1. FAWL not happy with the JNC makeup (via DBR/John Pacenti). Lisa Lehner: "When the white male establishment decides it wants to respond and deal with this issue, what they do is take a nickel-and-dime approach, and they will put one woman on and say, 'OK, we did it, we solved the problem,' " Lehner said. "And then they think we will go away like nice girls and be quiet. We took a baby step, but women aren't babies."
2. Forget about the JNC; how about getting some judges? Via Daily Record: “We presently have a crisis in the federal judiciary in our country,” said Chief Judge Joel Dubina of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Dubina told Jacksonville lawyers that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts recently spoke to members of Congress about the crisis.
”At the time I prepared my remarks for you today, there were 104 vacancies pending in the federal judiciary in the United States. That includes District Court positions and Court of Appeals positions,” said Dubina.
***
“I think there is much blame to go around for this crisis. In my lifetime, President Obama has been the slowest president to make nominations,” said Dubina.
“However, blame also lies with Congress. The Congress has been slow to approve judges, even those who were not controversial,” he said.
3. A loyal reader tells me that Paul Pelletier (former AUSA down here and current DOJ fraud prosecutor) is retiring and that the going away party in DC on May 5 is called "Paul-apalooza".
4. The WSJ Law Blog asks whether the feds need a warrant to track someone with GPS. I'm not sure how we can allow tracking of people with GPS without requiring a warrant, but what do I know.
5. A couple of law professors have written an op-ed in the NYT that we should basically get rid of habeas corpus because it's too costly and doesn't really help anything. I say we leave habeas and start by getting rid of the grand jury, which is a complete waste.
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
If you abolish the Grand Jury, the crime rate among the Ham Sandwich community will skyrocket.
ReplyDelete"A couple of law professors have written an op-ed in the NYT that we should basically get rid of habeas corpus because it's too costly and doesn't really help anything."
ReplyDeleteStraw man much? Anyone with a passing familiarity with the federal justice system knows that the courts are deluged with baseless habeas petitions. Far from arguing for the abolition of habeas, the article argues for reforms that would strengthen habeas and better use scarce judicial resources by directing them towards the handful of meritorious claims. As others have pointed out, it makes no sense that someone serving a life sentence can present evidence of innocence and yet receive less scrutiny than the penalty phase of a capital case where guilt is never in question.
Perhaps the best Rumpole post ever- LET MY PEOPLE PARK!
ReplyDelete