Roger Taney

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.23.17

* Statues of Chief Justice Roger Taney may have been removed in his native Maryland, but don't expect his bust to be removed from the Supreme Court's Great Hall or his portrait to be taken down from the high court's East conference room in the near future. The visage of the Dred Scott opinion's author will remain. [National Law Journal] * The Charlotte School of Law may be dead, but that doesn't mean that former students' proposed class-action lawsuits against the school have been put out to pasture. Though the bulk of the claims were dismissed, two such cases with allegations of unfair and deceptive trade practices have survived motions for summary judgment. Best of luck against Infilaw's first fallen school. [Law.com] * Much to his defense attorney Benjamin Bratman's chagrin, the names of the jurors who convicted Martin Shkreli of securities fraud have been released. They've been talking to the press about the disgraced pharma bro, and one of them referred to him as "his own worst enemy." [DealBook / New York Times] * Meanwhile, Martin Shkreli's ex-lawyer, former Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel, remains charged with wire fraud conspiracy, a charge on which Shkreli was acquitted by a jury. Greebel's defense attorneys at Gibson Dunn have called this "a Kafkaesque scenario," that is "frightening for every corporate lawyer in America simply doing their jobs representing clients." [New York Law Journal] * Berkeley Law is planning to launch a hybrid online/on-campus LL.M. program for foreign-educated attorneys. Students will be able to complete their fall and spring semesters online, but must attend classes on campus at the law school during the summer months. Tuition is a whopping $57,471. [The Recorder] * Earlier this week, a California jury handed down the largest verdict thus far in a talcum powder cancer case against Johnson & Johnson. The plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, who had used J&J baby powder since the 1950s and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, was awarded $417 million. [Consumer Affairs]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 08.18.17

* The first letter of every paragraph in this rebuke to President Trump from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities spell out the word "Resist." That's putting your English degree to its highest possible use. [Politico] * "[The Statue to Stephen Foster] was commissioned in 1900 by a local newspaper editor who imagined Foster, 'catching the inspiration for his melodies from the fingers of an old darkey reclining at his feet strumming negro airs upon an old banjo,' per a 2010 City Paper article." The "culture" some people are defending is embarrassing for y'all. [Very Smart Brothers] * This is why we can't have nice things like democracy vouchers. Alternative headline: we can have democracy vouchers and catch the people who try to abuse them. [Election Law Blog] * The ABA is rolling out a "fact check" website for the public looking for legal information. It's an interesting idea. I wonder if they should do it for law schools? Hmm... if only there were some body, some "accreditation association" of some kind, that could professionally fact check law schools, and deny an imprimatur of legitimacy on schools that routinely mislead their students. I'm telling you, the ABA might be onto something here. [Simple Justice] * I'm in the Daily Caller pooping on Roger Taney. I'm sure no minds have been changed but, hey, Dred Scott didn't win either. [Daily Caller] * Cass Sunstein heroically managed to talk about infrastructure. [Bloomberg View] * This is probably the first day that I've been excited to check in with Breitbart. "Get Ready For Bannon The Barbarian," they say. Yeah. This popcorn is so good, you guys. [Breitbart]

By Elie Mystal