Afternoon Briefs: Prison contraband hidden in footballs; Kamala Harris' husband gets teaching job
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Sensing technology detects football contraband tossed into prison
Footballs and packages tossed into a Mississippi prison yard early Monday morning contained cellphones, marijuana, cigars and barbecue chicken wings. Officials at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution confiscated the contraband. The prison’s sensing technology detected the breach. (The Associated Press)
Kamala Harris’ husband will teach at Georgetown Law
The husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will teach a course on entertainment law disputes at the Georgetown University Law Center in the spring semester. Douglas Emhoff announced last month that he will sever ties with his law firm, DLA Piper, before the inauguration. He will be a distinguished visitor from practice at the law school. He will also be a fellow at the law school’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy as part of a new entertainment and media law initiative. (Law.com, Politico, Georgetown University Law Center Dec. 10 press release)
Federal appeals court allows suit over school funding disparities
The en banc 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans this week let stand a panel decision that allowed Mississippi parents to sue over disparities in school funding. By a 9-8 vote, the appeals court denied a request for a rehearing. The suit is based on a state constitutional provision requiring a uniform system of education that was enacted before Mississippi was allowed to rejoin the union after the Civil War. The federal law allowing readmission said the state can’t amend its constitution to deprive citizens of rights and privileges. A later version of the state constitution removed the uniformity requirement. (The Associated Press, Law.com, Southern Poverty Law Center Dec. 8 press release, the 5th Circuit Dec. 7 order)
Law firm restores salaries, repays money withheld
Kelley Drye & Warren in New York is restoring salaries for lawyers and affected staff members effective Jan. 1. Salary that had been withheld will be repaid in a lump sum Dec. 31. The firm also plans to restore partner draws to the pre-pandemic levels. (Above the Law)
