Congratulations to Professor @sbagen.bsky.social on receiving the 2025 President’s Award for Public Impact for his commitment to public service, contributions to significantly impact society, and efforts to address the challenges communities face every day. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/bagenst...

#D4D 's trove of pleadings includes this motion which argues for the exclusion of unreliable, non-eyewitness identification. The only thing less reliable than eyewitness ID is non-eyewitness ID. Make sure the jury knows that! #PublicDefenderTwitter

Here is this week’s installment of #SistersSidebar, our mid-week update where we answer your questions. Every Wednesday. www.politicon.com/podcast-epis...

In 1917, the US agreed to respect Denmark’s control of Greenland in exchange for a deal to buy the Danish West Indies in the Caribbean. “We recognized it, so we kind of can’t take that back,” said Julian Arato, prof @umichlaw.bsky.social, discussing President Trump's remarks 🔗 https://myumi.ch/Nrg9P

We are thrilled to announce our Volume 125 Editorial Board!

We spent the past week sharing MDefenders 5 components. We are excited to connect with you and strengthen a national network of lawyers committed to high-quality public defense #indigentdefense #publicdefenders #mdefenders #umichlaw michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders

New from Professor @leahlitman.bsky.social and co-hosts

Is crypto enabling a new American kleptocracy? Professors Thomas and Zhang (@umichlaw.bsky.social) argue that crypto risks creating a modern kleptocracy where political power and private enrichment are indistinguishable. Read MLR Online's latest here: michiganlawreview.org/crypto-klept...

MDefenders is now on Bluesky!

Two "highly recommended"s and one "download it while it's hot" from @lsolum.bsky.social in one day is the nerdy lawprof's version of winning the news cycle. (Take the analogy for all it's worth.) It's nice to have people read my stuff, esp. articles like these that I really enjoyed writing.

Today!

Congratulations to 3L Megan Hess on becoming a 2026 Skadden Fellow! Hess will be working at the Children’s Law Center, expanding their medical-legal partnership, Healthy Together, to represent families in public benefits matters. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/michiga...

Our new mid-week feature, #SistersSidebar, answers more of your questions. Here is this week’s installment. Drops every Wednesday. www.politicon.com/podcast-epis...

Professor @leahlitman.bsky.social was on Stateside (@michiganpublic.bsky.social) to talk about aggressive immigration enforcement, gun rights, and what checks and balances might still come into play. Listen: www.michiganpublic.org/stateside/20...

If personnel is policy, then why is the St Louis US Attorney overseeing the election search in Georgia? My thoughts in @opinion.bloomberg.com news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

I’m in the preamble this morning explaining that there’s no “protest” exception to the constitution, despite what the Trump admin is doing in and to Minnesota. True of not just the first amendment but also … all the other parts too! thepreamble.com/p/the-right-...

New from Professor @sbagen.bsky.social on @ssrn.bsky.social: "Slush Funds" and Congress's Power of the Purse papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Looking forward to this joint event on February 24 at noon with the Michigan Lawyers Chapter and the @umichlaw.bsky.social student chapter of @acslaw.bsky.social. Please join us! go.acslaw.org/webmail/5840...

New from Professors Ellen Katz and @sbagen.bsky.social in @ssrn.bsky.social: The Dismantling of Civil Rights Protections and Thoughts on Rebuilding papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

“I think the citizens of Michigan are very concerned about their energy costs, and framing this lawsuit as being about those energy costs ... [is] going to resonate more with the people of this state.” Professor @profrrothschild.bsky.social in the @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/c...

Congratulations to Professor @jdmortenson.bsky.social who has been elected to membership in the American Law Institute. Mortenson is among 45 new members of ALI, which works to modernize and improve the law in the United States. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/america...

Professor Paulina Arnold will take part in a panel discussion titled, Immigration Policy and Lived Experience: Perspectives on the First Year of Trump 2.0. Thursday, February 5th at 4PM in Weiser Hall room 1010

From 3L Graham Hardig and Professor Eric N. Richardson: How China and the US Can Make AI Safer for Everyone thediplomat.com/2026/01/how-...

Join us for the next Environmental and Energy Law lecture, Weds., Feb. 11th, 12-1 PM. Professor David Adelman will discuss overcoming the economic and legal barriers to local acceptance of renewable energy projects. More info: michigan.law.umich.edu/eelp

If you're interested in "slush funds" and Congress's power of the purse, which is of course timely as hell, but want an analysis that goes beyond [waves around at all this], see my new piece on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Also new on SSRN: My paper with my colleague Ellen Katz on Trump's dismantling of civil rights enforcement and some thoughts on how to rebuild. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

“It’s in whatever motivated you to come here in the first place—whatever special gifts you bring and you have to offer to the movement for social justice. You don’t have to have perfect clarity every day, not right now. You just need to take the first step.” michigan.law.umich.edu/news/public-...

My new book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government," offers solutions to get us past these dark times in our nation's history. Available now for pre-order. More here. barbaramcquade.com

Here’s the debut episode of #SistersSidebar, our #SistersInLaw midweek update to answer more of your questions. Look for it every Wednesday, along with our regular episodes on Saturdays. www.politicon.com/podcast-epis...

Not the most important thing happening right now. But perhaps of interest for the constitutional-interpretation crowd. Thanks to a great group of students.

"The Law is Not Yet Finished." A lecture by Professor @richardprimus.bsky.social Filmed on the last day of Law 648: Constitutional Interpretation. youtu.be/x06367MQEa4

We got back together to record a discussion of the events in Minnesota - the brutal murder of Alex Pretti, a caretaker who was out documenting ICE's abuse of his community & the most vulnerable people in it - whose last words were "are you OK" to the woman ICE was pepper-spraying alongside him.

With so much chaos in the news, #SistersInLaw podcast is launching a new midweek episode called #SistersSidebar, where we will answer more of your questions. The first episode drops this Wednesday. Keep those questions coming!

I spoke with April Baer on Stateside (Michigan Public Radio) about the systematic lawlessness - and unconstitutional actions - of the admin in Minnesota: www.michiganpublic.org/stateside/20...

Cool snowman in a cold Law Quad. @umichlaw.bsky.social

When Sean Grimsley, ’00, and Eric Olson, ’00, started their impact litigation firm in September 2023, they had the loftiest of goals: to chart a path that would allow them to make a difference in the world. quadrangle.michigan.law.umich.edu/issues/winte...

"No student or employee is hopelessly behind. Nor is anyone commandingly ahead. Instead, each of us is in an enviable spot: right at the starting line." Professor Patrick Barry on the current pace of AI development: theconversation.com/feeling-unpr...

Professor Michelle Adams’s book details the history and impact of Milliken v. Bradley, the landmark Detroit school desegregation case that effectively ended the era of Brown v. Board of Education. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/michell...

Thanks to NPR's 1A for having me on today to discuss what RFK Jr. is doing to the Department of Health and Human Services. (I join about 40 minutes in.) the1a.org/segments/dot...

Our country’s attack on the sovereign nation of Venezuela was flatly illegal. It was a grave violation of the prohibition on the use of force— a fundamental tenet of our international legal order.” michigan.law.umich.edu/news/four-ta...

As Senato Elissa Slotkin has said, speaking out against Trump’s attack on the rule of law is the most patriotic thing we can do. My thoughts in @cafedotcom.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/staytune...

In an article, Ratner argues that efforts to find an international legal duty for reparations to former colonies are likely to be ineffective. Instead, he proposes voluntary negotiations as a more promising way to get reparations to those who deserve them. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/5qs-rat...

Happy Friday ⛄

President Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee tribal land and environmental stewardship in the Florida Everglades because the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center. Matthew Fletcher, @umichlaw.bsky.social prof, discusses with @grist. 🔗 myumi.ch/4mV8q

Professor @aratojulian.bsky.social has been nominated to serve as a vice president of the American Society of International Law (@asilorg.bsky.social) and Lecturer Julianne Marley has been nominated to the ASIL Executive Council. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/profess...

Kent Syverud, ’81, chancellor and president of Syracuse University, has been named the 16th president of the University of Michigan—the first U-M alumnus in nearly a century to be appointed president. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/kent-sy...

“Given the Trump administration’s willingness to push legal boundaries, the last thing we should entrust it with is a centralized trove of our sensitive personal data.” Professor @barbmcquade.bsky.social in @bloomberglp.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Snowy morning in the Law Quad

Welcome back, @umichlaw.bsky.social students. Looking forward to teaching with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind!

Professor @sbagen.bsky.social in the Michigan Journal of Law Reform: “Science and Politics in Public Health Regulation” repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol58/i...