At least 11 congressmen from 1865-1871 were arguably not citizens under Trump's interpretation of 14th A, our research finds. Yet no one challenged their eligibility to serve. Why not? Obviously, b/c no one who drafted or ratified the 14th A shared Trump's view. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I'm reminded of Dan Farber's 1986 article, "The Case Against Brilliance," which is pretty much about that problem in the legal academy. scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcont...

So I have the cover story in next month's TNR. I interviewed the heads of police groups; immigration defense attorneys, ex-judges and ex-prosecutors; former DOJ and DHS officials, and the former head of Border Patrol. They're all horrified at what we've seen, and they all fear what's coming.

This is critically important. Democrats need to pass it if they retake Congress. Trump will veto it. So pass it again. Campaign on it. Given current polling, corruption of the FBI, and the brutality of ICE and BP, there’s no better time to say, “Federal police are not above the law.”

In case people tell you that public criticism of the court doesn’t matter, here’s Brett Kavanaugh trying to walk back what he said in the ICE roving patrol case - when he blessed racial profiling & called the stops prompt. He was lambasted; @akalhan.bsky.social coined the term “Kavanaugh stops”

After what we're seeing at CBS, if today is not the perfect day for everyone to find some independent journalism & nonprofit newsrooms to support... what day could be better?

"Pulling the Supreme Court back from the cliff is something progressives should view as far preferable to the alternative—where it may not just be the Court that gets pushed over the edge and into oblivion, but our entire constitutional (and democratic) order." Me in today's issue of "One First":

Do it, readers. Go see “The Housemaid,” Monica Hesse writes. https://wapo.st/3Y4rRTi

Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it

A story I found about Haiti: In 1999, a group of Haitians were tired of political disorder and dreamed of a better life in the United States. So they built a small, 23-foot boat by hand using pine trees, scrap wood, and used nails. They called the boat "Believe in God."

What a horrifying weekend of news. Too much.

Riot commissions are a common response to highly publicized killings committed by police. They often act as “a mechanism of evasion,” says one historian, but they also allow ordinary community members to participate in the political process in a unique way.

My position on taking action. And on the important space between everything and nothing.

We’re honoured to announce a major new project supported by @wellcometrust.bsky.social. UNLEARNING ‘EXCITED DELIRIUM’ brings together a world-class team to confront an urgent health, human rights, racial & social justice issue. Meet our partners below… unlearnexd.org

1/ A few thoughts about @williambaude.bsky.social’s comment in yesterday’s NYT chat that, “It’s amazing how many of our problems today could be solved by a Congress that was willing and able to legislate in response to national problems.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...

This is the way. Gov. Pritzker signed a bill Tuesday that makes it easier for Illinois residents to sue federal immigration agents for up to $10,000 if they believe their rights have been violated, and also restricts those agents from enforcement outside courthouses. newrepublic.com/post/204204/...

The Illinois Bivens Act is now law - people can sue under state law for ICE’s constitutional violations. Which state is next? When the feds fall down on their obligations to protect people’s rights, it is time for states to step up. gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/gov-pritzker...

Max Huntsman, the inspector general tasked with holding the LA Sheriff’s Department to account, is retiring… and going out with a bang in this letter 🔥

David Myers has an important answer to colleagues who argued that it was shameful for UCLA to host a talk by a Palestinian-American human rights lawyer and law professor discussing whether Zionism is racist: Academic freedom means raising these questions, not silencing them. Link in comments.

Fuck Kavanaugh stops all my homies hate Kavanaugh stops (for purposes of this post I'm including a federal district judge who just rightly concluded that the Supreme Court's racial profiling order is *not* controlling precedent under the umbrella of 'my homies') ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/beryl...

This opinion from E.D. Mich. on Rule 11 and generative A.I. is an absolute *banger*. law.justia.com/cases/federa... The court specifically explains why the problem of A.I. is not limited to "hallucinating" case citations. Even plausible legal "analysis" *from an A.I.* is trouble! #LegalWriting 1/

Across the country, police departments have adopted AI-driven platforms to assist with data collection and analysis. But without robust safeguards, these data fusion tools risk generating inaccurate results, perpetuating bias, and undermining individual rights. bit.ly/44nxPlx

Excellent advice 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

I just watched The Alabama Solution, and it is stunning. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/10/a...

A huge district court victory for the University of California. District courts find facts. This one found "overwhelming evidence" that the Trump administration has pervasively violated the First Amendment in its efforts to coerce and intimidate the University of California. News story here—

Fourth Circuit publishes an opinion to make a point that otherwise would go unseen. www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...

Chicago police are required by law to document every time they pull someone over. But an investigation by Bolts and Injustice Watch last year revealed the department failed to report hundreds of thousands of stops.

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Trying to figure out what #SCOTUS just did with #SNAP, and why Justice Jackson temporarily froze the district court's ruling? Via "One First," me on what's going on—and why I think Jackson's move was savvy, notwithstanding the awful circumstances that forced it: www.stevevladeck.com/p/190-snap-wtf

160 faculty from all 5 UC law schools signed this open letter detailing why the Trump demands to UCLA are unlawful, unconstitutional, and wrong: sites.google.com/view/uclawfa... Great to work with @fishkin.bsky.social @blakeprof.bsky.social @seanashiffrin.bsky.social on this statement.

My new one @slate.com: "Gavin Newsom Just Proved It: Voters Want Democrats to Fight Fire With Fire" slate.com/news-and-pol...

The State Democracy Research Initiative is doing some of the most rigorous and important work out there, thinking through the power of states to check the federal government. Check out this analysis of the ability of states to criminally prosecute federal actors. 👇🏻👇🏻

Check out Staff Attorney Bryna Godar's Lawfare piece analyzing when states can prosecute federal officials for violations of state criminal law.

Editorial cartoon: Don't bread on me. Enjoy :)

A thing I wrote is out now in Ohio St. J. Crim. L.! It's a short essay on how Batson v. Kentucky came together based on the private papers of each of the Justices that term . . . . If you teach the case (or read it in class), you might find it helpful! moritzlaw.osu.edu/sites/defaul...

The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...

For one of my final stories with @wired.com, I teamed up with @peggylowe.bsky.social at KCUR to dig through a Kansas City, KS police hack Inside were some of the most disturbing misconduct files I’ve ever read—and a secret list of cops the department said couldnt be trusted Here are a few of them:

I know other profs say this all the time but it's so true: Hearing from terrific former students that they are enjoying their jobs & are doing well (all things considered) is an absolute highlight of the job - and a high point of any week that it happens.

Police officers almost never pay settlements & judgments against them, but are denied indemnification more often than payout data suggests. This great @themarshallproject.org story describes two recent cases & here's my new draft article examining this phenomenon 👇 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.

Greetings from the Dirksen federal courthouse, where Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino is set to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis. What you need to know, for @wttw.bsky.social:

New from me: Elite law firms, multiple media outlets, the D.C. attorney general, and a group of parents accused a teacher of molesting 15 kids. They were wrong. This piece is two-and-a-half years in the making. And as you'll see, it took some incredible turns, even as I was reporting it.

Today's "One First" explains why Stephen Miller is wrong that ICE officers have "federal immunity" from prosecution for all actions they take in their official duties, and that anyone attempting to prosecute them is committing a felony. Supremacy Clause immunity is a thing, but it's *not* absolute:

NEW: The Kavanaugh stop, 50 days later. "What a sick world." I asked Justice Brett Kavanaugh about his September 8 concurrence and the reality that has followed. Because he should be asked. He, unsurprisingly, did not respond. Today, at Law Dork:

“Over 170 U.S. Citizens are being arrested. Why? Because they look like me,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California said, referencing our reporting. “Or because they are suspected to not be a U.S. citizen, or because they are suspected of crimes they have not committed.”

A federal jury this week found a private company that runs detention centers liable for the 2015 death of an inmate in Louisiana and awarded the man’s family $42.75 million in damages.

A federal judge has ordered top Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino into court next week in what could be one of the most dramatic hearings yet over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration campaign in Chicago. trib.al/B4GpXZo

This article does a nice job explaining how difficult it is to obtain financial accountability for federal government misconduct (if you are not the sitting president making fabricated allegations of wrongdoing), BUT the underlying message is wrong… www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/u...

Updating my LEGO White House