Supreme Court Retirement Watch

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.11.18

* Senator Chuck Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee really, really, really wants any Supreme Court justice who's considering retiring any time soon to speed things up and retire immediately so their successor can be confirmed ASAP before the midterms. You hear that, Justice Kennedy? You apparently need to announce your retirement "now or within two or three weeks." [Reuters] * Quinn Emanuel may face an investigation from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the agency responsible for overseeing attorneys in the United Kingdom, in the wake of allegations concerning a dismissed partner's inappropriate behavior. The firm reported itself to the SRA, because it takes the allegations "extremely seriously." [Legal Week] * Squire Patton Boggs is really trying to distance itself from Michael Cohen. Remember that strategic alliance they had? Psshtttttt, please, forget about that. Under the bus you go, my friend: "At all times, Cohen maintained his independence, was not an employee of the firm, and did not maintain files or bill clients through the firm." [The Hill] * The Federal Communications Commission is planning to kill net neutrality on June 11, one day before the Senate is set to vote on Congressional Review Act resolution that seeks to overturn the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules. [NPR] * Dr. Dre, the rapper, lost a trademark infringement fight against Dr. Drai, the gynecologist. These motherf**kers at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office act like they forgot about Dre. [Courthouse News Service]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.30.17

* Former President Barack Obama has been called for jury duty in November, and unlike most Americans, he's not looking for a way to get out of serving. [ABC Chicago] * The pivot you're looking for is in another castle: Now that a grand jury's approved the first charges in the Russian collusion investigation and someone's about to be taken into custody, President Trump took to Twitter to demand that Hillary Clinton be investigated. [New York Times] * Paul Manafort is turning himself in. Surprise! (Is this really a surprise?) [CNN] * Like it or not, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is planning to be around for the long haul. Don't count on this "flaming feminist litigator" retiring any time soon. [The Hill] * Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court, the state's Tweeter Laureate, hasn't tweeted a single time since he was nominated to the Fifth Circuit. How long will this god-awful silence from everyone's favorite Twitter judge last? [Texas Lawyer] * So long, borrower-defense rule? Betsy DeVos is thinking about only partially forgiving loans for students who were defrauded by for-profit schools. [AP]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.26.17

* Kasowitz Benson may have gotten a minor "Trump bump" from other associates in the most recent edition of the Vault 100 law firm rankings thanks to Marc Kasowitz's representation of the president, but the firm's own associates don't seem to be too impressed. In fact, they listed "Trump" as one of the things they dislike most about the firm. [DealBook / New York Times] * Despite protests from her lawyers that a deposition would "interfere with her ability to perform her duties [as an unpaid advisor] at the White House," a judge has ruled that Ivanka Trump may be deposed in the IP infringement suit that was filed by Aquazzura over the First Daughter's look-alike shoes. [CNN Money] * No matter how many times we think we've dispelled this rumor, it keeps rearing its ugly head again and again. Word is somehow still on the street that Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire from the Supreme Court, as early as this Term or next. But... what if it actually turns out to be true that the justice who holds abortion rights in his hands will be leaving the bench? [Newsweek] * Three months have passed since Trinh Huynh, an in-house attorney at UPS, was gunned down during her commute, and her accused killer has now been indicted on murder charges. Raylon Browning may have targeted Huynh, as surveillance footage indicated that he was following her. [Daily Report] * After 69 years as a journalist -- 58 of them spent reporting on the high court -- Lyle Denniston, the dean of the Supreme Court press corps, will be officially hanging up his press pass after today. He'll be teaching a course at Baltimore Law this fall, but after that, he has no set plans. Congratulations on a remarkable career! You'll be missed. [Constitution Daily / National Constitution Center]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.20.17

* According to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, it's highly likely that we'll have another Supreme Court vacancy this summer. Word on the street is that a justice is thinking about retiring, and all eyes are on Justice Kennedy, the high court's swing vote. Hmm, we thought we'd already put this rumor to bed. [The Hill] * After years of accepting incoming students with questionable academic qualifications followed by unsurprisingly dismal bar exam results, another law school will be closing soon. We all knew it would happen eventually, but it was just a matter of which one it would be. We'll have much more on this later today. [Orange County Business Journal] * Kerrie Campbell, the Chadbourne & Parke partner who filed a $100 million gender discrimination suit against her firm, will learn later this morning whether she's been ousted from the Chadbourne partnership. Campbell, who is out on medical leave, says her removal from the partnership would be financially ruinous. [Am Law Daily] * Former pharma bro Martin Shkreli and his former attorney, former Kaye Scholer partner Evan Greebel, will have separate trials this summer thanks to this ruling. After all, Greebel turned on his former client months ago, and his lawyers planned to "assert a defense that [would] be an ‘echo chamber’ for the prosecution." [WSJ Law Blog] * When Big Weed meets Biglaw: In honor of 4/20, the mainstream media has finally caught on and realized that marijuana law is an up-and-coming practice area. This article focuses on some of the well-known law firms that have adopted marijuana practices, like Thompson Coburn, Fox Rothschild, and Much Shelist. [Chicago Tribune]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.22.16

* "You're going to make a federal case out of this - a dispute between two sorority sisters?" A fight between two sorority sisters recently landed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but it turns out the suit was dropped quicker than a misbehaving pledge. We'll have more on this later today. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * "Generally, it is God who decides whether presidents get Supreme Court appointments." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be the oldest member of SCOTUS, but that doesn't mean she's preparing to step down, even if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency. She's already hired clerks for the October 2017 term. [Washington Post] * The Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that in cases of employment discrimination, religious rights trump transgender rights. The ACLU says this case has set a "dangerous precedent," in that it has "exempted [a business that was "not a particularly religious operation"] from civil rights law with regard to transgender people." [WSJ Law Blog] * The ABA has closed a probe regarding allegations of religious discrimination (i.e., expulsion of students who left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and bans of sexual activity between students of the same sex) that were said to have occurred at BYU Law School. The school is said to have changed its honor code. [ABA Journal] * Infamous Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has lucked out thanks to some actions taken by the Sixth Circuit. A new state law removed the names of clerks from marriage licenses, thus enabling the appeals court to refuse her claims, allowing a judge to toss a suit she was facing over her unwillingness to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. [WSAZ]

By Staci Zaretsky