We’ve discussed Steve Farese, Daniel Cummings’s defense attorney, but until now, we haven’t mentioned the likely prosecutor in this case.

Thomas "T.R." Trout, Assistant District Attorney for Lafayette County, is a veteran prosecutor with thirty years of litigation experience who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and has taken on Steve Farese in past trials. Trout handles most high-profile prosecutions for District Attorney Ben Creekmore.

He graduated from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1974.

Trout is married and has four children. He lives in New Albany.

Posted by SnyderNews at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The defense for Daniel Cummings has gone on the offensive.

Calling the Cummings situation "a classic case of overcharging," attorney Steve Farese is pointing to allegations that Officer Langley "inserted himself" into the automobile.

From The Clarion-Ledger

The Ole Miss campus police officer who was dragged to his death during a traffic stop "inserted himself" in the man's truck and may have scuffled with him, the suspect's attorney said.

Defense attorney Steve Farese said he wants to see surveillance tapes from a nearby business to determine how far officer Robert Langley was inside the truck, and if there was a physical confrontation between the University of Mississippi officer and Daniel Cummings of Germantown.

Cummings, 20, faces capital murder charges in Langley's death. He remains in custody without bond at the Lafayette County jail.

"They're still treating this as a capital murder case," Farese said of prosecutors. "This is a classic case of overcharging, but that's where we are at now."

Posted by SnyderNews at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In 1996 hit-and-run death of Tulane officer, 20-year-old student served six months in prison

Though a freak occurrence, last Saturday's tragedy in Oxford isn't the first time a college student has been charged with killing a police officer who was trying to stop a car for a speeding violation.

In the early morning of January 20, 1996, 20-year-old Josh Gimelstob, a Tulane tennis player (and older brother of professional tennis player and occasional SI.com blogger Justin Gimselstob) was driving home in his Jeep Cherokee after an evening at several New Orleans bars. Tulane Sgt. Gilbert Mast, 42, waved Gimelstob's car over for speeding, but instead, Gimelstob sped up, struck the officer, dragging him 30 feet. Gimelstob fled the scene of the accident, surrendering to authorities three days later. Mast later died of his injuries. Charged with negligent homicide, obstruction of justice, and hit-and-run driving, Gimelstob pled guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison, two and a half years under house arrest, and 2080 hours of community service. According to The Star-Ledger, Gimelstob served six months in an "About Face". a program that emphasizes discipline, responsibility, education and physical fitness.

Then just last month, Gimelstob was charged with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident after leading police in a chase in Chatham Borough, New Jersey in late September, According to The Star-Ledger.

From Tennis Week:

In the most recent incident on Saturday, a car rear-ended Gimelstob's Mercedes SUV at about 4:20 p.m., according to The Star-Ledger. Gimelstob initially stopped at the scene of the of the accident, but when police pulled up, he reportedly jumped back in his SUV and fled the scene. Police gave chase, but the SUV "was flying down the highway about 120 mph, swerving across lanes and cutting off vehicles," according to The Star-Ledger. Because of the speed, police stopped the pursuit, but eventually caught up to Gimelstob's Mercedes after it crashed on a median. Gimelstob suffered "superficial cuts and scratches and was treated at Morristown Memorial Hospital and released" according to the police report.

Gimelstob's Brother Charged in High Speed Chase [ Tennis Week ]

From Gil Mast's Fiancee [ Tulane Hullabaloo ]

Hit-run driver arrested again [ NJ.com ]

Posted by SnyderNews at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• The funeral of Officer Robert Langley is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. with a military burial in Batesville. - The Commercial Dispatch

• A scholarship fund has also been established at the University Foundation for those that would like to contribute in that manner. - World Class Glass

• Langley's wife has retained Oxford attorney Rhea Tannehill to serve as spokesman for the family. Tannehill, a partner with Tannehill & Carmean, is a native of Union in Leake County, an Ole Miss law graduate, and the current president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar Association. Tannehill handles a variety of litigation matters, including criminal defense, wrongful death, personal injury, student government law, and divorce.

• Cummings's attorney, Steve Farese, doesn't plan to move forward with the case until after Officer Langley's funeral.

• Leaders of the Interfraternity Council and members of other groups are meeting on the Oxford campus this afternoon to work on plans to help raise funds for the children of Robert Langley, the first Ole Miss police officer killed in the line of duty. - The Clarion-Ledger

• Contrary to rumors, Cummings was not apprehended at the SAE house, according to the fraternity's president, Zeb Whatley - The Daily Mississippian

• Farese said Cummings had football scholarship offers from several Division 1 schools. A 2004 Memphis Commercial Appeal story mentions Cummings as a 6'3", 240 lb. tight end / defensive end and one of the players who made up the backbone of Houston Mustangs' defense. - The Daily Mississippian , The Commercial Appeal

Posted by SnyderNews at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since several readers have requested capital murder suspect Dan Cummings's facebook profile, a copy has been posted here.

First person who tells us what "Knockin' Down Beef Sticks" means wins a prize.

The biggest development of the day is that funeral arrangements have been made for Officer Langley. The funeral will be held at 2 PM CST on Wednesday in the Ford Center in Oxford. Visitation will be held from 5 PM to 8 PM CST Tuesday evening. When you're 900 miles away, it's hard to get a barometer on how people are feeling, but anger, shock, and confusion are three simple terms that may best describe what's been written on various message boards and the sentiments expressed in people's conversations.

If anyone has more information regarding any information related to Officer Langley's death, funeral arrangements, or the criminal proceedings, please contact us at drew at snydernews dot net.

Also:
• Cummings's attorney, Steve Farese, told Memphis Action News 5 that he won't ask for a preliminary hearing or bond until after Office Langley's funeral.

• Blood and urine samples were taken from Dan Cummings on the night of the accident. Those tests are currently pending.

• In a story posted on Eyewitness News Memphis, it was revealed that a Daniel Cummings had been arrested twice for vandalism, and cited for speeding in a school zone. The vandalism arrests occurred in March and June of 2005, and were expunged in July 2005.

Links:
• Dan Cummings Facebook Profile

• Officials mum on UM officer's death

Posted by SnyderNews at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Farese, a prominent North Mississippi criminal defense attorney, has been hired to represent Daniel Cummings, the 20-year-old Ole Miss student charged for capital murder in the Saturday morning death of University Police Officer Robert Langley.

Farese has been a busy man the last few months. He's representing Mary Winkler, the Tennessee woman charged with the murder of her husband, a Church of Christ preacher; as well as Jack Price, a former pastor of an Olive Branch Baptist church who was charged this week with child molestation.

For criminal defendants in the Memphis / North Mississippi area, there's no criminal defense attorney more coveted than Farese. He represented Greg Gibbes, the Ole Miss student charged in the 2003 death of Laura Treppendahl, and he secured an acquittal for Dustin Dill, another Ole Miss student who was charged with aggravated DUI in the death of UM pharmacy student Amie Ewing.

Cummings Family Hires Famed Attorney Farese [The Commercial-Appeal]

Nancy Grace, Steve Farese, and Minister Murder [Snyder News Network]

Profile of Steve Farese [Farese Law]

Posted by SnyderNews at 01:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a three hour hearing, the Senate hearing of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Mike Wallace has concluded. Only a small portion of the judiciary committee was present for even part of the hearing, and by the end, Alabama's Jeff Sessions was the only remaining senator.

I'll try to sort through the transcripts and post some key points from the hearings, but several themes emerged from the hearing that will be a large role in a committee and full senate vote.

Zealous Advocate vs. Overzealous: Wallace was criticized for the positions he argued in several appellate cases. Wallace argued that to be an effective advocate, he had to sometimes argue unpopular and novel theories. Critics contend he demonstrated too many of his personal beliefs in his cases and that behavior might prevent him from being an unbiased judge.

Judicial Temperament. While everyone seemed to agree that Wallace is brilliant and accomplished, the ABA representatives took issue with his judicial temperament. They based their opinions on comments from lawyers and judges who are shielded by anonymity, which brings us to another theme ..

Anonymity: Many of Wallace's detractors took the form of anonymous individuals commenting to the ABA, comments that the ABA published in an 83-page, single-spaced report on Wallace. Interestingly, toward the end of the hearings, Jackson attorney Scotty Welch (pictured at right) brought up the ABA rulebook which state that the nominee has a right to address any and all adverse charges and if he was unable to do so because the person making the adverse comments was unwilling to give up confidentiality, then the ABA investigator could not use these adverse comments in formulating the report. The ABA did use these anonymous comments.

A Long-Standing Feud Between ABA and Wallace:: A major issue, and one recently raised by the ABA, was Wallace's dispute over the future of the Legal Services Corporation with last year's ABA President, Michael Greco, as well as the Chair of the ABA committee that gave Wallace the unqualified rating.

I'll try to have more later.

Posted by SnyderNews at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

3:34 Trent Lott's microphone doesn't work.

Cheesy jokes are told.

TRENT LOTT

Lott calls Wallace a "gentleman" and "outstanding lawyer." Calls Biloxi a "great international city" Talks about his

"brilliant daughters." Questioned his wisdom on going to Harvard University. Lott reads off a Wallce's long and impressive resume. Wallace apparently prevailed in 80% of his appellate cases. Lott rebuts critcism, or "unfair allegations," mentioning that he was doing his job as his attorney.

One of the most qualified people you could possibly find.

“A considerate, personable, courteous, kind, and thoughtful family man.”

Wallace teaches Sunday school at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Wallace was Senator Lott’s lawyer during the Clinton impeachment trial.

Lott calls him "one of the most brilliant legal minds I've ever known."

THAD COCHRAN at 3:41

Cochran supports Wallace. He's "exceptionally well-qualified." "Highly-skilled lawyer with a wide range of experience." He gives a brief rundown of the Wallace children.

Cochran is repeating many of the comments Lott had.

Hopes the committee will report favorably for Wallace.

3:46 CHRIS DODD ON DISTRICT JUDGE NOMINEE VANESSA BRYANT
I can't say I'm particularly fascinated or well-read about the nomination process of Vanessa Bryant. Dodd does say he's favorably impressed by Judge Bryant, a Howard graduate and Connecticut Law graduate. If confirmed, Judge Bryant would be the first African-American woman confirmed to the federal bench.

3:50 SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN
"We are not here to introduce her, but to endorse her." Lieberman notes Bryant's mixed of private sector and public sector experience, and praised her performance on the bench. He repeats a statement from a Chief Court Administrator calling Bryant "a superstar." Bryant has only been reversed 6.4% of the time. Bryant's son worked for Lieberman's "ill-fated" presidential campaign. Lieberman notes that Bryant would be the first African-American woman to serve on the federal bench in New England.

3:57 WALLACE IS SWORN IN
Wallace introduces his family as he battles with microphone difficulties.

Wallace thanks the president for the confidence placed in him, and for the kinds words of the Mississippi senators. Wallace thanks the Senate Wallace thanks Rob McDuff and Carroll Rhodes for coming up to testify against him. He thanks Scotty and Reuben Anderson for coming up to support him . He said it's good that each side has a chance to present the facts.

Specter asks him and reads (for several minutes) about some of the ABA's statements about Wallace that question his tolerance and his commitment to equality.

I was raised in a small law office in Biloxi and I saw the poor and see people who needed help and had the opportunity to give it to them. Wallace said he could have stayed in DC and made more money, but he came back to Mississippi. He said several of the positions he took he positions he advanced as general counsel of the Mississippi Republican Party. He does mention his strong affinity for the GOP.

All MS GOP did was preserve plan the court had already put into place. The arguments were fair, were discussed in the Senate in legal services nominations. The Senate imposed no impediment to his confirmation then. Finds criticism in Jordan v. Winter unfounded.

Question 2: Branch v. Smith. Wallace advocated a position that would have eliminated single-member districts in Mississippi.

Wallace says he was only applying a statute enforced in Congress that when a state loses a congressional seat and the legislature could not agree to redistricting, that congressmen could be elected at large.

Question 3: ABA put unattributed quotes into the record.
"The poor may be in trouble. He's just not in interested in poor."
"It will be like 1965, not 2006."

Wallace said it's hard to respond to unattributed comments and let the men testifying today to speak about him.

Question 4: Specter reads off a list of quotes that basically describe Wallace as intolerant.

Wallace mentions that he's a litigator that strongly advocates for his client, but that most of his cases settled, and if he intrasigent, these cases probably wouldn't settle.

Question 5: Specter asks Wallace to respond to comments that Wallace would struggle to follow precedent.

Grew up in a difficult time in Mississippi. If I had any sort of bias, I wouldn’t be a partner in the most integrated law firm in the state, wouldn’t send my children to the most integrated school in the state (huh?), wouldn’t work on bi-racial Christian organizations.

Said precedent provides good answers, and Wallace likes to give good answers.

Question 6: Do you believe you were given an opportunity to rebut the information required by the ABA Handbook?
Wallace said the ABA testimony contained specific charges that were not brought up in the initial interview.

Question 7: Specter asks Wallace his opinion of the ABA's not qualified rating, and asks him if it's fair or accurate.
Wallace said the ABA did not give them the opportunity to rebut charges, and asks in determining his qualifications, the committee should listen to the senators and the testimony of the attorneys.

Question 8: Did the ABA consider all the relevant information?
At the outset, they did not. Said the ABA investigator did not call Circiut Judge McConnell until before the third interview.

Question 9: Specter asks whether he thinks ABA's opinions are accurate or inaccurate.
He said it's hard to judge a person's opinion, but he does believes he was mischaracterized.

Question 10: Question about defending Bob Jones's tax-exempt status?
Lott was interested because church schools in Mississippi were having their tax-exempt status threatened. Wallace said their position was just as much an approval of discrimination as a lawyer who defends his client accused of murder approves of murder.

Question 11: Asks about Wallace's opinions about the Voting Rights Act.
The Senate didn't consider Wallace's positions on the Voting Rights Act disqualifying.

12: Asks about a letter about keeping federal inspectors from entering Mississippi county jails.
Said Lott did not ask inspectors stay out. The inspectors went in a few days after the letter and found nothing. His concern was that the Deputy AG had made commitments to him and did not keep those commitments.

13: Asks about confidentiality concerns.
Lott believes the work product of his staff shouldn't be wide-open, but has relented.

14: Legal Services Corp. - some claimed Wallace sought to impose unreasonable limits on type of cases legal services should take
Wallace says he supported Legal Services. He said he supported them then, and he does now. He did attempt to reform the Legal Services Corp., taking it out of politics and instead to provide general public services to the poor.

15. Did he contend that Legal Services Corp. was unconstitutional?
Wallace questioned the constitutionality of the appointment process, but not the corporation itself. He said a system had been set up where the director cannot be impeached or fired.

16. Wallace's Lobbying Activities for Legal Services Corp.
Admits there was a lobbying effort at one point to change the way Legal Services is appropriated. Said when the President went 5/6ths of the way to meet us, that they should go the other 1/6th.

Specter said he’s taken more time than is customary and put forth all the known issues

Expressed publicly the concerns about the first report of the ABA. Specter was concerned about the impartiality because of previous conflicts key ABA leaders had with conflicts. Specter wrote them two letters. Specter enters into record Ted Olson’s letter on behalf of the ABA.

4:30 TED KENNEDY (D-MASS.)
1. Said he supported a $55 million reduction in Legal Services
Repeats his 5/6th statement.

2. Asks about a 13 million reducation the following year
Said he had no recollection of budget requests in 1989.

3. Did you pay outside lobbyists to reduce the corporation's lawyers?
Wallace essentially says yet.

Kennedy makes a comment that Wallace was willing to spend money to hire lobbyists but cut money for specific programs serving poor Americans. Kennedy said he didn't know other leaders who hired outside lobbyists to come in and reduce budgets.

Bob Jones Question (Kennedy seems tired and irritated.)

Wallace gives the legal justification for the position they took. It was an complex explanation, obviously, because Kennedy basically repeats what he had said earlier. (These two won't be trading softball stories from their UVA law days over drinks after this hearing)

Kennedy brings up section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the effects test.
Wallace said that was a position taken by the Mississippi Republican Party, not Wallace personally. He said they were well within the bounds of argument that a lawyer can use for his client. Asked point blank on his personal opinion on the effects test, Wallace doesn't directly respond.

Question about Branch v. Smith. Kennedy says Wallace failed to mention the 1941 statute had been superseded.
Wallace disputes Kennedy's finding. He says the Supreme Court ruled that the 1941 statute had been superseded by implication.

Kennedy hints that Wallace was somehow pursuing an agenda ...
Wallace said the only agenda he's ever pursued is that of the party. He said we were wrong, but that they were not out of the bounds of fair advocacy.

Kennedy asked if he ever supported plaintiffs in Voting Rights Act
Wallace brought up his representation of majority black Claiborne County.

Kennedy brings up Wallace's statements to The Legal Times discussing preclearance
Wallace said he agrees Mississippi is ready for self-government. He said Congress has made it pretty clear that the D.C. Circuit has jurisdiction, and any opinion Wallace has wouldn't matter because the 5th Circuit doesn't have jurisdiction.

Kennedy brings up the letter regarding Mississippi county jails

Kennedy concludes

4:51: SAM BROWNBACK
Brownback doesn't see racism in Wallace's background. Wallace brings up that the cases people usually notice are the ones where his clients, the GOP, was adverse to typical black voters. He said he has no racial prejudice and no one has ever alleged he has.

4:53 JEFF SESSIONS (R-Ala.)
Sessions says it seems like some people will call you a racist if you have any dispute with the voting rights act. Sessions says there's been a big change in the South. He commends Wallace for sending his children to integrated schools. Sessions said the ABA's rating should not be an embarrassment to you, but an embarrassment to them. Sessions read his resume and asked him if he could get a job in a DC or New York firm? Wallace said he was probably the only Supreme Court clerk in the last 50 years who never got a free meal from a DC or New York firm, that he always went back to Biloxi and that's what he wanted to do.

(If Sessions ever leaves the Senate, he should go into coach pit little league, because he is lobbing some softballs right over the plate for Wallace to knock out of the park -- bad cliche, I know)

Sessions reiterated just because you might not agree with "every jot and tittle" of the Voting Rights Act does not make you a racist.

5:03 JOHN CORNYN
It seems like deja vu after sitting through the Roberts and Alito nomination.

Cornyn: Are you a bigot?
Wallace: Anybody who knows me doesn't think I'm a bigot, Senator.

Cornyn reads ABA's "glowing accolades" of Mike Wallace, and says he's confused that after all this, Wallace would be deemed not qualified. Cornyn asks "how can you be a person of integrity" and

Wallace talks about the Book of James, about how to not treat people differently.

You've been criticized for the clients you've tried to represent.

In a small town like Biloxi, if somebody needs help, you represent them. Wallace brings up that former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore hired him on several occasions.

You've been criticized for making legal arguments that did not prevail in court.
"You don't keep a 1.000 batting average very long when you're a litigator."

(No question where Cornyn stands).

Cornyn has asks a series of questions about the Legal Services Corporation. Cornyn asks to enter into record a letter sent by 228 members of the ABA to the past president of the ABA questioning how the ABA handled Wallace's evaluation.

JEFF SESSIONS 5:21

Wallace makes a joke about it not being too bad for a Biloxi boy to bat .500 in Manhatten.

5:26 WALLACE CLOSING
Wallace thanks the Senate for being unfailingly courteous to him.

Posted by SnyderNews at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SNN would like to congraulate the batch of long-suffering law students who survived day one of the grueling three-day ride through the treacherous mountains of legal material, otherwise known as The Bar Exam.

Posted by SnyderNews at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

J. Michael Luttig, a conservative purist once strongly considered for the Supreme Court last year, has resigned from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to serve as senior vice-president of Boeing.

Not much to add about this, other than his feelings for The Justice Department have recently soured.

Luttig graduated from the University of Virginia law school in 1981.

J. Michael Luttig Resigns From Appeals Court [The Washington Post]

Posted by SnyderNews at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Katharine Bartlett, Dean of Duke Law School, has announced she will step down in June 2007 to return to full-time teaching.

With the announcement of Bartlett's resignation, Duke becomes the latest prominent law school with a vacancy in its Dean's Office. Currently, Southern Cal, Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Washington & Lee are searching for law school deans. U.Va. professor Jody Kraus is a finalist at Texas and Southern Cal.

One candidate you shouldn't expect on Duke Law's list of finalists: Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong.. Come to think of it, don't expect Nifong to make it out of the Democratic primary in next month's election.

One potential replacement to keep an eye on is Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law scholar described by Legal Affairs as one of the "Top 20 Legal Thinkers in America." Chemerinsky came to Duke in 2004 in a highly-publicized move from Southern Cal, and last month, he declined an offer to become Dean of Carolina Law.

Posted by SnyderNews at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From The Austin American-Statesman:

David Levi, a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has been added to the list of finalists for dean of the University of Texas School of Law.

Levi, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for eastern California, was appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

Also in the running for the deanship are four lawyers in academia: Jody Kraus of the University of Virginia, Maureen O'Rourke of Boston University, David Wippman of Cornell University and Larry Sager of UT.

The previous dean, William Powers Jr., was promoted to president of the university Feb. 1.

Posted by SnyderNews at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Case closed.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A University of Alabama football booster died when he hit his head in an accidental fall at home, rather than being slain as first thought, police said Thursday.

Police initially described the death of 65-year-old Logan Young as a bloody slaying after a fierce struggle but quit calling it a homicide a day later.

"We treated it as a homicide, the most serious, and put the puzzle together," Police Director Larry Godwin said.

Homicide Lt. Joe Scott said police believe Young tripped while carrying a salad and soft drink up a set of stairs and hit his head on an iron railing. The fall onto the railing opened a large gash across the top of Young's head and he dropped to the floor bleeding profusely, Scott said at a news conference.

Bama Booster hit head, died, police say [ESPN]

Police: Young's death may not have been homicide [The Decatur Daily]

Posted by SnyderNews at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From The Associated Press:

Police backed off calling the death of an Alabama football booster a homicide Wednesday, a day after investigators said he died in a fierce, bloody struggle. A police statement referred to a continuing "death investigation" and said a ruling from the medical examiner into the cause and manner of death was pending.

The statement did not explain the change or whether investigators were considering possibilities other than murder. A police spokesman did not return a call Wednesday night.

Police Back Off Calling Booster's Death a Homicide [The Sporting News]

Posted by SnyderNews at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One week after punking out Nancy Grace on National TV, criminal defense attorney Steve Farese (above at right) has been retained by Logan Young III,
a suspect in the murder of his father, infamous Alabama booster and wealthy Memphis businessman Logan Young Jr.

Farese is also currently leading the defense team for Mary Winkler, who has been charged with the murder of her husband Matthew Winkler, a preacher at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, Tennessee.

As of early Wednesday, Logan Young III, 39, had not been charged for his father's murder. We don't know yet if Logan Young will or should be charged. But If he is, he'll have a stellar legal representative in Steve Farese.

• Profile of Steve Farese [Jackson (Tennessee) Sun]

Posted by SnyderNews at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Church of Christ preacher Matthew Winkler was found dead in his home in Selmer, Tennessee on March 23rd. Winkler's wife, Mary Carol Winkler, was apprehended by law enforcement officers in Orange Beach, Alabama. According to authorities, Mary Carol Winkler shot Winkler and then fled Selmer with their three daughters.

Winkler has retained Steve Farese, (pictured at right) a well-respected criminal defense attorney with Farese, Farese, & Farese in Ashland, Mississippi. Farese appeared on Nancy Grace's show a few nights ago and lit into the shrew. Here's part of the conversation.

GRACE: To attorney Steve Farese, Mary Winkler`s lawyer, I don`t know if you could just hear what that cop was saying, but he said your client confessed. So it`s not just a church lady saying that; that was an official with law enforcement saying it. So is he just a malicious gossiper, too?

FARESE: I haven`t called anyone a malicious gossiper. By the way, I thought you were rather hard with the Baptist minister.

But just because someone says something doesn`t necessarily make it so. In their minds, they may believe that`s the truth and that`s exactly what happened. I just haven`t had an opportunity to hear that yet.

GRACE: Mr. Farese, what kind of cases have you defended in court?

FARESE: Very few, you know, about 100 murder cases.

GRACE: And you think I`m harsh and you represent people that commit murder?

FARESE: Oh...

GRACE: OK, never mind. You don`t have to answer that.

FARESE: No, I would be happy to answer that.

GRACE: OK.

FARESE: You see, I believe in the Constitution.

GRACE: Right.

FARESE: And I believe in taking an oath to do what I`m supposed to do, and that`s to defend people to the best of my ability. I`m not laying out here in the tall weeds sniping at people; I`m trying to do what I`m supposed to do.

GRACE: You know what? I really thank you for coming on tonight, because you knew you were going to be on the hot seat, and I`m very grateful for that. Everyone wants to know: What is the defense for Mary Winkler? Who is the lawyer for Mary Winkler? What`s going on? What`s the motive?

And I appreciate you coming on, because you have been on the hot seat, and I thank you for that.

Ouch.

Here's an earlier give-and-take between Grace and Farese.

GRACE: Mr. Farese, was there a history of abuse in the Winkler home?

FARESE: You know, there are different kinds of abuse. I`m not willing to go into anything that she`s told me, and that will be something that is ferreted out at a later date.

GRACE: Well, when you say there`s different kinds of abuse, what do you mean by that?

FARESE: Well, you know, there`s more than physical abuse. There`s more than sexual abuse. There`s verbal abuse. There`s mental abuse.

GRACE: Do you think at any time her three daughters were in danger of harm in that home?

FARESE: Well, what I think doesn`t matter. I was not there. I do not know. From all that I feel that I know, I would not think they would have been in any danger.

GRACE: Mr. Farese, when did Ms. Winkler rent the condo in Alabama?

FARESE: Well, first of all, I`m not sure that it was a condo. I may be mistaken, but I`m not sure it was a condo. It`s my understanding that it was a motel room.

GRACE: OK. Let me rephrase. Mr. Farese, when did Ms. Winkler rent the motel room?

FARESE: I`ll try to answer that as best I can without aggravating you and...

GRACE: I don`t know, I`m pretty aggravated, but let`s take a shot at it.

FARESE: Well...

GRACE: When anybody turns up dead in their bedroom at home and there`s three kids left without a father, yes, I`m a little -- I`m a little -- let`s just say ticked off, yes.

FARESE: Well, that`s something you can talk to your therapist about.

GRACE: Actually, I`ve got one on the set. I may have to retain her, thanks to your client. But go ahead.

FARESE: Well, you`re trading airtime for treatment. But anyway, what I believe is, is that she rented a motel room on Wednesday.

The rest of the transcript can be found here.

Posted by SnyderNews at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Frank's World Report for bringing this to our attention.

The latest U.S. News & World Report law school rankings have been leaked. They can be found here.

There were only small changes this year. Stanford moved to No.2 and Harvard dropped to No.3. NYU moved into a tie for 4th with Columbia, while Cal-Berkeley (Boalt Hall) moved into a tie for 8th with UVA and Michigan. Yale remained No.1, proving again the new maxim that the only constants in life are death, taxes, and Yale's position in U.S. News & World Report.

California law schools are the beneficiares of these new rankings. Stanford, Cal, and UCLA all moved up, and I think USC did too.

Posted by SnyderNews at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Stephen Shackelford, a 1995 graduate of Jackson Prep, has been chosen to clerk for Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Shackelford, who attended Harvard for undergraduate and law school, is currently clerking on the 1st Circuit. I don't know the last time a Mississippian clerked for The Supreme Court. As far as I know, only four Mississippi attorneys and judges -- 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Rhesa Barksdale (White), 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Nominee Mike Wallace (Rehnquist), Phelps Dunbar attorney Luther Munford (Blackmun), and Bradley Arant attorney Wayne Drinkwater (Burger), -- clerked on the Supreme Court. That list is probably incomplete, and wouldn't include native Mississippians working at law firms in other states.

If you know Stephen, send us some more information.

Supreme Court blog Prettier Than Napoleon gives us his impressive bio.:

Steve Shackleford (the guy on the right) is a double Harvard from Jackson, Mississippi. Like many, he dabbled in consulting and founded a couple of internet startups before deciding to follow in his father's footsteps and go into the law. At HLS, he won the prestigious Sears Prize twice and polished off his time in Cambridge by fathering twins and winning the Fay Diploma. An Articles Editor on the law review, he allegedly missed the coveted summa cum laude status by a fraction of a grade. He's not bitter, though. Shackleford summered with Goldstein & Howe and Dow, Lohnes & Albertson before starting his clerkship with Judge Michael Boudin of the First Circuit. (His co-clerk, Felicia Ellsworth, is clerking for the Chief in OT 2006.)

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How hard is it to pass the California bar exam? Apparently, too hard for former Stanford Law dean Kathleen Sullivan., who failed it in July.

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Yesterday afternoon, I attempted to visit Underneath Their Robes, a popular blog about the federal judiciary written by anonymous attorney who posted under the pseudonym Article III Groupie. When I clicked the link on my blog to visit UTR, however, a windows box popped up asking for username and password. I was confused, but didn't think much of it.

Now, thanks to JB Ward, a prospective law student and the second coming of Justice Hugo Black, I have the answer to this minor mystery.

Here's what JB posted.

Article III Groupie (A3G, for short), who blogs at Underneath Their Robes, was outed in a New Yorker piece published today. Bloggers have quickly splashed the news all over the web.

Underneath Their Robes is a fascinating gossip blog on the federal judiciary. It concentrates particularly on clerks.

The author is apparently one David Lat, an assistant U.S. attorney who graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School.

This is the second famous anonymous blogger to be outed in less than a year. Last Christmas, The New York Times revealed the identity of Anonymous Lawyer to be Jeremy Blachman, then a Harvard 3L.

UPDATE: After being awoken by a strange knock at the door -- I'm back up and scouring the web for reading materials. You would find this headline on The Drudge Report around 1AM Eastern.
UNDERNEATH THEIR ROBES: WEBSITE POPULAR WITH JUDGES VANISHES AFTER AUTHOR'S IDENTITY DISCLOSED...
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The Drudge Report gives a link to an article on NorthJersey.com, but it doesn't work. Even more strange, a Google search reveals very little about Lat or the Underneath The Robes revelation. It appears Underneath Their Robes has been carted off to that secret CIA prision in Eastern Europe for analyzing and interrogation.

But using The Blog Search Engine, I've found some snippets of information about UTR's disappearance.

Peat Blog copied parts of the North Jersey story before the link became inoperative.

North Jersey Media Group - For more than a year, some of the juiciest gossip in judicial circles had been posted on Underneath Their Robes, an irreverent blog ostensibly created by someone called Article Three Groupie - a lawyer who dishes it out between depositions and all-nighters.

A3G, the blogger’s nickname, had posted lists of Bodacious Babes of the Bench (”sizzling!”) and told U.S. district judges “you rule!!!” And “she” did it all behind the anonymity of the Internet.

That is, however, until “she” was outed in this week’s issue of The New Yorker.

It turns out the voice behind A3G is a 30-year-old assistant federal prosecutor in Newark. His name is David Lat.

Lat, who sounded uneasy with his newfound fame Monday, quickly said he would need to check with his employer this time around before talking. A few minutes later, he politely declined to comment.

Michael Drewniak, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, also declined to comment.

Then, at about 5 p.m. Monday, the blog had been removed.

A poster on Volokh named Steve sums up the potential fate of David Lat.

I must admit, I fell for the gender trick hook, line, and sinker. UTR was one of the most hilarious sites ever written but frankly, it's hard for me to imagine how the author will continue to function normally in the world of federal practice. What do you do when the judge admonishes you because you left him off the list of "Super-Hotties of the Federal Judiciary"?

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The Washington Post profiles Judge Alito in a very positive piece this morning.

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Michael McConnell, a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and a possible replacement for Justice Sandra Day O' Conner, is speaking at the law school today on the separation of church and state.

Maybe the U.Va. appearance will be good karma for McConnell. The last federal appeals court judge to speak in Caplin Pavilion got a promotion shortly thereafter. That judge?

John Roberts.

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With Harriet Miers out of the picture for The Supreme Court, pundits have begun tossing around the names of other individuals who President Bush may consider.

Salon speculates about the possibilities, and tosses out two very appealing possibilities, Michael Lutting and J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th Circuit.

Who's on the shortlist this time?

Having used a dispute over White House documents as an excuse for dumping Miers, Bush can't very well turn now to Alberto Gonzales, whose nomination would pose precisely the same document issue that Miers' did. And having, in reality, lost the Miers nomination to opposition from the right, Bush can't really be thinking about naming some kind of centrist, political-consensus nominee this time around. What the president needs is a well-respected conservative who comes with plausibly deniable clues of antiabortion views and a record of accomplishment sufficient to counter any charges of cronyism.

What the president needs is another John Roberts.

But with Roberts already spoken for, our money is on tried-and-true conservative judges like J. Michael Luttig or J. Harvie Wilkinson. Neither is a woman -- astute observers will note that Bush's first nominee for O'Connor's seat wasn't, either -- but neither presents the problems that the Miers nomination posed. Luttig and Wilkinson are beloved by conservatives, and there's no question about their judicial accomplishments, their intellectual capabilities or their independence from the president himself.

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Supporters of Harriet Miers, along with some media outlets, are comparing the nominee to fomer Supreme Court justice Lewis F. Powell.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - On Oct. 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon nominated to the Supreme Court a corporate lawyer and former bar association president with no judicial experience. On Dec. 6, his choice, Lewis F. Powell Jr., was confirmed with fanfare by a vote of 89 to 1.

Harriet E. Miers, President Bush's nominee to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, brings a similar résumé, along with five years in the White House and one year as its counsel. But in just three weeks, her nomination has provoked a range of opposition that some scholars say may have no modern precedent.

Miers's qualifications, and her reputation in the legal community, does not match the standing of Lewis Powell. Powell was widely known as one of the country's best attorneys at the time of his nomination. First in his class at Washington & Lee and a pupil of Felix Frankfurter at Harvard, Powell was a named partner at Hunton & Williams, arguably the South's most prestigious law firm, and President of the American Bar Association, where he led the charge for pro bono defense of criminal defendants. He actually had the audacity to write and speak about important topics of that era and was a leading contender for the court two times.

Miers may be deserving of comparison to a Supreme Court nominee of that era, but it's not Lewis Powell. Miers is more akin to G. Harold Carswell, an undistinguished district court judge from Florida who was rejected by the U.S. Senate 51-45 for being mediocre.

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John (Gabe) Roberts can now tell everyone not only is his namesake, a soon-to-be Supreme Court justice but a soon-to-be Chief Justice.

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Speculation is intensifying that as early as today, President Bush will select Edith Brown Clement as a nominee to The Supreme Court.

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Washington Post columnist George Will believes Charlottesville's J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the 4th Circuit is the best choice for the Supreme Court vacancy.

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In an effort to get a Republican president to appoint another David Souter, Democrats are saying they would not filibuster the appointment of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the U.S. Supreme Court. Major media outlets across the country continue to focus their coverage on Gonzales and continue to run stories about how The Religious Right plans to derail the nomination of Gonzales.

The threat of filibuster should not deter President Bush from selecting the most capable nominee. Last I checked, the GOP was in the majority, and any sort of Democratic filibuster, just months after the Democrats agreed to back off the filibuster threat, would hurt the Democrats politically. Everyone should acknowledge that the mainstream media are going to echo the sentiments of any liberal special interest group against whoever is nominated by President Bush, whether it's Michael Lutting or J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th Circuit, John C. Roberts of the D.C. Circuit, Michael McConnell of the 10th Circuit, Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit, Wilkinson -- as extremists.

Gonzales has drawn comparisions to David Souter, who was was picked by George H.W. Bush because he wasn't vulnerable to criticism: Nobody knew what his judicial philosophy was. He ended up becoming one of the most liberal members of the Court, following a judicial philosophy more in the line with his predecessor William J. Brennan than William Rehnquist, Sandra Day O' Conner, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy, the four more recent GOP appointees to the Court.

While Gonzales does have an impressive educational background, (educated at The Air Force Academy, Rice, and Harvard Law School), a distinguished career in the private sector (he was an attorney for Houston megafirm Vinson & Elkins), an array of public service jobs, and an up-from-the-bootstraps American story (he was raised with seven sidlings in a two-bedroom house by parents with elementary school educations), his experience as a judge consists of only a 2-year stint on the Texas's State Supreme Court. An experience quota is unncessary, but I'd hope President Bush would take experience into account, especially when some of the other potential nominees, Luttig, McConnell, Roberts, Wilkinson, and even Richard Posner of the 9th Circuit, have experience at the federal appellate level and have published enough opinions that the President and the public knows what kind of judge they'll be getting as a Supreme Court Justice.

And if Bush wants to appoint an Attorney General to the bench, has anyone considered this guy?

Posted by SnyderNews at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)