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.
Ask Jeeves
How would The Butler vote?
Josh Blackman
Latest from Josh Blackman
Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! The October Term 2026 of FantasySCOTUS is now in session
Predict all of the biggest cases at the Supreme Court.
The 15th Annual Harlan Institute Virtual Supreme Court Competition
Teams of high school students will present arguments about the constitutionality of the Texas Ten Commandments Law.
Alito Hints That The Dobbs Leaker Knew A Member of the Majority Would Be Subject To Assassination
This strongly suggests Alito does not think a conservative leaked to "lock in" the votes.
Federal Circuit Again Excludes Judge Newman From Group Photo
The stealth impeachment continues.
Comparing the Credentials Of Three Decades of Fifth Circuit Nominees
The Butler didn't do it.
How Would A Judge Butler Actually Affect The Fifth Circuit? (Updated)
I would prefer Judge Southwick to have one vote rather than two votes.
Todd Butler Compared Street Preacher In Supreme Court Case To "Domestic Terrorism"
The case was a dry dispute about jurisdiction. There was no reason to impugn the preacher's faith.
Todd Butler's Problematic Publications
He consistently attacks Justice Scalia, as advancing his "own political agenda."
When Judges Pick Their Law Clerks As Replacements
Judge Southwick announces he will take senior status, and two days later President Trump nominates Southwick's former clerk.
Somehow the N.Y. Times Made Me Sympathetic To Chief Justice Roberts
Jodi Kantor's latest expose tells us nothing about the Court's decision but does destroy John Roberts's last refuge from scoundrels like me.
District Court Declares Vacatur (Likely) Unconstitutional
"Even if Congress were to enact a law clearly empowering Article III courts to vacate agency rules or regulations and automatically cause their erasure from the Code of Federal Regulations, vacatur would likely still be inconsistent with the limited nature of the judicial power and the non-delegability of core legislative power to the judiciary."
SCOTUS Stays Third-Party Removal Injunction 40 Minutes After Reply Filed
It seems the Justices worked out a plan before the briefing concluded.
The Supreme Court's two decades of constitutional change
"People tend to think the times they are living in are the most unprecedented and unpredictable, but that is rarely the case."
A Few More Thoughts On The Missouri Ruling
When electoral chaos is on the horizon, nothing else matters.
Because KBJ Denied Administrative Stay in Third-Country Removal Case, The Application Should Be Referred To The Full Court Now
Justice Jackson gave the respondents a leisurely four days to respond.
New In Civitas: The Smithsonian Should Be Privatized
The Smithsonian Should Declare Its Independence from the Federal Government
Chief Justice Rehnquist and Chief Justice Roberts Did Not See Eye-to-Eye About Dames & Moore v. Regan
In the South Texas Law Review, Rehnquist described his opinion in Dames & Moore as "similarly important" to Gibbons v. Ogden. His law clerk, and future Chief Justice, would disagree.
The Lightning Docket
The Circuit Justice, like Zeus on Mount Olympus, instantly strikes down wayward lower courts with a bolt of lightning.
New Article: Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections: Bringing Clarity To The Necessary and Proper Clause
"This decision, which may be the “sleeper” case of the term, should come to be viewed as a landmark separation of powers decision on par with Lopez, Morrison, Printz, and NFIB."
Not Using A Smartphone Burdens Others
It is increasingly difficult to function in society without a phone. So I'll turn mine off.
Seven Federal Judges From Minnesota Talk To The N.Y. Times About Trump Administration
“It’s the rule of law. If you don’t have it, you have either anarchy or you have authoritarianism. You have Russia or you have China or you have North Korea.”
Nearly 50% of West Bank Palestinians Says Israel Does Not Have A Right To Exist
What "From The River To The Sea" Actually Means
Trump Goes Postal On Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett
What did the Justices tell Trump during their interviews to make the President think otherwise?
New in SCOTUSBlog: "Break The Supreme Court Law Clerk Cartel"
"This is the eighth and final piece in a series on what I believe the court can, and should, do better."
Texas Surrogacy Case Comes To The Emergency Docket
California couple who wanted to abort their surrogate child now seek to remove one-month old baby to California where they could put him in hospice care.
