For Liam.

Today's blog post: Eleventh Circuit Addresses the Admissibility of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Prosecutions: www.evidenceprofblog.com/2026/01/elev...

Great @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social team presenting Rethinking Justice program at #AALS2026 panel on Incorporated Lived Experiences with the Criminal Legal System in the Classroom. Nick Lindsey (2024 Student Fellow), Roz Smith (2022-25 partner), & Jocelyn Simonson. @evehanan.bsky.social moderating.

Lisa Fairfax accepting the Section on Race & Private Law's Patricia J. Williams Award. Observers include Deans Sophia Lee, @aonwuachi.bsky.social, & @rogerfairfax.bsky.social, and the eponymous Prof. Williams, who received (with Peggy Cooper Davis) the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award.

Another excellent panel at #AALS2026. "Property Rights and Racial Dispossession," featuring Jade Craig, @jackchin.bsky.social, Hayward Gordon, Danaya Wright, @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social's Aissatou Barry, and Mitch Crusto.

John Stinneford concluding his remarks on the original meaning of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause at an excellent panel on "Bounding the Modes of Punishment" at the AALS Annual Conference #AALS2026, with Profs Resnik, Armstrong, Sakoda, @aaronlittman.bsky.social & @hashtagblevin.bsky.social

Year one folks…

And the full report: www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

People around the country are protesting on Labor Day: maydaystrong.org

Public comment opens today on a proposed FRE 609 reform! The main change would be the addition of “substantially” to the 609(a)(1)(B) balancing. In other words, it aims to make it harder to admit felony convictions against those testifying in their own defense at criminal trials tinyurl.com/2c6mazxd

“Penn’s law school pauses scholarship honoring its first Black female graduate, plans to close equal opportunity office”

Timely paper from law prof Stratos Pahis: "This Is (NOT) an Emergency: On Trump's 'Reciprocal' Tariffs and the Judicial Decisions Declaring Them Illegal"

Tomorrow at #SEALS2025 I’ll present my forthcoming article “Interrogating the Facts of the Case,” which examines the risks of erasing the interrogation room from the criminal law classroom (& elsewhere). Come find me and co-participants at 8-10am, Magnolia C. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

State supreme courts are a battlefield for pressing issues, from abortion rights to ballot access. But do you know how your court works? Our guide breaks down the structure and procedures of every single state’s highest court. boltsmag.org/whats-o...

Law professor colleagues: We're hiring! 🗽 Brooklyn Law School is considering lateral hires in several areas, including constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, evidence, family law, and torts. If you're considering a move and have a special interest in joining us, please reach out!

Such a great panel at Law & Society discussing pedagogy and chapters from the forthcoming book Critical Evidence! Thanks to organizer Anna Roberts and panelists Andrea Dennis, Daniel Harawa, Ngozi Okidegbe, and Rebecca Wexler, with a special shoutout to my co-editor Julia Simon-Kerr!