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
N.Y. Times Op-Ed on U.S. v. Cruikshank
"The Massacre That Emboldened White Supremacists"
Florida Supreme Court Follows the Marbury Model: Executive Violated the Law, but Finds Remedy Is "Legally Unavailable Under These Circumstances"
And what a way to welcome a new colleague: an opinion stating that she was appointed illegally!
Antonin Scalia Law School's Commitment to Open Dialogue and Debate
"The faculty adopted the following Statement of Faculty Principles pertaining to respectful debate and the full and open exchange of ideas at the law school."
Solicitor General: "At least five Justices explicitly rejected the balancing test" that considers the "benefits and burdens" under Whole Woman's Health
The SG agrees with the Eighth Circuit and Judge Willett. The Supreme Court may have to decide the vitality of Whole Woman's Health sooner than I expected.
Classes #4: "Enumerated Powers II – The New Deal Court" and "The Contract of Sale II"
Now, without the buzzing feedback
New in Chicago Law Review Online: "October Term 2019 in Review: Blue June"
"This Essay was inspired by Dave Barry’s satirical year-in-review columns. I hope to make it an annual tradition."
One advantage of Zoom University: Classes can continue during inclement weather
And students can easily watch recorded classes even if they are affected by the weather.
Texas Files Motion in the En Banc Court to Stay Injunction Pending Appeal in Whole Woman's Health v. Paxton (Updated)
As far as I am aware, the Texas SG is the first litigant to seek en banc review of an interim panel order.
New in Law and Contemporary Problems: The Right to Code and Share Arms
"Over the course of five hectic days, I would brief and argue four temporary restraining order (TRO) motions in four courts. I prevailed on the first three. The fourth court, alas, issued a global injunction that blocked our settlement. "
The Key to Zoom University: More Polling, Less Lecturing
This semester I am lecturing less and asking far more polling questions.
Classes Today: "Enumerated Power I" and "Introduction to the Sales Contract"
I figured out the feedback issue. It will be fixed on Wednesday
Judge Willett (CA5) Finds That June Medical Rendered Whole Woman's Health An "Invalid Legal Standard"
Willett agrees with Justice Kavanaugh, and the Eighth Circuit, in applying the Marks Rule to June Medical.
New on Lawfare: The Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act Would Criminalize Politics
Seth Barrett Tillman and I consider the constitutionality of this new bribery regime.
Three Cool New Features from Microsoft Teams for Virtual Classrooms
Arrange students in "virtual auditorium," live captions, and class is automatically transcribed.
How Many Universities Built COVID Potemkin Villages To Lure Students Back To Campus?
My cynical take on the first week back.
Supreme Court Appoints Prof. Aaron Nielson to Defend Constitutionality of Federal Housing Finance Agency
Circuit Justice Alito (likely) calls on his former law clerk to argue the post-Seila Law Case.
The Constitutionality of a Federal Mask Mandate, Part II
Can Congress mandate that people in many (most) places wear masks?
Tech Tips for Zoom University: Get a Good Mic, But Your Camera Doesn't Really Matter
Zoom compresses all video uploads, turning the most high-definition stream into grainy video
The Perverse Incentives of Page Limits v. Word Limits
With page limits, advocates are drawn to footnotes, which are single-spaced, in a smaller font, and take up less space.
Opinions of the Court, Opinions Related to Orders, and Orders of the Court
The Supreme Court uses different sections to publish different types of opinions and orders.
The Constitutionality of a Federal Mask Mandate
What enumerated power would allow Congress to require people to wear masks?
Ted Cruz, Laurence Tribe, and Tammy Duckworth
In 2016, Professor Laurence Tribe said it was "not settled" whether Ted Cruz was a "Natural Born Citizen."
Update from University of Southern Maine: "No administrator will see the list of people who pledge to practice antiracist behaviors"
The pledge, as crafted, will not obtain any meaningful "aggregate-level" statistics.
In Rhode Island Case, Chief Justice Roberts Once Again Uses Shadow Docket to Maintain The Status Quo
"The status quo is one in which the challenged requirement has not been in effect, given the rules used in Rhode Island’s last election, and many Rhode Island voters may well hold that belief."
Welcome Back To (Virtual) Campus, and Follow Along My Classes This Semesters on YouTube
I teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. Property II (9:00-10:15 CT), Constitutional Law (10:30-12:10 CT)
Cancelling Chief Justice Melville Fuller
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court asked whether to remove statue of Chief Justice who joined Plessy majority
"For Free Speech, Today's College Students Are Tomorrow's Law Students, Lawyers, Politicians, and Judges"
We should not take for granted that the judges today generally agree on free speech culture.
