6.06.2016

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • Ken Starr continues to make news: (1) He had an incredibly awkward interview where his PR person (who is being paid way too much even if she is working for free) interrupted and told him how to answer. It was followed by Starr acting like he had never been in front of a camera before as he turned to her after answering the question again and asking if that was "better", (2) Some goofballs took out a full page ad out in the Austin American Statesman thanking him for his time at Baylor.
  • I'm very interested in this 30 for 30 mini series on O.J.  that is debuting this Saturday.
  • My probable award winning photo of the Lake Bridgeport spillway from yesterday is here.
  • Donald Trump sent the GOP into a panic this weekend as he continued to make racist comments against the judge in his seedy Trump University lawsuit, and he referred to a guy in one of his crowds as "my African-America".
  • I saw a headline that Miss California USA "flubbed" a question during last night's pageant but it wasn't even close to the famously funny "because they don't have maps".  I was more interested to learn that the "20-year-old model is the daughter of 1990s one-hit-wonder singer Gerardo, known for 'Rico Suave.'"
  • Texas Monthly has another story of over-zealous prosecutors and the prosecution of an innocent man. This time it is about Kerry Max Cook who has been fighting the good-old-boy system in Tyler for decades. (The magazine single-handedly caused the change in Texas law where we defense lawyers can now actually get a copy of the prosecutors file because of their story on Michael Morton a few years back.)
  • There an NFL player who was shot in the leg at a strip club in Dallas over the weekend. I liked one of the reviews of the place on Yelp: $40 parking, $40 cover, 30 minute wait when there was no line, and drinks only by the bottle for around $150. 
  • I'm not sure I've seen any case which impacts what police officers can do during traffic stops more than the Supreme Court's decision of Rodriguez vs. United States from last year. I read it again this weekend and even listened to the oral arguments (with the worst defense lawyer ever). Nevertheless, he won the case. Police are now on shaky ground if they prolong a traffic stop because they are snooping around and asking unrelated questions simply because of a hunch. 
  • The story behind the photo below (including who the guy is who can be seen between Ali's legs and how he ended up there.)
  • But I don't know anything about an almost identical photo taken from a slightly different angle: