Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of the leprechauns of the blog from the Turley Clan. It is a beautiful St. Patty’s Day in McLean, Virginia and the leprechauns came to bring treats and tricks to the Turley house this morning.
Continue reading “HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!!”
Despite a surprising lack of media attention, the Ninth Circuit saw a relatively rare filing of a dissent in the appeal of the first executive order. Critics of the order have celebrated the panel decision, though many of us (including opponents of the immigration order) criticized the opinion as poorly written and supported. Nevertheless, critics have said that four judges in that case ruled against the President. (That is not counting Judge Brinkema in Virginia). However, the count is now roughly even for the first appeal of the order. In a surprising move, five judges (including the highly respected former Chief Judge Alex Kozinski) filed a dissent to the motion for rehearing. The blistering dissent showed that a significant number of Ninth Circuit judges strongly disagreed with the decision of the panel. (Some judges may have not approved of the panel decision but did not see the need for a rehearing). As previously raised by experts, the strongly worded dissent belies the claim that the original executive order was legally unsustainable. To see this type of vociferous dissent in a withdrawn appeal is remarkable in itself but it also shows the depth of opposition to the panel’s decision among other judges.
In the latest indictment of our educational system, a new study has found that only 1 out of five kids in Oklahoma City can tell time on an analog clock. These kids rely on iPhone and other devices with numerical readouts of the time.
Continue reading “Report: 4 Out Of 5 Oklahoma City Kids Cannot Tell Time”
This is not exactly the “wake me up” that most travelers are seeking in their morning commute from Amtrak.
Continue reading “Avalanche With Amtrak: New York Passengers Get Buried In Snow From Arriving Train”
Last night, U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson issued a
temporary restraining order that prevents the second immigration order of President Donald Trump from going into effect on Thursday. The 43-page opinion is scathing and relies not only on the statements of President Trump but the recent statements of his chief aide Stephen Miller. While I respectfully disagree with Judge Watson and view his decision as contrary to the weight of existing case law, the opinion again shows the perils of presidents and their aides speaking publicly about litigation. Political facing saving comments can be case legal damaging comments. Yet, I still believe that Judge Watson relied too much on campaign statements and television interviews to overcome the facial neutrality of the language of the executive order.
Continue reading “Federal Judge In Hawaii Enjoins Second Executive Order”
Below is my recent column about a type of new article of faith for lawyers in opposing President Donald Trump and his Administration. Here is the column:
Continue reading “Opposing Trump Is The New Article Of Faith For Lawyers”
The build up last night on MSNBC had my phone ringing off the hook. Rachel Maddow proclaimed “we’ve got the Trump returns.” It turned out to be just the 2005 filing. Well, not the 2005 filing, the first two pages. Worse yet, it turned out to be an entirely predictable tax return for a wealthy businessman with tons of deductibles. It seemed like the tax version of Al Capone’s safe with Geraldo Rivera. What was particularly odd is that MSNBC was “all in” — even after seeing that there was little there. Maddow led with a long list of things we want to know from Trump’s tax return. But none of those things were in the return. They lined up experts who seemed a lot like the “weather center” reporters the night before covering the major snow storm in D.C. Reporters literally showed a dusting on cars in parking lots and spoke breathlessly about the possible storm that never came. The tax experts were left in the same curious position — discussing what might have been shown. As a legal commentator, I bowed out. It was like being called as a seismologists to discuss an earthquake that never happened. It is certainly true that Trump and Melania paid is a rate of less than 4 percent on their personal income — $5.3 million. However, they paid an additional $31 million under the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. They used every loophole and tactic to reduce payments but those loopholes were legal and used by many in his tax bracket.
Having said that, the White House and others went too far in raising allegations of criminal conduct by Maddow and MSNBC in reporting on the story. There was also a return to the mantra of the “dishonest media.” There was nothing dishonest in publishing the return. It was clearly overplayed but it was not dishonest to cover the leak.
The new law school ranking are out by U.S. News & World Report and there are the usual winners and losers. Indeed, I have connected to both. George Washington University, where I teach, is down 6 slots to 30 (the continuation of a trend where GW dropped 3 spots the year before and 2.5 slots that year before that). Northwestern, my alma mater, was one of the big winners in breaking into the top ten law schools. While professors overwhelmingly express contempt over the ranking, I have long been in the minority. I view the rankings as very helpful for students. (There was no such resource when I applied to law school). Moreover, they are generally reliable in my view, though I would disagree with some specific rankings.
Continue reading “2017 Law School Rankings: Winners and Losers”
At first I thought it was really gross that people in South Korea were wiping out river rats for food. Then I found out that the rats are being sought for their bile. With bear bile in the short supply due to the overhunting of bears and new national protections, Koreans are turning to river rats as a source of ursodeoxycholic acid. Rats have an even greater amount of the acid than bears.
Continue reading “South Koreans Hunting River Rats As A Source Of Bile For Traditional Medicine”
We have been discussing the mounting evidence of catastrophic impacts from climate change. A new report is particularly . . . well . . . chilling. Scientists believe that the world has now lost half of its coral reefs in the last 30 years and could lose 90 percent 2050. It is not just the loss of one of the most unique and beautiful areas of Earth but the impact could be enormous on our food and our environment. Indeed, these reports show how these losses produce a cascading crisis across ecosystems. The report comes at a time when the Trump Administration is moving to reduce our commitment to climate change programs and agreements — putting the United States on a collision course with much of the world.
Continue reading “Study: 90 Percent of Coral Reefs Will Be Gone By 2050”
Micah Risner, 29, and his fiancée Nataleigh Schlette are accused of a truly bizarre crime in Ohio. Family members received pictures of a grotesque murder scene of Schlette. Risner then texted his sister to suggest that he had murdered Schlette. When police were called to the home, they found Schlette alive and the couple admitted that the whole thing was a moronic prank. The police were not laughing and the couple was charged with “inducing panic.”
Continue reading “Ohio Couple Charged After Staging Gruesome Murder As Family Prank”
We have often discussed the difficult challenge in dealing recidivists for DUI and other non-violent offenses. Margaret Johnson, however, is virtually in a category onto herself. The 40-year-old English woman has been arrested 153 times and is called the “Pickpocket Queen of Birmingham.”
Continue reading “English Woman Gets 30 Months In Jail After 153rd Arrest”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reappearance of Obama officials in the contemporary debates over surveillance and health care. Here is the column.
Carleton University has students and some faculty upset over a decision to remove scales for its gym because, according to one students, “scales are very triggering” for people with eating disorders. Some asked if mirrors would be next. However, that decision was already made in one dorm in Bucknell University where mirrors were covered in an effort to promote “body positivity” and “self-love.” Various schools have similarly adopted “mirrorless Mondays” to combat eating disorders and triggering episodes.
Continue reading “Carleton University Ban Scales At School Gym Due To “Triggering” Some Students”
Zachary Gross, 31, may be the least repentant criminals to face a judge at sentencing. The Kentucky man interrupted the judge during his hearing and told him to spare him the “lecture.” It was a particularly curious position for a man to take after telling his pit bull to attack his girlfriend,Marilyn Stanley — leading to her being partially scalped by the dog. The horrific attack and its equally horrific aftermath was caused by Gross anger over Facebook postings by Stanley. If there was anyone in need of a good lecture, it would seem to be Zachary Gross.