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
John Durham, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut was appointed as Special Counsel (Updated)
But 28 C.F.R. § 600.3 requires special counsels to be "selected from outside the United States Government." (Barr did not rely on 600.3)
FantasySCOTUS Update: December and January Sitting Cases Now Available
Update your predictions for the tumultuous OT 2020 Case
Which Ninth Circuit Judges Were Waiting For A Democratic President to Take Senior Status?
James Phillips and I are working on an article about circuit judges who strategically time their taking of senior status.
Sixth Circuit Buries South Bay, but Distinguishes Diocese
"In determining that plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise claim, we also have no need to rely upon either" South Bay or Jacobson
The Supreme Court's Bar Membership Is Not "Shrouded in Secrecy."
The Journal of the Supreme Court includes the name of every member admitted, as well as the name of every member who is subject to discipline.
President Obama's Memoir Includes Virtually Nothing About the Supreme Court (Update)
There is a nice discussion of his appointment of Justice Sotomayor, once sentence about his appointment of Justice Kagan, and a rebuke of Justice Alito's Ledbetter Decision
Reflections on the Fall Semester of Online Classes, and Thoughts for the Future
Hybrid learning went much better than I anticipated, and online classes became surprisingly normal.
What Restrictions are New York Houses of Worship Still Subject To?
The Court halted the 10- and 25-person limits, but left in place the 25% and 33% occupancy limits.
Why exactly was New York's COVID-19 regime not "neutral"?
The Court's analysis was really, really thin. I think this question will be answered in Fulton.
Download Edited Version of Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo
For the 2021 Barnett/Blackman Supplement
Renewing my speculation: A Resignation in Time, that Saved Nine
The Chief Justice could step down, and let President Biden replace him with a sharply divided Senate.
Roman Catholic Diocese Part VI: The Scope of the Court's Remedy
What happens now?
Roman Catholic Diocese Part V: What Rights Are Essential?
The Court doesn't crack down on the arbitrary distinction between "essential" and "non-essential" businesses--yet.
From Blue Monday to Red Thursday.
From South Bay to Diocese.
Roman Catholic Diocese Part IV: Governor Cuomo's Orders are Capable of Repetition, and Will Not Escape Review
The majority held that New York could reimpose the restrictions at any point. There was no need to wait.
Roman Catholic Diocese Part III: The Court Rejects the "Comparator" Approach to the Free Exercise Clause
But the per curiam opinion stops short of adopting Justice Kavanaugh's "most favored right" framework.
Roman Catholic Diocese Part II: Told you so about Jacobson v. Massachusetts
Justice Gorsuch's reading of Jacobson tracks my own, almost to a tee. And Chief Justice Roberts acknowledges that he did not adopt Justice Harlan's constitutional framework.
Roman Catholic Diocese Part I: The End of the South Bay "Superprecedent"
In six months, Chief Justice Roberts's South Bay concurrence was cited 114 times. The 115th citation sank it.
On Thanksgiving 2020, the New Roberts Court has Arrived
Chief Justice Roberts dissented from Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo.
What exactly is a vaccine mandate?
Jacobson v. Massachusetts, Buck v. Bell, and NFIB v. Sebelius
Now that Pennsylvania has certified its election results, we may never know whether Justice Barrett would have recused from the election litigation
Now, Circuit Justice Alito can deny the pending application from Pennsylvania without referring the case to the full Court
ConLaw Class 28: Modern Substantive Due Process III: Protecting "Dignity"
Lawrence, Windsor, Obergefell
Jacobson v. Massachusetts did not uphold the state's power to mandate vaccinations.
Massachusetts fined people who refused to get vaccinated. But the Supreme Judicial Court recognized it was "not in [the state's] power to vaccinate [Jacobson] by force."
Classes #27: Modern Substantive Due Process II and Property Final Exam Review
Casey, Whole Woman's Health, and June Medical
New York's COVID-19 Microcluster Whac-A-Mole Game
The ad hoc creation of red and orange zones are capable of repetition, but will evade review.
Can Judges Coordinate Parallel Litigation?
And would judges have to notify the parties about this coordination?
Harvard Law Review SCOTUS Issue on Trump v. Vance: CJ Roberts "omitted discussion of the significant disagreements between the Framers involved in the Burr trial"
The Leading Case Note, and three other publications in the Supreme Court issue, cited my work.
Class 26: Modern Substantive Due Process I
Griswold and Casey
The Chief Justice's Unexpected Super Precedent from the Shadow Docket
The Court should grand cert before judgment in Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo to clarify the appropriate standard for First Amendment cases during the pandemic.
"We'll Be Back" performed by the federal trial and appellate judges in Houston and Galveston
An adaptation of "You'll be back" from Hamilton
