Moritz Legal Information Blog

The Supreme Court issued opinions in four cases yesterday, though none was the much-anticipated health care ruling. At the convention of the American Constitution Society on Friday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke of the current "flood season" at the Court, and attempted to challenge her reputation as "least funny" Justice (from a study measuring the laughter provoked by each Justice during oral argument). Justice Ginsburg also said, "It is likely that the sharp disagreement rate will go up next week or the week after," and spoke of the value of dissents in causing systemic change, as with the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act. Complete remarks are here . CNN Wall Street Journal Law Blog

In a bipartisan effort to help Ohioans with criminal records to find jobs (and thus avoid recidivism), the Senate and House have passed the "collateral sanctions" bill, which reduces the number of post-conviction sanctions offenders face, including being ineligible for certain occupational licenses. The bill will affect almost 2 million Ohioans and is expected to be signed by Gov. Kasich. S.B. 337 H.B. 524 Columbus Dispatch Dayton Daily News

Catherine Grieg, girlfriend of James "Whitey" Bulger, was sentenced to eight years in prison today, for identity fraud and harboring a fugitive.  The couple lived for sixteen years in Santa Monica before their capture in June 2011.  Bulger faces murder and racketeering charges.  Trial is set for November of this year. CNN Los Angeles Times Sentencing Law and Policy

The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Jeffrey Helmick, a Toledo attorney and Moritz grad, as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. President Obama nominated Helmick a little over a year ago. See coverage in the Toledo Blade and a record of the confirmation vote at govtrack.us and the U.S. Senate website .

While it still fares much better than the legislative branch , a recent New York Times/CBS News poll indicated that the U.S. Supreme Court's popular approval rating has dipped to 44 percent. According to a New York Times  article about the poll, the court's rating has declined over the past quarter-century from a high of 66 percent in the late 1980s. Predictably, many of the comments to the article reference Citizens United .

We have written in the past about the exotic animals legislation that was introduced in the wake of the Zanesville tragedy last October, in which dozens of wild animals were let loose before their owner committed suicide. On Tuesday, Gov. Kasich signed the bill into law.  It will take effect 90 days from signing. Columbus Dispatch Mansfield News Journal The Human Society

Fred Shapiro and Michelle Pearse, law librarians at Yale and Harvard, respectively, have published a study of the most-cited law review articles of all time .  Published in the Michigan Law Review , the study lists the top 100 articles by number of citations.  The top five are: 1.  R.H. Coase, The Problem of Social Cost, 3 J.L. & Econ. 1 (1960). 2.  Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 Harv. L. Rev. 193 (1890). 3.  3138 O.W. Holmes, The Path of the Law, 10 Harv. L. Rev. 457 (1897). 4.  Gerald Gunther, The Supreme Court, 1971 Term—Foreword: In Search of Evolving Doctrine on a Changing Court: A Model for a Newer Equal Protection, 86 Harv. L. Rev. 1 (1972). 5.  Herbert Wechsler, Toward Neutral Principles of Constitutional Law, 73 Harv. L. Rev. 1 (1959). More on the newest entry in the field of "citology": Wall Street Journal ABA Journal