I like the federal judges of the MDL Panel, I really do, but I get the feeling that I'm just not getting their attention.
Today they're meeting in Seattle on the 8th Floor of the courthouse on Fifth Avenue, according to their latest hearing memo (PDF). What's wrong with that? It's just that it's been five months since I invited them to hold a hearing at the federal courthouse nearest my office. That's the one in East St. Louis, Illinois. Since then, I haven't heard a word. Not a letter, not a postcard, not even a measly e-mail. It's like they're ignoring me or something.
Perhaps this is a job better suited to Underneath Their Robes, a weblog specifically devoted to the federal judiciary. Assuming the anonymous author of UTR is listening, here's my advice: every citizen would benefit from a little background about the MDL Panel, the super-secret group of seven federal judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Since I also understand that UTR wasn't around when I got started on my quest to lure the MDL Panel to East St. Louis, here's a brief summary of my posts to date:
1. What's the MDL Panel? In this post on February 27, I explained the MDL Panel to my unsuspecting readers.2. And Where Does It Meet? In a follow-up post on the same day, I demonstrated why the MDL Panel usually packs light when it heads off for its hearings every two months.
3. Take the Aeroplane, Then the Mystery Train In this post during the Legal Underground's Rock 'n' Roll Week, I told the federal judges of the MDL Panel a few things they probably didn't know about East St. Louis.
4. Greetings, Federal Judges of the MDL Panel On March 23, before the MDL Panel's meeting in Jacksonville, I bothered them with a memo in which I admitted I'd never read Rule 16.1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
5. MDL Panel Update: Federal Judges Heading to Baltimore. Two months ago, as the federal judges of the MDL Panel were meeting in Baltimore, I gave them some advice about what they could do there if they had any free time.
All these missives to the MDL Panel, but not a word. Could it be that the federal judges of the MDL Panel don't read weblogs? Stay tuned.
Evan - East St. Louis! This blog proves that lawyers can be entertaining.
Posted by: Federalist No. 84 | July 22, 2004 at 06:48 PM