Rikers Island

Politicians already called the situation at Rikers a 'humanitarian crisis' months ago -- and now it's even worse.

The real problem that must be faced is the over-incarceration of mostly people of color, with little emphasis on rehabilitation once they’re 'warehoused.'

Is the idea that smaller, neighborhood prisons engender better treatment a pipe dream or a practical step in the de-carceration movement that might serve as a blueprint?

* Hope Hicks, Donald Trump‘s former communications director, will testify today before the House Judiciary Committee, which is leading an investigation into the president’s possible obstruction of justice. The closed-door hearing could last all day. Let’s see how this one goes… [Reuters]

* Thanks to some intervention by the DOJ, it looks like Paul Manafort won’t be going to Rikers after all. He’ll remain in federal custody during his state proceedings. [ABC News]

* In the wake of the Kozinski sexual harassment scandal, the Ninth Circuit has hired a workplace relations director and adopted some meaningful changes to its dispute resolution policy and its confidentiality policy. Plus, communications skills training will be mandatory all employees, including judges. [Big Law Business]

* In case you missed it, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg won the Best Real-Life Hero at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. She was also nominated in the Best Fight category for her fight against inequality, but lost to Captain Marvel’s fight against Minn-Erva. [The Hill]

* A student from Florida A&M Law has filed suit against the school, claiming that FAMU didn’t respond appropriately after an admissions counselor allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed her. We’ll have more on this later. [Daily Business Review]

* The White House has told former staffers Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson to ignore a congressional subpoena for documents (as most Trump staffers are wont to do), but at least Hicks is cooperating a little bit. [Salon]

* Meanwhile, Paul Manafort, one of President Trump’s former henchmen, will likely be transferred to Rikers Island where he’ll be held in solitary confinement while he faces state fraud charges in New York. Yikes… [Intelligencer / New York Magazine]

* Alabama wants convicted child sex offenders to pay for their own mandatory chemical castrations before they can leave prison. If you’re shocked by this, please remember this is just Alabama being Alabama. [The Hill]

* There’s no pure applesauce here: John Scalia, son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, is heading back to Greenberg Traurig in Northern Virginia after spending a few years at Pillsbury in D.C. [Big Law Business]

* Move over, Doogie Howser, because these young phenoms are heading to law school in droves. Aaron Parnas, who started law school at the ripe age of 18, has some advice for the latest crop of teenage 1Ls. [Law.com]

* More details on the lawyer who took down the University of Florida’s general counsel. [Deadspin]

* Welp, this is what happens when they stop teaching treason at Harvard Law School. [Salon]

* “Too skinny” is a bad thing when it applies to your health insurance. [The Slot]

* The House Judiciary Committee is just bonkers, y’all. [Wonkette]

* You should probably be stocking up on these. [Corporette]

* Is your privacy taking a beating in the war against opioids? [Overlawyered]

* Advice for lawyers: pick up the damn phone. [Wisconsin Lawyer]

* Rikers Island traded one awful practice for another. [Pacific Standard]

* Will this terrible murder be the beginning of an era of regulation for the cruise line industry? [Law and More]

Any city that wants to decrease the costs of incarceration has to pay more than lip service to jobs and rehabilitation.

* The scary part is I am not even surprised by the allegations in the latest Trump lawsuit. [Los Angeles Times]

* An intimate look at Marilyn Mosby and the aftermath of the Freddie Gray case. [New York Times]

* President Obama is bringing sick days to more Americans. [Slate]

* Unequal treatment of women in law firms can start at the interview. [Medium]

* NYC settles over the death of an inmate at Rikers Island. [Huffington Post]

* In criminal cases, you’ve got to be in it to win it. [Katz Justice]

* Senator Ted Cruz describes his experience clerking for Chief Justice Rehnquist. We also learn what Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says about Internet porn. It’s not as exciting as Cruz would want you to think. Personally, I’d hoped she’d say something about “Long Dong Silver,” but alas. [POLITICO]

* If you thought Justice Scalia was interminably grumpy before, today he exhibited some downright bizarre behavior. [Slate]

* Lawyer disciplined for stealing wine. Lots and lots of wine. [Legal Profession Blog]

* Has marriage equality rendered Chief Justice Roberts a footnote to history? [Reuters]

* An in-depth look at New York’s Riker’s Island facility from the perspective of those who live and work there. And let’s not undersell the word “live,” since we have kids living there for 7 years awaiting trial. [New York Magazine]

* Shearman & Sterling’s Doreen Lilienfeld discusses building gender balance in Biglaw. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* A thorough guide to Bitcoin for judges. But more importantly, a solidly academic title, “Realm of the Coin.” I see what you did there. [Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law via SSRN]

* Congratulations to former Bloomberg media attorney Charles Glasser, who will be teaching a course about investigative reporting at NYU’s Institute for Journalism. Too bad there aren’t really investigative journalism jobs anymore. Perhaps these are the kinds of classes that can bring those jobs back. [Talking Biz News]

* The regret of every young person must be that they will never be able to duplicate this experience. [What About Clients?]

* You cannot make this stuff up. The curious case of Rachel Dolezal, the former leader of the NAACP Spokane, Washington branch who resigned in disgrace after her parents made the revelation that Dolezal was white, gets weirder. The Smoking Gun has unearthed a lawsuit Dolezal filed (then known as Rachel Moore) against Howard University for, inter alia, racial discrimination. Yup, Dolezal claimed she just couldn’t make it as a white women.  [The Smoking Gun]

* Fresh off of the tragedy of Kalief Browder, the man who was held in Rikers for three years awaiting trial for stealing a backpack before the charges were dismissed, comes the case of Carlos Montero. Montero, arrested as a teenager, has been in Rikers for SEVEN YEARS waiting for his day in court. [New York Post]

* I mean, they’ve only worked together for 21 years and 10 months. Justice Antonin Scalia apologized from the bench yesterday after calling Justice Ginsburg Justice Goldberg. The apology seemed sincere, but Scalia played it cool with a quip about Justice Arthur Goldberg. [Supreme Court Brief]

* The Colorado Supreme Court ruled yesterday that an employer can fire an employee for medical marijuana use, legal under state law, since the use is still illegal under federal statutes. [Huffington Post]

* If your company finds themselves the victim of trade secret theft, is there an alternative to costly civil litigation? There just might be if you get the police involved. [Corporate Counsel]

Housing the poor before they’re found guilty just because they can’t afford bail is just not right.

It's time to think creatively about how to get people back to court without jailing them. Jail should be reserved for the truly dangerous and for those convicted of crimes -- not mostly the poor awaiting trial.

* They’re making The Devil’s Advocate into a TV show. That is all. [io9] * Lingerie brand is suing its former lawyer for screwing up its patent filing. What a boob. [NY Post] * Chris Kluwe and the Minnesota Vikings have reached a settlement to avoid potential embarrassment. Now if only they could reach settlement with the Packers for the same reason. [NBC Sports] * The world of raising hogs meets the Eighth Circuit. The fifth “H” stands for what the hell? [The Legal Geeks] * Shares in Taser have gone up 25 percent since Michael Brown’s shooting. Oh, remember Taser? The company that makes a product that stops fleeing suspects without executing them? Looks like the market is expecting a sea change in how police do business. [Lawyers, Guns & Money] * Jesus. A teenager who waited in jail for three years pending trial died in solitary confinement at Rikers Island when his heart exploded. A new lawsuit alleges that the prison just ignored the condition. So much for innocent until proven guilty. [Gawker] * A new study undermines the myth that the gender imbalance in tenure is not related to productivity. But hey, who cares, tenure is passé according to Laurence Tribe. [Inside Higher Ed h/t TaxLaw Prof] * When times are tough, lawyers are denying their law degrees in job applications. No matter how hard you pretend, your debt isn’t going away. [Law and More]