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To take the sleaze out of judicial elections, ethics rules should bar lawyers who contribute money to judges from practicing before those judges

firstamendment June 2, 2009

By Peter Scheer In America, a judge ordinarily may not take a “gift” of money from a person or company appearing before him in a legal case. Such a brazen assault on judicial independence is plainly unethical and potentially criminal. Suppose, however, we alter the facts slightly so that the money is offered as a contribution to the judge’s reelection campaign. A nonlawyer would say, wisely, that that is a distinction without a difference: a

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Prop 8 Supreme Court hearing is best evidence yet for allowing cameras into the courtroom

Peter Scheer June 2, 2009

By Peter Scheer The California Supreme Court’s hearing yesterday in the Prop 8 case–broadcast live over the internet via streaming video–erased any doubt about the wisdom of allowing cameras into the nation’s courts. Let’s hope US Supreme Court Justices David Souter, Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas were watching the oral arguments on Prop 8’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. They are the camera-allergic justices who have publicly stated their opposition to

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Nonprofits to downsizing law firms: Loan us your laid off junior lawyers; we'll return them when the economy recovers

firstamendment June 2, 2009

By Peter Scheer A mind is a terrible thing to waste. So is a highly skilled and expensively trained junior lawyer at a large law firm. That is what law firms across the country must be thinking as they hand out pink slips to very talented, but now underutilized, young lawyers (aka “associates”): over 1,200 in just January and February of 2009 (according to the running tally on lawshucks.com), including 190 associates let go by

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CFAC files brief to lift gag in BART homicide case

firstamendment June 2, 2009

The California First Amendment Coalition has asked a Superior Court judge in Oakland to rescind his gag order in the highly publicized prosecution of a former BART police officer who is charged with murder for the shooting death–captured on numerous cellphone videos uploaded to Youtube–of Oscar Grant III on New Year’s Day. The Coalition’s brief, written by Keker & Van Nest lawyers Paven Malhotra and Cody Harris, argues that the judge’s gag order “denies the

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Proposition

firstamendment June 2, 2009

Psst: Wanna buy Barack Obama’s email address? By Peter Scheer What would you pay to have President Obama’s new private (and secure) email address? Two weeks ago I wrote in this space about efforts by Barack Obama’s aides to get him to surrender his Blackberry, on which Obama had relied to escape the bubble that descends on leading presidential contenders, not to mention elected presidents. I argued that the aides’ concerns about legal and security

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