Friday the 13th!

[jessipsaloquitur]

Sadly, I have nothing appropriately scary or creepy to accompany today's date. Unless you include work which is still looming in scary proportions, but while my clients are criminals, only a few of them are truly creepy. So that kinda fails for a Friday the 13th tie in as well.

But it IS the reason I've been MIA this week. *grumblebitchcomplain* Of the good, though, is that in an effort to save on gas, I've been driving into the office less and instead working from home. Which has the added benefit of allowing me to watch my Diamondbacks' afternoon games!

Speaking of baseball, I'll be heading to the ball park this evening to watch the D-Backs take on the Royals for some inter-league play. I'm really looking forward to it because it's been just too long since I've had me some BASEBALL!

Also of note on this weekend's agenda: I've got tickets to see a local production of Reefer Madness tomorrow. I'm mostly going because Trainer!Boy has the lead and if I don't he'll probably make me do a bazillion squats next week. It's a self preservation thing. Although it has been getting good press and might actually be funny and entertaining. We shall see.

I've also been making my travel plans for the rest of June and July. By some brilliant feat of planning, or the exact opposite of that, I am traveling to either L.A. or San Diego or both EVERY OTHER WEEK between the end of June and the middle of July! *facepalm* In between all that traveling? I'm doing two trials and preparing for a three week trial staring in August. Yeah. July should be very interesting.

Also interesting? The news that Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski shares porn online. *laughs and laughs* When I clerked for the 9th Circuit, I thought Judge Kozinski was a complete ass. Brilliant, sure. But still an asshole. The news that he kept porn on his website though? Kinda makes me like the asshole.

Lastly, shamelessly stolen from drvsilla: Foto Friday!!!

A few blooms valiantly hanging on despite the outrageous Arizona summer heat:




Hope y'all are having a non-scary, non-creepy and completely FANTASTIC Friday the 13th!

Comments

[drvsilla.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice. :D Love the colors.

Yay Fotos!

[moonmelody.livejournal.com]

Great idea! :)

[antheia.livejournal.com]

Pretty!

[moonmelody.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[without-me.livejournal.com]

9th Circuit clerkship, very impressive! ::genuflects::

That reminds me of a question that occurred to me yesterday: Positing for the moment that the material Kozinski posted was not obscene (I haven't heard any argument that it was, though I also haven't been paying close attention), why should the fact that he posted material that was vulgar or pornographic (but still protected speech) be relevant to his presiding over an obscenity trial? I presume if he had a website condemning pornography, that wouldn't be considered problematic. Would a judge be disqualified from hearing drug cases if he drinks alcohol? It's entirely possible that I'm missing the point here, but it made me go hmm.

[moonmelody.livejournal.com]

9th Circuit clerkship, very impressive! ::genuflects::

I'm still fairly certain that it was more luck than anything else. But it was a great experience!

I don't think, ultimately, it will be relevant. As far as I know, there's already a jury empaneled, so it's too late to exercise the parties' option under local rules to notice the judge. In any event, setting aside whatever was on his website and just knowing Kozinski's record on 1st amendment issues, if I were defense counsel here I'd want him presiding. From the DOJ's perspective, while they might have noticed Kozinski if this information had been known before the jury was empaneled, I doubt they'd be moving for a mistrial now since they wouldn't want to risk double jeopardy attaching.

Generally speaking, it's relevant as to whether he's violated Canon 2 of the Federal Code of Judicial Conduct: judges "should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." Even so, at most he'd get a stern look from the Supreme Court.

In sum, not a big deal. But still amusing and strangely makes me like him more, even though I have no doubt that he's still an asshole. *g*