In Chatrie, I found the discussion about whether reaching the "search" question was appropriate to be interesting. At the other place, @epps.bsky.social noted that he thought it was appropriate to allow law to evolve. I tend to agree. But it points to a larger issue in 4A litigation. 🧵1/

My thoughts on Hemani: www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/a-vi...

We’re starting a space company. Fast tracking an IPO with an anticipated trillion-dollar valuation . Who wants in?

Now in beta: explore all years of reported entry-level law school hiring data by doing your own slicing and dicing. www.lawskyprojects.org/explore

It was so much fun to be a guest on the Drugs on the Docket podcast alongside my colleague, @jacobdcharles.bsky.social We discussed Hemani, the pending SCOTUS case involving a 2A challenge to the federal statute banning gun possession by unlawful drug users. 🔗👇🏻

Grading begins. Bird by bird.

It is an honor to receive this year’s Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship.

I’m excited to share that my latest article, “The Multidimensions of AI Chatbots as Evidence,” is now forthcoming in the U.C. Davis Law Review. The abstract is below, and I plan to have it up on SSRN soon.

SCOOP: Federal judiciary approves new Supreme Court defender office to help represent indigent defendants at #SCOTUS. Its full-time director will serve as a counterweight to the U.S. solicitor general in federal criminal cases. The first will be former Kagan clerk and SG atty Ashley Robertson.

Yale Law Journal (@yalelawjournal.bsky.social) will be publishing my latest, “The New Criminal Docket and the Clemency Court.” It explores how SCOTUS is no longer using its criminal merits docket for broad constitutional reform, opting instead for targeted relief for the fortunate few.

I'll be live blogging this morning's oral argument in Hemani over at @scotusblog.com. Argument begins at 10 am ET. Join me there! www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/oral...

Check out my colleague @joeljohnson13.bsky.social’s fascinating post on how the Supreme Court’s analysis in the tariff’s case should impact the way Court decides the major Second Amendment case that will be argued next week 👇👇 open.substack.com/pub/divideda...

My thoughts on the Learning Resources and Hemani over at @dividedargument.bsky.social: blog.dividedargument.com/p/guest-post...

Thanks for the shoutout, @espinsegall.bsky.social! In addition to the amicus brief, I shared my views on Hemani here: bsky.app/profile/joel...

Another! The District of Puerto Rico FPD Office is hiring an appellate attorney! Your wardrobe will include sandals for San Juan and a parka for oral argument trips to Boston! www.fd.org/sites/defaul...

Pepperdine Law Review - Annual Volume is now open and accepting submissions on Scholastica! Submit your article here: https://pepperdine-law-review-essays.scholasticahq.com/for-authors #LRSubmissions

Very excited that the Pepperdine Law Review will be hosting a symposium @pepperdine.bsky.social Caruso School of Law on 3/27, "The Second Amendment After Bruen & Rahimi: Revisiting History & Tradition"! We have a great lineup; register ⬇️ & stay tuned for updates. law.pepperdine.edu/law-review/s...

BIG IN THE 4A WORLD: The Supreme Court has granted cert in Chatrie, the geofence warrant case, to decide the following Q: "Whether the execution of the geofence warrant violated the Fourth Amendment." (I assume this includes both whether a "search" happened and whether the warrant was lawful.)

How often can you read amicus briefs from colleagues at the same law school arguing for opposite sides in the same case?? Check out Joel’s super interesting brief urging the Court not to even reach the 2nd Am q. My amicus brief (w/ other 2A scholars) is here: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

I’ve filed an amicus brief in Hemani, the pending case involving a #SecondAmendment challenge to 18 USC 922(g)(3). The case is perceived as a sequel to Bruen and Rahimi. My brief argues that the Court can avoid the constitutional thicket by narrowly construing the statute. 🧵

Excited to announce that my book, REVOLUTION IN REDLINE, is finally out! I compile key docs leading to the Founding, then present the Founding Docs in "redline," visually tracking the drafters' edits to show how the text evolved. (The Founders didn't start from scratch, and they disagreed often.)1/6

It was a treat to celebrate Prof. Dick Howard, for whom I worked as a research assistant while in law school. He received the ABA Kutak Award in recognition of his incredible career.

It was an honor to receive the Emerging Scholar Award from the AALS Legislation Section — especially while seated next to Bill Eskridge and Mary Ann Bernard (Phil Frickey’s widow). Thanks @kevintobia.bsky.social for the kind words about my work.

Later this week at #AALS, I’ll be presenting my new paper, The New Criminal Docket and the Clemency Court. The paper examines how the contemporary Supreme Court curates and resolves its criminal merits docket—and how that practice has quietly changed. 🧵

Check out the @scotusblog.com post from my brilliant colleague @joeljohnson13.bsky.social on the upcoming 2nd Am case! Altho the Court could clarify the statute (& vagueness doctrine), I think there's real need for SCOTUS to clarify (ahem, vague) 2nd Am doctrine. www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/an-o...

My take on Hemani, the pending Second Amendment case on the criminal prohibition on gun possession for “unlawful users.” Over at SCOTUSblog. www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/an-o...

I’m thrilled to see my latest, Major-Questions Lenity, in print in the Minnesota Law Review. 🔗 to the article ⬇️

Over the next couple days, I’ll be participating in the Vanderbilt Law Criminal Justice Roundtable. It promises to be a great event with some terrific scholars and papers. I’m especially looking forward to hearing @richardre.bsky.social’s comments on my draft paper, “The Clemency Court.”

This is madness. Today we had to send a message to our 1L students telling them it’s not a great idea to use the first drafts of their first legal writing assignments because the new OCI timeline is so early they are wondering if they should. #LegalWriting

@johnpelwood.bsky.social correctly notes that some of the pending cases involving 2A challenges to 922(g)(3) have been relisted. But for reasons I point out in my amicus brief, Harris v. United States is better vehicle than any of the relisted petitions. bsky.app/profile/joel...

It was a treat for me to interview @kannonshanmugam.bsky.social a few weeks ago, as part of the William French Lecture Series at Pepperdine. For those interested, the video of the interview is now available here: tinyurl.com/ym2ch986

This morning, I filed a cert-stage amicus brief in support of the petitioner in Harris v. United States, one of several pending petitions raising a Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), which makes it a crime for an "unlawful user" of drugs to possess a firearm. 🧵

This morning, I filed a cert-stage amicus brief in support of the petitioner in Harris v. United States, one of several pending petitions raising a Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), which makes it a crime for an "unlawful user" of drugs to possess a firearm. 🧵

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.

Honored to win the inaugural Emerging Scholar Award from the AALS Legislation and Law of the Political Process Section — based on my article Ad Hoc Constructions of Penal Statutes in the Notre Dame Law Review. 🔗⬇️

I’m very much looking forward to this event tomorrow at Pepperdine with my friend and mentor, @kannonshanmugam.bsky.social. Join us tomorrow morning at 11 am!

This semester, I’ve been experimenting with ways to use AI to enhance my work as a law professor. Here's a clip from a video explainer of one of my law review articles — Dealing with Dead Crimes, which was published in the Georgetown Law Journal in 2022. 🧵

This semester, I’ve been experimenting with ways to use AI to enhance my work as a law professor. Here's a clip from a video explainer of one of my law review articles — Dealing with Dead Crimes, which was published in the Georgetown Law Journal in 2022. 🧵

A reminder that winning at SCOTUS does not mean you win the case. The plaintiff in Barnes v Felix, who was shot by the police, and won in the Supreme Court a few months ago, loses his case on summary judgment. www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...

In my Criminal Procedure class this semester, I've been showing slides with AI-generated images depicting the facts of the key cases (not always accurately). The students get a kick out of them. And I think they have pedagogical value. Here are some favorites so far: 🧵

It's very hard to square Justice Kavanaugh's reasonable-suspicion analysis in his concurring opinion in Noem v. Vasquez with Florida v. J.L. (2000). 🧵

Case Viewer, my quirky side project of building my ideal legal search & reading app, has come a long way. With lots of help, it's grown into the best way to find & read cases on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Check it out or download on the App Store below. And follow @CaseViewerApp for updates!

Pepperdine Law is hiring and considering scholars at all levels: entry level, untenured lateral, tenured lateral, and 2 chair positions. I'll share posts for each one. I'm on the hiring committee and chairing the lateral hiring subcommittee so feel free to reach out to me with questions.

My classrooms are set for the first day of this semester’s classes. I’ll be teaching a double header on Tuesday and Thursday mornings—Criminal Procedure immediately followed by Statutory Interpretation. A few brave students are joining me in both.

Occasionally while toiling away in my office, I remember I’m in Malibu. Doing some line editing at the beach this afternoon.

Some reflections from me on the passing of Judge T.S. Ellis, III, for whom I clerked. 🔗👇

The latest installment of my column on the Supreme Court’s criminal docket is now live on ABA Criminal Justice Magazine’s site. 🔗 👇🏻