Roy Moore

Roy Moore could be the next Senator from Alabama, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Next time Alabama asks to secede, let them.

* Could this be the case that puts the nail in the death penalty’s coffin? Justice Breyer probably hopes so. Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells has asked the Supreme Court to hear an Arizona death row inmate’s case, arguing that the state’s death penalty law is unconstitutional and that it must be struck down. [BuzzFeed]

* “[T]he Tiffany trademark is not something to be trifled with.” Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York has ruled that Costco must pay more than $19 million after selling rings and attempting to pass them off as a luxury brand by using and infringing upon the Tiffany trademark. Treble damages are a bitch, and Costco plans to appeal. [New York Law Journal]

* After a special Senate primary, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was once removed from his post and later suspended from it, and Senator Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill the seat formerly occupied by AG Jeff Sessions, will face each other in a runoff for the state’s GOP nomination. Voters seem thrilled with their options. [New York Times]

* A former law firm partner who is accused of creating a fake Match.com account using the name of a real female attorney and allegedly signing her up for emails from a weight loss surgery company, the Obesity Action Coalition, and Pig International — all from his law firm computer — is facing discipline before the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission [Law.com]

* Joseph Amico, who was arrested back in April after threatening to blow up a Manhattan attorney who he allegedly referred to as a “n****r lover” has been rearrested, this time for allegedly harassing the judge in his divorce case. Amico, who was free on $50,000 bail, has an optimistic attorney who’s confident his client will receive a “favorable bail disposition.” [New York Daily News]

* If you’re searching for a job to take after law school that doesn’t necessarily involve practicing law, then you may want to consider a career in policy work. After all, having a law degree when working in the policy world likely amounts to some sort of a JD Advantage-type job. [U.S. News & World Report]

* “It’s an extreme position to go from hateful statements to this. What would cause him to change his mind?” President Trump is a fan of calling the Russia investigation a “witch hunt” in public, but word on the street is that he’s sent private messages to special counsel Robert Mueller to express his “appreciation” for what he’s been doing. Countdown until Mueller gets fired? [USA Today]

* “Judge Roy Moore is the real deal. He’s tough, tested, and has a spine of steel.” Chuck Norris is endorsing former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore to fill the Senate seat that was left vacant by Jeff Sessions after he became attorney general. Guys, it looks like Chuck Norris can’t divide by zero anymore, so maybe it’s time for everyone to buy a Total Gym so this man can retire. [CNN]

* Just how much do Williams & Connolly partners make? The firm typically keeps quiet about compensation, but Curtis J. Mahoney, who is up for the deputy U.S. trade representative post in the Trump administration, has had to make some financial disclosures and now we know he’s made $833,000 in partnership income thus far in 2017. [National Law Journal]

* Following the release of the results of a study of female attorneys’ speaking roles — or lack thereof — in New York courts, former Southern District Judge Shira Scheindlin, who is now of counsel at Stroock, said in a powerful op-ed that law firms “must stop paying lip service to diversity and take concrete steps to change.” Perhaps one day, something will actually change. [New York Times]

* Federal prosecutors have dropped their securities fraud case against Wall Street financier Benjamin Wey thanks to an extremely unfavorable evidence suppression order issued by Judge Alison Nathan of the Southern District of New York. Wey’s legal team from Haynes and Boone is obviously quite pleased with the decision. We may have more on this later. [New York Law Journal]

* “I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power.” AG Jeff Sessions seems to have forgotten that Hawaii is actually a state and that when he was still a senator, he voted for the judge who ruled against Trump’s travel ban. Oopsie! [CNN]

* 21st Century Fox, the parent company to Fox News, will wind up paying out more than $85 million as a result of the network’s sexual harassment scandal. The sick thing about this is that the vast majority of the money will be paid to accused harassers Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly as part of their multimillion-dollar exit packages. [New York Times]

* Good news, everyone! Although it might have seemed like it, the Trump administration isn’t planning to ignore white-collar crime at this time. “Our aim is to motivate companies and individuals voluntarily to comply with the law,” says Trevor McFadden, a deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. That’ll work well. [Reuters]

* A Republican lawmaker wants to rename the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau to the “Consumer Law Enforcement Agency.” Along with the name change, a leadership change is being recommended. Rep. Jeb Hensarlin of Texas has proposed that the agency remain with a single-director structure, but that the president be able to say two of his most favorite words at any time, at will: “You’re fired!” [National Law Journal]

* “The people of Alabama who cherish the rule of law are not going to miss the Ayatollah of Alabama.” Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s suspension has been upheld by the state’s Court of the Judiciary. As a result, Moore will remain under suspension without pay for the rest of his term, effectively ending his career on the bench as he will be unable to run for reelection again due to his age. [ABA Journal]

* Happy Pi Day to all of you who entered this profession to get away from math. [Pi Day]

* Alabama will decide Chief Justice Roy Moore’s ethics violations case sooner than expected because this guy just won’t go away. [AL.com]

* Profile of David Cole, the new national legal director at the ACLU. He had very different expectations for this job. [NPR]

* Burford set to make 91 percent return on bankruptcy investment. No one’s come out of a bankruptcy this good since Donald Trump. [Am Law Daily]

* Cozen O’Connor is likely getting out of the $900 million RICO suit brought against it and Full Tilt Poker. [Law360]

* Feds look to let Ammon Bundy’s lawyer off the hook for his comical outburst. [Oregon Live]

* Can you fly with legal weed? Sure. For now. [Salon]

* Results are out for the July 2016 administration of the South Carolina bar exam, and it appears that the Charleston School of Law is having trouble when it comes to its grads’ ability to pass. Barely half of test-takers from the law school passed (50.9 percent), down from 57.4 percent last year, and 65.3 percent the year before that. Whoops! [FITS News]

* No matter what Senator Ted Cruz says, when it comes to the Supreme Court, eight isn’t enough. In fact, according to what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said at a recent New York City Bar event, “Eight is not a good number.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed, stating, “I think we hope there will be nine as quickly as possible.” [Washington Post]

* The Supreme Court bar rarely meets, but when it does, it’s to honor the passing of a deceased justice. On November 4, the Supreme Court bar will convene to honor the late Justice Antonin Scalia, and the ceremony will be live-streamed, and several judges, law firm partners, law professors, and former clerks will give remarks. [Supreme Court Brief]

* “[T]his appeal presents a situation in which all the justices’ impartiality might be questioned.” Controversial Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore wants his suspension to be lifted, but all of his former judicial colleagues have recused themselves, so several retired judges will be hearing his appeal. [Associated Press via ABA Journal]

* China’s Ministry of Justice has ordered that all lawyers “support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.” Lawyers are prohibited from making statements that “reject [China’s] fundamental political system,” “endanger national security,” or “attack or slander” the judicial system. They could face disbarment for disobeying. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended. [Slate]

* A look at Alexander Hamilton, the lawyer. [Law360]

* The cases that are shaping the upcoming Supreme Court Term. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Donald Trump’s history of pleading the Fifth. [Huffington Post]

* Review of the latest episode of jury consultant extraordinaire, Dr. Bull. [DOAR]

* Are Trump’s late-night tweets defamatory? [LawNewz]

* The Hulk Hogan decision has made A.J. Daulerio consider some crazy options. [Law and More]

* “The ballot-selfie prohibition is like ‘burn[ing down] the house to roast the pig.'” Just in time for Election 2016, the First Circuit has struck down New Hampshire’s ballot selfie ban as unconstitutional, citing the fact that it curtailed voters’ free speech, and on top of that, the state was unable to identify any complaints of vote buying or intimidation. [POLITICO]

* Suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who instructed probate judges to adhere to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, even after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling, says the ethics charges he faces are “ridiculous” since he never “encourage[d] anyone to defy a federal court or state court order.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* Wiley Rein lost two practice group leaders to DLA Piper this week. The firm, known for its media, telecom, government contracts, and IP practices, no longer has partners in charge of its telecom group or its wireless group, but it claims these departures were anticipated, and the practice groups were merged ahead of time. [Big Law Business]

* Cha-ching! The Caesars bankruptcy is ending, which means the “fee frenzy” for lawyers who were working on the case is about to dry up as well. Nine law firms have been involved in the case since the company first filed for bankruptcy in January 2015, and hundreds of millions of dollars of legal fees have already been assessed. [Am Law Daily]

* Many jurisdictions adopted the Uniform Bar Exam for the July 2016 administration of the bar exam, and it seems like it may have had the opposite effect on test-takers than what was intended. Graduates of this law school saw their bar exam passage rate drop by 13 percent since last year. We’ll have more on this later today. [Albequerque Journal]

* Did Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court commit judicial misconduct when he instructed probate judges that the state’s same-sex marriage ban was still in effect despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell? The state’s Court of the Judiciary has set a date for a trial-like proceeding on the ethics charges Moore faces for late September. [ABC News]

* If you want to go to law school and you’ve got your heart set on a particular institution, it may be in your best financial interests to apply early decision. A few law schools are now offering significant scholarship opportunities to early applicants — in some cases, full tuition scholarships are being handed out. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

* “Even innocent clients may not benefit from the fraud of their attorney.” Chevron Corp. has prevailed in a long-running environmental law case set in an Ecuadorian rainforest. Lawyers for the oil and gas company convinced the Second Circuit that an $8.65 billion judgment was obtained through attorney Steven Donziger’s bribery and fraud. [Reuters]

* The family of slain Florida State law professor Dan Markel has accepted a $40,000 settlement from the Consolidated Dispatch Agency in connection with a wrongful death case. Due to an “error by dispatchers,” it took approximately 19 minutes for ambulances to arrive at Markel’s home as he lay dying after being shot. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* This is why indebted law students can’t have nice things: while the American Bar Association may have changed its tune when it comes to law students earning pay for credit-bearing externships, it will allow law schools to be the ultimate arbiters on whether academic credit will still be offered for these job placements. [Law.com]

* Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promises that he won’t speak ill of Judge Gonzalo Curiel anymore, but it took a lot of heavy criticism from GOP leaders for him to come around to the idea of being civil. He now says his comments about Judge Curiel’s ability to remain impartial due to his Mexican heritage were “misconstrued.” [Washington Post]

* You know you’ve screwed up when a judge accuses you of “egregious misconduct,” but you know you may have made the biggest mistake of your career when your “bad faith conduct” results in the voiding of a $200M patent infringement verdict. This in-house Merck patent prosecutor must be in a very bad place right now. [Big Law Business]

* Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court has two weeks to respond to a complaint lodged by the state’s Judicial Inquiry Commission over his order that probate judges not issue same-sex marriage licenses. If found in violation of ethical rules, Moore could be removed from his position — for the second time. [Montgomery Advertiser]

* Arlo Devlin-Brown, the head of the public corruption unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York since 2014, will be leaving office to head to private practice. After working to put Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos behind bars, he’s off to Covington & Burling, where he’ll be on the white-collar defense team. [New York Post]

* “The concept of fair market value under Delaware law is not equivalent to the economic concept of fair market value.” Vice Chancellor Laster (Del. Ch.) made lawyers’ jaws drop when he overruled the market in the Dell case. Martin Lipton of Wachtell says more buyers may be tempted to walk away from deals now. [DealBook / New York Times]

Roy Moore isn't the problem, he's just a symptom.

* Fanfic come to life! Allison Janney handles the White House press corps as C.J. Cregg. Can you catch all the West Wing references she throws out in under a minute? [The Decider]

* Sure, people want a “sleep revolution,” but it is only likely to garner ridicule in the legal profession. Aren’t we lucky? [Law and More]

* Salon’s latest HOTTAKE suggests Bernie or Bust folks should vote for Donald Trump. Yes, it is that stupid. [Lawyers, Guns and Money]

* Behind the IP fight that killed a fashion house revival. [The Fashion Law]

* Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is really pissed at the Southern Poverty Law Center because they filed an ethics complaint against him. I mean all he did was tell probate judges not to marry same-sex couples… [Wonkette]

* U.S. military says U.S. military is not guilty of a war crime for bombing a Doctors Without Borders hospital. [Huffington Post]

* The impact an eight-justice Supreme Court may have on climate change. [Green Biz]

Sentencing reform makes for strange bedfellows in insane marijuana case.

* “I’ve taught immigration law literally to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds.” Immigration Judge Jack H. Weil seems to think that children facing deportation don’t need court-appointed attorneys because they’re perfectly capable of representing themselves. We’ll have more on this later. [Washington Post]

* “[T]his will be the first time a law school will be on trial to defend its public employment figures.” It’s taken five years, but Anna Alaburda will finally get to face off in court against Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Soon we’ll find out if the word “allegedly” can stop being used as a prefix for the school’s allegedly deceptive job statistics. [DealBook / New York Times]

* If President Obama nominates Judge Jane Kelly of the Eighth Circuit for a seat on SCOTUS, then Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) of the Senate Judiciary Committee could be in a pickle. Would Kelly, a longtime Iowa public defender, be refused a hearing even though Grassley supported her when she was appointed in 2013? [Des Moines Register]

* The Alabama Supreme Court begrudgingly dismissed suits filed by conservative groups seeking a ruling declaring that the state’s anti-gay marriage laws were still in effect, despite the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell. In a concurrence at odds with reality, Chief Justice Roy Moore held fast to his belief that the state’s law was still intact. [AL.com]

* As we mentioned previously, the American Bar Association will vote on a change to its bar passage rate rules for law schools. Schools notorious for their bar passage problems better hold onto their hats if this proposal is passed, because their accreditation may quickly turn out to be like their graduates’ job prospects: nonexistent. [WSJ Law Blog]

Folks... we need to come to grips with the fact that Donald Trump is going to be our next president.

Alabama chief Justice is back in the news for being a bigot.

* You down with R.B.G.? Yeah, you know me! Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore wants SCOTUS Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan to be impeached for having performed same-sex marriage ceremonies. Haters gonna hate. [Huffington Post]

* Here’s a jury duty chart of those you’ll be forced to sit next to, from the “idiot who treats the Jury Foreman selection like a presidential campaign” to the “elderly woman who compares everything to an episode of ‘Matlock’ she once saw.” [Mandatory]

* It turns out that the state trooper who failed to do anything about Josh Duggar’s criminal sexual activity with a minor and allowed the statute of limitations to run had a penchant for child porn. According to court records, this guy is… pretty damn disgusting. [Jezebel]

* “May I please have some of that money you’ve got under the counter there, miss?” Are you really robbing a bank if you acted like a Boy Scout, asked nicely for money, and then received it — to the tune of $28,000? Kevin Underhill doesn’t think so. [Lowering the Bar]

* If you’ve never seen a Dealbreaker dramatic reading before, then here’s your sneak peek. Watch “the greatest intern Wall Street has ever seen” invite everyone and their mother to a party via company email, and then fail in the most epic sense of the word. [Dealbreaker]

* Mitt Romney is going to fight Evander Holyfield. Man, Romney has been beaten by a black guy like that since 2012. Oooh, also, Floyd Mayweather just found his next opponent. [CNN]

* Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s son was arrested and charged with drug possession yesterday and then blamed the media… somehow. I blame the moral vacuum created when they took down the Ten Commandments. [Al.com]

* The long-awaited Justice Scalia play is out. It’s like Tony and Tina’s Wedding with more gun control and abortion. [WTOP]

* Professor Baude has a cute theory how the Obama administration could ignore a negative verdict in King v. Burwell. [New York Times]

* Not everyone thinks Professor Baude’s hypothetical is a serious option. [Concurring Opinions]

* Israel has blocked polling in advance of the election to prevent bandwagon voting. Professor Somin evaluates the efficacy of the plan. It probably won’t affect the outcome, but if you thought Republicans threw a hissy-fit over the polls in 2008 and 2012, wait until a candidate they really care about loses. [The Volokh Conspiracy / Washington Post]

* A nice little maxim (get it?) for the trial lawyer looking to hone their craft. Of course, if you show them a glint of broken glass in the first act, it better be the murder weapon in the second act. [What About Clients?]

* Speaking of second acts, this profile of former Skadden partner Harriet Posner discusses life after Biglaw. [A Lawyer’s Life]

* Meet Hewie, a cuddly puppy adopted by a law firm to act as its social media avatar. Wachtell was considering the same thing, but Ragnok, Destroyer of Souls, wasn’t up for adoption. [Legal Cheek] * After throwing a hissy-fit over nuts, Korean Air Lines’ Heather Cho is sentenced to one year. Luckily for her […]