Larsen & McSweeney Medieval Treatises
Alli Orr Larsen (William & Mary Law School) & Thomas McSweeney (William & Mary Law School) have posted Medieval Treatises and the Judicial Search for a Useable Past on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court’s recent turn to history and tradition has…
I got to talk with @lawfaremedia.org and @rparloff.bsky.social about the subject of my article, Patronage Pardons (Duke LJ), which explains how Trump uses pardons to power a loyalty for protection racket.
Podcast: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...
Article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The great folks at Lawfare have published my views on the implications of Learning Resources, the tariffs case. More later on my substack.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lear...
Very pleased to report that our Article, "Untangling AI Liability," co-authored with the great Cathy Sharkey of NYU Law School, will be published in the California Law Review. For those with access, you can find it on SSRN here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Anything else big happen in separation of powers law today?
Robynn Cox and I have a new paper! It's about the history of predictive algorithms in criminal justice, back in the 1920s-1950s. This paper is the result of five years of research and we're so happy to see it out. 🧵 1/
A paper from Prof. @naomicahn.bsky.social shows how the law often lags behind the development of new technologies, according to @universityofga.bsky.social Prof. Victoria J. Haneman. @taxlawprof.bsky.social @jotwell.bsky.social
As constitutional interpretation becomes rooted ever more deeply into the past the Constitution seemingly has less and less to say about our present. It seems to offer little principled direction for navigating what many describe as a constitutional crisis. On questions ranging from birthright citizenship and territorial acquisition to aggressive federal immigration enforcement, executive intervention beyond U.S. borders, and the “history and tradition” of annexed territories such as Hawai’i, the Constitution’s familiar sources of authority and traditional narratives seem to falter. These domains appear to tread into empty constitutional landscapes and newly discovered territory. Scholars have increasingly traced this backward-looking orientation to conservative legal movements of the last half century. But the impulse to seek constitutional meaning in the past is not new. Long before the Supreme Court embraced originalism, and long before the modern turn to “history and tradition,” jurists and scholars assumed that the Constitution could not be understood apart from its origins and development. Constitutional meaning was thought to emerge from historical inquiry. The question, then, was not whether constitutional interpretation should engage with the past, but which past—and through what historical method. This Foreword argues that our present constitutional impasse stems, at least in part, not solely from excessive attention to the past but from fixation on a particular kind of past. Modern constitutional theory, I suggest, has been increasingly bounded by what scholars in the historical and social sciences call a methodological nationalism. By nationalism, I do not mean to invoke familiar federalism debates. Nor do I use the term nationalism as a pejorative or a critique of those whose research centers the United States and its founders. Rather, in identifying mainstream constitutional theory as operating within a nationalist frame, I seek to draw attention t…
New Foreword up on SSRN, previewing new projects on the history of constitutional history and what it can teach about legal frameworks at the heart of our "constitutional crisis"-federal Indian law, territorial law, expansion, immigration, and executive power. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
My latest article with the one and only @spenceroverton.bsky.social called “Digital Ethnonationalism” forthcoming in University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Here is the papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
My paper, Patronage Pardons, is forthcoming in the Duke Law Journal.
This has appeared in popular press, but here is the full dress version. What distinguishes Trumpist clemency corruption is its communicative function - it powers a loyalty for protection racket.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
For more on how electoral cycles interact with efforts to address contempt of congress, check out Political Mootness on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Political Mootness in the real world: www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Thank you, @lsolum.bsky.social!
We finally know what happened to DOJ's (frivolous) misconduct complaint against Chief Judge Boasberg:
It was transferred by Chief Justice Roberts from the D.C. Circuit to Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeff Sutton, and Sutton dismissed it in a ... direct ... memorandum and order just two weeks later:
Hugely important piece by @mblawrence.bsky.social on the future of GAO and why you should care. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-t...
"The spirit of this place — which is communal, ambitious, purpose-driven, and joyful in equal measure — has given me the strength to confront new challenges, learn, and evolve. I would choose this school over and over again." Courtney Douglas '25
#UVALaw is No. 1 in Best Quality of Life for law schools. Recent graduates discuss why. at.virginia.edu/2zasEVV
Payvand Ahdout, Leslie Kendrick and Rachel Bayefsky
Dean Leslie Kendrick ’06 joined the awards ceremony recognizing Profs. @payvandahdout.bsky.social and @rachelbayefsky.bsky.social for their research in civil procedure at @theaals.bsky.social annual meeting Wednesday.
No one can see “what types of ideas you’re communicating” just by looking at the syllabus b/c they don’t get the classroom discussion & full context. I often assign readings that have been influential that I think are completely wrong. Putting it on the syllabus is not an endorsement of the ideas
.@TheAALS has recognized Profs. Rachel Bayefsky and Payvand Ahdout for their scholarship in civil procedure. @payvandahdout.bsky.social @rachelbayefsky.bsky.social www.law.virginia.edu/news/202512/...
Prof. @rachelbayefsky.bsky.social has won @theaals.bsky.social Junior Scholarship Award for her article “Judicial Institutionalism.” Prof. @payvandahdout.bsky.social earned an honorable mention.
virginialawreview.org/articles/ret... our latest is out! @ariezra.bsky.social and I on “Rethinking Youth Privacy”
We're hiring for the following positions:
✔️ Chief Impact Officer: $290-$345k
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Leslie Kendrick and Risa Goluboff unveil portrait
Risa Goluboff speaks next to portrait
Paul Mahoney, Leslie Kendrick, Risa Goluboff and John C. Jeffries Jr.
Leslie Kendrick and Risa Goluboff stand with portrait and alumni
The #UVALaw and #UVA community came together Friday to honor former Dean Risa Goluboff at a ceremony unveiling her portrait, which is now hanging in Clay Hall.
Grateful to my amazing colleagues at @uvalaw.bsky.social for the whole ride getting to this point. For the advice, listening, and most importantly, friendship.
Thank you to the editors of the Harvard Law Review and to many commentators.
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
Promotional poster for Datapalooza 2025 featuring keynote speaker Danielle Citron.
Keynote speaker and UVA Law professor Danielle Citron joins the UVA School of Data Science for Datapalooza 2025: Truth and Accountability in the Age of AI on Friday, November 14.
To learn more and register for this event, click here: https://bit.ly/3WQE3Go
The Supreme Court had three religious freedom cases last Term. With @richschragger.bsky.social and @nelsontebbe.bsky.social, our latest comments on them, extending our analysis of religious preferentialism under the First Amendment.
harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
