HOLDING DOWN THE NUMBER OF BLACK LAWYERS IN CALIFORNIA? Gail Heriot notes some questions that the California Bar Examiners don’t seem to want to answer.

UPDATE: More thoughts here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Indeed: “Isn’t it time the ABA just gave up, and acknowledged that as a body completely captured by the perceived interests of the profession it’s supposed to be regulating, is in no position to serve as a neutral gatekeeper for law school accreditation?” Though in truth I’m not sure the ABA is that good at protecting the profession’s interests, either. Maybe the ABA staff’s perception of those interests . . . . Maybe.

K.C. JOHNSON & STUART TAYLOR’S BOOK ON THE DUKE NON-RAPE CASE is now up to 590 on Amazon. I hope it gets a lot of attention. With a cover blurb from John Grisham, it just might.

SHOULD WE EXPECT COLLEGE DEGREES TO decline in value in coming years?

SARKOZY CHANNELS MCCAIN? “French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday a diplomatic push by the world’s powers to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program was the only alternative to ‘an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.'”

MEGAN MCARDLE: “One particular consideration I think is underdiscussed is the fact that much of the labor illegal immigrants provide substitutes for women’s home labor.”

PAGE 9 AT THE WAPO: As good as it gets.

WHEN BENCH AND BAR GET TOO COZY:

Dennis G. Jacobs, the chief judge of the federal appeals court in New York, is a candid man, and in a speech last year he admitted that he and his colleagues had “a serious and secret bias.” Perhaps unthinkingly but quite consistently, he said, judges can be counted on to rule in favor of anything that protects and empowers lawyers.

Once you start thinking about it, the examples are everywhere. The lawyer-client privilege is more closely guarded than any other. It is easier to sue for medical malpractice than for legal malpractice. People who try to make a living helping people fill out straightforward forms are punished for the unauthorized practice of law.

But Judge Jacobs’s main point is a deeper one. Judges favor complexity and legalism over efficient solutions, and they have no appreciation for what economists call transaction costs. They are aided in this by lawyers who bill by the hour and like nothing more than tasks that take a lot of time and cost their clients a lot of money.

And there is, of course, the pleasure of power, particularly in cases involving the great issues of the day.

“Judges love these kinds of cases,” said Judge Jacobs, whose speech was published in The Fordham Law Review in May. “Public interest cases afford a judge more sway over public policy, enhance the judicial role, make judges more conspicuous and keep the law clerks happy.”

There are costs here, too, he said, including “the displacement of legislative and executive power” and “the subordination of other disciplines and professions.”

Yet, at the conclusion of a big public-policy case, the bar and bench rejoice. “We smugly congratulate ourselves,” Judge Jacobs said, “on expanding what we are pleased to call the rule of law.”

It’s Times Select, alas, so you can’t read the rest unless you subscribe. But the piece mentions this article on the subject by my colleague Ben Barton, and you can download the whole thing for free if you’re interested.

ALVARO VARGAS LLOSA: “As I watch the worldwide financial crisis triggered by the wave of mortgage defaults in the United States, I am reminded that at the heart of the problem is the departure on the part of the U.S. government and American consumers from basic economic principles.”

GIULIANI ON TAXES AND A HOMEOWNER BAILOUT, from James Pethokoukis.

JUST RAN ACROSS this interview with Joss Whedon from earlier this month, where he talks about the future of Firefly. You can hear our podcast interview with Firefly’s Tim Minear from last year here.

LAWYERS — THE FUN CROWD! Unauthorized Enjoyment of Song Irks Law Firm.

But David Lat is having fun.

A CHANGE OF HEART LOOMS:

Democrats believed the script would go something like this:

Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus would deliver their report about combat operations, violence and political instability in Iraq, and congressional Republicans, confronted with bad news, would face enormous pressure to vote for an Iraq withdrawal timeline.

But the climate in Washington may have shifted, and the anti-war expectations may not pan out.

Republican lawmakers like U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent in Pennsylvania, along with U.S. Reps. Mike Ferguson and Frank LoBiondo in New Jersey, next month may have a bit more breathing room to stick with President Bush and his plan to surge additional U.S. troops into Iraq.

Military gains in al Anbar Province have surprised policy-makers in Washington and put lawmakers calling for troop cutbacks on the defensive.

It does seem that way.

UPDATE: Finessing the Surge.

ALLOFMP3.COM IS planning a comeback.

JUST KEEP SCROLLING: James Lileks is blogging from the Minnesota State Fair.

EMILY SANDS ON solving the kidney shortage.

EUGENE VOLOKH: “Isn’t the Opus cartoon the Washington Post refused to run quite tame?” He continues: “The Post is of course entitled to run or not run whatever cartoons it prefers. Still, we’re equally entitled to discuss and, when sensible, criticize its editorial judgment. And it seems to be an odd judgment here.”

I MISSED IT, BUT BELDAR DIDN’T: Sen. Kerry permits last statute of limitations for defamation to lapse, forever barring any defamation claim against SwiftVet authors O’Neill and Corsi. But there’s more: “You have a standing offer from me: Just sue me here in Houston for defamation. . . . I’ll waive any statute of limitations defense. I’ll waive service of process. Hell, I’ll meet you at the federal courthouse doors for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (you have diversity jurisdiction), and I’ll even pay your filing fee!” What an offer! How can Kerry resist?

CHINESE REPRESSION, THE INTERNET, AND THE OLYMPICS: Roger Simon has thoughts on what bloggers should do.

THE GHOSTS OF ANBAR, PART II: A new dispatch from Michael Yon. Excerpt:

As it happens, these “police” had come from the same station that warned us about the bomb. This is one face of the political solutions we hear about in the news. The ones that are supposedly not happening. Here in Anbar, it’s working.

Some of these men will admit they were insurgents who switched sides because they realized that they are more likely to get what they want with a stable government. Al Qaeda promised them everything under the baking sun, yet al Qaeda killed people who smoked—and Iraqis like to smoke.

Read the whole thing.

IN THE MAIL: K.C. Johnson & Stuart Taylor’s new book on the Duke Lacrosse bogus rape allegations, Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case. It came on Friday but I didn’t get a chance to read it as the Insta-Wife grabbed it right a way. Upside: She’s posted a review already. I think it’s pretty clear that this is going to be a very important book, and I hope it does well.

MY BIRTHDAY’S TODAY, but I spent the weekend celebrating since today’s a busy day at work. One of the best parts was hanging out last night with both of my brothers. We met at the Brewery and then went over to Market Square. You can see the two of them here, in typical pose. That’s Brad — the rock & roll brother — on the left, and Jonathan — the blues / history professor brother — on the right. It was fun. I wish we got to hang out more often.

Brad was saying that I haven’t been posting enough photos on the blog lately. As usual, he’s right. So here are some more.

Even though it was a Sunday night, Market square was full of people hanging out. I was surprised, as I don’t generally get down there on Sunday evenings.

And while there was no midnight basketball, there was midnight whiffleball. People seemed surprisingly serious about it.

GONZALES RESIGNS: Make way for Attorney General Randy Barnett Chertoff. . . .

THE FRENCH ARE READY TO APOLOGIZE TO IRAQ: Hmm. They’re usually pretty good at spotting a shift in the wind.

CLAYTON CRAMER NOTES SOMETHING ODD about the ATF.

DEFENSIVE? ABOUT WHAT?

CBS goes on the defensive over “Kid”

Reality shows might need to court controversy to succeed, but a spreading hubbub around CBS’ “Kid Nation” suggests that sometimes execs need to be careful what they wish for.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (AFTRA) said Friday that it will probe whether producers of “Kid Nation” violated their union contract with harsh treatment of amateur kid performers on the CBS reality show, set to premiere September 19. . . .

Amid earlier reports of concerns over the kids’ treatment on location, CBS characterized “Kid Nation” as “a voluntary television experience.”

As opposed to those involuntary ones, I guess.