A Chance to Right Obnoxious Judge-Picking Move

Now that Brett Talley is out as a judicial nominee for the Middle District of Alabama, perhaps Terry Moorer will get the seat he deserves.

The only African-American judicial candidate to be nominated by President Trump, Moorer has been tapped for the Southern District of Alabama.

Except for the past 10 years, he's been a magistrate judge in the Middle District of Alabama. Before that, he was an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama. He was even born in the Middle District of Alabama. And on May 8, he was nominated for an unspecified seat in the Middle District of Alabama (there were two openings).

But guess who swooped in to snag the Middle District spot, bumping Moorer to the Southern District? That would be Talley, whose job at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy is to manage the nominations unit—which is in charge of recommending candidates for federal judgeships. Including, apparently, himself (that is, until the White House cut him loose last week).

In his Senate questionnaire, Moorer was appropriately humble and grateful at the opportunity to be a judge anywhere. But he also said, “I did not initiate the decision-making process which led to my nomination in the Southern District of Alabama…I would have preferred to have been nominated in the Middle District of Alabama as that is where I currently reside.”

Right. Instead of moving to a new office down the hall in the Montgomery courthouse, Moorer if confirmed has to relocate 165 miles south to Mobile. Thanks Brett Talley.

There's a chance to make it right though. With Talley's nomination withdrawn, the Trump administration could—and should—give Terry Moorer the Middle District seat that is rightfully his.

Shout-Out: Sidley Wins Stay of Removal for 1,900 Cambodian Refugees

A pro bono team from Sidley Austin working with Asian Americans Advancing Justice won a temporary restraining order that stops the federal government from deporting 1,900 Cambodian refugees.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the Central District of California ruled that U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement must hold off removal proceedings “until the court can give proper consideration to the complex issues presented in this action.”

Many of the proposed class members fled Cambodia as small children in the 1970s during the Khmer Rouge regime. Each class member was later convicted of a crime in the United States, and as result, was ordered removed. But until now, Cambodia has been unwilling to take its deported citizens back. That left ICE with no choice but to release them from detention here.

In September, the United States announced it would stop issuing visas to Cambodian officials in retaliation. As a pressure tactic, it seems to have worked. Starting Dec. 18, the feds were reportedly ready to start sending people previously ordered removed back to Cambodia.

The petitioners want the chance to seek relief in immigration court first.

Carney put on the brakes until he can learn more. “Given the speed with which the government intends to remove petitioners, the court finds that a temporary restraining order is necessary to stay removal,” he wrote.

The Sidley team representing the refugees includes partners Michael Mallow and Sean Commons and associates Darlene Cho, Naomi Igra and Katelyn Rowe.

Is Alex Kozinski the Harvey Weinstein of the Judiciary?

The Washington Post on Friday evening reported that nine more women have come forward with allegations that U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski engaged in sexual misconduct.

One of the more stomach-churning allegations came from Christine O.C. Miller, 73, a retired U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge.

She described driving back from a legal function in 1986 with Kozinski, with whom she had worked on the Court on Federal Claims before he was tapped for the Ninth Circuit.

According to The Post, he asked her if she wanted to stop at a motel to have sex.

The Post reports, “I told him, no, I wasn't interested and didn't want to be involved in anything like that,' she said. Kozinski, she said, persisted.

“He said if you won't sleep with me, I want to touch you, and then he reached over, and—this was the most antiseptic—he grabbed each of my breasts and squeezed them,” Miller said. She said she stared straight ahead, and he soon dropped her off at her home.”

The Post report includes allegations of misconduct as recent as 2016, when a law student said the judge groped her breast.

Kozinski is being represented by Susan Estrich of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan. She supplied the Post with a statement from the judge that said, in part, “Many of the things that are being said about me are simply not true, but I deeply regret that my unusual sense of humor caused offense or made anyone uncomfortable.”

It's a BS apology from Kozinski, as if the women who complained are a bunch of humorless prudes who just don't get his edgy wit. Because it's so hilarious when someone squeezes your boobs.

That's not good enough. Not even close.

Wilmer's Seth Waxman and Mayer Brown's Andrew Pincus lead the amici effort.

Wouldn't you feel bitter if you payed $2,000 per ticket to see the Seahawks rout the Broncos 43–8?

This is interesting: the plaintiffs firm is wielding the threat of investor litigation to ensure that sexual harassment at public companies becomes unacceptable—but if it happens, company directors and officers will pay.

Best quote ever: “Real men watch Bravo.” Because if you want to connect with a jury (or your teenager) pop culture literacy matters.

The company is resisting a state subpoena for information about employment practices. Of course they are—they're Hobby Lobby.

Number five, the therapist, may be the most underrated—but also the most important for client relationships.