good news mister president

I'm teaching Con Law 2 (rights) this summer. Anyone have any big picture first day of class reading suggestions?

Your reminder that the House unanimously passed a federal shield bill in January 2024, and then Schumer sat on it - even after the 2024 election - and the Senate just let it die. freedom.press/issues/dems-...

Newsletter: As the president’s family’s shady dealings continue to mount, SEC enforcement actions have collapsed to twenty-year lows. The CFTC says it doesn’t need staff when it has AI. www.citationneeded.news/issue-104/

the one problem with writing about things that are very much live issud is that they keep getting worse while you write. had that with the press economics piece. now the gambling piece.

Forbes is gamifying news about the horrific mass shooting in Shreveport, LA this weekend, encouraging readers to bet on the likelihood of gun regulation with fake money via its "ForbesPredict" feature. Eight children were murdered in the shooting. futurism.com/future-socie...

This is an attempt to create diversity jurisdiction so the case can proceed in federal court. Patel lives in DC so it will turn on whether--I kid you not--he formed an intent to remain in DC indefinitely when establishing a DC residence.

Here is a more serious take: confidentiality is one of those norms that is respected within systems in which everyone agrees on the rules of the game and trusts that others are following the rules in good faith.

regardless of the merits these people just don't understand defamation at all

point taken, but fwiw "did James Madison support government funding of religious institutions" also happens to be one of the easiest questions of all time

we have to destroy this. Burn it. Salt the earth.

literally every day my wife or I go outside with our daughter people go out of their way to be friendly, offer aid or a kind word, no matter where we've traveled. it's nice to remember that hostility as default mode of interaction is not destiny, much as it benefits some to pretend it is

some things about becoming a parent are radicalizing in ways I expected - e.g being reminded viscerally how screwed we'd all be if childcare and other care work disappeared. but other things are radicalizing in ways I didn't - like experiencing constant spontaneous solidarity in ways big and small

that's right

they should find someone from a culture that can write

Part of the same thread:

Apparently the Pope has read Baudrillard.

1/9 of 1/3 of the government has the expressly stated understanding that his job is to literally make the lives of 5/8 of the country miserable. you don't have to tolerate this

no I'm not playing marathon I'm working. For example right now I am extracting meaningful value from archived legal records.

Incredible story about the arrogant and lawless men who have boiled our planet

Why was Aaron Gordon on the floor with two fouls in the first quarter? Why was he posting up Mike Conley? What were the nuggets thinking?

Interesting piece arguing that data brokers who sell to government agencies are state actors. I'd just add that the government entities who purchase data from brokers are (obviously) also state actors to whom the Constitution applies.

“democracy has a right to approach the sanctuary of the courts when a special interest has corruptly found sanctuary there” Theodore Roosevelt

it's interesting because my read is almost precisely the opposite: the candid acknowledgment that they know perfectly well how they're going to vote from the petition

Most striking to me about these memos is the radically different assessment of the harm imposed by the president not being able to pursue his initiatives. Over the last 15 mos., that harm has in numerous cases been treated as almost per se serious and irreparable. Here, it gets no analysis at all.

my "your understanding that my client does not deny this is not correct or incorrect" email is raising a lot of questions that are or are not answered by my email

Are you suggesting that the Court is twisting irreparable harm to suit its purposes, and isn’t being consistent in how it either measures or balances this critical concept?

oh the vra decision is gonna be *bad* bad

bear suit suit bears fruit

bear suit bears suit

I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things, but talked about why I think law schools need to teach people how to make law and not just litigate under it.

this @ballsandstrikes.org piece by @slukemorgan.bsky.social is excellent, well worth the read ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...

Fascinating paragraph from Scott Alexander, where he admits he’s the dog that caught the car

There's only one correct take on Sotomayor/Kavanaugh and it is available only to my premium subscribers because it is too powerful to post

shout out to the students taking full advantage of our new bulletin boards

Texas' only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years: www.texasobserver.org/immigration-...

My take on Chiles:

My contributions are finally being recognized

here's some crimes you can be tough on: corruption

I’m glad Mason went on the record about this. I taught his section of 1Ls. Just imagine asking a student a question in class—any question at all—and imagine how it will affect their answer when they know their classmates are actively “vetting” for future employers whether they are “solid.”

(this post was referenced in the 5-4 episode on Chiles)

My take on Chiles:

Most chilling effects scholarship focuses on law's direct inhibition of speech. @penney.bsky.social new book asks a harder question: what about the indirect effects on conformity and power? We discuss on this week's Law Bytes podcast.

they absolutely did not avoid even the appearance of profiting from their office.

it's happening "PhD degree in Climatology or Atmospheric Sciences" "Deep knowledge of the mortgage business"

Does anyone here know Robert Putnam? I'd like to take him on a ten-minute drive. Having encountered the near-homocidal sociopathy of the average Durham, NC driver he will yearn to bowl alone.

Either way, it conditions people to expect the arbitrary and immobile dictates of an entity as defining factors of life; a surer road to serfdom than anything the government could make