The post The EU Is Investigating Shein appeared first on Above the Law.
Morning Docket: 02.19.26 – Above the Law
*
Biglaw
lawyers
are
charging
$3400/hour
and
clients
are
paying.
Because
no
matter
how
much
they
gnash
their
teeth,
they
always
do.
[WSJ]
*
Remember
the
episode
of
JAG
where
the
military
lawyer
paradropped
into
a
Minnesota
habeas
mess
and
instantly
got
held
in
contempt
for
failing
to
comply
with
court
orders?
No?
Well,
it’s
real
life
now.
[Fox
9]
*
The
Artist
Formerly
Known
as
Prince…
Andrew
arrested
in
connection
with
Epstein
investigation.
Meanwhile,
our
[CNN]
*
More
lawyers
sanctioned
for
AI-generated
brief
errors.
[Reuters]
*
DOJ
defections
flood
the
labor
market
with
qualified
attorneys.
[CBS
News]
*
“Roberts,
Alito
Face
New
Criticism
of
Stock
Ownership
After
Rule
Change.”
Actually,
it’s
the
same
old
criticism,
but
it’s
nice
we
get
to
talk
about
it
again.
[National
Law
Journal]
*
Law
professor
arrested
and
charged
with
possession
of
child
porn.
Somehow
this
is
not
about
Jeffrey
Epstein.
[News
6]
Constitutional changes could undermine women and minority rights, activists say
Lucy
Chivasa,
a
lawyer,
journalist
and
activist,
said
amendments
being
advanced
under
the
Constitutional
Amendment
Bill
risk
silencing
already
marginalised
communities,
including
women,
people
with
disabilities,
linguistic
and
tribal
minorities,
and
politically
excluded
groups.
Speaking
during
an
online
discussion
on
constitutionalism
hosted
by
Community
Podium,
Chivasa
said
reforms
often
framed
as
technical
or
administrative
adjustments
can
have
deep
and
lasting
social
and
political
consequences.
“One
of
the
biggest
concerns
for
me
is
the
proposal
to
merge
the
Zimbabwe
Gender
Commission
with
the
Zimbabwe
Human
Rights
Commission,”
she
said.
While
folding
women’s
rights
into
a
broader
human
rights
body
may
appear
efficient,
she
warned
it
could
dilute
specialised
advocacy
and
reduce
focused
attention
on
systemic
gender
inequality.
“There
are
things
that
the
Gender
Commission
was
doing
for
women
that
cannot
simply
be
overshadowed
in
a
larger
commission,”
Ms
Chivasa
said.
She
also
raised
alarm
over
proposals
that
would
allow
Members
of
Parliament
to
elect
the
president,
instead
of
a
direct
popular
vote.
Ms
Chivasa
said
such
a
system
could
entrench
political
exclusion,
particularly
for
communities
whose
voting
preferences
are
already
in
the
minority.
“We
cannot
pretend
there
is
no
regionalism
in
voting
patterns,”
she
said.
“Urban
voters,
for
example,
are
often
in
the
minority
nationally.
At
what
point
is
their
will
going
to
be
seen?”
Another
controversial
proposal
is
the
creation
of
a
Delimitation
Commission
to
take
over
the
drawing
of
constituency
boundaries,
a
role
currently
performed
by
the
Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission.
Ms
Chivasa
questioned
whether
removing
this
function
from
ZEC
would
improve
transparency
or
instead
fragment
oversight
in
ways
that
benefit
the
executive.
“For
me,
this
is
about
consolidating
power
within
the
executive,”
she
said,
adding
that
democratic
governance
depends
on
the
independence
and
impartiality
of
the
three
arms
of
the
state.
Concerns
were
also
expressed
about
proposals
linked
to
the
management
of
the
voters’
roll,
which
Ms
Chivasa
said
could
become
vulnerable
to
political
interference
if
placed
under
institutions
that
report
directly
to
the
executive.
Meanwhile,
women’s
rights
organisations
under
the
umbrella
of
the
Women’s
Coalition
of
Zimbabwe
said
the
Bill
contains
several
amendments
with
serious
implications
for
women.
In
a
statement,
the
coalition
said
women
make
up
52%
of
Zimbabwe’s
population
and
warned
that
the
proposed
changes
signal
“a
drastic
systematic
overhaul
of
the
progressive
and
prescriptive
constitutional
order”.
Woman awarded US$116k over Air Force vehicle crash that killed husband
HARARE
–
A
court
has
ordered
the
ministry
of
defence
and
the
Air
Force
of
Zimbabwe
to
pay
over
US$116,000
in
damages
to
a
widow
whose
husband
died
after
being
struck
by
a
vehicle
driven
by
an
air
force
employee.
Justice
Never
Katiyo
of
the
Harare
High
Court
ruled
that
the
ministry
and
the
Air
Force
were
to
blame
for
the
2019
crash
which
killed
Mudavanhu
Manjengwa,
finding
they
had
allowed
an
unlicensed
officer
to
control
a
fleet
of
vehicles
without
proper
supervision.
The
victim’s
widow,
Lucia
Manjengwa,
had
sued
for
loss
of
support
following
her
husband’s
death
from
injuries
sustained
in
the
December
21,
2019,
accident.
In
a
judgment
delivered
on
February
11,
Justice
Katiyo
found
the
driver,
Matthew
Mushinga,
negligent
but
held
his
employers
vicariously
liable
after
concluding
he
had
been
entrusted
with
the
vehicle
despite
lacking
a
valid
military
driving
licence.
“The
defendants,
by
issuing
a
service
vehicle
and
placing
it
under
the
control
of
an
unlicensed
officer,
created
a
foreseeable
risk
to
the
public,”
the
judge
said.
The
court
apportioned
liability
at
95
percent
to
the
ministry
of
defence
and
the
Air
Force,
and
five
percent
to
the
driver,
who
was
described
as
the
primary
wrongdoer.
Evidence
showed
the
deceased,
who
was
44
at
the
time
of
his
death,
earned
about
US$931
per
month
and
would
likely
have
continued
working
for
another
11
years.
Justice
Katiyo
said
the
widow
was
entitled
to
compensation
for
loss
of
support,
awarding
US$116,772.48
or
the
equivalent
in
local
currency
at
the
prevailing
exchange
rate,
plus
interest
from
the
date
summons
was
filed
until
full
payment.
Mhlanga Calls On International Community To Protect Zimbabwean Citizens’ Rights
Speaking
at
the
Geneva
Summit
for
Human
Rights
and
Democracy,
Mhlanga,
who
spent
two
and
a
half
months
in
harsh
pre-trial
detention
in
Zimbabwe
in
early
2025,
warned
that
the
flow
of
illegal
migrants
to
Western
countries
is
often
a
direct
consequence
of
political
repression
in
their
countries
of
origin.
Below
is
Mhlanga’s
statement:
“I
want
to
thank
you
very
much
for
having
me
here,
and
I’m
humbled.
For
25
years,
I’ve
been
reporting
on
stories
in
Zimbabwe
that
others
dared
not
touch.
That
has
been
my
work.“But
it
was
disrupted
last
year
when
the
Zimbabwean
regime
sent
me
to
75
days
of
horror—a
hell
in
pre-trial
detention
for
another
man’s
speech,
a
speech
made
at
a
press
conference
that
was
broadcast
at
a
TV
station
I
work
for.“This,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
is
the
new
face
of
repression
in
Zimbabwe,
laced
with
sophistication.
In
the
past,
it
was
naked
violence
on
the
streets,
abductions,
and
forced
disappearances.
This
has
changed.
It
is
now
violence
committed
through
the
legal
system,
what
I
call
‘lawfare’—violence
by
law.“In
February
2025,
the
regime
arrested
me
and
charged
me
with
transmitting
messages
likely
to
incite
violence,
even
though
I
had
no
involvement
whatsoever
in
this
alleged
crime.
I
was
denied
bail
three
times,
a
violation
of
our
Constitution.“The
state
deliberately
misled
the
court,
presenting
redacted
transcripts
that
were
deliberately
manipulated
to
support
their
allegations
of
violence
and
to
keep
me
in
prison
without
trial.“Today,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
I
sit
in
front
of
you
free,
but
not
free;
without
chains
in
my
hands,
but
chains
in
my
mind
and
pain
in
my
heart.
I
was
given
bail;
my
passport
was
taken.
Freedom
to
move
or
work
was
taken
away
from
me
under
bail
conditions,
crippling
my
finances.“The
regime
punishes
you
by
punishing
your
family.
It
hits
your
pockets
to
the
extent
that
your
children
suffer.
They
know
that
you’re
strong,
but
they
want
to
hurt
those
that
you
care
about
so
that
you
think
twice
before
doing
your
work.“Many,
as
the
stories
that
have
been
told
here,
think
Zimbabwe
is
turning
the
corner;
it
is
becoming
a
democratic
dispensation.
I’m
here
to
tell
you
that
no,
it
has
just
become
more
sophisticated
in
its
oppression.“Just
yesterday,
the
government
of
Zimbabwe
proposed
new
changes
to
the
constitution.
They
want
to
increase
the
presidential
term
from
five
years
to
seven
and
allow
the
president
to
appoint
judges
directly—an
unelected
president
appointing
judges.“For
a
president
who
promised
to
stick
to
the
constitution
and
respect
human
rights,
this
attempt
to
extend
terms,
appoint
judges
without
scrutiny,
and
steal
voting
rights
from
the
people
opens,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
a
very,
very
dark
door
which
must
scare
the
world,
the
UN,
into
action.“Because
when
repression
hides
behind
the
law
and
hides
behind
sovereignty,
the
poor
suffer,
and
they
are
forced
to
flee
from
their
home,
from
their
country,
as
refugees
into
your
homes—into
your
homes—and
you
call
them
illegal
immigrants,
and
you
push
them
out
violently.
But
it
is
because
of
your
silence
that
they
have
been
pushed
away
from
their
homes
that
they
love
so
much.“I
stand
here;
I
will
stay
in
Zimbabwe
regardless,
because
I
believe
in
my
country
and
I
love
it.
We
need
international
and
diplomatic
pressure
and
solidarity
to
protect
the
weak,
to
protect
the
poor,
and
to
protect
human
rights,
not
only
in
Zimbabwe
but
in
all
the
other
countries.“I
know
that
international
pressure
works
because
it
is
this
pressure
from
the
UK,
from
the
US,
and
from
the
EU
and
my
fellow
Zimbabweans
that
secured
my
release
on
May
7th.“The
fact
is,
Zimbabwe
is
not
democratising;
the
worst
is
yet
to
come.
And
as
a
journalist,
I
will
continue
to
tell
the
truth,
because
journalism
is
all
I
know
and
it’s
all
I
intend
to
do.“Oppression
in
one
country
has
consequences
in
all
other
countries.
It
breeds
instability
and
distability
to
citizens
whose
country’s
democracy
is
working
well.
It
is
like
COVID:
it
will
spread
to
everyone.
I
thank
you.”
Paul Weiss Is Still Catching Heat For Selling Out – See Also – Above the Law
California
AG
Calls
The
Firm
Cowards:
Can’t
say
we
disagree!
Trump
DOJ
Can’t
Even
Provide
The
Law
They
Accuse
Lawmakers
Of
Breaking:
They
aren’t
even
trying
anymore.
AI
Can
Improve
Your
Deposition
Game:
DepoSim
could
be
the
next
big
tool
in
your
training
toolkit!
‘Boneless’
And
‘Wings’
Don’t
Mean
Much
Anymore:
These
court
cases
show
restaurants
can
get
away
with
the
name
game.
Judge
Plays
Fashion
Police
Over
Lawyer’s
Wardrobe:
They
declared
a
mistrial
over
a
civil
rights
shirt.
On
This
Week
Of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer:
Brother
Epstein,
blaming
layoffs
on
AI,
and
Kathryn
Ruemmler
steps
down.
The Judiciary’s Overwhelming Response To Trump’s ‘Mandatory Detention’ Immigration Policy – Above the Law
Ed.
Note:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature
Trivia
Question
of
the
Day!
Politico
is
compiling
a
full
list
of
all
federal
district
court
judges
who
have
ruled
on
the
Trump
administration’s
policy
of
“mandatory
detention”
pending
deportation
in
immigration
cases.
Of
the
411
judges
who
have
thus
far
heard
these
cases,
how
many
have
ruled
against
the
administration’s
position?
Hint:
Judges
appointed
by
Ronald
Reagan,
George
Bush,
Bill
Clinton,
George
W.
Bush,
Barrack
Obama,
Donald
Trump,
and
Joe
Biden
have
all
rejected
the
policy.
See
the
answer
on
the
next
page.
Judge Declares Mistrial Over Civil Rights Fashion Choice – Above the Law
Of
all
the
reasons
to
complain
about
lawyers,
their
fashion
choices
are
on
the
lower
end
of
the
list.
It
is
still
on
the
list
though
—
the
popularity
of
the
“Look
at
my
lawyer,
dog,
I’m
going
to
jail”
meme
attests
to
that.
Diverting
from
an
off-the-rack
suit
and
some
Allen
Edmonds
shoes
isn’t
usually
a
cause
for
concern,
but
a
defense
attorney’s
t-shirt
so
moved
a
federal
judge
that
he
declared
the
case
a
mistrial.
The
Guardian
has
coverage:
A
federal
judge
in
Texas
declared
a
mistrial
on
Tuesday
after
a
defense
lawyer
wore
a
shirt
in
court
with
images
from
the
civil
rights
movement,
delaying
a
closely
watched
case
in
which
the
Trump
administration
is
accusing
a
group
of
protesters
of
being
terrorists
and
says
they
are
part
of
a
“North-Texas
antifa
cell”.
…
Pittman
claimed
the
shirt
sent
a
political
message
that
could
bias
jurors
and
equate
the
actions
of
the
defendants
in
the
case
with
that
of
the
civil
rights
movement,
adding
that
the
decision
to
wear
the
shirt
may
have
been
intentional.
Pittman
also
argued
that
the
defense
lawyers
would
be
outraged
if
prosecutors
were
to
wear
shirts
that
showed
pro-ICE
or
pro-Trump
imagery
in
front
of
a
jury.
Not
very
Black
History
Month
of
you,
judge.
To
be
fair,
the
judge’s
rationale
holds
water.
If
we
still
have
jury
trials
come
when
the
big
names
in
the
Epstein
files
face
justice,
Above
the
Law
would
be
among
the
first
to
cry
foul
if
the
defense
team
pulls
up
in
sweaters
that
say,
“How
Young
Is
15
Really?”or
“Where’s
the
trial
for
Hilary’s
emails?”
Even
if
the
shirt
didn’t
sway
the
jurors
—
one
interviewed
juror
didn’t
even
notice
the
shirt
and
another
saw
it,
but
didn’t
think
it
would
cloud
their
judgement,
an
ounce
of
prevention
and
all
that.
While
we
are
on
the
topic,
here
are
some
other
fashion
choices
that
may
have
justified
a
mistrial:
It
may
be
in
the
interests
of
justice
for
all
of
the
attorneys
to
agree
on
white
button
down
shirts.
No
ties
either
—
don’t
want
to
risk
red
or
blue
silk
swaying
the
fragile
minds
of
the
jury.
Earlier:
Judge
Declares
Mistrial
In
Texas
‘Antifa’
Protest
Case
Over
Attorney’s
T-Shirt
[The
Guardian]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.
Stock Traders Are No Longer Taking Employment And Inflation Data From The Trump Administration At Face Value – Above the Law
I
am
not
breaking
news
to
anyone
by
pointing
out
that
Donald
Trump
consistently
disparages
information
that
he
thinks
makes
him
look
bad.
Meanwhile,
any
data
that
he
thinks
casts
him
in
a
positive
light
is
inevitably
the
greatest,
the
best,
the
most
accurate
data
imaginable.
Given
that
persistent
inflation
has
been
a
chief
national
concern,
it’s
no
surprise
that
Trump
has
taken
aim
at
members
of
the
Federal
Reserve’s
governing
board
for
the
grave
crime
of
recognizing
that
inflation
has
remained
stubbornly
above
the
Fed’s
2%
target
during
the
first
year
of
Trump’s
second
term.
It
is
impossible
to
dredge
up
every
inane
insult
and
inaccurate
accusation.
It’s
probably
enough
to
recollect
that
Trump
is
trying
to
fire
Lisa
Cook
from
the
Fed
Board
of
Governors
for
made-up
nonsense
while
he
is
simultaneously,
in
an
apparent
attempt
to
win
gold
at
the
irony
Olympics,
threatening
Fed
Chair
Jerome
Powell
with
indictment
for
planning
building
renovations
that
are
too
fancy.
When
it
comes
to
the
nation’s
monthly
jobs
report,
Trump’s
astounding
hyperbole
dates
all
the
way
back
to
his
first
term.
Suffice
it
to
say,
“the
numbers
are
great”
is
among
the
tamest
comments
he’s
made
about
the
job
market
while
he’s
been
in
office,
always
regardless
of
the
reality
on
the
ground.
Trump
purged
the
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
in
2025,
purportedly
because
they
made
too
many
large
revisions
of
employment
data,
but
the
real
message
was
clear:
put
out
data
that
Trump
likes
or
lose
your
job
as
a
BLS
bean
counter.
There
were
great
fears
at
the
time
that
Trump’s
attacks
on
the
people
who
produce,
interpret,
and
act
upon
this
nation’s
economic
data
would
lead
to
untrustworthy
information
coming
from
official
government
sources.
Republicans
claim
to
like
to
let
the
market
decide.
Just
a
month
and
a
half
into
2026,
it
seems
the
market
has
officially
come
out
with
its
verdict:
the
numbers
produced
by
Trump’s
BLS
are
dogsh*t.
On
February
11,
the
BLS
released
its
January
jobs
report.
According
to
this
report,
nonfarm
payrolls
surged
by
130,000
last
month.
This
was
more
than
double
economists’
consensus
estimate
of
55,000
positions.
Unemployment
also
reportedly
ticked
down.
Faced
with
such
stellar
employment
numbers,
one
might
expect
the
stock
market
to
have
had
a
strong
day.
Yet,
the
S&P
500,
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average,
and
Nasdaq
composite
all
ended
slightly
lower
at
the
close
of
trading
on
February
11.
Later
last
week,
on
Friday,
the
BLS
announced
that
annual
inflation
had
cooled
to
2.4%
for
January,
down
from
the
previous
reading
of
2.7%
and
below
economists’
expectations.
Once
again,
rather
than
reacting
positively
to
what
seemed
to
be
unequivocally
good
economic
news,
stocks
were
largely
unmoved.
The
S&P
500
and
the
Dow
Jones
each
eked
out
a
0.1%
gain
for
the
day,
while
the
Nasdaq
fell
by
0.2%.
Overall,
it
was
the
worst
week
so
far
of
2026
for
the
stock
market.
The
stock
market
is
incredibly
complex,
and
any
claim
tying
its
performance
(or
lack
thereof)
to
a
specific
news
event
should
be
viewed
with
healthy
skepticism.
That
being
said,
last
week
was
relatively
calm
in
terms
of
the
Trump
administration
excreting
other
potentially
market-moving
outrages,
so
it’s
possible
to
view
these
employment
and
inflation
numbers
in
a
little
more
isolation.
Furthermore,
inflation
and
employment
are
two
of
the
key
economic
concerns
of
this
era
that
supposedly
led
to
Trump’s
election
in
the
first
place.
If
traders
actually
believed
the
numbers
that
just
came
out
of
this
BLS,
showing
a
much
better
employment
situation
and
lower
inflation
than
economists
predicted,
the
stock
market
would
not
have
had
its
worst
week
of
the
year.
Trump
meddled
with
the
BLS,
and
it
appears
to
have
had
his
intended
result:
rosier-looking
economic
numbers.
But
the
market
hasn’t
been
fooled.
Stock
traders
appear
to
now
be
acting
more
on
real
data
that
they
can
verify
and
less
on
Trump-induced
lies.
Hopefully
the
corporate
media
soon
learns
to
follow
suit.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD (affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at [email protected].
AI Takes The Blame, Epstein Takes The Careers – Above the Law
With
a
Biglaw
firm
officially
blaming
staff
layoffs
on
AI,
what
is
it
going
to
look
like
if
and
when
layoffs
come
for
lawyers?
It’s
unlikely
to
look
the
same
for
every
Biglaw
business
model.
And
it
could
look
even
more
different
for
boutiques.
Embattled
Goldman
Sachs
chief
legal
officer
Kathryn
Ruemmler
announced
that
she’d
be
leaving
her
role
after
her
Jeffrey
Epstein
connections
came
out
in
the
last
file
dump.
And
we
found
out
that
the
late
Ken
Starr
thought
of
Epstein
as
a
brother,
which
tracks.
We
also
saw
the
first
majr
firm
strike
a
blow
against
the
expedited
law
school
recruiting
cycle.