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
The Shortsighted Complaint at Stanford Law School
This attempt at a "Gotcha" moment backfired.
"The 'Essential' Free Exercise Clause" Has Been Published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
124 pages will take you from the onset of the pandemic through Tandom v. Newsom
Rutgers Law School SBA Tried to Force Student Organizations to Host Events on Critical Racial Theory
Fortunately, the SBA backed down after FIRE intervened.
Announcing A Tri-Journal Note Exchange Between the NYU Journal of Law & Liberty, the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, and the Texas Review of Law & Politics
I commend the journals for this forward-thinking move, and encourage other law schools to establish journals for conservative, libertarian, textualist, originalist, and classical liberal scholarship.
The Risks When Law School Deans Go Woke
Deans who go woke will alienate conservative donors. Deans who refuse to go woke will alienate progressive faculties and students.
New York is considering adopting ABA Model Rule 8.4(g)
I submitted a comment with Professors Volokh and Strossen.
The Fifth Circuit Has Launched a YouTube Channel for Oral Arguments
For the past month, the Fifth Circuit has posted oral argument audio on YouTube.
Justice Sotomayor Expurgates The Word "Alien" From a Justice Marshall Decision
This trend towards legal newspeak troubles me. Any language--past or present--that offends some must be canceled.
DOJ Releases Redacted OLC Opinion Following Review of the Special Counsel's Report
"Accordingly, were there no constitutional barrier, we would recommend, under the Principles of Federal Prosecution, that you decline to commence such a prosecution."
John Marshall Law School Cancels John Marshall
"Despite Chief Justice Marshall’s legacy as one of the nation’s most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence, and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the Law School.”
Have Senate Republicans Determined That Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Poses Less of a Threat Than Justice Leondra Kruger?
KBJ's confirmation hearing was surprisingly uneventful, and two SJC Republicans voted for her.
My New Eight-Display Workstation with 4K and UltraWide Monitors
I added a 49" 32:9 Ultrawide HDR Display, and two 4K 32" Ergo Monitors.
Texas's Fetal Heartbeat Bill Has Many Private Attorneys General, But Lacks a Public Attorney General
The federal courts will lack jurisdiction over pre-enforcement suits against state officials.
Pennsylvania Voters Approve Restrictions on Governor's Emergency Powers
Disaster declarations can only last 21 days, instead of 90. A simple majority of lawmakers can terminate a disaster declaration.
Let's talk about stare decisis on the Warren Court
Gorsuch: "The dissent may prefer decisions within a particular 30-year window."
Justice Kagan Skewers Justice Kavanaugh's "Scorekeeping" through Virtue Signaling
But in the process, she undermined the basis for Chief Justice Roberts's quixotic "long game."
From Ramos to Edwards in 13 months
Ramos v. Louisiana held that the 6th Amendment protects the right to a unanimous jury. And Edwards v. Vannoy held that right should not apply retroactively.
On May 18, 2016, Donald Trump Released His First SCOTUS Shortlist
Know who wasn't on the OG list? Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
BP v. Baltimore Provides a Lengthy Escape Hatch From State Court
Step 1: File notice of removal. Step 2: Appeal remand order. Step 3: Seek rehearing of affirmance of remand order. Step 4: Seek certiorari from denial of rehearing en banc. Step 5: Go back to state court three years after complaint was filed.
The Unanimous Supreme Court Favorably Cites NFIB v. Sebelius
Justice Kagan's majority opinion in CIC Services v. IRS was only the second majority opinion to cite NFIB, after King v. Burwell. And do we have a preview of California v. Texas?
Caniglia v. Strom was a subtle, and unanimous victory for originalism
The Burger Court made up the "community caretaking exception" to the warrant requirement in Cady v. Dombrowski. Justice Thomas declined to extend that unoriginalist doctrine to the home.
On the 125th Anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson, NY Times Publishes Op-Ed on Justice Harlan
"He did more than anyone since the Continental Army to enshrine dissent as an American tradition and a badge of honor, and showed that history would look positively on those who voice truth in the face of even a seemingly monolithic consensus — something today’s leaders can take to heart."
Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh Recuse from Guantanamo Bay Case
With the right petition, we could see recusals from Justices Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Jackson
Justice Breyer to Court Packers: Not on My Watch
Justice Breyer writes in new book that "measures to restructure the Court could undermine both the Court and the constitutional system of checks and balances that depends on it."
The Chief Justice's Last Bulwark of Moderation: Limiting and Reframing Questions Presented
In cases concerning guns and abortion, the Court has restricted the questions presented, perhaps, to achieve moderation.
Once again, Justice Barrett lines up with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh
Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch would have allowed Ohio and 18 other states to intervene and defend Title X rule.
Random House Cancels Historian's Book Contract For Not Writing About Black Historians
Richard Cohen added 18,000 words on Black historians, but his contract was still cancelled.
