I have interacted with lots of judges and a few U.S. Supreme Court justices over the years, but I have never seen one of them mingle with students so warmly. Check out these pictures of Justice Sotomayor and our lucky students at William & Mary Law School!

I read page 14 and thought, “he’s going to invoke noscitur a sociis.” And I turned the page and he did! And “no elephants in mouseholes”! I should buy a lottery ticket.

I had the privilege of attending a lecture by Professor Samuel Bagenstos today. The topic was “Reconstructing the Public Health State.” Thank you for visiting William & Mary, @sbagen.bsky.social !

The debates about DHS and Iran appropriations assume the long term slush funds the OBBA gave the president for ICE and military ops are constitutional. That premise is mistaken, as @marknevitt.bsky.social and I explain in our draft, now forthcoming in GW Law Review! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Look! It's finally happening, I'm so excited! Please share with your friends, people who assign books, and pets.

Larsen & McSweeney Medieval Treatises Alli Orr Larsen (William & Mary Law School) & Thomas McSweeney (William & Mary Law School) have posted Medieval Treatises and the Judicial Search for a Useable Past on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court’s recent turn to history and tradition has…

Everyone knows Llewellyn’s chart showing canons and their counter canons. Compare the pages on statutory interpretation in the patriot lawyer Josiah Quincy Jr.’s law commonplace (started c. 1763). On consecutive pages, he collects venerable authorities for and against interpreting by the “spirit”:

The account says the quotations are random, but geez.

“Realigned: Standing and Substantive Due Process” This post comments on SCOTUS’s decision this week in Mirabelli v. Bonta. blog.dividedargument.com/p/realigned-...

Incredible scenes here. I guess Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey, and Perkins Coie now get to beat the government on appeal too. Government’s brief due this Friday.

I need to read this book! Link to review by @marinklevy.bsky.social :

Personal jurisdiction in the 7th Circuit: In Liu v. Monthly, No. 25-02074, which will be argued today, the appellant argues that they were not subject to personal jurisdiction in the NDIL because they "did not sell or ship a single accused product to Illinois." #CivProMatters

Remedies / Civ Pro Valentines: Roses are red Violets are blue Moot my demand By saying, “I do” Roses are red Violets are blue Tho’ equity act in personam It can’t restrain my love for you Roses are red Violets are blue A constructive trust Couldn’t account for you Workshopping these, obvs.

Remedies / Civ Pro Valentines: Roses are red Violets are blue Moot my demand By saying, “I do” Roses are red Violets are blue Tho’ equity act in personam It can’t restrain my love for you Roses are red Violets are blue A constructive trust Couldn’t account for you Workshopping these, obvs.

Working on Administrative Law valentines. 💘 ⚖️ Roses are red Violets are blue If you take my heart What process is due?

I hope this will be of interest to people who care about statutory interpretation, federalism, and the “general law revival.” Comments welcome. The abstract:

Judge Leon continues to wear out the exclamation point on his keyboard. “Please! That is not the law.”

NEW PAPER Did 19th c. courts all use the same methods of statutory interpretation? Or did different states differ? How did methods change, and who changed them? And how did federal courts respond to state variations? Was this stuff a “law of interpretation”? If so, general law or state law? Link:

TIL that although my students know about Ronald McDonald, they are not as familiar with the rest of the McDonaldland cinematic universe, namely Mayor McCheese. 😢

We at William & Mary were privileged to host @stevevladeck.bsky.social yesterday for the annual Cutler Lecture on the Constitution. His talk previewed his forthcoming book, “The Court We Need: Why the Supreme Court is Worth Saving—Especially from Itself.” Thanks, Steve!

Today I competed in the law school’s pie eating contest to benefit the National Marrow Donor Program. How’d it go? Dear reader, I slayed it.

A few notes on this proposal by Goldman & Swalwell, based on the bill text: 1. Codifies Bivens cause of action for suits against federal officers. 2. Abolishes QI only in the limited circumstance in which ICE/CBP agents (not other feds) are sued for excessive force (not other wrongs). (1/2)

My article “The Plain-Meaning Fallacy” just published in the B.C. L. Rev.! My favorite illustration of the plain-meaning fallacy is originalist arguments regarding the President’s removal power—an issue now pending before SCOTUS. Here’s a quick explanation 🧵 bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/10....

Update on Berk v. Choy: Today SCOTUS indeed says the Delaware med-mal certification doesn’t apply in federal court. Majority says the conflict is with FRCP 8. Jackson concurrence says it’s FRCP 3 and 12. Opinion: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Interpreting the law in light of the “Aloha Spirit” is part of the positive law of Hawaii. (See Haw. Rev. Stat. s. 5-7.5.) I mention this because tomorrow SCOTUS will hear a gun rights case involving Hawaii, and some of the amici (and many commentators) mock Hawaii’s view. Wolford v. Lopez docket:

I can’t find the bill text yet. Setting aside the part of the proposal that is about defenses to criminal liability, the discussion about civil liability makes it sound like qualified immunity is main barrier to liability. The main problem is instead the lack of a cause of action (i.e. Bivens). 1/2

This week I will be presenting a paper on “statutory backup rights” at the AALS annual meeting. A statutory backup right is a statute that codifies a constitutional right that is believed to be at risk of judicial abrogation. 1/2

I'm thrilled to share that the low-cost print copy of v2 of our open-access patent law casebook is now available. Check it out! The teal will be so pretty on your shelves-and the insides are pretty great, too, if you are interested in patent law. Aw, who am I kidding? It's objectively interesting!

Basque cheesecake is supposed to look burnt, but is it supposed to look possessed?

I’m pleased to report that Law & History Review’s The Docket has posted my short article, “Judge Platt Potter: Politics and Principle in Interbranch Conflict.” @lawandhistrev.bsky.social Short 🧵

We’re now more than half way through the 60-day deadline the 11th Circuit imposed on the district court after declaring “undue delay” in ruling on the Smith report.

Got to be a first for the shadow docket: an article on a GVR is the third item from the top on the NY Times website and app (as it currently displays to me, anyway). www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/n...

This line of questioning about, “Could Congress make EPA or Dept. Ed into an indep multimember commission?” is really striking, on the questioners’ side. Imperial Prez is no big deal; Congress exercising some authority over the shape of gov’t is beyond the pale, the ultimate reductio ad absurdum.

I like nonmutual defensive collateral estoppel and the LA Dodgers. I recognize that not all agree, so can someone who is good at the economy help me do an initial coin offering so I can make money off of counterparties to these opinions.

The #SCOTUS oral argument in Olivier v. City of Brandon, happening now, is pretty interesting. The justices are struggling with the broad language of Heck v. Humphrey and how following it here would lead to a pretty awkward result.

Introduce yourself with five concerts you’ve seen: 1. Violent Femmes 2. Ozomatli (before they were famous) 3. REM (at height of fame) 4. @eve6.bsky.social 5. Willie Nelson (at Houston Rodeo)

This week’s scorecard of German Idealism in legal documents: Kant 1 Hegel ? Left: Hunter Biden motion for default judgment Right: Judge Smith’s dissent in Texas redistricting case (Smith’s reference is obviously meant to be negative, but given the tenor of the dissent, how to score?)

It is officially “dogs trying to hide in raked-up piles of leaves” season.

Friday reading recommendation: my new article, “The Amended Statute,” which is now out with @uchilrev.bsky.social! Hope you’ll check it out! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I missed this when it was posted. Among my other things, some nice points about congressional reliance on Humphrey’s Executor:

Ok, make that two kings.

No kings but Mookie Betts.

Please help me get the word out about the new websites for Legal Theory Blog and the Legal Theory Lexicon. Reposting here and on other social media sites is great. It would be especially helpful if law school faculty members could send an email to their colleagues with the new addresses.

This morning SCOTUS heard Berk v. Choy, a Civil Procedure case about the Erie doctrine. The state requires an “affidavit of merit” to accompany medical malpractice complaints. Does it apply in federal court? I listened to the oral argument. Reactions in next post. Docket and briefs at this link:

The Supreme Court’s reference, in QP 2 in the Slaugher removal case, to “at equity or at law,” rather than using the traditional formulaic prepositions “in equity or at law” stands as a stark contrast to its embrace of “history and tradition.” In this essay I will … #pedantry

I went to the library to get High on Extraordinary Legal Remedies.

Given the Supreme Court’s grant of a stay (which allows FTC member’s ouster) and its grant of certiorari on the remedies question as well as on the merits of Humprey’s Executor, this from Sam Bray is sure timely: @dividedargument.bsky.social

A brag and a request for teaching ideas: I am honored to be this year’s Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching. The professorship comes with the duty to present lunchtime sessions to my colleagues on teaching-related themes. What ideas do you have?

They are now up to about a dozen of the ideas in this interesting series.

I found this to be a very helpful investigation of some of the practical issues in the impoundment litigation. www.yalejreg.com/nc/looming-m...