Josh Blackman is a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston and the President of the Harlan Institute. Follow him @JoshMBlackman.
Josh Blackman
Latest from Josh Blackman
Tablet Magazine on Tillman: "A thinker whose mind hasn't been corrupted by politics."
Tillman on most things: "There are multiple aspects of the standard narrative ... that just don’t make any sense and that people just have mindlessly repeated for almost two centuries now,”
New Amicus Brief: Special Counsel Jack Smith Is Not An "Officer of the United States"
At most, Smith’s temporary position is properly characterized as a mere “employee.” To paraphrase Justice Scalia’s Morrison v. Olson dissent, this employee came as an employee.
Harlan Institute-Ashbrook Virtual Supreme Court Finalists
The top 8 teams presented oral argument in Moody v. NetChoice.
Progressive Lawyers Engage In Actual Judge Shopping In Alabama
"Surreptitious Steps" to draw a Carter appointee in a deep red state demonstrate why the Judicial Conference's policy would not work.
Justice Barrett's concurrence in McCraw will increase the number of emergency appeals on the Shadow Docket
The Shadow Docket giveth, The Shadow Docket taketh away
Who is responsible for the 5th Circuit's alleged "troubling habit of leaving 'administrative' stays in place for weeks if not months"?
The worst offender is not Jim Ho, but Carl Stewart.
The Sequel to Doe v. Mills: Justice Barrett Tightens The Screws On The Shadow Docket
The center of the Court wants to push back on temporary administrative stays and the Fifth Circuit.
The Priorities of the Judicial Conference of the United States
Rather than addressing bankruptcy and patent forum and judge shopping, on which there is a large bipartisan consensus, the Judicial Conference rushed through a botched proposal in response to political pressure and Twitter noise.
A Numbers Game: Who Would The Judicial Conference's New Policy Help And Who Would It Hurt?
It will be harder for conservative litigants in blue states and liberal litigants in red states to obtain statewide relief. It will be harder for conservative litigants in red states to obtain nationwide relief. Liberal litigants will have virtually unchanged odds to obtain nationwide relief.
Where does the Judicial Conference Get the Authority To Mandate Case Assignments?
A general power to issue orders to judicial employees does not trump a specific power for district courts to make their own rules about case assignments.
How Many Judges Sit In Single Judge Divisions?
And how many of those judges have issued national injunctions?
Senators McConnell, Cornyn, and Tillis Send Letters To Chief Judges About Judicial Conference "Policy"
"It is Congress that decides how cases should be assigned in the inferior courts and Congress has already spoken on this issue in an enacted statute."
The Judicial Conference's New "Policy" Demonstrates Why Judges Should Not Make Policy
The way to depoliticize the courts is to depoliticize the courts.
The Judicial Conference Legislates From The Shadow Docket
The Chief Justice and his associates target only one type of forum shopping in response to political criticism through a secret policy that will not be released for months.
Events on Section 3 in Texas, before and after Trump v. Anderson
Last week I spoke at UT about the case before it was decided. Today I spoke at A&M after the case was decided.
If Trump Prevails, How Will Section 3 Be Litigated On Or After January 20, 2025?
Even under the Trump v. Anderson per curiam opinion, Section 3 can be raised as a defense without the need for federal implementing legislation. But the Supreme Court may still avoid ruling on the merits.
The Modern Supreme Court Agrees With Chief Justice Chase: Trump Cannot Be Removed From The Presidential Ballot
From the outset of the litigation, Blackman & Tillman's argument was that Griffin's Case bars the relief sought by the Colorado voters.
Part II - A Response to Professor Jed Shugerman on Slate in 2017, and his most recent 2024 Tweet Thread(s), About The 1793 Hamilton Document!
Professor Shugerman's argument that the 1793 Hamilton Document, that is, a list of "every person holding any civil office or employment under the United States, (except the judges)," was intended to ensure compliance with the Constitution's Sinecure Clause lacks support.
SCOTUS will announce opinions on Monday "on the homepage."
But the "Court will not take the Bench."
Harlan Institute-Ashbrook Virtual Supreme Court Semifinalists
20 Teams of HS Students presented oral argument in Moody v. NetChoice
