Lawrence Solum

Lloyd on Bowers v Hardwick Harold Anthony Lloyd (Wake Forest University School of Law) has posted Bowers v. Hardwick Postmortems at Forty: Timely Dissections of Its Tradition, Enumeration, and Other Errors on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The fortieth anniversary of Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), and troubling recent opinions at the Court call for current Hardwick postmortems. As this Article notes, Mahmoud v.

Lloyd on Bowers v Hardwick

Harold Anthony Lloyd (Wake Forest University School of Law) has posted Bowers v. Hardwick Postmortems at Forty: Timely Dissections of Its Tradition, Enumeration, and Other Errors on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The fortieth anniversary of Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186…

Rainer Forst: Toward a Critical Theory of Trust A new paper by Rainer Forst: " Toward a Critical Theory of Trust "  ( Political Theory , forthcoming) [Open access] Abstract: "This paper la...

Rainer Forst: Toward a Critical Theory of Trust habermas-rawls.blogspot.com/2026/02/rain...

Grove on Methodological Stare Decisis Tara Leigh Grove (University of Texas School of Law) has posted The Power To Impose Method on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scholars have long debated methodological stare decisis: whether the Supreme Court should announce a single method, such as textualism or originalism, for interpreting all statutes and constitutional provisions. But, surprisingly, the debate has overlooked a crucial question: Does the Supreme Court have the power to impose an interpretive method?

Grove on Methodological Stare Decisis

Tara Leigh Grove (University of Texas School of Law) has posted The Power To Impose Method on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scholars have long debated methodological stare decisis: whether the Supreme Court should announce a single method, such as textualism or…

HJLPP Symposium on Birthright Citizenship Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog originalismblog.com/hjlpp-sympos...

Proctor on Mixed Questions of Law and Fact Haley Proctor (University of Notre Dame - Notre Dame Law School) has posted Law, Fact, Form, and Function on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The task of parsing mixed questions of law and fact has “vexed” judges, practitioners, and scholars for generations. We persevere because “who decides” depends on it, and so much else depends on “who decides.” The consensus approach treats the problem as one of allocation: who is better positioned to answer this question?

Proctor on Mixed Questions of Law and Fact

Haley Proctor (University of Notre Dame - Notre Dame Law School) has posted Law, Fact, Form, and Function on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The task of parsing mixed questions of law and fact has “vexed” judges, practitioners, and scholars for generations.…

Sunstein on Liberal AI Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)) has posted Liberal AI on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Can AI be liberal? In what sense? One answer points to the liberal insistence on freedom of choice, understood as a product of the commitment to personal autonomy and individual dignity. Mill and Hayek are of course defining figures here, emphasizing the epistemic foundations for freedom of choice.

Sunstein on Liberal AI

Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)) has posted Liberal AI on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Can AI be liberal? In what sense? One answer points to the liberal insistence on freedom of choice, understood as a product of the…

van Aaken on Cognitive Psychology and International Law Anne van Aaken (University of Hamburg, Law School) has posted Bridging Minds and Practices: Integrating Cognitive Psychology and Practice Theory in International Legal Reasoning on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This chapter explores the intersection of cognitive psychology and practice theory to provide a more holistic understanding of legal interpretation, particularly in international law. While practice theory emphasizes the social and embodied nature of interpretive routines, cognitive psychology can offer insight into the mental processes that underlie those routines.

van Aaken on Cognitive Psychology and International Law

Anne van Aaken (University of Hamburg, Law School) has posted Bridging Minds and Practices: Integrating Cognitive Psychology and Practice Theory in International Legal Reasoning on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This chapter explores the…

Agustin on Relational Integrity in AI Matthew Agustin (Responsible Innovation Lab) has posted Relational Integrity in AI: Preserving Human Agency, Accountability, and Meaning Under Pressure on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As AI systems increasingly operate in language-mediated and relational contexts, many of the risks they introduce do not arise from discrete failures, misuse, or malicious intent. Instead, harm often emerges through gradual shifts in how systems are interpreted, relied upon, and positioned within human judgment and institutional practice.

Agustin on Relational Integrity in AI

Matthew Agustin (Responsible Innovation Lab) has posted Relational Integrity in AI: Preserving Human Agency, Accountability, and Meaning Under Pressure on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As AI systems increasingly operate in language-mediated and relational…

Throwing the Supreme Court/Free Speech A Bone - Constitutional Law Genevieve Lakier, Enforcing the First Amendment in an Era of Jawboning, __ Univ. Chi. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2026), available at SSRN (Mar. 01, 2025).Leah LitmanToo often, our “free speech culture”…

Jotwell: Throwing the Supreme Court/Free Speech A Bone - Constitutional Law conlaw.jotwell.com/throwing-the...

Cahn, Eichner, & Ziegler on the History of Parental Consent Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law), Maxine Eichner (University of North Carolina School of Law), & Mary E. Ziegler (University of California, Davis - School of Law) have posted "For Their Benefit": The Lost History of Parental Consent and Minors' Rights on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The principle of parental involvement in children’s lives has achieved surprising consensus across blue and red states.

Cahn, Eichner, & Ziegler on the History of Parental Consent

Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia School of Law), Maxine Eichner (University of North Carolina School of Law), & Mary E. Ziegler (University of California, Davis - School of Law) have posted "For Their Benefit": The Lost History of…

Gavoor on Governing AI Without Agencies Aram A. Gavoor (George Washington University - Law School) has posted Governing AI Without Agencies: Self-regulatory Organizations and the Federal Backstop on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Artificial intelligence is accelerating American innovation and strategic advantage. The governance task is to provide predictable compliance baselines that support scale and competitiveness while remaining workable under executive branch policy, statutory baselines, and the rules that now govern the administrative state.

Gavoor on Governing AI Without Agencies

Aram A. Gavoor (George Washington University - Law School) has posted Governing AI Without Agencies: Self-regulatory Organizations and the Federal Backstop on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Artificial intelligence is accelerating American innovation and…

Sunstein on Paternalism Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)) has posted Paternalism After Behavioral Economics on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Is paternalism legitimate? Might it increase welfare? When would it compromise autonomy in some impermissible way? The outpouring of empirical work on cognitive biases, and on departures from perfect rationality, has led to a wholesale rethinking of paternalism and its limits.

Sunstein on Paternalism

Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)) has posted Paternalism After Behavioral Economics on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Is paternalism legitimate? Might it increase welfare? When would it compromise autonomy in some…

Christiansen on the Classical Legal Tradition Jeremy Christiansen (Regent University - Regent University School of Law) has posted The Classical Legal Tradition as Our Tradition (Catholic University Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The last several years have seen a significant rise in scholarly and judicial interest in the classical legal tradition, in large measure due to the work of Professor Adrian Vermeule. Even some of his sharpest critics concede we are in a "natural law moment." Vermeule's "Common Good Constitutionalism" was initially met with significant skepticism, which has at some level subsided (particularly on the legal right) with a number of skeptics embracing some version of his argument for natural law thinking.

Christiansen on the Classical Legal Tradition

Jeremy Christiansen (Regent University - Regent University School of Law) has posted The Classical Legal Tradition as Our Tradition (Catholic University Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The last several years have seen a significant rise in…

Murphy on Relational Legal Pluralism Michael Murphy (Glasgow Caledonian University; United Nations - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)) has posted The Jurisprudence of the Threshold: Relational Legal Pluralism and the Politics of the Wound on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper develops a new jurisprudential framework, Relational Legal Pluralism (RLP), to explain why contemporary legal systems often fail to hear those most exposed to harm.

Murphy on Relational Legal Pluralism

Michael Murphy (Glasgow Caledonian University; United Nations - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)) has posted The Jurisprudence of the Threshold: Relational Legal Pluralism and the Politics of the Wound on SSRN. Here is…

Fasel on Robot Rights Raffael N Fasel (University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law) has posted Robot Rights without Human Frights on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the prospect that AI may attain sentience has prompted some scholars to call for legal personhood and fundamental rights for AI. These calls have met with criticism by those who fear that granting rights or personhood to AI would blur the line between humans and AI and thereby erode the status and rights of human beings.

Fasel on Robot Rights

Raffael N Fasel (University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law) has posted Robot Rights without Human Frights on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and the prospect that AI may attain sentience has prompted some scholars to call for legal…

Coll & Hagenbuch on Election Subversion and Agency Independence Ally Coll (CUNY School of Law) & Tyler Hagenbuch have posted Preventing Election Subversion without Agency Independence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Since Donald Trump’s inauguration to his second term in January 2025, the President has taken unprecedented steps to undermine the functions of independent federal agencies. Such actions have included unlawful firings of multiple independent agency heads and the issuance of Executive Order 14215 calling for “Presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch,” including independent agencies.

Coll & Hagenbuch on Election Subversion and Agency Independence

Ally Coll (CUNY School of Law) & Tyler Hagenbuch have posted Preventing Election Subversion without Agency Independence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Since Donald Trump’s inauguration to his second term in January 2025, the President…

Bray on Changes in Equity and Trump v. Casa Samuel L. Bray (University of Chicago - Law School) has posted How Equity Changes on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court decisively rejected universal injunctions and offered a major decision about the law of equity. This Article grapples with a central question raised by CASA: if equity is not static, then what counts as legitimate innovation?

Bray on Changes in Equity and Trump v. Casa

Samuel L. Bray (University of Chicago - Law School) has posted How Equity Changes on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court decisively rejected universal injunctions and offered a major decision about the law of equity. This…

Ramsey on Birthright Citizenship Michael D. Ramsey (University of San Diego School of Law) has posted Birthright Citizenship Re-Examined on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2020, I argued in Originalism and Birthright Citizenship that the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause guaranteed U.S. citizenship to almost everyone born in the United States apart from the children of foreign diplomats and (at the time it was adopted) tribal Native Americans.

Ramsey on Birthright Citizenship

Michael D. Ramsey (University of San Diego School of Law) has posted Birthright Citizenship Re-Examined on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2020, I argued in Originalism and Birthright Citizenship that the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship…

Avoiding the Demon Lurking Around the Corner (Post) - Administrative Law Susan C. Morse, Time Bars for Administrative Procedure Claims After Corner Post, 114 Calif. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming, 2026), available at SSRN (July 18, 2024).Michael E HerzIn recent terms, the…

Avoiding the Demon Lurking Around the Corner (Post) - Administrative Law adlaw.jotwell.com/avoiding-the...

Wu et al on AI-Powered Remote Sensing and the Fourth Amendment Victor Y. Wu (Stanford Law School), Daniel E. Ho (Stanford Law School), Jennifer King (Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School; University of California, Berkeley - School of Information), & Robert Weisberg (Stanford Law School) have posted Eyes in the Sky, Gaps in the Law: AI-Powered Remote Sensing, Administrative Enforcement, and the Fourth Amendment…

Wu et al on AI-Powered Remote Sensing and the Fourth Amendment

Victor Y. Wu (Stanford Law School), Daniel E. Ho (Stanford Law School), Jennifer King (Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School; University of California,…

Very helpful short intro on speaker's meaning and sentence meaning. One quick but imho crucial point: the mistake made by many if not most intentionalists is that they assume that the relationship between the two types of meaning is fixed across all communicative enterprises. It's not (necessarily)

Spaak on Legal Contextualism Torben Spaak (Stockholm University) has posted Legal Relativism: Normativity, Motivation, And Disagreement on SSRN. Here is the abstract: I have elsewhere defended a relativist account of the central components of legal arguments – that is, legal norms, norms of legal method, and normative (or evaluative) legal statements – constructed along the lines of Gilbert Harman’s well-known version of moral contextualism, an account that is in keeping with the fundamental tenets of legal positivism.

Spaak on Legal Contextualism

Torben Spaak (Stockholm University) has posted Legal Relativism: Normativity, Motivation, And Disagreement on SSRN. Here is the abstract: I have elsewhere defended a relativist account of the central components of legal arguments – that is, legal norms, norms of legal…

Justice Scalia, Ten Years After Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog buff.ly/SDqTFwU

Legal Theory Lexicon: Speaker’s Meaning and Sentence Meaning Introduction Law students soon learn that the interpretation of legal texts is one of the most important things that lawyers and judges do.  In a previous Legal Theory Lexicon entry, a distinction was made between "interpretation" and "construction."  Although we could use other words to express the distinction, it expresses an important conceptual difference between two activities: (1) discovering the "meaning" of a legal text, and (2) determining the legal effect given to the text. 

Legal Theory Lexicon: Speaker’s Meaning and Sentence Meaning

Introduction Law students soon learn that the interpretation of legal texts is one of the most important things that lawyers and judges do.  In a previous Legal Theory Lexicon entry, a distinction was made between "interpretation" and…

Legal Theory Bookworm: “The Juridification of Democracy” by Tosel The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends The Juridification of Democracy by Natascia Tosel. Here is a description: This book examines what it identifies as an increasing juridification of politics. This term refers to the use of law by both state and non-state social actors to advance their political demands and strategies. Juridification is often portrayed as a depoliticising, even democratising, process; it is frequently attributed to the logics of neoliberal governance.

Legal Theory Bookworm: “The Juridification of Democracy” by Tosel

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends The Juridification of Democracy by Natascia Tosel. Here is a description: This book examines what it identifies as an increasing juridification of politics. This term refers to the use of law by…

"Consistent with our prior work, we find that the LLM adheres to the legally correct outcome significantly more often than human judges. In fact, the LLM makes no errors at all."

Download of the Week: “Are There Any Substantive Canons of Interpretation” by Capss The Download of the Week is Are There Any Substantive Canons of Interpretation? by Charles F. Capps. Here is the abstract: Since the late 1980s, scholars have distinguished between two kinds of canons of statutory interpretation: linguistic canons, which judges invoke on the ground that they track the legislature’s intended meaning, and substantive canons, which judges invoke on the ground that they advance policy objectives.

Download of the Week: “Are There Any Substantive Canons of Interpretation” by Capss

The Download of the Week is Are There Any Substantive Canons of Interpretation? by Charles F. Capps. Here is the abstract: Since the late 1980s, scholars have distinguished between two kinds of canons of statutory…

Horwitz on Restrictions on Charitable Endowments Jill R. Horwitz (Northwestern law; Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) has posted Is the Endowment for Us? on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recent crises-the pandemic, natural disasters, and political targeting-have caused enormous suffering, sparing no one, including charitable nonprofits. Charities have faced severe revenue losses, leading to reductions in programming, staff layoffs, and even bankruptcy.

Horwitz on Restrictions on Charitable Endowments

Jill R. Horwitz (Northwestern law; Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)) has posted Is the Endowment for Us? on SSRN. Here is…

Grossi on the First Amendment and Executive Power Simona Grossi (Loyola Law School Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law) has posted First Amendment and the Executive Power on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article develops a structural theory of expressive liberty under modern executive governance. It argues that the most significant contemporary threats to the First Amendment no longer arise primarily from statutes or criminal prohibitions, but from the routine exercise of executive power within the administrative state.

Grossi on the First Amendment and Executive Power

Simona Grossi (Loyola Law School Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law) has posted First Amendment and the Executive Power on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article…

Justice Scalia ten years later AV Ristorante is a recurring series by Brian Fitzpatrick. Ten years ago today, my old boss Supreme Court Justice Antonin “Nino” Scalia passed away. At the time of his death, […]

Brian Fitzpatrick, Justice Scalia ten years later www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/just...