Sixth Amendment

The Supreme Court justice got heated about the willingness of the majority to talk about race.

Today, the Court ruled by a vote of 5-3 to pierce the jury deliberation veil to correct clear evidence of racial bias in jury deliberations.

* Is there a constitutional right to smoke weed? This defendant says he was prescribed medical marijuana to help him kick an opioid addiction, and his bail conditions must be revised to allow him to keep smoking it, lest his Sixth Amendment right to participate fully in his own defense be impaired. How high were the Katten Muchin lawyers who thought up this creative defense? [Reuters]

* Baker Donelson plans to merge with Ober Kaler to create one of the largest Biglaw firms in the country. Effective January 1, the firm will have more than 800 attorneys, and one of the largest health law practices in America. The $400+ million in revenue expected to be brought in by the merger isn’t too shabby, either. [Big Law Business]

* “[N]o one is dragging their feet here. The Justice Department is committed to working with the FBI to move the case forward.” AG Loretta Lynch and Deputy AG Sally Yates are trying to get FBI Director James Comey to wrap up his renewed interest in the Hillary Clinton email probe as quickly as possible before the election next week. [Politico]

* “You haven’t been able to do it with trademark law. You haven’t been able to do it with patent designs. We are now going to use copyright law to kill the knockoff industry. I don’t know that that’s bad. I’m just saying.” Differing opinions about the fashion industry emerged during oral arguments in the Star Athletica case. [New York Times]

* “We are all feeling a little less confident. … [T]here is an incredible amount of uncertainty that comes with this.” Some U.S. firms with offices in London and Europe are contemplating what Brexit’s effects will be on their business — or if Brexit will have any effect on their business at all. At this point, no one knows. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

The Supreme Court strikes a blow against run away forfeiture laws.

* Ivanka Trump is getting called out on Instagram. Seems one of the shoes in her eponymous line is a dead ringer for Aquazzura’s Wild Thing fringe sandal. [The Fashion Law]

* The billable hour actually makes law firms less competitive — not that this revelation will stop firms from conducting business that way. [Lawyerist]

* When people attack Judge Jane Kelly because she used to be a public defender, they are really taking a crack at the Sixth Amendment. [Slate]

* All the things that in-house counsel really want from their outside attorneys. [Ten Things]

* A contested convention looks increasingly likely, and the GOP establishment is busy planning for that eventuality. [Bloomberg Politics]

* Our friends at Solo Practice U turn 7! Don’t miss their anniversary special. [Solo Practice University]

* Word to the wise: when you start looking to House Of Cards for political tactics, you might be one of the bad guys. [The Slot]

* What it takes to pull off a career comeback. (Spoiler alert: it isn’t easy.) [Law and More]

When eulogizing Justice Scalia, don't forget his significant contributions to criminal law.

This underfunded public defenders' office faces a fresh lawsuit.

I thought the Court really had a chance to change something here, boy was I wrong.

* The Sixth Amendment guarantees access to attorneys in criminal cases, but what happens when you cannot afford a lawyer in civil cases? [Emerge Miami]

* You’ve heard about the case of neighbors suing the parents of an autistic kid for being a public nuisance, but where’d they get the idea to make that legal move? [Law and More]

* You’re never going to get 5 whole minutes to concentrate in Biglaw, not when there are so many fire drills. [Daily Lawyer Tips]

* Richard Hsu interviews a real partner emeritus (of a venture capital firm). [Hsu Untied]

* Interesting analysis of Yale students’ preference for efficiency over equality. [TaxProf Blog]

* Should mindful lawyering be added to the CLE curriculum? [Katz Justice]

* Yup, Martin Shkreli is still an ass, and Hillary wants to do something about it. [Dealbreaker]

* Using your imagination to get to the next level. [What About Paris?]

* Many in the legal world were touched by the loss of Carey Gabay; if you’d like to donate to his family in their time of need, you can do so here. [Carey Gabay Fund]

Constitutional challenges mounting against underfunded public defender offices.

The egregious legal errors keep mounting. And we also wonder how Keating and Associates stays in business.

Serial illuminates something important and sad about the current state of criminal defense.

This week, the Supreme Court had a chance to fix it. It didn't.

The DOJ really knows how to make the Sixth Amendment come alive!

Some say this ad "sets a new standard for immoral cynicism," for painting a basic constitutional principle as a moral failing.

* There’s a guy called the “Good-Grammar Bandit” out there and he’s a high priority target of the FBI? Allow me to take this opportunity to tell the FBI their doing a good job. [Lowering the Bar] * Some folks have asked me incredulously about yesterday’s Non-Sequiturs item about Louisiana and Oregon allowing convictions with non-unanimous juries. So here’s some background on how that came to be. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Speaking of Louisiana, a lawyer has filed suit against Morris Bart, a major personal injury law firm, for unpaid wages. From what we’re hearing this may be the tip of the iceberg for these sorts of allegations — lots of people have been leaving the firm recently and that’s a recipe for complaints going both ways. [Louisiana Record] * Florida may not regulate real guns any time soon, but one 11th Circuit judge is ready to regulate the hell out of shotgun pleadings! [South Florida Lawyers Blog] * Lawyers are bad at social media. They’re bad at social reality, why did we expect them to be good at social virtuality? [CMS Wire] * ADA’s father was kidnapped (and recovered). Yikes. [WRAL] * A follow-up on our prior Sriracha lawsuit coverage. [USA Today] * A look at the legal issues in the most recent episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. If you saw it (and Captain America to the extent they are intertwined), you know there were some heavy legal issues at play. [Legal Geeks]

* Want to see a really terrible version of 12 Angry Men? Watch it in Louisiana or Oregon, the two states that allow criminal convictions even when jurors are holding out. The Supreme Court has an opportunity to fix that, let’s see if they will. [Constitutional Accountability Center] * Speaking of 12 Angry Men, this chart of the Dungeons & Dragons alignments of each juror is entertaining. [Imgur] * The judge in the Janice and Ira Schacter kerfuffle invoked Above the Law in her decision as proof that the accusations against Ira Schacter were in the public eye. Thanks for specifically promoting us over the rest of the NY media Justice Laura Drager! [NY Post] * Watch a bunch of law students talk about cats on Facebook. Will it end in douchebag posturing and threats of lawsuits? Of course it will! [Legal Cheek] * “Volunteer Liquor Commissioner” was disciplined for operating a Facebook page for people complaining about the police. He’s suing. Better question is what does a “Volunteer Liquor Commissioner” even do? [IT-Lex] * Allegations that Disney ripped off the trailer for Frozen from an animated short. They should really let it go. [Hollywood Reporter] * Chief Justice John Roberts says he’s a minimalist. He’s wrong. [Election Law Blog] * Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP. The IRS decided to keep going with the old product. So now your tax records are at risk. Enjoy the fruits of budgeting with anti-IRS legislators! [TaxProf Blog]

* Guys in my high school White House dropped threats to veto defense bills authorizing infinite detention of U.S. citizens all the time, it was no big deal. Nothing like bastardizing the Sixth Amendment. [New York Times] * So much for occupying the court system, eh? This judge won’t budge on dismissals, and more than […]

Facebook’s lawyers have been looking for a rumble over the company’s responsibility to turn over user account information in legal cases. Now they’ve got one, thanks to a California juror and his grandstanding defense attorney. The case stems from a gang violence criminal trial. Members of the Killa Mobb were being tried for a 2008 […]