Afternoon Briefs: Law student wins Dr Pepper's $100K tuition contest; lawyer makes Miss Universe top 10
Photo of Cheslie Kryst by Miss USA Organization.
A quick strong arm earns law student six figures
Tyler Gordon, a 3L at West Virginia University College of Law, on Saturday won $100,000 from the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, after throwing 20 footballs—in 30 seconds—through a structure replicating a giant soda can. Gordon spent a lot of time practicing with a replica his father built, he told the Metro News, and is now back to spending the majority of his time studying for finals. The annual contest takes place at five different college football games, with finalists selected based on their application videos, according to the Dr Pepper website. Gordon, who with two other finalists were up at the Dec. 7 Big Ten championship game, focused his video on wanting to get a job as an assistant U.S. attorney, to help West Virginia fight opioid abuse. (West Virginia Metro News, Gordon’s Dr Pepper profile, Dr Pepper website)
Texas commission withdraws 11 sanctions against judges
The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct has withdrawn 11 public admonitions against Houston-area judges in connection with their bail bond practices, according to a lawyer for the judges. The sanctions have been deleted from the commission’s website without explanation. The original admonitions said the judges told hearing officers to deny all personal recognizance bonds because the judges wanted to determine bonds themselves. (Texas Lawyer)
US lawyer makes the top 10 in Miss Universe pageant
Charlotte, North Carolina, lawyer Cheslie Kryst made the top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, but didn’t make it into the top five. Kryst won the Miss USA title in May. She told the ABA Journal in a September column that a lot of her drive comes from losing. She tried four times to be Miss North Carolina, twice in the Miss USA system and twice in the Miss America system. She was a top 10 finalist each time. (The Charlotte Observer)
FBI revises warrant protocols in response to IG report
FBI Director Christopher Wray is revising procedures for obtaining warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after the Justice Department’s inspector general found “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in wiretap applications for a campaign adviser to Donald Trump. In an interview with ABC, Wray noted that the inspector general did not find political bias affected the opening of the investigation into Russian election influence. He also rejected a characterization of FBI work as the “deep state.” The president responded in tweets on Tuesday that “With that kind of attitude, [Wray] will never be able to fix the FBI”. Wray was appointed by Trump after the president fired James Comey. (Law360, the Washington Post, Wray statement)
Legal research companies settle battle over copyright claim to Georgia regs
Legal research company Fastcase has settled a case against rival company Casemaker over its asserted exclusive right to publish Georgia’s administrative regulations. Casemaker had said its agreement with the Georgia secretary of state gave it exclusive publishing rights and the capability to license the content to others. The settlement was reached a week after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case considering whether publishers can copyright annotated state statutes. (LawSites)
