Brain freeze.

Well, I'm frozen. Denver's been hit by some sort of arctic chill, my office building is having a heat-retention problem, and I've got lousy circulation in my extremities (thanks to my mom and grandma). This entry thus finds me typing with the two blocks of ice that have been appended to the ends of my arms. Perhaps it's the deep freeze of the day, or perhaps the effort of uncluttering my various e-mail and physical inboxes, but my brain seems devoid of anything interesting to say today.

My foggy mind may also result from the fact that there's very little of moment happening on my docket these days. I have a frustrating brief to write, but am procrastinating as I await a Supreme Court certiorari decision (anticipated Friday or Monday) on precisely my issue. And I have a hearing next week in a habeas case that has languished in the judge's chambers for nearly a year. I have no idea why the judge is holding a hearing, since my only outstanding request is for access to the state-court file and time to respond to the government's opposition, but I figure I should be prepared to address any conceivable issue the court may raise.

Really, I need some new cases. One of the realities of public defending, particularly at the appellate/habeas level, is that my caseload lies at the mercy of the courts, and when things slow down, there's not a whole lot I can do to ensure that I get appointed on some fresh cases. I've let my superiors know that I'm open for business, so hopefully the Tenth Circuit will throw a new habeas appeal my way, or one of the federal magistrate judges will see an interesting issue in a pro se petition and appoint us on something new. In the meantime, I don't have quite enough pressure to keep me motivated. Of course, if the Supremes don't grant cert on the issue I'm briefing, I'll have plenty of deadline pressure . . . .