Sheila Abdus-Salaam

Death Of Judge Abdus-Salaam Officially Ruled A Suicide

The noted jurist died in April.

Morning Docket: 06.19.17

* Hot on the heels of the news that Amazon would be purchasing Whole Foods, legal nerds wanted to know which firms would be handling the $13.7B transaction. SullCrom is representing Amazon and Wachtell is representing Whole Foods in Bezos's bid to sell asparagus water on Prime. [Texas Lawyer] * Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Appellate Division Justice Paul Feinman to replace the late Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam on the New York Court of Appeals. If confirmed, Feinman will be first the first openly gay judge to be seated on the bench of New York's highest court. Congrats! [Journal News] * But her his emails! The state of Indiana will be paying "small-town firm" McNeely Stephenson $100K to handle a backlog of public records requests having to do with the contents of then Governor Mike Pence's private AOL account from which he conducted state business over email. [Chicago Tribune] * Shortly after a mistrial was declared in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case, his spokesman had some sarcastic remarks to share with those who represented the comedians accusers: "For all those attorneys who conspired -- like Gloria Allred -- tell them to go back to law school and take another class." [FOX News Insider] * Legal documents related to the dissolution of annoying jingle firm Cellino & Barnes are currently under seal, but several media outlets are trying to convince a judge to unseal the records because the "litigation over the dissolution of [the firm] is an issue of local and national importance." [New York Daily News] * "They’ve been great at dodging this. But they know they’re not going to be able to dodge it for much longer." New York City may finally do away with its nearly century-old ban on dancing in restaurants, bars, and clubs thanks to a proposed a bill seeking the repeal of the city's 1926 "Cabaret Law." [New York Post]

Non-Sequiturs: 05.04.17

* What dystopian hell have we landed in? The Vice President of the United States is touting an anti-abortion  "A-Team." Stop the world, I wanna get off. [Huffington Post] * The double standard just may be too much for the Sessions Department of Justice to bear. [Litigation Daily] * NYPD has closed its investigation into the death of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, though the medical examiner has yet to determine cause of death. [Law and More] * A lawyer's death provides inspiration to help repair the system. [Guile Is Good] * Is it possible there'll be an actual check on Jeff Sessions? [Slate] * Don't think you're safe just because you have employer-provided health care. [Salon]

Death Of Judge Abdus-Salaam Now Being Treated As Suspicious

There is a dispute over whether the death of Judge Abdus-Salaam was a suicide, as originally suggested.

Body Of First Muslim, African-American Woman Judge Appointed To New York Court Of Appeals Found In Hudson River

A terrible blow for the legal community.

Morning Docket: 04.13.17

* Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the nation's first female Muslim judge and the first African-American woman to serve on New York's highest court, was found dead in the Hudson River. We'll have more on this later. [New York Daily News] * The Ukraine-related activities of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are under legal scrutiny -- and one of his daughters, lawyer Andrea Manafort, described some of her father's actions as "legally questionable." [New York Times] * Hawaii says "aloha" to the Ninth Circuit in its challenge to Trump Travel Ban 2.0 -- and seeks initial en banc review, bypassing a three-judge panel. [ABA Journal] * So the filibuster is now dead for SCOTUS nominees; are blue slips for lower-court nominees next? [Roll Call via How Appealing] * Melania Trump settles her defamation litigation with the Daily Mail, getting an apology, a retraction, coverage of her legal fees, and what her lawyer Charles Harder describes as "millions of dollars in damages." [New York Law Journal] * Biglaw firms aren't the only workplaces with gender pay gaps; it's an issue for in-house legal departments too, including Google's. [Corporate Counsel] * Seriously, North Carolina? After its half-hearted repeal of the "bathroom bill," three lawmakers in the state want to ban gay marriage. [WNCN] * Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit seems to be a fan of Justice Neil Gorsuch's views on Chevron deference. [Law.com] * And Justice Elena Kagan will be throwing a party to welcome Justice Gorsuch to the Court. [Washington Post via How Appealing]