Wrongful Death

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.23.19

* After days of unrest following news of a whistleblower report concerning Donald Trump's alleged conversations with Ukraine's leader about investigating former VP Joe Biden, the president now acknowledges that he did discuss Biden, and that he did acccuse him of corruption, but he left out the part about where he reportedly urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to work on investigation with Rudy Giuliani... repeatedly. Lawmakers are understandably up in arms. [New York Times; Wall Street Journal] * House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says that "we may very well have crossed the Rubicon here" and that impeachment may be "the only remedy" if Trump did, in fact, pressure Ukraine to investigate a political opponent. [Slate] * Meanwhile, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has demanded that Attorney General William Barr release the Ukranian whistleblower complaint to lawmakers ASAP, as required by law. [The Hill] * Penn Law recently held a town hall meeting with students to discuss Amy Wax, and the controversial professor is pissed, claiming not only that she wasn't invited but that she had no idea about the meeting's existence in the first place. [Philly Voice] * How do you like them apples? Whitey Bulger's family plans to file a $200 million wrongful death claim against the government over his prison murder. [Boston Herald]

By Staci Zaretsky
Non-Sequiturs

Non-Sequiturs: 05.22.17

* Leon Lawson has been charged with first degree assault for punching an opponent after the bell in a boxing match. Oh, let me back up, Leon Lawson is not a boxer. [The Sun] * Jurors in the Betty Shelby acquittal explain why they were too hungry and tired to give justice to Terrence Crutcher. [News 9] * Notre Dame was not feeling Mike Pence at commencement. [Shareblue] * Donald Trump is "exhausted." This reminds me of every episode of Property Brothers where the couple agrees to help with the demolition, then realize that destroying a place is more tiring than it looks. [Salon] * New York's wrongful death laws are painfully out of date. [New York Personal Injury Law Blog] * Enes Kanter, is a basketball player who can't play defense, but he can stand up to Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Which means you can add "Enes Kanter" to the list of people who would be a better president than Donald Trump. [Deadspin] * I would not have slapped this white woman for calling me the n-word multiple times while I missed my bus stop. However, if I was Spider Man and he was running towards me after slapping this woman, I would not use my powers to stop him. Furthermore, if later I was standing over the body of my dead uncle and the man who slapped this white woman was his murderer and the cops came up to me and said "hey, we don't have enough evidence to charge this guy for killing your uncle, but we have him dead to rights for slapping that white woman on the bus if you are willing to testify," I would keep my mouth shut. [Daily Mail]

By Elie Mystal
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.09.16

* Did Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court commit judicial misconduct when he instructed probate judges that the state's same-sex marriage ban was still in effect despite the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell? The state's Court of the Judiciary has set a date for a trial-like proceeding on the ethics charges Moore faces for late September. [ABC News] * If you want to go to law school and you've got your heart set on a particular institution, it may be in your best financial interests to apply early decision. A few law schools are now offering significant scholarship opportunities to early applicants -- in some cases, full tuition scholarships are being handed out. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News] * "Even innocent clients may not benefit from the fraud of their attorney." Chevron Corp. has prevailed in a long-running environmental law case set in an Ecuadorian rainforest. Lawyers for the oil and gas company convinced the Second Circuit that an $8.65 billion judgment was obtained through attorney Steven Donziger's bribery and fraud. [Reuters] * The family of slain Florida State law professor Dan Markel has accepted a $40,000 settlement from the Consolidated Dispatch Agency in connection with a wrongful death case. Due to an "error by dispatchers," it took approximately 19 minutes for ambulances to arrive at Markel's home as he lay dying after being shot. [Tallahassee Democrat] * This is why indebted law students can't have nice things: while the American Bar Association may have changed its tune when it comes to law students earning pay for credit-bearing externships, it will allow law schools to be the ultimate arbiters on whether academic credit will still be offered for these job placements. [Law.com]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 09.30.15

* Paul Walker's daughter, 16-year-old Meadow Walker, filed a wrongful death suit against Porsche, alleging the automaker was negligent and strictly liable because the car her father died in had several design defects, namely that it was too fast, too furious. [CNN] * The jury on the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal trial is having a really difficult time this week. Yesterday, on the eighth day of deliberations, jury members asked for the definition of the word "deliberation" and clarification on what their jobs were as jurors. [Am Law Daily] * If you'd like to know why Hughes Hubbard likely conducted layoffs last week, then look no further than the commentary of this City Private Bank Law Firm Group analyst. Times have officially changed for litigators at large law firms. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg] * In news that no one should find particularly shocking, Albany Law School has announced an affiliation with the University at Albany. Both schools are struggling with enrollment and hungry for cash, so it's a match made in heaven. [Albany Times Union] * “There are 35,000 museums in the U.S. ... [b]ut the great legal profession hasn’t gotten around to establishing one.” Spoke too soon: Say hello to the American Museum of Tort Law, Ralph Nader's house of personal injury horrors. [Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 08.05.15

* “There are no bathrooms, no air-conditioning, no good food. You don’t usually get good cellphone reception, either, and you can’t just quit and go somewhere comfortable.” Surprisingly, this Biglaw partner isn't talking about his firm's working conditions. [Miami Herald] * It's going to be difficult for U.S. authorities to prosecute Walter Palmer, the dentist who killed Zimbabwe's beloved lion, Cecil. Bringing this guy down under the Lacey Act is going to be a real task. If only this were a Pixar movie with a happy ending. :( [Reuters] * SCOTUS justices are jet-setting across the world this summer, with RBG in South Korea and Vietnam, Roberts in Japan, Scalia in Italy, Kennedy in Austria, and Breyer in England. Let's hope no one has to evacuate a plane via emergency chute. [National Law Journal] * If you're considering applying to law school and you decide to visit one this summer, aside from students huddled in dark corners of the library who are crying over their employment prospects, there are a few things you should be looking for. [U.S. News] * The mother of Sandra Bland, the woman who hanged herself in a Texas jail cell last month, has filed a wrongful-death suit, alleging that her daughter shouldn't have been arrested in the first place and was improperly supervised by guards. [New York Times]

By Staci Zaretsky
2nd Circuit

Non-Sequiturs: 10.31.14

* Thanks to Wonkette for pointing out that we were on this whole Ruth Baby Ginsburg thing last year. [Wonkette] * Speaking of our legally themed Halloween costume contest, please send us your nominations. [Above the Law] * Salacious allegations about a high-flying investment banker invite comparisons to The Wolf of Wall Street. [Dealbreaker] * The Second Circuit puts a stop to a legal challenge to the stop-and-frisk settlement. [How Appealing] * You’d expect a former lawmaker to have a better understanding of… the law. [Lexington Herald-Leader] * The Wall Street Journal reviews Paul Barrett’s new book (affiliate link) about the never-ending Chevron/Ecuador litigation. [Wall Street Journal] * Speaking of the Chevron/Ecuador matter, here’s more about the Canadian Bar Association’s controversial involvement, which Canada columnist Steve Dykstra covered earlier. [rabble.ca] * Some thoughts from Jonathan Mermin on something lawyers see every day: bad arguments. [Green Bag] * Here’s a great new resource for our fellow aficionados of appellate arguments. [Free Law Project]

By David Lat
Art

Morning Docket: 12.18.13

* “No one calls me Justice Sotomayor and no one calls Justice Kagan Justice Ginsberg. It’s an exhilarating change.” Back in the day, people used to mistake the Notorious RBG for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. How rude. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * Eversheds, the national U.K. law firm that sounds like it's an outdoor storage emporium, has elected a new chairman. Congrats to Paul Smith, who specializes in environmental law, and will begin his four-year term on May 1. [Am Law Daily] * In his last year of service, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer will moonlight in Brown Rudnick’s Irvine office. Critics think this move “looks and smells bad.” If it’s brown, flush it down? [Bloomberg] * Down 11 percent from last year, this fall, law schools enrolled the fewest amount of students since 1975, when there were only 163 ABA-accredited schools. Too bad tuition’s still so high. [National Law Journal] * Aaron Hernandez is now facing a wrongful death suit filed by Odin Lloyd’s family. Without anything else to say about this sports-related legal news, here’s a picture of Elie Hernandezing. [Associated Press] * George Zimmerman is an artiste extraordinaire, and one of his paintings is currently for sale on eBay where the price has been bid up to $110,100. The guy’s almost as talented as George W. Bush. [CNN]

By Staci Zaretsky
Biglaw

Morning Docket: 06.19.13

* You think you know Justice Clarence Thomas, but you have no idea. Here are several myths about the silent Supreme Court star that he was capable of busting in just this term alone. [WSJ Law Blog (sub. req.)] * According to the CBO, the immigration reform bill being considered in the Senate would allow eight million immigrants to gain legal status and lower the deficit by billions. But alas, dey still terk er jerbs! [NPR] * Google is doing its best to try not to be evil by asking the FISA court to ease up on gag orders preventing the internet giant from telling the world about what it’s required to give to the government. [Washington Post] * Florida firm Becker & Poliakoff will withhold 20% of equity partners’ pay, a move that made some lawyers cry. The firm is apparently planning to save the cash for a rainy day. [Daily Business Review] * Paul Mannina, an attorney with the Labor Department charged with sexually assaulting a coworker, was found in his cell with his throat slashed. Police are investigating the death. [Washington Post] * FYI, your aspirational pro bono hours — or complete and utter lack thereof — will now be public record in New York, and you must report them on your biannual registration forms. [New York Law Journal] * Coming soon to a law school near you: really old books from the 13th century that’ll probably turn into dust if you dare try to read them. You can find this nerdgasm over at Yale Law. [National Law Journal] * The family of Lauren Giddings, the slain Mercer Law graduate, has filed a $5 million wrongful death suit in federal court against accused killer Stephen McDaniel in the hopes of finding her remains. [Telegraph]

By Staci Zaretsky