If the wealthy can get you thinking about who deserves basic needs and who doesn't, they win. They don't care if you think wealthy people are the ones who don't deserve; establishing that it must be earned is the key. With that done, they can just keep expanding the definition of "undeserving."

Also true for legal writing

Get ready, New York. Cardi B will be judging YOUR jingles to help spread the word about universal childcare for 2 year olds — aka 2-K. Submit your song by April 17. Full guidelines at nyc.gov/jingle. (Tag #NYC2KJingle and @nycmayor if you post your jingle on social media.)

I mean it is kind of hard when you cut Medicaid by $1T to pay for tax cuts (regardless if we are at war or not)

Looking for some OTHER supreme court arguments to pay attention to? Check out @statecourtreport.org's state oral arguments to watch for in April, including a Maine ranked choice voting case being argued today. By @skess108.bsky.social & @erings.bsky.social statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

ONCE AGAIN sharing this important piece. The president does not run elections in America. That power belongs to Congress and the states. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

New Yorkers, join us in the first ever Mayor’s Municipal Madness: a competition of city fixes where everyone wins. Pick your fix and vote here: nyc.gov/madness

We are in the midst of an existential crisis of constitutionality and accountability, writes @law.ucla.edu's @jcschwartzprof.bsky.social. The ability to sue the government — and spotlighting all that such litigation can accomplish — is critically important.

@uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social staff attorney @bridgetlavender.bsky.social joins the Wisconsin Law in Action podcast for a deep dive into the challenges of researching, explaining and influencing state-level cases and statutes. Listen and subscribe: buff.ly/DcQvA39.

BREAKING: The PA Supreme Court holds that mandatory life without parole sentences for all "felony murder" convictions -- a sentence more than 1,000 people in PA are serving -- violates the state constitution's "cruel" punishment ban. This is GROUNDBREAKING: www.pacourts.us/assets/opini...

@uwlawdemocracy.bsky.social staff attorney @bridgetlavender.bsky.social commented on states pursuing bills prohibiting federal immigration agents from masking their faces. Read the full story: buff.ly/Gjud48r.

A few updates on DOJ's voter list suits: (1) Briefing in the CA, MI, and OR appeals will conclude in mid-to-late April. (2) CT hearing held yesterday (3/19). (3) WA hearing next week on whether DOJ failed to timely serve summons. The tracker has more regular updates: go.wisc.edu/93o421 24/

Miss our first Election Matters event of 2026? Watch “The Battle Over Mid-Decade Redistricting” on YouTube to hear legal and political experts break down the rise of mid-decade redistricting and what it could mean for elections across the country. 🔗 youtu.be/amNdLTIglRY

This really sucks

Elections for three state legislative seats in Florida are happening next week. All three lean red, but Democrats have been scoring upsets in districts with a similar partisan lean over the last year.

Happening today!!

We’re gathering outside City Hall to send a clear message: New Yorkers deem libraries essential, and our city’s budget should reflect that! Join us and make your voice heard! 📅 Tuesday, March 18 ⏰ 9:00 AM 📍 Outside City Hall actionnetwork.org/events/budge...

Father of six, grabbed in front of his crying children as he was about to take them to school.

Good morning, I am excited to share a project today that I've been working on for the past few months. The Warehouse Exhibition Opens in NYC at Bedford Library on April 4 - www.thewarehousenyc.com

I have had COUNTLESS convos where reporters ask me “okay but Trump hasn’t actually deported as many people as Biden (or Obama), right?” and what I try to stress in response is “the real story is how hard it is, and getting harder, for us even to know.” Must-read. apnews.com/article/trum...

NEW: They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth. Two Florida women had to attend virtual court hearings while in labor to argue for their right to choose their own medical care. By @amyyurkanin.bsky.social

I read the “Save America Act,” so you don’t have to. Most of the media apparently *hasn’t* read it because, if they had, they would be sounding the alarm about the provision in Point 1, below, which almost none of them have even mentioned. I hope this summary helps raise awareness. 1/

glad to see this analysis! even though the CA mask ban was enjoined, the basis for doing so was because of a last-min carveout exempting state officers. the decision on relevant question —whether enforcing mask bans against fed officers violates the supremacy clause —was a win. 🧵👇👇

This point was missed in a lot of the news coverage of the decision.

A federal court has prohibited California from enforcing its mask ban against federal officers. A loss for California. But the opinion is actually a win for states across the country seeking to ban masking—like Washington, which recently passed a ban through both chambers of the legislature. 🧵 1/

The perfect headline doesn’t exi…

LAW STUDENTS & RECENT GRADS: Interested in a state supreme court clerkship? Join us on March 19 at 3pm ET for a virtual event where you can hear from justices across the country about the application process and what it's like to clerk. Register below! www.brennancenter.org/events/what-...

The strongest arguments against qualified immunity reform are that lawsuit costs would skyrocket and officer retention would plummet. Alex Reinert, Jim Pfander, and I studied qualified immunity reforms in Colorado and New Mexico and can report: the sky is not falling. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

State constitutions shape young people’s lives — from voting to LGBTQ+ policy to climate action to our schools. Yet fewer than half of Americans know their state has one. Join State Court Report at @sxswedu.com for a panel on how constitutions can empower and protect young people.

To me, the NY redistricting case feels like a constitutional crisis in miniature. The Supreme Court is issuing orders it "cannot" issue, Sotomayor explains in her dissent. Yet it did so anyway. So how should the NY courts react to an order that should never have issued?

I agree, quite apart from the merits of the case. Alito could only defend the Supreme Court's authority to intervene by grievously misrepresenting the facts. The reality is that there's no plausible argument SCOTUS had the power to do what it did. Why didn't that matter to six justices?

I've met parents selling plasma or going without electricity just to keep a roof over their children's heads. From California to Ohio, school districts have opened "safe parking lots" for homeless students and their families. The line between "housed" and "unhoused" has become shockingly porous.

Today, it’s almost impossible to sue federal officers for money damages if they violate your constitutional rights. As @harrisonstark.bsky.social explains in this Lawfare piece, state law could offer a solution through so-called “converse 1983” legislation. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/can-...

Breaking WaPo: Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.

An excellent question that I looked up the answer to, bc I was curious as well! there were only 154 prosecutions of voter fraud in Texas between 2004 and 2021, out of 94 million votes cast—several thousandths of one percent 🙃 ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

Federalism can't work under these conditions. State court should be safe for all. And many people — from defendants to victims to other witnesses — need to be able to go to state court without fear that doing so will result in their apprehension by ICE. www.startribune.com/white-house-...

“The climate scientists we surveyed were unambiguous: current economic models can’t capture what matters most – the cascading failures and compounding shocks that define climate risk in a warmer world – and could undermine the very foundations of economic growth.” Should be the top story everyday.

New York: it is colder today than in parts of Antarctica. Stay inside, stay warm, stay safe. If you see a neighbor in need, call 311.

Today I'm releasing probably the most important scholarly thing I've ever worked on - a report based on talking with 144 people about why they don't vote or only vote regularly, and on what needs to be done to build a democracy that can include everyone. www.swarthmore.edu/u... please share!

On a night of life-threatening cold, a homeless person entered a Lansing bus station seeking refuge from the freezing temperatures. Video shows police slamming them to the ground and pinning them with knees on their neck as they plead, "I'm here because it's cold outside, and I have nowhere to go."

California recently banned federal law enforcement officials (including ICE) from wearing masks or concealing their identities. At least 17 other states have proposed similar laws. The federal government claims that these laws are unconstitutional. Is that right? Well, it's complicated 🧵 1/

NEW: Special elections in the razor-thin Democratic majority-Houses in Maine and Pennsylvania. Billions of dollars in funding for school. A congressional primary. There are plenty of important elections right around corner, in FEBRUARY. So i put together my monthly guide of elections to watch:

It seems timely to re-re-up this crystal clear Nov. 2025 @lawfaremedia.org article explaining precisely when federal officers can and cannot be criminally prosecuted by state authorities. It's by @bgodar.bsky.social of Univ of Wisconsin www.lawfaremedia.org/article/are-...

To learn more about states’ powers in this moment, check out our checks on federal overreach pieces, including on state prosecutions of federal officials and on DOJ’s efforts to access state voter rolls (which Bondi raised in her MN letter yesterday) statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/research-exp...

On Lawfare Daily, @annabower.bsky.social spoke with @cshaplaw.bsky.social and @bgodar.bsky.social about the state of Minnesota’s jurisdiction to criminally investigate Jonathan Ross, the ICE official who reportedly shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7. youtu.be/YzmBR71KPW8

Homelessness is rising fast among a surprising group: Infants and toddlers hechingerreport.org/homelessness...

This, by @yeargain.bsky.social, looks super interesting and, better yet, incredibly useful. It's the kind of 50-state-constitutions survey that we at IJ often say "you know, that would be a really helpful article if only someone would write it."

The time to prepare for severe winter weather this weekend is now. Especially if you don't have a means to heat your home without power.

Incredible resource! My state supreme court clerkship was an absolutely incredible experience, but the process of getting it was incredibly confusing. This resource is the type of thing I dreamed of when I was a 2L!

Fascinating new cert grant just dropped.