Lori Shemka
@lorishemka.bsky.social
260 followers 570 following 590 posts
Curiosity, care, and courts. Accepting ownership is accountability. Endless excuses are the alternative.
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lorishemka.bsky.social
Who knew that Judge Jones would inspire a new form of appellate advocacy?
During a panel discussion, Judge Edith Jones held up a manila folder that she claimed was full of blog posts, tweets, amicus briefs, and other writings of Steve Vladeck that she took issue with.
lorishemka.bsky.social
Oh no! Glad your symptoms are mild.
Reposted by Lori Shemka
radleybalko.bsky.social
I don't think it would be possible to overstate Blake's influence on the DNA revolution in criminal justice and the exonerations that followed. He genuinely changed the world for the better.

Rest in peace.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/s...
Edward T. Blake, 80, Dies; Forensic Expert Sparked Innocence Movement
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Lori Shemka
mattcameron.bsky.social
1/ Today Boston senior federal judge William Young has issued a clarion defense of the 1st Amendment rights of non-citizens which may go down as the most notable decision of his 47-year career. It begins with an unheard-of preface *above the caption* which reproduces a threat he received in chambers
lorishemka.bsky.social
If the government shutdown ends before the business day begins, that business day is not considered a shutdown day. The business day in these courts is Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
lorishemka.bsky.social
If there's a MI gov't shutdown after midnight tonight, and until further MI Supreme Court order, filing deadlines for the MSC, COA, and Court of Claims may be extended.

Does NOT include statutory deadlines for filing a notice of intent or a complaint in the Court of Claims.
Administrative Order No. 2025-2 – Appellate Courts and Court of Claims Operations During Government Shutdown
Until further order of the Court, if a government shutdown occurs, filing deadlines in the Michigan Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Claims will be extended by the same number of days as the government is shut down. For purposes of this order, “filing deadlines” in the Court of Claims do not include statutory deadlines for filing a notice of intent or a complaint. The extension of filing deadlines applies to any document required to be filed with the court in order to preserve or facilitate a case or an appeal. If the government shutdown ends before the business day begins, that business day is not considered a shutdown day. The business day in these courts is Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
lorishemka.bsky.social
A sign a generational differences, perhaps. The probation officer told the defendant at his first report that she preferred contact via her work-issued cell phone instead of email. So he texted as told.

TBH, I would think it would be easier to manage probation contacts info via email (folders).
lorishemka.bsky.social
In a published op, the MI COA reverses aggravated-stalking & computer-crime convictions tied to probation-related texting to PO. Court applies a role-specific “reasonable person” lens (probation agent) & finds no significant emotional distress on these facts. Predicate fails → computer-crime falls.
Highlighted excerpts from court opinion: 
Defendant’s texts largely pertained to his employment, housing, a probation monitoring fee, suspected criminal activity that he witnessed, and someone posting information about him on social media.

the communications in question did not contain inappropriate or disturbing language, arise in the aftermath of domestic violence, violate a PPO, or follow a lengthy period of harassment.

none of defendant’s messages were threatening.

defendant’s text messages were all sent to Myers’s work-issued cell phone, he did not physically approach or follow her, and he did not contact her on a personal device or over social media.

Nor do we think that the sheer number, frequency, and length of defendant’s messages would cause a reasonable person in Myers’s position “significant mental suffering or distress” under MCL 750.411i(1)(c). Although defendant did send Myers a large number of lengthy text messages, under the circumstances we are unpersuaded that this is sufficient to sustain defendant’s conviction.

all of the texts defendant sent to Myers were related to her supervision of defendant and lasted only a few days, from April 22 until April 26. On April 26, Myers met with Chitwood, it was decided that Myers would block defendant’s number and defendant’s supervision would be transferred to another probation agent, and the contacts ended at that time.
lorishemka.bsky.social
His assumption sure doesn’t match my experience prosecuting retail cashiers for embezzlement.

There was always video. And the stores made sure the employees knew about the cameras during new-hire onboarding.

The known surveillance was not a 100% deterrent to crime.
lorishemka.bsky.social
Any chance that these are orders when a court had to address a party’s misuse of AI-generated citations and included the party’s bad cites?

In my mind, the Westlaw disclaimer makes sense for that context.
lorishemka.bsky.social
@carlcecere.bsky.social, if you prompt the same question to Perplexity, the response includes “dicta” you might get a chuckle from. 🚵‍♂️🚴🚵‍♀️
Separately, terms like “monkey butt” refer to a common condition among athletes—especially cyclists and runners—describing skin chafing, redness, or rash on the buttocks caused by sweat and friction during prolonged activity. This non-offensive meaning is entirely unrelated to the derogatory usage.
lorishemka.bsky.social
Agree that it was unnecessary and it’s distracting from the court's **significant** cleanup of the district court judge's rulings.
lorishemka.bsky.social
The lead opinion channeled you, I think, in footnote 5.

[To me, the entire opinion is worth a study for its cleanup work of the district court judge's rulings.]
The concurrence cites a ChatGPT inquiry asking, “What does monkey ass mean?” Conc. op. at 22.
ChatGPT functions as a consolidator of information, synthesizing patterns from a vast body of text, but it does not
independently verify the accuracy of any material or its unknown sources. The information provided in the
concurrence’s permalink to Urban Dictionary speaks for itself.
lorishemka.bsky.social
Outcome is not a monetary or penal sanction. Instead, “[t]he Court strikes the second amended complaint from the register of actions. The entire action is dismissed with prejudice.”
lorishemka.bsky.social
h/t to Judge Schlegel for drawing attention to this trial court ruling where self-represented plaintiffs submitted deepfake videos and altered images in support of their motion for summary judgment.

cdn.prod.website-files.com/601987a724bd...
cdn.prod.website-files.com
lorishemka.bsky.social
Had something similar happen last year. Took several days of dehumidifiers and fans to get the wall/ceiling moisture levels down to the point when repairs could begin. No fun.
lorishemka.bsky.social
Pink Floyd v. Board of Education
jennifermromig.bsky.social
Ruin a band with law

Alicia West Keys
lawliberg.bsky.social
Ruin a band with law

FOIA Fighters