Today's interesting stuff

I liked this article about the bell in the courthouse for Bland County.

Here is the opinion from U.S. v. Mooney, the gun case won by a third-year student from Wake Forest. Like Mr. Mooney's counsel, I had previously understood that there were no defenses to a gun case. In the first federal criminal trial I ever saw, the hard-hitting questions from the defense were something like this: "So, Mr. ATF agent, what evidence have you really got that this gun was interstate was in interstate commerce, besides the fact it says 'Made in Germany' on the handle?"

This article by Professor Dorf says the Twombly decision is a big deal, but this comment on the article says Dorf is wrong. The question is whether Twombly will make it harder for plaintiff's counsel to plead a case in federal court that will withstand a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.