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Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… As a matter of judicial politics, Chief Justice John Roberts played the Presidential financial records cases masterfully, writing two 7-2 opinions that had the full buy-in of the court’s liberal wing. He easily disposed of the President’s preposterous claims as to the executive office’s inviolability, sparing the court the indignity of endorsing Trump’s shit show. Yet, by remanding with further instructions to the lower courts, he provided the President with the likely means to run out the clock between now and November. Roberts is having a very Marbury v Madison term, issuing opinions that simultaneously giveth and taketh away, while reasserting the court’s place in the Constitutional scheme. Continue reading Understanding the clever politics of Chief Justice Roberts on Trump’s tax records
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… I mentioned the other day how the Queens County Surrogate Court is the wrong place to ask that a book not be published. Today Robert Trump evidently found the right place — the Dutchess County Supreme Court — to get his injunction against Mary Trump’s forthcoming tell-all about the Trump family. Continue reading How Walter Sobchak would react to the judge’s order holding up Mary Trump’s book
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… A few places have already reported on Florida’s firing in late May of Rebekah Jones (@GeoRebekah), a scientist at the Florida Department of Health and the architect of Florida’s online COVID-19 dashboard. But her story needs amplification because it’s indicative of the data manipulation that’s happening in red states everywhere, and it all adds up to a gross, and possibly even criminal abuse of power — less for her firing than the reasons for it and what they’ve done since she left. Continue reading Florida firing the architect of its COVID-19 dashboard reflects Red State data manipulation
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… Trump’s repeated insistence that “[w]ith smaller testing we would show fewer cases!” is like a psychological test for dissociative disorder, identifying one’s willingness to believe that problems can be solved by declining to acknowledge their existence. Continue reading There’s no doubt Trump views COVID testing not as a solution but as a political problem
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… [Regarding this story: ‘I have not resigned’: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman fires back at Barr, who says he’s leaving] High drama. Barr hoped to bury this on a Friday night by announcing Geoffrey Berman’s departure by press release without bothering to check with Berman, who now says he’s not leaving until his replacement is confirmed by the Senate. Continue reading Berman only DOJ figure with weight to investigate Trump, so Barr wants him gone Advertisement
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… [Regarding this story: Don’t Buy John Bolton’s Book. But Don’t Ignore Its Revelations] Most of the reporting on John Bolton’s telling of the exchange between Trump and Chinese President Xi has focused on Trump asking Xi to help him get reelected, which was essentially the same thing for which he was impeached and which formed the basis for the investigation that led to him firing the investigators. Continue reading Trump and Xi’s concentration camps: When a quid pro quo is the least horrific explanation
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… Maybe you recall Bill Barr’s DOJ doing a 180-degree turn on the Michael Flynn prosecution, to which Flynn had already pleaded guilty, moving to dismiss its case entirely. The judge arched an eyebrow and then appointed a retired federal judge, John Gleeson, to make the argument that had been suddenly usurped by the collaboration between the DOJ and Flynn, namely the argument that the court shouldn’t dismiss the charges. Continue reading Judge calls Barr move to dismiss Flynn case ‘gross abuse of prosecutorial power’
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… [Regarding this story: Defund the police? Here’s what that really means] Smart take on what “defund the police” actually means. It’s not about eliminating law enforcement but rather acknowledging how the criminal justice system has evolved to exacerbate problems instead of solve them when solving them should be the goal, and using this moment to imagine something new. Continue reading ‘Defund the police’ is not about eliminating law enforcement but imagining something new Advertisement
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… [Regarding this story: DC mayor Muriel Bowser takes on Trump, sparks Third Amendment debate with call to remove troops from capital] Leave it to Trump to breathe life into perhaps the most anachronistic corner of the Constitution. Continue reading Leave it to Trump to breathe life into the most anachronistic corner of the Constitution Advertisement
Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective… There’s no shortage of articles about the unequal treatment African-Americans receive from the criminal justice system, and even there the answers run deeper than inherent bias by officers. People’s attitudes matter a great deal, but African-Americans still face institutional and policy barriers, and those barriers don’t exist solely in the criminal justice world. I believe that the answer to why criminal justice inequality persists today can be found in housing policy. Continue reading Why black-white criminal justice inequality persists today? Look at Levittown.
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