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3. Judge accused of using ‘game or jail’ tactic,…

Judiciary

Judge accused of using ‘game or jail’ tactic, asserting abuse victims get ‘Super Bowl’ neurochemicals

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 27, 2025, 3:15 pm CDT

An Indiana judge has been accused in an ethics complaint of failing to recognize “appropriate ethical boundaries” and making “injudicious statements” to litigants and defendants.

Judge Matthew J. Elkin of Howard County, Indiana, allegedly singled out some participants for special treatment in the problem-solving courts over which he presided and made discourteous remarks to other participants and litigants, according to a March 26 statement of charges. A March 26 press release summarized the allegations.

WISH, WTHR, the Kokomo Tribune and the Indiana Lawyer have coverage.

The problem-solving courts included drug court, which addressed substance-abuse issues of criminal defendants, and the reentry court, which focused on reintegrating people into the community after incarceration.

In one instance in March 2023, Elkin allegedly told a reentry participant who had been a domestic violence victim why he thinks that such victims stay in relationships.

He began by talking about the kind of elation quarterback Tom Brady must feel when winning the Super Bowl. After the win, Brady’s brain “is filled with all kinds of neurochemicals,” he said.

“If I smack the sh-t out of you right now, what chemicals get dumped in your brain?” Elkin allegedly said. “The exact same chemicals he experiences when he wins the Super Bowl. Did you know that? So the whole thing is every time I beat you up or you beat me up, we won the Super Bowl. … So if I smack you in the head and you feel the exact same way so you can enjoy the relationship. That’s what happens. … That’s the truth. That’s why women don’t leave.”

In another instance in October 2023, Elkin is accused of using a “game or jail” tactic after learning that a re-entry court participant referred to as R.P. was accused of rule violations. Elkin ordered the handcuffing of the person seated next to R.P. and told them the handcuffed person would be sent to jail if R.P. lied to him.

His aim, Elkin later said, was to prevent R.P. from rationalizing or downplaying his behavior and would reward him for telling the truth.

The complaint also alleges that Elkin:

  • Remarked on a criminal defendant’s lengthy record, saying, “You have more convictions than the average child molester in this country. You are the one-third of the one percent of the worst people in the planet.”

  • Displayed a sign to a problem-solving court participant that said, “Watching you dumb a- -.”

  • Failed to disqualify himself in some cases in which he previously represented the defendant as a criminal defense attorney or appointed public defender.

  • Followed problem-solving court participants outside the courtroom to check up on them.

  • Told some staff members he has followed them or had them followed outside the courtroom and twice accused them of being “moles.”

  • Gave special treatment to some problem-solving court participants but not to others. In one case, he allowed a drug-court participant to live at his wife’s rental property, initially charging only for utilities. In other instances, he allowed participants to store personal belongings at his or his wife’s properties, rented a car for one participant applying for a job, offered household and personal belongings to participants, and walked one person to a medical appointment before incarceration.

A lawyer for Elkin, Jennifer Lukemeyer, did not immediately reply to an ABA Journal request for comment.

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3. Former lawyer gets prison time after posing…

Criminal Justice

Former lawyer gets prison time after posing as BigLaw alum, former football player in quest for jobs

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 13, 2025, 9:00 am CDT

Updated: An Ohio lawyer has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for Social Security fraud after using fake identities in a quest for law firm jobs.

Richard Louis Crosby III, 37, of Mason, Ohio, was sentenced Monday, according to Reuters and a March 10 press release. In addition to serving time in prison, Crosby will have to pay $171,000 in restitution to defrauded firms.

Crosby had used the name Richard Williams while applying to firms and claimed at various times to be a former Marine, a former University of Michigan football player and a Kirkland & Ellis lawyer, according to the press release.

He used fake identities to get job offers with at least seven firms that often offered six-figure salaries and, in some cases, signing bonuses, the press release said. One California firm hired Crosby at an annual salary of $250,000 the month before his federal indictment.

Crosby pleaded guilty to three federal counts of Social Security fraud in July 2024. He had used identifying information for his elderly father, his girlfriend, a dead man and others, federal prosecutors said.

Crosby used the fake identities beginning in June 2021, after he indicated that he intended to resign from the practice of law. Crosby was indicted in the state on theft charges in June 2021 and November 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. “After his indictments, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio entered an order disbarring Crosby,” the news release states. However, he applied at a second firm in June 2022.

The Supreme Court of Ohio’s directory still lists Crosby as “Resigned-Discipline Pending,” and an employee in the clerk’s office confirmed that he has not been disbarred by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

He pleaded guilty in the Ohio theft cases in May 2023 and was sentenced to probation the next month.

Updated on March 14 to note that while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio refers to him as disbarred, the Supreme Court Of Ohio Attorney Directory refers to him as resigned with discipline pending.

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3. Dive into our favorite long reads of 2024

Year in Review

Dive into our favorite long reads of 2024

By Lee Rawles

December 23, 2024, 9:35 am CST

The end of the year will hopefully bring you some downtime for leisure reading. We’ve curated a list of some of our favorite web and print long reads from 2024. There’s a mix of popular features and some under-the-radar stories that you may have missed. In keeping with the theme, it’s a long list.

In 1991, personal injury lawyers Zachary Bravos and Todd Smith took on the strangest medical malpractice case of their careers—a case that led them to tales of satanic cults, child abuse and cannibalism.

As anyone who pays attention to current events knows all too well, Taylor Swift has become ubiquitous. And in at least two law schools, she’s the subject of a class available to students wanting to gain practical knowledge about the law by studying her various legal entanglements and how she emerged stronger.

There are law firms in which Carrie Garber Siegrist, a senior associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Goodwin Procter, might have had to be secretive about her diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. But at Goodwin Procter, Garber Siegrist says, she feels embraced and supported.

The Kentucky Derby has long been known as “the fastest two minutes in sports,” but the 150th Run for the Roses on Saturday will take place without Muth, a horse some say may have been the fastest in the field this year.

Pete Pontzer’s story is a reminder that lawyers can have meaningful and fulfilling lives after retirement. However, as Pontzer quickly admonishes, there are some important steps to take long before leaving a full-time legal career.

Serious injuries have occurred when exuberant football fans engaged in the time-honored revelry of making goal posts a trophy of a significant or improbable win. Some of those harmed have sought to lay blame and seek compensation. In several such cases, it took referees in black robes to sort it out.

Now in its 25th year, the esteemed literary magazine’s weekly competition features a wordless single panel cartoon. Contestants submit a caption for the image. The publication’s editors choose their three favorites from the 5,000 to 10,000 entries. Online public voting—with generally more than a half million votes cast—determines the winner. There is no cash prize for winning, but the bragging rights are priceless. Wood is the contest’s most successful participant—by a lot.

An increasing number of law schools around the country are offering cannabis law courses, but some professors think that even more are needed. “We’re still playing catch-up.”

Many public service attorneys had an overwhelming feeling that massive student loan debt would travel through life with them. But many of those attorneys got relief in the past year, thanks to recent changes to the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Critics argue that “excited delirium” has no medical foundation, and that its origins are plagued with racism. The term’s role in high-profile police misconduct cases has prompted major medical organizations to repudiate its use.

There has been an explosion of AI-generated music featuring the living or resurrecting the dead. But as artists push the limits of parody, fair use, right of publicity, infringement and authorship, there is one overarching question: Is any of this stuff legal?

Immigrants coming to the U.S. face legal uncertainties along with difficult living conditions and the pain of family separations. Yet a hope that opportunities will outweigh the travails is strong with many new arrivals. That’s something lawyers who help immigrants understand well—including those who are immigrants themselves.

Each state sets its own rules for formerly incarcerated people who want to practice law. In Kansas, Mississippi and Texas, for example, no one with a felony can practice law. But even for those who live in less restrictive states, there are other hurdles to overcome.

“People are like, ‘Why did you go to law school?’ I tell them, ‘I’m setting up a joke that I’m going to tell in 14 years. I’m a planner,’” Liz Glazer says.

While progress has been made in the past 25 years, members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of the legal profession.

Most dog moms and cat dads accept the hard truth that they will likely outlive their beloved animals. But what happens when pets outlive their humans?

Millennials are more willing than prior generations to switch jobs to achieve a work environment that fits their needs. However, they can “run up against a wall” with billable hours.

Innocence clinics usually don’t work with clients convicted of minor offenses. They focus on more serious crimes where the stakes are much higher: people on death row or those serving life sentences for murder or sexual assault.

Netflix’s Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, released in December 2023, sounds like a cheesy 1980s slaughter-fest horror film. Sadly, the events relayed by the documentary are far from fiction.

It isn’t often that a bipartisan group of U.S. solicitors general gather in public to discuss their unique role in the legal system and even gripe a little about the U.S. Supreme Court. But that’s what happened recently in a packed hotel ballroom before the ABA 2024 Litigation Section Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

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3. Tune in to our favorite podcasts of 2024

Year in Review

Tune in to our favorite podcasts of 2024

By Lee Rawles

December 23, 2024, 9:57 am CST

The ABA Journal staff have conversations with fascinating lawyers every day. But in our podcasts, you get to listen in on some of those discussions.

In partnership with Legal Talk Network, we produce the monthly Legal Rebels Podcast, hosted by Victor Li, a Journal assistant managing editor, and the semimonthly The Modern Law Library, hosted by Lee Rawles, a Journal assistant managing editor. Here are our favorite episodes from 2024.

Legal Rebels Podcast

What does the future hold for licensed paraprofessionals?: Much has been made of the gigantic access-to-justice gap in this country. According to a 2022 study by the Legal Services Corp., 92% of Americans do not receive any or enough help for a civil legal need. There are many reasons for this.

Tests into and out of law schools—what’s changing and why: Not much can strike more terror into the hearts of aspiring lawyers than the LSAT and the bar exam. Right now, these tests are having a moment.

Will generative artificial intelligence (finally) spell the end of the billable hour?: With the advent of generative artificial intelligence tools that can perform tasks in minutes but might take lawyers or legal professionals hours, could we finally see the end of the billable hour?

The future of DEI programs in the legal industry: The lack of diversity when it comes to race, gender, sexuality, disability and social class within the legal profession is nothing new. However, the last decade has marked a gradual increase in diversity across all fields.

The Modern Law Library

Horse-loving lawyer left the law to help run a Colorado ranch: Ami Cullen grew up loving horses and competing in hunter/jumper events. But when it came to her career, she decided that law would be her calling. She graduated from law school and began work with a law firm in Maryland working on medical-malpractice cases. Then a visit to a Colorado dude ranch changed everything.

‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead: Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and attorney Madiba K. Dennie, its true purpose is to achieve conservative political aims regardless of the historical record.

‘Watchdogs’ author has no regrets about choosing civil service over the NBA: Glenn Fine’s career-long crusade against corruption might have its roots in his college days. As a point guard for the Harvard basketball team, Fine had his personal best game Dec. 16, 1978, the same day that he interviewed for—and received—a Rhodes Scholarship. He put up 19 points against Boston College, including eight steals, and the team nearly eeked out a win against the favored Boston players. A remarkable day.

James Patterson dishes on his new legal thriller, ‘The #1 Lawyer’: James Patterson has written bestsellers in many genres. But as he tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles in this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast, he has always been fascinated by legal thrillers, courtroom dramas and crime novels. He even considered becoming a lawyer—before his literary career took off.

‘The Lawyer Millionaire’ author shares the 7 biggest money mistakes lawyers can make: Finances are a fraught area for many attorneys. Despite a high earning potential, new lawyers often start out with a financial disadvantage because of the opportunity cost of the years devoted to school and bar prep, coupled with high student loans.

How to strike up conversations that build your book of business: Networking is something that comes naturally to some people. But if the idea of talking to strangers makes you break out into a cold sweat, there’s help and hope, says Deb Feder, author of the book After Hello: How to Build a Book of Business, One Conversation at a Time.

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3. 9th Circuit allows 2 transgender girls to…

LGBTQ Legal Issues

9th Circuit allows 2 transgender girls to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 12, 2024, 11:07 am CDT

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that two transgender girls in Arizona should be allowed to play on school sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco said the transgender plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the ban violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

The appeals court banned enforcement of Arizona’s Save Women’s Sports Act against the girls while litigation continues. The law bans those who are identified as men at birth from playing on women’s interscholastic or intramural sports teams from kindergarten through graduate school.

The author of the Sept. 9 opinion is Judge Morgan Christen, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.

On its face, the law discriminates based on transgender status, the appeals court said. As applied to the girls, the law does not survive strict scrutiny, the 9th Circuit concluded.

“The act’s transgender ban applies not only to all transgender women and girls in Arizona, regardless of circulating testosterone levels or other medically accepted indicia of competitive advantage, but also to all sports, regardless of the physical contact involved, the type or level of competition or the age or grade of the participants,” Christen wrote. “Heightened scrutiny does not require narrow tailoring, but it does require a substantial relationship between the ends sought and the discriminatory means chosen to achieve them.”

The girls had not gone through male puberty, were taking puberty-blocking medication and were undergoing hormone therapy. The opinion says their ages are 11 and 15, while Courthouse News Service said they are 12 and 16.

The 9th Circuit upheld district court findings that before puberty, there are no significant differences in athletic performance between boys and girls, and that transgender girls who receive puberty-blocking medication do not have an athletic advantage over other girls.

The appellants were Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction and several state lawmakers. They had argued that the district court wrongly treated as insignificant small differences in athletic ability between boys and girls before puberty.

But the appeals court said the appellants overlooked findings that small differences identified in some studies “have not been shown to be attributable to biological rather than sociological factors.”

The girls were represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a nonprofit public interest law firm, according to a Sept. 9 press release.

Rachel Berg, a lawyer with the group, told Tuscon.com that the ruling applies only to the plaintiffs, but it is crucial for others in the same situation.

“The 9th Circuit recognized that the law is unconstitutional because it’s a categorical ban on all transgender girls from playing on school sports teams,” Berg said. “It does so regardless of their individual circumstances. The 9th Circuit recognized that just because somebody is transgender tells you nothing about whether they have an athletic advantage.”

Tom Horne, the Arizona schools chief, told Tucscon.com that the 9th Circuit “is very left wing,” and the appellants will have to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if they want to win.

The Associated Press also has coverage of the decision.

The case is Doe v. Horne.

See also:

Transgender girl can stay on team, for now, after SCOTUS denial; action comes as US proposes new Title IX rule

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3. 11th Circuit rules for athletic association…

Religious Law

11th Circuit rules for athletic association that refused to allow pregame prayer over PA system

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 4, 2024, 10:09 am CDT

A federal appeals court has ruled against a private Christian school alleging that its First Amendment rights were violated when the Florida High School Athletic Association rejected its request to broadcast a pregame prayer over the public address system.

In a Sept. 3 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta found no violation of the Cambridge Christian School’s rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, report Courthouse News Service and the Florida Phoenix.

After the prayer request was denied, the Cambridge Christian School and the opposing team prayed at midfield before play began in the 2015 state championship football game at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Messages on the PA system before the championship game at a government-owned stadium were government speech with no First Amendment restrictions, the 11th Circuit said.

Three factors—history, endorsement and control—support the conclusion that the PA system policy was government speech, the appeals court said.

The history of the pregame speech in playoff games shows that it was entirely scripted and typically limited, making it traditional government speech. Observers could reasonably think that the pregame comments were endorsed by the government. And the association controlled the script. PA announcers had to follow instructions for promotional announcements, player introductions and awards ceremonies.

The appeals court also said the Tampa, Florida, Christian school’s request for declaratory and injunctive relief are moot because of a new Florida law and new policy by the association. The law, which took effect in July 2023, requires the association to allow schools to make opening remarks that can include prayers at championship games.

Under association policy adopted to comply with the law, opening remarks must be under two minutes in length and carry a disclaimer that they are not endorsed by the association. The remarks cannot be derogatory, rude or threatening.

The appeals court also said the Cambridge Christian School lacked standing for an injunction because there is no indication that it will return to the championship soon.

“Hope springs eternal, but standing cannot be built on hope,” the 11th Circuit said. “With all due respect to the Cambridge Christian Fighting Lancers, there’s nothing to suggest that the team’s participation in a future football state championship is imminent or even likely.”

The school was represented by the First Liberty Institute, a group that litigates religious liberty cases, according to a prior June 2023 press release on the case.

See also:

Supreme Court rules for praying football coach, drops Lemon test

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh sour on Lemon endorsement test in praying football coach case

Supreme Court considers whether high school football coach has right to pray on the field

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3. White male law student settles suit against…

Law Students

White male law student settles suit against Chicago Bears over ‘legal diversity fellow’ position

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 5, 2024, 10:36 am CDT

A student at the DePaul University College of Law has settled a lawsuit claiming that the Chicago Bears football team refused to consider him for a “legal diversity fellow” position because he is a white man.

Law student Jonathan Bresser Jr. had alleged race and sex discrimination in his March 11 suit, filed in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois.

A notice posted by the court clerk said the parties had reached a binding settlement agreement, Law360 reports.

The Chicago Bears posted the fellowship position in November 2023. The posting said the team was looking for a “person of color and/or female law student,” according to Bresser’s suit. Bresser said he met all other requirements when he applied for the job.

Bresser noted that he had more than two years of experience as a litigation paralegal at the Trent Law Firm, which represented him in the case.

Hat tip to Above the Law and TaxProf Blog, which noted the suit resolution.

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3. Law student’s suit alleges Chicago Bears…

Law Students

Law student’s suit alleges Chicago Bears didn’t hire him as ‘legal diversity fellow’ because he is white man

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 25, 2024, 10:05 am CDT

A first-year student at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago claims in a lawsuit that the Chicago Bears football team refused to consider him for a “legal diversity fellow” position because he is a white man.

Student Jonathan Bresser Jr. claims in the March 11 suit that he is qualified for the position because he has more than two years of experience as a litigation paralegal at the Trent Law Firm, which is also representing him in the case.

Law360 and Bloomberg Law have coverage, while JD Supra has analysis of the case, filed in federal court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The suit includes a sentence from the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down race-conscious university admissions programs at two schools.

“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” the Supreme Court said, citing an earlier case.

A job posting emailed in November 2023 said the Chicago Bears team was looking for a “person of color and/or female law student,” according to the suit. Bresser applied, intending to submit his grades as a supplement to his application when they became available, as the job posting allowed.

Bresser was rejected Jan. 5, before he submitted his grades. The previous month, Bresser said, he received a notification that his LinkedIn profile had been viewed by a Chicago Bears employee. The LinkedIn profile included a photo.

On March 1, nearly two months after rejecting Bresser, the Chicago Bears requested Bresser’s grades transcript, “attempting to claw back” the rejection, the suit says. The request happened after the team received Bresser’s charge of discrimination and right to sue letter.

Bresser alleges race and sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act, race discrimination in contracting in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act, civil conspiracy, and conspiracy to interfere with civil rights in violation of Section 1985 of the Civil Rights Act.

A Chicago Bears spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Law360.