Solicitor General

* A fantasy from the fevered imagination of Lawprofblawg: playing the role of the Grinch who stole meetings. [Lawprofblawg]

* Joel Cohen wonders: should jurors be instructed about the possible inaccuracy of descriptions of forensic evidence in “cop show” television programs? [Law and Crime]

* David Oscar Markus isn’t afraid to take on tough cases — like defending embattled Secretary Alex Acosta in the court of public opinion. [Miami Herald via SDFLA Blog]

* Former federal defender Stephen Cooper does not mince words: “The prospective gassing of human beings in Alabama is an abomination.” [Alabama Political Reporter]

* Jerry Goldfeder and Lincoln Mitchell offer up this hypothetical (which sounds far-fetched, but never say never given the times in which we live): “What if Trump loses but refuses to leave the White House?” [New York Daily News]

* Looking for a special present for the legal nerd in your life? In addition to the items featured in the Above the Law holiday gift guide, check out the latest edition of the Solicitor General’s Style Guide. [Amazon (affiliate link)]

* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman takes a data-driven look at the recent spat between President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts over partisanship in the federal judiciary. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* To answer the question posed in Morning Docket today… no. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Miguel Estrada will not be the next Solicitor General. [Law.com]

* Elena Kagan is finally getting some meme love. [Huffington Post]

* The Texas Supreme Court is hearing arguments about rolling back spousal benefits for same-sex couples. No, you didn’t imagine Obergefell in a fever dream, it’s just Texas. [Slate]

* Can legal remedies be effective against age discrimination? Or will that take too long? [Law and More]

* RIP Barbara Lundergan the first woman to be partner at Seyfarth Shaw. [Crain’s Business]

* How does Neil Gorsuch fare on the issue of abortion? [Constitutional Accountability Center]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiyYk6WbFfU&feature=youtu.be

* The Seventh Circuit — in an opinion by Judge Diane Sykes, a top-tier SCOTUS possibility under President Trump — just struck down Chicago ordinances regulating shooting ranges as violative of Second Amendment rights. [ABC News]

* Speaking of firearms, law professor Fredrick Vars has an excellent proposal for preventing gun suicides. [Washington Post]

* Possible good news for legalizing sports betting in New Jersey: the U.S. Supreme Court wants to hear from the solicitor general on this issue (although we don’t yet know who the solicitor general will be). [How Appealing]

* But we think we know who the principal deputy solicitor general will be — Noel Francisco, whose imminent departure from Jones Day is now public. [National Law Journal]

* In other Justice Department news, what can we expect from Jeff Sessions’s DOJ in terms of civil rights enforcement? [New York Times]

* Are we seeing a “fragile recovery” in the number of people interested in law school? [ABA Journal]

* If you share my curiosity about the future of Chief Judge Merrick Garland in the wake of his unsuccessful SCOTUS nomination, it seems that the distinguished jurist is back on the bench — at least for now. [National Law Journal]

* Kellyanne Conway, President-elect Trump’s campaign manager, has accepted a position as his counselor once his administration takes over at the White House, and now her husband, George Conway of Wachtell Lipton, has found himself on the shortlist to become the U.S. solicitor general. He’s argued only one Supreme Court case, which is unusual for those being considered for the position. [Bloomberg Politics]

* In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts managed to steer clear of controversial topics — such as the high court being short handed since Justice Scalia’s death or the Senate’s failure to confirm Judge Merrill Garland — instead choosing to focus on the “underappreciated” role of district court judges, writing that “[t]his is no job for impulsive, timid, or inattentive souls.” [Washington Post]

* “There’s no legitimacy to a Supreme Court justice in a seat that’s been stolen from one administration and handed to another. We need to do everything we possibly can to block it.” When it comes to the confirmation process for President-elect Trump’s SCOTUS nominee, we can expect to see a battle thanks to Senate Democrats in the wake of Senate Republicans’ obstruction of Judge Garland’s nomination. [The Guardian]

* One day before they were set to go into effect, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services. O’Connor is the same judge who issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of the Obama administration’s transgender protections in schools. [BuzzFeed]

* Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, who is representing himself for the penalty phase of his trial, has rejected a defense based on mental illness because he is “morally opposed to psychology.” He’ll make an opening statement, but won’t call any witnesses or present any evidence. If Roof is sentenced to death, it will be the first time a jury has done so in a case involving a federal hate crimes law. [New York Times]

* The new treatise on race and the law in the post-Obama age. [The Crime Report]

* A deep dive into the Iowans on Trump’s SCOTUS shortlist. [Des Moines Register]

* And two of the Coloradans too. [Denver Post; Denver Post]

* Plus more on who might be Trump’s pick for Solicitor General. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* Rural areas really need lawyers. [KCUR]

* The latest legal challenge to Brexit. [The Independent]

* Does Mark Zuckerberg have political aspirations? [Law and More]

* RIP retired federal judge, Miles Lord. [ABC]