it. [National Law Journal] * This courthouse clerk is accused of trying to go out with a little too much style after being fired from his job. He allegedly tossed thousands of pages of court documents in the garbage before leaving the building, and he now faces up to 10 years in prison. [Houston Chronicle] * Lawrence Mitchell, the former dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, was supposed to return to the school this year after taking a sabbatical. Instead, he resigned. When it comes to this creeper, maybe that's a good thing. [Cleveland Scene] * Sorry to burst your bubble, law schools, but if you think spending millions to complete major building projects during a serious downturn in applicants will result in a "Field of Dreams" type of situation, you're flat-out wrong. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Good news, everyone! Thanks to this appeals court decision, registered sex offenders in Wisconsin will now be able to take pictures of children in public. Child predators have never, ever been so excited to assert their First Amendment rights. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.11.15

* Williams & Connolly has been subpoenaed as a part of the ongoing Lance Armstrong fraud case brought by former teammate Floyd Landis. I'm just glad I don't have to put together that privilege log [Legal Times] * Two Biglaw partners, Hydee Feldstein a former partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and Paul Hastings and Peter Gregora a partner emeritus at Irell & Manella, face off in divorce court over $20 million that's gone "missing." It's probably under the couch, whenever stuff goes missing in my house it's under the couch. [The Recorder] * Legal research prevails: after "thorough" research Georgia prosecutors have dropped murder charges against Kenlissia Jones for taking the abortion pill. [Washington Post] * Pope Francis is establishing a court to deal with the bishops who woefully mishandled clerical child sex abuse allegations. Just another reason why Pope Francis is making it okay to be a Catholic again. [Wall Street Journal] * Leaders in Nepal finally reached an agreement for a new constitution. After years of infighting the terrible tragedy of the Nepalese earthquake motivated the parties to work together. [Jurist] * Ever wonder what it takes to make a successful law blog? Wonder no more -- and read tips from our own David Lat. [Law360]

By Kathryn Rubino