Known as well outside the courtroom as in, The National Trial Lawyers Executive Committee member Gloria Allred sometimes faces criticism for her deft use of the media. In The New Yorker, Jia Tolentino profiles the well-known champion for women's rights. In "Gloria Allred's Crusade," Allred talks about taking on Bill Cosby, rape law, and Donald Trump.
In a podcast available at slate.com, Danielle Allen discusses the impact of mass incarceration on her cousin, who was imprisoned at 15. Ms. Allen is the author of Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. She talks about her personal anguish over the loss of her beloved baby cousin.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is vast, and many people are speculating on where it might go. However, it helps to have familiarity with how federal prosecutors build these kinds of cases, which is an advantage that Renato Mariotti has. Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor who has handled many obstruction cases. At Politico, Mariotti breaks down what we know about the progress of the probe and what can be reasonably extracted from the evidence, from focusing on Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, to firing former FBI Director James Comey and much more. Read more about Mariotti's analysis at Politico.
A couple of President Trump's lawyers may wish they'd been a little more selective in choosing where they sat for lunch, after a New York Times reporter overheard them discussing the drama, intrigue and mutual suspicion going on in the White House because of the investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election. Trump lawyers Ty Cobb and John Dowd were heard "casually & loudly discussing details of Russia investigation," according to a Tweet from NYT reporter Kenneth Vogel. Cobb and Dowd were apparently very vocal about tensions with White House Counsel Don McGahn, according to a report by The Week. The Times reports Cobb got "sharply reprimanded" by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly for his indiscretion. More on the story is available at The New York Times.
Despite all the trouble it's gotten him in, President Donald Trump can't stop blaming both white supremacists and those who stood up to them in Charlottesville for the violence that ended with a young woman's death. According to CNBC, Trump told reporters Thursday that he told South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (the nation's only black Republican senator) that "you have some pretty bad dudes" who opposed the white nationalists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville. According to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said, "I think especially in light of the advent of Antifa, if you look at what's going on there. You have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also and essentially that's what I said. Now because of what's happened since then with Antifa. When you look at really what's happened since Charlottesville, a lot of people are saying and people have actually written, 'Gee, Trump may have a point.' I said there's some very bad people on the other side also." Trump made the remarks while flying back to Washington after surveying damage in Florida from Hurricane Irma. The Washington Post reports that earlier this week, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution, which Trump signed on Thursday, asking the White House to condemn white supremacy and “use all available resources to improve data collection on hate crimes and to work in a coordinated way to address the growing prevalence of hate groups.” But after doubling-down on his earlier comments, will the president ever effectively and unconditionally renounce and condemn white supremacy? Not if he thinks it will help him get re-elected.
As any subscriber to The Trial Lawyer knows, politics is how laws get made. Perhaps more explicitly, laws are made by politicians. Therefore lawyers tend, to greater or lesser degrees, to follow politics not just as observers, but as interested parties. It is in that light that we have created our first political blog, "Politics, etc." We hope you'll visit regularly for entries on politics, the law, and how they affect trial lawyers. Do you do some political blogging that you'd like to share with our readers? Then, by all means, send it to us so we can share it with our readers. Just e-mail it to us at . As crazy as politics seems to be getting these days, there's plenty to write about and share your opinion.
Martin Shkreli, the "pharma bro" America loves to hate, finally went too far with his bizarre comments and now has plenty of time to consider his actions in jail. On Wednesday, US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto revoked his $5 million bail because of Shkreli's bounty on Facebook where he offered $5,000 for a hair from former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's head. A jury convicted Shkreli (who is represented by NTL Executive Committee member Benjamin Brafman) of three counts of fraud in August for his involvement with two hedge funds and a pharmaceutical company. Now he'll sit in a cell until his sentencing hearing in January, when he'll face up to 20 more years in prison. Is Shkreli a poster boy for Big Pharma, or just another arrogant loudmouth with Internet access? Slate has more on how Shkreli's arrogance ended his freedom.
When President Trump announced he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program enacted by President Obama, he gave Congress six months to come up with its own solution. Immigration has proven to be a thorny issue for lawmakers, who have been unable to pass any significant legislation on the issue for decades. What should Congress do about the 800,000 young people who could face deportation if no solution is found? Jeremy Robbins, the executive director of New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition that supports immigration reform, has some suggestions in this commentary at CNN.
Democrats appear to be making deals with the Trump administration, the latest being a path to citizenship for young people who were affected by the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, CNN reports. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced the deal Wednesday night after a meeting with President Trump at the White House. If it's reached, it would be the second major agreement between the administration and Democrats, the first being a deal on the debt ceiling and government spending. However, The Washington Post reports that Trump said "we're not looking at citizenship" for "Dreamers," or young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan said even if there is a deal, it will still have to passed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Is a "dream" deal dead or alive? Like so many other issues with the Trump administration, things could turn on a dime at any moment. While it does make politics in the time of Trump almost as exciting as a reality TV show, the lives of 800,000 young immigrants depend on the series finale.