June:

Bentley, 2008?–2026

Congratulations to my Conflict of Laws students on finishing their semester! Now the rest of you can try out the final exam for yourselves at home: stevesachs.com/Exam_Conflic...

Whacking Day!

This, from David Bernstein, is a key point. When I first saw the story I thought it boorish for Peterson to misuse his captive audience (merits aside); to provide one text for preapproval and then deliver another is worse. Surprised so many prominent folks at @umichlaw.bsky.social have defended that

What’s the prevailing view on why Justices Sotomayor and Kagan joined today’s order?

A landmark, must-read article on the Equal Rights Amendment by Harvard Law's Stephen E. Sachs, in the University of Chicago Law Review (5-1-26). Here is the link to his full article, "The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA"; there is a "Download PDF" button there. lawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archiv...

NOW OUT IN @uchilrev.bsky.social: "The Twelfth Amendment and the ERA" In the 12th & 17th amendments, Congress put operative text in amending resolutions, not just in a proposed article. This suggests the ERA’s 7-year limit is valid—and that the article it proposed isn't part of our Constitution

Volume 93.3 is now live, featuring pieces by Charles Capps; @joshuamacey.bsky.social, Ketan Ramakrishnan & Brian Richardson; @stephenesachs.bsky.social; and Grant Christensen. You can find them all here: lawreview.uchicago.edu.

May:

On National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, we should think of ways to get pets out of shelters and into loving homes. Here are our shelter cats, present and past, adopted from NC's Chatham Animal Rescue: reason.com/volokh/2019/...

Whatever one makes of these memos, whoever leaked them breached the trust that allows courts to do their jobs. One of the article's coauthors, a licensed atty in NY, may have also violated the state's ethics rules and be subject to discipline. 1/ reason.com/volokh/2026/...

Will be appearing on this Originalism panel at the Organization of American Historians conference this weekend: @oah.org www.oah.org/conferences/...

Coming up on Monday, for Harvard Law affiliates. Looking forward!

“I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, but not nearly so numerous as the crumbs your kids will leave after eating a single piece of matzah each”

Kind of darkly hilarious that we’re supposed to go through the whole house to get rid of bread crumbs, only then to start a week of eating matzah, which generates more crumbs per square meter per second than any substance known to man

My favorite Passover-related story about vampires, from Scott Alexander. Chag sameach! slatestarcodex.com/2017/04/13/c...

April:

251 years ago today:

9–0 in favor of the plaintiffs! www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

March:

Realized I hadn't yet posted the syllabus for my 2026 seminar on Originalism and Its Discontents. Now the rest of you can follow along at home! stevesachs.com/syllabi/orig...

Starting today! Looking forward. Send your suggestions for rules amendments to [email protected]

February:

Looking forward to meeting our students in tonight's Harvard Law seminar on Abortion: Law, Policy, and Ethics! Here's the syllabus, so the rest of you can follow along at home: stevesachs.com/syllabi/abor...

Looking forward to welcoming my students to today's Conflict of Laws class—and the rest of you can follow along with the syllabus at home: stevesachs.com/syllabi/conf...

Taking off my weather hat for a moment for something more important than the forecast…today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I’ve shared before that my grandparents (mom’s side) are both Holocaust survivors. Please do me a favor and read their story in this thread.

Pearly, 2013–2026

Congratulations to my Civil Procedure students on finishing their fall semester and starting a new one! Now you can try the final exam for yourselves at home: stevesachs.com/Exam_CivPro_...

Now published in the Harvard Law Review Forum: "Zionism and Title VI" harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-13... A solicited response to Profs. @beidelson.bsky.social and Debbie Hellman on how federal civil rights laws apply to campus anti-Zionism. A few excerpts from the introduction: 1/

Some related professional news! Honored to serve.

It's RULES AMENDMENTS DAY! No Act of Congress having intervened, the amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, and Civil Procedure promulgated earlier this year by the Supreme Court are now in effect. REJOICE!

December:

New amicus brief with Steve: “Sovereign immunity is for sovereigns.”

Now online: A new amicus brief by @williambaude.bsky.social and me, filed today in the Supreme Court in Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp., on sovereign immunity and the "arm of the State" doctrine: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24... 1/

NOW IN PRINT in the Notre Dame Law Review: "GIVE PARENTS THE VOTE," with Joshua Kleinfeld: arguing that parents, not strangers, should direct the voting power of children, and that state legislatures can make it happen! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

107 years ago today, the Balfour Declaration:

November:

In honor of Halloween, my favorite essay in the philosophy of candy: 200proofliberals.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-...

New amicus brief, now on @ssrn.bsky.social! Submitted today in King v. Bon Charge, No. 1:25-cv-105-SB (D. Del. filed Jan. 24, 2025), exploring how Rule 4(k)(2) personal jurisdiction applies after Fuld v. PLO. Download it here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Happy National Black Cat Day! Sometimes shelters have a hard time finding homes for black cats, if people are superstitious or don’t think they’re friendly. But we love our two black cats, adopted from Chatham Animal Rescue & Education in Pittsboro, NC!

NOW ON SSRN: "Zionism and Title VI" The HarvLRev Forum had asked me to respond to an essay by Profs. Eidelson & Hellman, applying Title VI's antidiscrimination rules to recent campus protests. A useful exchange, I hope; comments welcome! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 1/

Two years.

October:

NOW AVAILABLE at @constitutionctr.bsky.social and @ssrn.bsky.social : "Restoring Conventions, One Amendment at a Time" A new paper on a new way to revitalize Article V, by letting states move first. (1/) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Congratulations to my 1L students on their first day of Civil Procedure! Syllabus below, for those who'd like to follow along at home: stevesachs.com/syllabi/civp...

Some professional news, as they say! Honored to be among these new members of the Board of Directors of the Federalist Society. fedsoc.org/commentary/f...

September:

Solar-powered cat recharging