Sexual Assault

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 12.26.18

* The D.C. Circuit awarded more than $501M in damages to the family of Otto Warmbier, the student who tortured so badly in North Korea that he was left deaf, blind, unable to speak, and died shortly after he returned home. [New York Times] * Trump's DOJ has filed many emergency SCOTUS requests to bypass lower courts, but here are the ones to watch: the asylum ban, the DACA wind-down, the transgender military ban, the citizenship census, and kids' climate change. [PBS NewsHour] * Ex-district judge and U.S. AG Michael Mukasey says Bill Barr is "probably the best-qualified nominee for U.S. attorney general since Robert Jackson in 1940." Mukasey has also linked "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to Islamic terrorism. [Wall Street Journal] * Not even a weird video in character as Frank Underwood can help him now: Kevin Spacey has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor and is scheduled to be arraigned on a felony charge of indecent assault and battery. [Boston Globe] * In case you missed it,after declaring war against the lack of diversity in the arbitration world, rapper Jay-Z managed to get the American Arbitration Association to commit to expanding its roster of black arbitrators. [Hollywood Reporter]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.03.18

* "BREAKING: President Donald Trump repeatedly mocks Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault." When I got this alert on my phone last night, I couldn't help myself but to blurt out, "F**k that guy." That's our president! Not sure why I expected more. [NBC News] * According to Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate will vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh just as soon as the F.B.I. wraps up its investigation -- which could be as early as sometime today. Gee, it's almost as if they don't care about what the results are. [New York Times] * In the meantime, more than 500 law professors have signed onto two letters that will be presented to the Senate, each condemning Kavanaugh's "lack of judicial temperament" and "lack of respect for our democratic institutions and women in positions of power in particular." At least they're trying. [Guardian] * Sedgwick closed up shop sometime around the beginning of 2018, and the failed firm finally got around to filing for bankruptcy, and the court documents read like a Greek Biglaw tragedy. We have have more on this later. [Law360 (sub. req.)] * Which Biglaw firm has the strongest brand? It's not the firm with the highest revenue, and it's not the firm with the largest headcount, but this firm has that certain je ne sais quoi that makes clients love their attorneys. [American Lawyer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.01.18

* President Trump asked the FBI to investigate the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the first two women to accuse would-be SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct, leaving out Julie Swetnick's claims to the chagrin of her lawyer. [Wall Street Journal] * So, just how limited in scope will the FBI's new Kavanaugh inquiry be? Trump claims that the bureau has "free rein," but no one who has contradicted the judge's claims about his drinking and partying as a high school and college student are going to be interviewed. [New York Times] * HLS is second best at feeling shame: Following student protests against Kavanaugh teaching at Harvard Law, the elite law school's dean won't come out and say whether the accused jurist will still have a job in legal academia come 2019. [HuffPost] * ICYMI amid the Kavanaugh craziness, a judge ruled that the plaintiffs in Blumenthal v. Trump -- the 201 Democratic members of Congress -- have standing to sue the president for his alleged violations of the emoluments clause. [National Law Journal] * That was quick! In the span of just a few days, Elon Musk settled the securities fraud lawsuit filed against him by the SEC, and the deal calls for him to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla's chairman for the next three years. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky