Robert Lewis Dear

Morning Docket: 12.10.15

* Robert Lewis Dear, the man accused in the Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting, had this outburst during a hearing yesterday: "I am guilty, there will be no trial. I am a warrior for the babies. You’ll never know the amount of blood I saw in that place." [CBS Denver] * The American Bar Association has approved the merger between William Mitchell Law and Hamline Law to form Mitchell|Hamline Law. Since law school mergers now seem to be a viable option, struggling schools may be able to find a way to survive instead of closing. [Pioneer Press] * In yesterday's affirmative action duel at the Supreme Court, Bert Rein of Wiley Rein and Gregory Garre of Latham & Watkins faced off for the second time in Fisher v. University of Texas: The Reckoning. Will SCOTUS kill AA this time? [WSJ Law Blog] * According to the Rhode Island Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline, Judge Rafael A. Ovalles brought his office into disrepute after sexually harassing a female court clerk and sitting in chambers with his hand in his underwear. [Providence Journal] * A settlement in the "Happy Birthday to You" copyright case has thrust the song into the public domain where it belongs. Now employees at chain restaurants across the country won't have to sing cheesy soundalike songs to birthday diners anymore. [Reuters]

By Staci Zaretsky

Crime

What A F*cking Terrible Niche Practice

Pulling this beat has to be depressing as hell -- particularly right before the holidays.

By Kathryn Rubino

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By The MyCase Team

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.01.15

* It seems that Dentons didn't have its fill after fattening itself up with a Luxembourg firm over Thanksgiving, so now the megafirm is considering feasting upon two Latin American firms -- Cárdenas & Cárdenas and López Velarde Heftye y Soria -- for its dessert. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA] * Election 2016 is a year away, but it's easy to see the makeup of the Supreme Court will continue to be an issue for presidential candidates, especially since both parties know "[w]e are one justice away" from a liberal or conservative majority. [MSNBC] * Dean Martha Minow says Harvard Law will create a committee to investigate whether the school's shield should be changed due to its ties to a cruel slaveowner. Send your comments, questions, and complaints to [email protected]. [Harvard Law Today] * Robert Lewis Dear, the alleged gunman behind the Colorado Planned Parenthood shootings, is expected to be charged with first-degree murder next week. It's not yet been disclosed whether he'll be charged with federal domestic terrorism. [Los Angeles Times] * This turkey won't be pardoned: The Thanksgiving Day White House fence-jumper who draped an American flag over the fence while gripping a U.S. Constitution pocket guide in his teeth was criminally charged after ruining the Obamas holiday. [WSJ Law Blog]

By Staci Zaretsky