I present, for your review, the first lawsuit filed by a conservative group against the IRS over the recent targeting of such groups.

Norcal Tea Party Patriots v. IRS

Every once in a while the conduct of a plaintiff or lawyer will grind on a judge. This can result in the judge putting pen to paper to create a colorful order.

As the new Star Trek movie is opening, I present you an order that would make Captain James Tiberius Kirk proud.

Star Trek Inspired Order by James Woodruff

Many law professors have never actually practiced law. Now some will say that they practiced by way of a judicial clerkship, but in my book that doesn’t count. When was the last time you heard of someone suing a judge’s law clerk for malpractice? Ever hire a judicial legal clerk to represent you in court? I think you are beginning to see my point. (Heck, the position doesn’t even require that you have a law license.)

In 2010, Professor Jeffrey Kahn wrote an article that was published in the Green Bag. This article provides an interesting look into the mind of an academic when he is confronted by the gritty world of the state courtroom. His previous experience was as a federal judicial clerk and he had only seen federal trials. The problem with that is that very few lawyers ever try a case in federal court. Most lawyers and lawsuits appear in state court. Practice before a state court is very different from that of a federal court. In the typical state court the dockets are bigger and the types of cases brought before the court are more diverse. There are also more lawyers who practice before state courts than federal. This being the case, maybe it would benefit the academy if the professors of more limited state court experience would shadow a judge for a semester. At least that way they would be able to bring that additional experience to the classroom and their scholarship.