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
Classes #22: Equal Protection I and Eminent Domain
Brown, Bolling, Cooper, Kelo
An Imagined #SCOTUS Group Chat for McKesson v. Doe
Certification from the Shadow Docket
Classes #21: Due Process Clause III and Zoning IV
West Coast Hotel, Carolene Products, Lee Optical, Village of Belle Terra, Mt. Laurel
Spheres of Liberty and Free Exercise: Lessons for Fulton from Jefferson's Correspondence with Ursuline Nuns
A guest post on Fulton v. City of Philadelphia from Professor Stephanie Barclay (Notre Dame)
How do you pronounce the "v." in a case name: like the letter "V" or like "versus"?
I settled on a rule. When the name of the first party is one syllable, I use "v." When the name of the first party is more than one syllable, I use "versus."
Some tentative thoughts on possible remedies in the Harris County curbside voting case.
Option #1: Count the votes. Option #2: Discard the votes. Option #3: Hold a do-over election.
Which outcome would forestall Court packing longer? A Trump victory or a Biden victory?
The Chief Justices's calculations are not so obvious.
Cancellation by Citation
Scholars will simply stop citing (slavery) case. That outcome is a feature, not a bug, of an apparent Bluebook change. How else will citations be used to cast moral judgments?
A Game Changer for Zoom Classes: Live Transcription by Otter.ai
Otter.ai will automatically add closed-captions to your Zoom screen, and create an interactive transcript in real time.
Judge Torruella, the Lone First Circuit Judge in Puerto Rico, Passed Away
There is no statutory requirement that his successor must reside in Puerto Rico.
Briefs filed in Lebovits v. Cuomo and Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo
Briefs filed by the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Justice Barrett: "I love the Constitution and the democratic republic that it establishes, and I will devote myself to preserving it."
"A judge declares independence not only from Congress and the President, but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her."
The Timing of DNC v. Wisconsin State Legislature
The Supreme Court released its opinion about thirty minutes before now-Justice Barrett was confirmed.
The Seventh Rule of Court Packing Is To Rule Out Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices
Biden: "It's a lifetime appointment. I'm not going to attempt to change that at all... But I have made no judgment, my word."
The Sixth Rule of Court Packing is Appoint A Commission To Recommend Court Packing
Biden: "If elected, what I will do is I'll put together a national commission."
Fun Facts About Judge David C. Westenhaver of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (1865-1928)
The Wilson appointee presided over the sedition trial of Eugene Debs and declared unconstitutional the Village of Euclid's zoning code
Classes #18: The Scope of the 14th Amendment III and Zoning I
Yick Wo, Plessy, and Village of Euclid
ACB on RAP
Doug Kmiec writes that his former student, Amy Coney, "deftly answered" questions about the Rule Against Perpetuities.
Classes #17: The Scope of the 14th Amendment II and Covenants IV
Strauder v. West Virginia, the Civil Rights Cases, Sanborn v. McLean, Shelley v. Kraemer, Western Land v. Truskolaski
One week away from Justice Barrett's (likely) confirmation, the Court 4-4's an appeal from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The application for a stay was filed on 9/28, and the briefing completed on 10/6. 13 days later, the Court was unable to break a deadlock.
Justice Kavanaugh asks his former clerk, Assistant SG Rebecca Taibleson, if Justice Scalia, her other former boss, was correct about originalism.
The only answer to that question is "Yes, the boss was right."
Cancelling Dianne Feinstein
Embraced by Lindsey Graham, but not by San Francisco Public Schools
A Thought Experiment: Allow Cameras in the Supreme Court, But Only Admit People from the Public from a Lottery
At this point, I think the protesters are the biggest risk to adding cameras in the Court.
