Law in Popular Culture

Objection overruled! Is Barbie’s new legal career more interesting than yours?

Mattel has unveiled a new Barbie doll that carries a gavel and comes dressed in a black robe with a lace collar.

Oct 7, 2019 4:15 PM CDT

Are the legacies of Oliver Wendell Holmes in a ‘head-on-crash’?

A review of the latest biography on Oliver Wendell Holmes suggests the late justice’s legacies of respect for democracy and his evolving defense of the First Amendment “are in a slow-motion head-on crash.” The biography is Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas, by Stephen Budiansky. Writing…

Oct 4, 2019 10:01 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge OKs ID using altered photo; infants seized for parents’ vitamin refusal, suit says

Judge allows eyewitness IDs based on altered mug shot A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, has refused to toss tellers’ identification of a suspected bank robber based on a mug shot that had been altered to remove the suspect’s tattoos. U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez said three of four tellers…

Sep 26, 2019 4:30 PM CDT

On prison and rehabilitation: ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ 25 years later

Stephen King’s novella premiered as an adapted motion picture that earned seven Oscar nominations. The depictions of the adjustment challenges of reentry have been referenced in several professional journals on incarceration. But what of the significance?

Sep 26, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Nursing home executives fined $400 daily; did black nationalism influence Justice Thomas?

New book seeks to explain conservatism of Justice Clarence Thomas A new book called The Enigma of Clarence Thomas contends that the justice’s conservatism is shaped by his immersion in black nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Author Corey Robin sees parallels between the movement and Thomas’ dedication to achievement…

Sep 24, 2019 3:11 PM CDT

On the Emmys’ red carpet, Laverne Cox and her ACLU date discuss pending Supreme Court cases

Orange is the New Black actress and LGBTQ advocate Laverne Cox wanted to deliver a message to viewers watching the Emmy Awards on Sunday. Cox’s date was an ACLU staff attorney, and her clutch was a specially designed rainbow handbag bearing the message “Oct. 8, Title VII Supreme Court.”

Sep 23, 2019 11:13 AM CDT

Ex-prosecutor portrayed in ‘American Gangster’ is sentenced for client theft

A former prosecutor portrayed in the movie American Gangster was sentenced to five years of probation on Thursday for the theft of $20,000 in client funds. Richard “Richie” Roberts, 81, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty in July to using $20,000 in his law firm’s client trust account to make…

Sep 20, 2019 4:50 PM CDT

Are jailhouse lawyers beneficial or bad for the system?

I remember Corbin Bernsen. I remember the saxophone intro. I remember the synthesizer crescendo reminding the audience that they were smack-dab in the late ’80s/early ’90s. For whatever reason, I never really watched much L.A. Law, though. One of my readers suggested I go back and take a look at…

Sep 19, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Jones Day explains redaction flub; lawyer copyrights daughter’s crayon artwork

Jones Day apologizes for redaction error that exposed grand jury info Jones Day has taken responsibility for a redaction error and apologized to a federal judge who ordered the firm to show cause why it shouldn’t be sanctioned. Law360 had discovered that the redactions could be read by cutting and…

Sep 16, 2019 4:12 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Actress sentenced in college admissions scandal; judge sides with transgender Ohioans

Actress Felicity Huffman gets 14 days in prison for college admissions scandal Actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for her involvement in the college admissions scandal. In May, Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay $15,000 to a fake charity to facilitate cheating when her…

Sep 13, 2019 4:51 PM CDT

Justice Gorsuch’s new book says US faces ‘civility crisis’

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch says in his new book that the United States is facing a “civility crisis.”

Sep 13, 2019 10:15 AM CDT

‘Taco Tuesday’ too common for LeBron James to trademark, US patent office says

On Wednesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James’ attempt to trademark the phrase “Taco Tuesday.”

Sep 13, 2019 10:11 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Millennial disinterest hits NY bars; reward offered in ‘Making a Murderer’ case

Bar associations in New York compete for fewer potential members More than 200 bar associations in New York are dealing with flat or declining revenue as they compete for a shrinking pool of potential members. Bars in the state have sold assets, taken out loans, cut staff and closed operations.…

Sep 10, 2019 4:38 PM CDT

Want encouragement in the justice arena? Think about what’s changed, says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The country has come a long way, said U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and that’s what keeps her optimistic for the future. “It can be hard to do anything as a loner, but if you get together with like-minded people, you can be a force for change,” Ginsburg said at a discussion Monday at the University of Chicago.

Sep 10, 2019 3:15 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: A$AP Rocky’s Swedish lawyer is shot; nationwide injunction restored in asylum case

Judge restores nationwide injunction blocking asylum ban A federal judge in San Francisco has restored a nationwide injunction blocking new rules that effectively barred immigrants at the southern border from applying for asylum unless they were from Mexico. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco had narrowed…

Sep 9, 2019 4:35 PM CDT