Wednesday Writs: In Which Em Goes A’Linking

Em Carpenter

Em was one of those argumentative children who was sarcastically encouraged to become a lawyer, so she did. She is a proud life-long West Virginian, and, paradoxically, a liberal. In addition to writing about society, politics and culture, she enjoys cooking, podcasts, reading, and pretending to be a runner. She will correct your grammar. You can find her on Twitter.

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27 Responses

  1. Kolohe says:

    Speaking of Virginia, I can’t remember if you already covered this in an earlier WedWrit

    From AP, http://apnews.com/article/virginia-death-penalty-repeal-governor-c98c16a996037a4d1e1d497787b7e6f1
    Virginia Lawmakers vote to abolish death penalty. Governor Northam is expected to sign it this week.

    This is a bfd, and something I always thought Virginia would be among the last to do. It’s also the first real evidence of me of Virginia actually ‘blue-ing’ politically, rather than just being fed up with George W Bush, uninspired by Mitt Romney, and completely alienated by Donald Trump.Report

  2. Oscar Gordon says:

    L5: The mental health argument by LE was a rather odious one, given how regularly police mistreat the mentally ill.Report

  3. Philip H says:

    Not really a case law sort of link, but an important study of the legal system, of the “well duh” variety:

    https://www.npr.org/2021/02/24/970538084/how-judges-work-experience-can-impact-court-rulings-and-legal-precedent

    Shepherd concluded that judges appointed by former President Barack Obama with corporate backgrounds are 36% less likely to rule on behalf of employees. Obama judges who have a background as prosecutors are 50% less likely to decide in favor of employees in those cases compared with non-prosecutors, she reported.

    Report

    • Oscar Gordon in reply to Philip H says:

      Ergo, judges should have a well rounded body of experience before putting on the robe. Makes sense. Perhaps that should be a pre-req?Report

    • Brandon Berg in reply to Philip H says:

      Note, however, that ideological self-selection likely plays a role here, so it’s hard to say how much of this is due to a causal effect of prior work experience.

      In particular, the fact that there’s a stronger effect for former prosecutors than for former corporate lawyers suggests self-selection as a bigger factor. Prosecutors and public defenders make similar amounts of money, so I would expect a large ideological difference between the two, on average. On the other hand, some left-leaning people might go into corporate law just because it pays so well.

      Furthermore, nothing here tells us which side is right. Maybe former public defenders are unfairly biased against employers.Report

      • Brandon Berg in reply to Brandon Berg says:

        In fact, since the study is based on a sample of judges appointed by Obama, I’m fairly confident that it’s driven by the more left-wing judges being unduly biased against employers rather than the more moderate judges being unduly biased against employees.Report

  4. Pinky says:

    L4: I was stunned by footage of the Merrick Garland hearing. Did everyone else know he’s white? That name – I just always assumed he was black.Report

  5. Burt Likko says:

    [L8]: Doing Oregon proud, that fellow! Interestingly, Madras, the city where the arrest of the how-the-hell-is-this-dude-not-dead-already driver occurred, is the site of one of Oregon’s largest prisons.

    Seriously, how do you get a BAC that high? A breathalyzer can be distorted if you, I dunno, gargle with a double-shot of 100+ proof, but this was in the guy’s blood.Report