A Las Vegas woman is suing CPS over the death of her son (no mention of the who the attorney is). [LasVegasNow]
A federal judge in Texas ruled that a male-only draft violates the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. [KNPR]
Michael Cohen, currently testifying on Capitol Hill, was disbarred by the State of New York yesterday. How will that affect the attorney-client privilege as he testifies? [FoxNews]
Today the US Supreme Court hears oral argument about a World War 1 memorial shaped like a cross that is on public land. [SCOTUSblog]
One of our readers, sensing that the general answer might be no, wants to know if you follow any kind of guidelines for citations when filing motions?
Yes, follow the bluebook. It's pretty straightforward. Also, the copy with citation function on westlawnext kind of idiotproofs most citations.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 4:39 pm
Sometimes in federal court I just find orders/cases decided by the assigned judge and follow the citation form used by the judge.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 4:52 pm
The news link says Mom's attorney is Marjorie Hauf who is present in the clip.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 7:07 pm
If you want your intelligence insulted, watch the Michael Cohen hearings. None of the house members choose to recognize nuance, proportionality, or the complexity of matters.
Everything is treated as black and white, yin/yang, no shades of gray whatsoever. In other words, the house members act like they are not adults, but are ten-year-olds where everything is either really good or really bad.
All the Republicans who question him basically call him a convicted lair and perjurer(which, admittedly, is true)and therefore he is pathological, is never capable of telling the truth, and wants to destroy a saintly president so that Cohen can score a book deal and speaking engagements. Now, of course there is SOME truth to all that, but come on!
And as myopically simplistic as the Republican questioners are, the Democrats are even more ludicrous in their approach. They heap praise on Cohen as being some super-noble whistle blower, who due to soul searching now sees the error in his ways and wants to come clean only on account of his deep love for the American people(of course the fact he is going to prison, and therefore can only be harmed by continuing lying under oath in terms of attracting new charges and longer prison sentences, has nothing to do with any of this).
Every single questioner, from both sides, is behaving like a frothing-at-the-mouth partisan hack(which should not surprise me, as that is what they are).
Heaven forbid that any member of Congress would suggest that the truth is somewhere between the ludicrously extreme, polar-opposite positions adopted by each political party.
True that the truth lies between these two extremes, but it does not lie right in the middle. The truth seems somewhat closer to the Republican's approach. I am not a Trump supporter, but this Cohen has such a record of lying and perjury, that it is difficult to accept that he is now totally reformed and is telling the truth. It is clear he really despises Trump, and that it is very, very personal.
The deep state government – media conspiracy to distract the electorate is working. Instead of focusing on deficits, climate change, immigration reform, student loans, the tax code, endless wars, etc. we're fed a constant diet of Trump is a criminal (from the left) and AOC is crazy (from the right).
As to the Cohen testimony, he is a proven liar which raises legitimate questions about his memories/testimony but that does not in itself justify a blanket disregard for what he says. Rather a better approach is to use his testimony as a road map and determine if it can be validated/verified by other independent evidence. Frequently, the only (or best) way to unravel a complex conspiracy is to have the assistance of an insider to it. The information provided by an insider, however, will always be suspect as they as also by definition a criminal and not completely a member of the church choir. Almost every case against a mafia or drug cartel leader suffers from the same problem. It doesn't mean the witness can't be believed, but rather that their testimony needs to be corroborated.
As to the comment about having populists taking over and replacing old men..
Having the government taken over my the populist is not necessarily a good thing. Throughout history there are examples of populist based governments that lead to totalitarian regimes and cults of personalities (Castro, Chavez, Mao, Mussolini, Lenin, Hitler, Khomeini,…)
What is needed is to replace the current crop of career politician who are more concerned with their own political survival, fiefdoms, and personal gains with true public servants. More recent examples include John McCain, John Glenn, Joe Biden, Edward Kennedy, Joseph Lieberman, Alan Simpson, etc.) Individuals who, while serving the constituents that elected them, also placed the needs of the nation first and foremost. They also possessed the now rare ability to work with others (even across the aisle) to find common ground and solve problems rather than just throw incendiary rhetoric at the opposing position yet accomplish nothing (other than remain in power and line their own pockets).
See also: OJ being guilty and OJ being framed were not mutually exclusive. Cohen previously lying to Congree and Trump demanding Cohen threaten all institutions of learning Trump attended so they would never reveal records are not mutually exclusive. Cohen having a grievance and Trump being a lying, self-marketing, sell-out-America-for-a-reasonable-offer piece of shit are not mutually exclusive.
I do appreciate the "convicted liar" talking point coming from the GOP in the past 24 hours. You're the puppet!
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 7:17 pm
Cohen comes off as absolutely hating President Trump. I have no idea if he is telling the truth or not but I can't get to that question through his seething hatred.
Also, he comes off as a terrible lawyer. Without any client waiving confidentiality he just said he would turn over 100 tapes without a fight to the committee.
I don't know what is purported to be contained on the tapes, nor the New York version of Professional Responsibilities, however, if the tapes are a discussion about a future crime my recollection is that they would not be within the gambit of attorney/client privilege nor confidential. That would fall into the crime/fraud exception to privilege.
Yeah it also looks like most of Cohen's work for Trump was not really legal work. In that case, most conversations between them would not be privileged even if there was no crime or fraud.
Terrible lawyer? He was disbarred and is never practicing as an attorney again. He is the proverbial "Nothing to lose" guy. This is why underlings are so dangerous. They are loyal until you give them no reason to be loyal any longer.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 7:19 pm
If Cohen became a little sleazier, he would be a good candidate for our local OBC.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 7:20 pm
It would take more than a "little."
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 7:50 pm
Cohen is a total disgrace. He's breached all client confidentiality ethics rules ever written. If he weren't already disbarred for other things, he should be disbarred for that. He's little more than a (probably paid) democratic propaganda operative now.
I don't know if what he is saying is true or not, but assuming that it is true it would appear that 11:50's priorities may be disproportionate. Granted that client confidentiality and ethical rules serve an important public policy purposes and should be preserved to a very higher degree, when balanced against potential public corruption and potential espionage/treason those public policy goals must yield to the needs of the nation and society.
At this point other than individuals involved and potentially a handful of third parties (FISA Court, authorized congressional members, government investigators (with proper security clearances) and the Muller team) no one currently knows the truth. Transpareny and an open vetting is the best antiseptic to corruption.
Let the truth come out and deal with whatever we learn. If crimes were committed, prosecute the criminals, if the allegations are false let history record the innocence of those falsely accused and condemn those that perpetrated the false accusations.
Cohen has admitted he lied the last time he testified, but is anyone on the Committee asking "Why?" Who did it benefit? Would he have done so sua sponte, or is it more likely that a particular someone directed it?
Also, if the Committee agrees that he lied last time around, then it means that Trump has (repeatedly and similarly) lied about the same facts. However, I don't think anyone (even on the R side) seriously doubts that Trump is not a congenital liar and con man.
Yes. How many times a day does Trump's justice department rely on some ex-con ratting out some other con to get a conviction? I am certain the proper measure is PER DAY it is so common.
12:36's response is typical of the insanity of the day. It's like saying "Confidentiality and frank attorney client interactions are important but, hey, I'll disregard all of that if it helps get Trump." Congratulations.
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 9:28 pm
. . . Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.
— Teddy Roosevelt
Guest
Anonymous
February 27, 2019 11:29 pm
Liars asking a liar about a liar in order to protect/attack the latter liar.
I believe this is what they call the pursuit of truth!
Guest
Anonymous
February 28, 2019 12:27 am
Copy/paste "with cite" from lexis. Just copy and paste like normal and it includes the cite automatically. A no-brainer. Haven't touched a bluebook since 1L year
Guest
Anonymous
March 3, 2019 2:50 am
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Guest
Anonymous
March 3, 2019 2:56 am
CPS should be sued. This is just one of many kids they have placed in foster care that have died in foster care. Shocking.
Is the Bluebook the definitive set of citation guidelines?
Yes, follow the bluebook. It's pretty straightforward. Also, the copy with citation function on westlawnext kind of idiotproofs most citations.
Sometimes in federal court I just find orders/cases decided by the assigned judge and follow the citation form used by the judge.
The news link says Mom's attorney is Marjorie Hauf who is present in the clip.
If you want your intelligence insulted, watch the Michael Cohen hearings. None of the house members choose to recognize nuance, proportionality, or the complexity of matters.
Everything is treated as black and white, yin/yang, no shades of gray whatsoever. In other words, the house members act like they are not adults, but are ten-year-olds where everything is either really good or really bad.
All the Republicans who question him basically call him a convicted lair and perjurer(which, admittedly, is true)and therefore he is pathological, is never capable of telling the truth, and wants to destroy a saintly president so that Cohen can score a book deal and speaking engagements. Now, of course there is SOME truth to all that, but come on!
And as myopically simplistic as the Republican questioners are, the Democrats are even more ludicrous in their approach. They heap praise on Cohen as being some super-noble whistle blower, who due to soul searching now sees the error in his ways and wants to come clean only on account of his deep love for the American people(of course the fact he is going to prison, and therefore can only be harmed by continuing lying under oath in terms of attracting new charges and longer prison sentences, has nothing to do with any of this).
Every single questioner, from both sides, is behaving like a frothing-at-the-mouth partisan hack(which should not surprise me, as that is what they are).
Heaven forbid that any member of Congress would suggest that the truth is somewhere between the ludicrously extreme, polar-opposite positions adopted by each political party.
True that the truth lies between these two extremes, but it does not lie right in the middle. The truth seems somewhat closer to the Republican's approach. I am not a Trump supporter, but this Cohen has such a record of lying and perjury, that it is difficult to accept that he is now totally reformed and is telling the truth. It is clear he really despises Trump, and that it is very, very personal.
The deep state government – media conspiracy to distract the electorate is working. Instead of focusing on deficits, climate change, immigration reform, student loans, the tax code, endless wars, etc. we're fed a constant diet of Trump is a criminal (from the left) and AOC is crazy (from the right).
We are fortunately witnessing a slow change.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/15/the-changing-face-of-congress/
The populists will eventutally take over and all of these old men assclowns will be relegated to a bad chapter of American history. Pray for USA.
As to the Cohen testimony, he is a proven liar which raises legitimate questions about his memories/testimony but that does not in itself justify a blanket disregard for what he says. Rather a better approach is to use his testimony as a road map and determine if it can be validated/verified by other independent evidence. Frequently, the only (or best) way to unravel a complex conspiracy is to have the assistance of an insider to it. The information provided by an insider, however, will always be suspect as they as also by definition a criminal and not completely a member of the church choir. Almost every case against a mafia or drug cartel leader suffers from the same problem. It doesn't mean the witness can't be believed, but rather that their testimony needs to be corroborated.
As to the comment about having populists taking over and replacing old men..
Having the government taken over my the populist is not necessarily a good thing. Throughout history there are examples of populist based governments that lead to totalitarian regimes and cults of personalities (Castro, Chavez, Mao, Mussolini, Lenin, Hitler, Khomeini,…)
What is needed is to replace the current crop of career politician who are more concerned with their own political survival, fiefdoms, and personal gains with true public servants. More recent examples include John McCain, John Glenn, Joe Biden, Edward Kennedy, Joseph Lieberman, Alan Simpson, etc.) Individuals who, while serving the constituents that elected them, also placed the needs of the nation first and foremost. They also possessed the now rare ability to work with others (even across the aisle) to find common ground and solve problems rather than just throw incendiary rhetoric at the opposing position yet accomplish nothing (other than remain in power and line their own pockets).
See also: OJ being guilty and OJ being framed were not mutually exclusive. Cohen previously lying to Congree and Trump demanding Cohen threaten all institutions of learning Trump attended so they would never reveal records are not mutually exclusive. Cohen having a grievance and Trump being a lying, self-marketing, sell-out-America-for-a-reasonable-offer piece of shit are not mutually exclusive.
I do appreciate the "convicted liar" talking point coming from the GOP in the past 24 hours. You're the puppet!
Cohen comes off as absolutely hating President Trump. I have no idea if he is telling the truth or not but I can't get to that question through his seething hatred.
Also, he comes off as a terrible lawyer. Without any client waiving confidentiality he just said he would turn over 100 tapes without a fight to the committee.
I don't know what is purported to be contained on the tapes, nor the New York version of Professional Responsibilities, however, if the tapes are a discussion about a future crime my recollection is that they would not be within the gambit of attorney/client privilege nor confidential. That would fall into the crime/fraud exception to privilege.
Yeah it also looks like most of Cohen's work for Trump was not really legal work. In that case, most conversations between them would not be privileged even if there was no crime or fraud.
Terrible lawyer? He was disbarred and is never practicing as an attorney again. He is the proverbial "Nothing to lose" guy. This is why underlings are so dangerous. They are loyal until you give them no reason to be loyal any longer.
If Cohen became a little sleazier, he would be a good candidate for our local OBC.
It would take more than a "little."
Cohen is a total disgrace. He's breached all client confidentiality ethics rules ever written. If he weren't already disbarred for other things, he should be disbarred for that. He's little more than a (probably paid) democratic propaganda operative now.
I don't know if what he is saying is true or not, but assuming that it is true it would appear that 11:50's priorities may be disproportionate. Granted that client confidentiality and ethical rules serve an important public policy purposes and should be preserved to a very higher degree, when balanced against potential public corruption and potential espionage/treason those public policy goals must yield to the needs of the nation and society.
At this point other than individuals involved and potentially a handful of third parties (FISA Court, authorized congressional members, government investigators (with proper security clearances) and the Muller team) no one currently knows the truth. Transpareny and an open vetting is the best antiseptic to corruption.
Let the truth come out and deal with whatever we learn. If crimes were committed, prosecute the criminals, if the allegations are false let history record the innocence of those falsely accused and condemn those that perpetrated the false accusations.
11:50 will enthusiastically vote for Donald Trump again, in 2020, assuming Trump is on the ballot.
Cohen has admitted he lied the last time he testified, but is anyone on the Committee asking "Why?" Who did it benefit? Would he have done so sua sponte, or is it more likely that a particular someone directed it?
Also, if the Committee agrees that he lied last time around, then it means that Trump has (repeatedly and similarly) lied about the same facts. However, I don't think anyone (even on the R side) seriously doubts that Trump is not a congenital liar and con man.
New York disbarred Cohen YESTERDAY. Perfect timing. https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/michael-cohen-disbarred-in-new-york/index.html
Trump may be a liar, but at least he's not a convicted liar!
Yes. How many times a day does Trump's justice department rely on some ex-con ratting out some other con to get a conviction? I am certain the proper measure is PER DAY it is so common.
12:36's response is typical of the insanity of the day. It's like saying "Confidentiality and frank attorney client interactions are important but, hey, I'll disregard all of that if it helps get Trump." Congratulations.
. . . Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.
— Teddy Roosevelt
Liars asking a liar about a liar in order to protect/attack the latter liar.
I believe this is what they call the pursuit of truth!
Copy/paste "with cite" from lexis. Just copy and paste like normal and it includes the cite automatically. A no-brainer. Haven't touched a bluebook since 1L year
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
CPS should be sued. This is just one of many kids they have placed in foster care that have died in foster care. Shocking.