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
How I Approach Unpopular and Unconventional Legal Views
I try to follow my three guardrails.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Adopts Revised Rule 8.4(g), Without Seeking Public Comment, Over Dissent
Justice Mundy in dissent: "The proposed amendments fail to cure the Rule's unconstitutional nature."
People Who Feel More Productive When Working At Home Are Not The Best Judges Of Their Own Productivity
Managers and employees are clashing about working from home.
Joan Biskupic's SCOTUS Analysis Lacks Any Inside Information From Leaks
On the plus side, Chief Justice Roberts won't have to resign.
Judge Quattlebaum Eulogizes His CivPro Professor In Erie Case
"Hopefully, [Professor Howard B. Stravitz] would have joined in the dissent."
Is Chief Justice Roberts the Supreme Court's "Property Guy"?
The Chief has written many of the Court's property cases over the past decade.
Launching the new JoshBlackman.com
All of my publications, media appearances, classes, and speaking events, indexed for perpetuity.
Can The Assigning Justice "Direct" That An Opinion Must Be Published Per Curiam?
I had long assumed that choice was based on a consensus of the majority.
Texas Bar Will Not Seek Rehearing En Banc, Or Supreme Court Review, For Ruling Against Mandatory Dues
"We look forward to getting back to the trial court to bring this litigation to a conclusion."
Can the Attorney General's Daughter Clerk on the Supreme Court?
This ethical question was avoided after Attorney General Garland's daughter postponed her clerkship with Justice Kagan.
Coming Soon: A Planned Ten-Part Series About The Offices and Officers of the Constitution
Seth Barrett Tillman and I have planned a ten-part series that will explain the original public meaning of twelve clauses of the Constitution that refer to six categories of offices and officers.
SCOTUS Restores Rule 33.1 For Printed Copies of Briefs
Not a good sign for those hoping the pandemic made permanent changes to the Court's practices.
Judge David Stras: "How My Grandparents' Experience During the Holocaust Shaped My Views on the First Amendment"
"Judge David Stras joins us for a special address, reflecting on how his grandparents’ harrowing experiences during the Holocaust shaped his own beliefs and influenced his views on religious freedom, free speech, and the importance of the First Amendment."
Eleanor Roosevelt's Travel Cards
ER was a Skipper at the American Airlines Admirals Club, and was a loyal Sheraton guest.
Constitutional Places: The FDR Presidential Library
The library offered some balance with respect to Court Packing and Japanese Internment.
The Path Forward For The Texas DACA Case
A stay from the Fifth Circuit is unlikely. Do Justices Kavanaugh and/or Barrett have the "fortitude" to let the injunction go into effect?
My First Flight in 493 Days
For the first time in forever, from IAH to EWR.
Stephen Carter Writes About The Oral History of Justice Thurgood Marshall
"If I'd known I was going to live so long, I would've never given up smoking and drinking."
Britney Spears's New Attorney Clerked For Justice Souter on the NH Supreme Court
Yet, for reasons unknown, he scrubbed that line from his firm biography.
Trump on SCOTUS in Wolff's "Landslide"
Trump "was now annoyed at all the people who had prevented him from appointing Giuliani to the Court."
A Modest Proposal: Livestream SCOTUS Oral Arguments With 7-Second Tape Delay To Account for Disruptions
If, and when there is an outburst, the Court can put the broadcast on hold until order is restored.
Trump at CPAC: "We're getting some unexpected rulings because the nine justices do not want to be packed"
As usual, Trump says the quiet part out loud.
"There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to"
Michael Wolff on President Trump and Justice Kavanaugh.
The Constitutional Analysis Behind President Biden's Firing of the SSA Commissioner
OLC Acting Head Dawn Johnsen: "The President need not heed the Commissioner's statutory tenure protection."
A Constitutional Crisis in Haiti: Two People Claim To Be The Prime Minister
The law has run out.
11th Circuit Panel Squabbles Over The Word "Alien"
"Further, if we were to substitute the term 'alien' for 'noncitizen' in reference to specific statutory provisions, we risk stating the law inaccurately."
Two Upcoming Events at Heritage: Scholars and Scribes and Holocaust and the 1st Amendment
Today at 1 ET and Tuesday at 11 ET
