Legal Theory

This Harvard Law prof thinks constitutional theory is a terrible way to pick a judge

What if we are asking the wrong questions when selecting American judges? Mark Tushnet thinks our current criteria might be off.

Mar 5, 2025 9:04 AM CST

Forget originalism; some conservatives back ‘common-good constitutionalism,’ its embrace of strong rule

Adrian Vermeule, a professor at Harvard Law School, is an “ideological lodestar” among conservatives who are impatient with originalism—the idea that the Constitution’s meaning can be determined by its text and the founders’ intent, according to a story by the New York Times.

Feb 19, 2025 11:37 AM CST

DOJ says it will prosecute local officials over immigration enforcement

The Trump administration has directed federal prosecutors nationwide to investigate and potentially bring criminal charges against state and local officials who don’t cooperate with the president’s plans to carry out mass deportations.

Jan 22, 2025 9:35 AM CST

Muslim lawyer can’t sue over revoked BigLaw job offer based on this theory, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Chicago has tossed a promissory estoppel claim in a Muslim lawyer’s lawsuit against Foley & Lardner for revoking her associate job offer after learning of her comments about Israel and Gaza.

Dec 4, 2024 12:23 PM CST

Don’t give money to law schools unless they teach originalism, conservative federal appeals judge says

“Anti-originalist” law professors dominate law schools, and they aren’t equipping students with the practical knowledge that they need to make originalist arguments, a conservative federal appeals judge said last week in a lecture hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Oct 29, 2024 12:17 PM CDT

New Jersey senator convicted of 16 felonies in corruption trial

Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted Tuesday of taking bribes from three businessmen who showered him and his wife with cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz, an extravagant bounty for his help securing deals with foreign officials and trying to derail several criminal investigations in New Jersey. Menendez vowed to appeal, and legal experts say he could be helped by the Supreme Court’s rulings in recent years narrowing the scope of federal bribery laws.

Jul 16, 2024 4:25 PM CDT

SCOTUS upended gun laws nationwide; mass confusion has followed

On both sides of the gun-control debate, people say this term’s Rahimi ruling will do little to ease the confusion and disruption unleashed by the high court’s 2022 historical mandate in Bruen.

Jul 11, 2024 8:00 AM CDT

After Chevron: 8 policies that could be vulnerable to new legal challenges

Regulations that touch nearly every facet of American life could face new challenges after the Supreme Court’s move to overturn Chevron deference last week. Just days later, litigants around the country are already taking aim at some rules with new motions and filings.

Jul 10, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court’s Trump immunity ruling poses risk for democracy, scholars say

In its immunity decision Monday, the Supreme Court emphasized the long-cherished ideal that no one in America is above the law, not even the president. The court’s dissenters and a chorus of critics said the majority had undercut that notion, elevating the president to a king who can easily avoid prosecution.

Jul 3, 2024 10:45 AM CDT

Justice Thomas questions associational standing; would his view end diversity challenges?

Justice Clarence Thomas took a dim view of associational standing in a concurrence last week to the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion drug mifepristone decision, a stance that could interfere with diversity challenges.

Jun 18, 2024 12:14 PM CDT

In concurrence confession, appeals judge says ChatGPT research ‘less nutty’ than feared

Judge Kevin Newsom of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta tried using ChatGPT to research the ordinary meaning of “landscaping,” and he’s not afraid to admit it.

Jun 6, 2024 9:09 AM CDT

‘The Originalism Trap’ author wants to see originalism dead, dead, dead

Originalism is the ascendant legal theory espoused by conservative legal thinkers, including the majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. But far from being an objective framework for constitutional interpretation, says author and attorney Madiba K. Dennie, its true purpose is to achieve conservative political aims regardless of the historical record.

Jun 5, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

Artificial intelligence could make originalist analysis easier, federal appeals judge says

Determining the meaning of constitutional provisions at the time that they were drafted, as originalism requires, can be “highly laborious and time-consuming,” according to a federal appeals judge.

Apr 2, 2024 9:17 AM CDT

SCOTUS ballot ruling raises new questions even as it answers others

The Supreme Court quickly and unanimously resolved a case this week that had divided legal scholars for months, clearing a path for Donald Trump to remain on the ballot for president nationwide. But in doing so, the justices unleashed new questions that could confront Congress and the courts after the November election. “They’ve introduced new uncertainty,” said Richard Hasen.

Mar 8, 2024 11:45 AM CST

SCOTUS agrees to hear Trump’s presidential immunity claim

The Supreme Court will review Donald Trump’s unprecedented claim that he is shielded from prosecution for actions taken while in office, further delaying the former president’s federal trial in the nation’s capital on charges of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to remain in power.

Feb 28, 2024 4:55 PM CST