Congrats to @zclopton.bsky.social! Hopefully this will mark the beginning of a long and stable period at the law school.

I’m not sure I have anything add to this. I’ve spent the better part of a year debunking most of the arguments here. The only new-ish thing is an argument about safe conduct that is flatly contradicted by the very sources which he cites and it is impossible to believe that he doesn’t know it.

Ilan Wurman's anti-birthright citizenship Supreme Court amicus. I won't mince words. He bastardizes the common law. It is a methodologically bankrupt approach to the history of Anglo-American constitutionalism. It is little more than preening to gain someone's favor, but certainly not a scholar's.

Excited that our paper with @thelior.bsky.social @mbkugler.bsky.social , “Can Consumers Protect Themselves Against Privacy Dark Patterns?” is a winner of the (@futureofprivacy’s or @futureofprivacy.bsky.social’s) 16th Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award! Read more: fpf.org/press-releas...

Excellent commentary on why conduct that might give rise to liability in the private context definitely does not in the government context (however troubling that might be).

Excellent as always. Now, if the government would please chill, Orin is supposed to be writing about curtilage this week. :P

The Administration has threatened investigation and charges under the FACE Act for protestors - and Don Lemon — for a protest at a St. Paul church where one of the pastors is an ICE official. There are stupid responses to this, which get on my last fucking nerve, and arguable responses to this.

Semi-relatedly, Ilan teaches in Minnesota. Here, he makes claims about what’s happening in Minneapolis, and suggests the President could legitimately invoke the Insurrection Act. If he has set foot in Minneapolis recently or written anything substantial about the Insurrection Act, I’m unaware.

If only Denmark had allied with a superpower to guarantee its territorial security. Wait, I’m being told that they did. I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning to do good. How does he get out of bed to be this dumb?

Also keep in mind that provocateurs are a thing. That person publicly calling for violence? They're either crazy or a federal agent. It is not helpful to listen to them regardless. I found @laurajedeed.bsky.social's piece on this quite useful: www.firewalledmedia.com/p/cointelpro...

Keep in mind that that people have been fleeing these positions all year. For six to leave *now* implies that this is worse than everything they've been asked to do thus far. Also, we will be years rebuilding the talent and credibility that have been lost over the last few months.

I sadly think this is right. It is worth trying very hard to investigate and prosecute this case, and doing so in a way that can actually result in a conviction is going to be slow.

Those in California can now go here to request that data brokers delete their data: privacy.ca.gov/drop/ This is a good thing, however, it’s far from a complete solution. 🧵 1/

Grading this afternoon is the hardest I’ve worked all year.

That last storm was a killer. The decapitated body is in the garage.

This is not breaking news to most of us, but I appreciated this opinion piece from current Harvard undergrad @alexbronzini.bsky.social making concrete some of what the new regime of campus speech restriction looks like. We need more of this, especially students describing their direct experience.

This has been made available, so for purposes of commenting on Bari Weiss's decision to spike the story, here's a live-post of that segment. It begins with a "you may recall" summary of the deportation to el Salvador. Describes the admin's claim that it could deport the men without due process

Whatever else, you should often apologize for being JD Vance.

Having just heard of another messy trademark dispute that could have been solved with an intent to use application, take this as a reminder. If you’re launching a new brand, check whether the name is available. If it is, please file an intent to use application now.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that there are no 4th Amendment rights in your Google search terms. When you search on Google, you tell them your search terms; the government can get those queries without a warrant. The third-party doctrine applies. www.pacourts.us/assets/opini...

I'm reminded that every interstate highway is described as "a known drug corridor" when police try to justify extending a traffic stop. Judge Wood once pointed out that she had personally driven along the same highway at the same time as the stopped car, making her doubt the claim.

Extraordinary courage from Ahmed al Ahmed, a Muslim, 43-year-old father of two, who bravely risked his life to save his neighbors celebrating Hanukkah. Praying for his full & speedy recovery. And so deeply inspired by his example.

NEW: 9 ex-DOJ lawyers who resigned from antisemitism investigations into UCLA and other UC campuses say they were pressured to find UC guilty of violations in a rushed and politically motivated process. One called it a "fraudulent and sham investigation." www.latimes.com/california/s...

A deeply sad morning, with heartbreaking mass killings in Providence & Sydney. Innocent students killed in a classroom. At least 11 people by gunmen at a Hanukkah celebration. Too many guns here. Frightening levels of antisemitism globally. So much senseless violence & hate.

If you told me that a font choice would make me respect Rubio even less, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Relitigating every stable aspect (vaccines, birthright citizenship, the 2020 election, etc.) of American life has been exhausting. Every day feels like a colossal waste of time that just consumes so much energy that would be better spent on literally anything else. Exhausting!

This is completely insane. Had a foreigner worked on the Trump-signed Take it Down Act, this would make them ineligible.

What in the fresh-smelling hell?

He’s the administrator of DOGE, plainly.

Absolute debasement of academic standards *student submits opinion in psych class *gets bad grade *instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources *student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated *professor suspended

I’m constantly amazed by the number of government officials who work every day to make the world a worse place.

Also, does this ban circumcision? Gynecomastia surgery?

This makes me mind the anti foreign students bit more. I was telling my friend yesterday that I hoped her sister in law wasn’t arrested at her green card interview next month, because we are now a country that does that sometimes.

Depressing late Friday holiday news dump: Northwestern agrees to pay $75 million to the federal government. The faculty vote against doing this, @heidikitrosser.bsky.social points out, was 595-4. That's the kind of margin where going the other way reflects a major failure of university governance.

Bienen has just announced the agreement with the Trump administration to restore Northwestern's funding. He is also already misrepresenting it. For example, the FAQ he provides tries to minimize what the university has conceded regarding transgender care. www.northwestern.edu/president/ne...

Among other things, the (nebulous but clearly unconstitutional) attack on naturalized US citizens contained in this screed is a significant escalation.

Respectfully, AO3 already exists and needs neither encouragement nor machine-generated competition.

I have a vague memory of watching this on a date 20 years ago and thought it was excellent. I think there was also a movie about giant mechs fighting; it’s hazy.

should we do a group watch of shattered glass as therapy

Thorough district court judges are treasures.

Just a reminder to law profs who teach from my Computer Crime Law casebook that the new 6th edition will be out next month, in time for use in the Spring 2026 semester.

My god. My god. Oh fucking hell. God.

I’m this close to muting “bamboo” for the next month.

Among the many things that strike me from this story is just how pathetic Summers appears. He has a multiyear obsession with an uninterested woman. He confides in Epstein about it like Epstein is his best friend. He is so insecure that he seeks reassurance from a convicted sex predator.

A cat would do it on purpose.

They’re all just looting the treasury now

In terms of sheer harm to humanity, this is peanuts compared to USAID cuts. In terms of blatant and inexcusable corruption, this belongs in the history books.

I forget which comedian said it, but the problem with explaining the difference between ephebophilia and pedophilia is that it makes you sound like a pedophile.