Josh Blackman is a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and the President of the Harlan Institute. Follow him @JoshMBlackman.
Josh Blackman
Latest from Josh Blackman
My Published Inaugural Edwin Meese III Originalism Lecture
"Originalism and Stare Decisis in the Lower Courts"
Some Unsolicited Advice on Abortion and the Religion Clauses
The Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Third-Party Harm Doctrine.
Now Justice Barrett Uses "Noncitizen" Instead of "Alien"
"Congress has comprehensively detailed the rules by which noncitizens may enter and live in the United States."
Justice Thomas on SCOTUS Leak: "You begin to look over your shoulder"
Thomas on the Rehnquist Court: “We may have been a dysfunctional family, but we were a family.”
House Hearing about Cyberattacks on Judiciary
"We are vulnerable."
More SCOTUS Leaks To Politico: Alito's Majority Still Holds Five, And No Other Draft Opinions Have Been Circulated Yet
These leaks from a "conservative" look designed to quell controversy.
Cancelling Henry de Bracton
If you don't like what Bracton said about abortion, wait till you read what he wrote about hunting foxes.
A Taxonomy To Measure Supreme Court Leaks
I offer a taxonomy to measure Supreme Court leaks, with three primary variables: (1) timing, (2) details, (3) impact.
Washington Post Reports On More SCOTUS Leaks
I have ten general observations.
Overruling Roe Would Extinguish A Judicially Created Right, But Would Restore The People's "Precious Right To Govern Themselves"
There is not a single definition of liberty.
Justice Alito Sends Recorded Video Message To Fifth Circuit Judicial Conference
"Unfortunately personal attendance became impractical, and I apologize for everyone for the change in plans."
Janus and Dobbs
The leaked opinion places the public "on notice . . . regarding this Court’s misgivings about" Roe.
Originalism In The Lower Courts: Is Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity Correct As An Original Matter?
Judge Ho: "There are good reasons to believe that the doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity is wrong as an original matter."
The Final Epicycle of Roe v. Wade
This ultimate breach in Court confidentiality provides yet one more reason why the Supreme Court must exit the arena of abortion.
Ex Parte Quirin: A Precedent When The Outcome Of a SCOTUS Case Is Already Known
What should SCOTUS do when everyone already knows the outcome of a case?
Judge James Buckley On a 1991 CADC Leak of Judge Thomas's Lamprecht Decision
"I refer to an article that appeared on September 30, 1991, in The Legal Times, which purported to report in some detail on the contents of preliminary drafts of the majority and dissenting opinions."
CJ Burger On Supreme Court Leaks in NY Times v. U.S.
"Yet I have little doubt as to the inherent power of the Court to protect the confidentiality of its internal operations by whatever judicial measures may be required."
I've Finished Reading The Apparent Dobbs Draft Opinion
The penultimate paragraph of Part IV provides the course of action going forward.
Chief Justice Roberts's "Long Game" Was Turned Upside Down In An Instant
Once again, the "fatal conceit" of the long game becomes clear.
Whodunnit?
Speculating on how the apparent Dobbs first draft from Feb. 10, 2022 was leaked.
Making Sense Of The Apparent Leaked Opinion In Dobbs
My instant reaction to Leakgate.
Politico Published An Apparent First Draft of Dobbs, Which Overruled Roe
The purported majority opinion by Justice Alito is 98-pages long.
Lemon, Avatars, and Irritable Observers
Justice Gorsuch's Shurtleff concurrence places yet another nail in Lemon's crypt.
Justice Alito Identifies The Problems With Justice Breyer's "Factorized" Jurisprudence
"And like any factorized analysis, this approach cannot provide a principled way of deciding cases."
Justice Breyer Takes a Flood v. Kuhn-Esque Detour On Boston Architecture
"Built in the late 1960s, Boston City Hall is a raw concrete structure, an example of the brutalist style."