Legal Theory

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

Is SCOTUS making it harder to teach constitutional law? Profs ‘depleted’ and taken aback by ‘velocity’ of change

The U.S. Supreme Court’s “hard-right supermajority” is using the doctrine of originalism to overturn established precedent, making it difficult for constitutional law professors grappling with rapid change that they think is unprincipled, according to an article in the New York Times.

Feb 27, 2024 3:10 PM CST

New legal group aims to ‘bring sanity back to conservative lawyering,’ oppose Trump’s ‘legal excesses’

An op-ed in the New York Times by three conservative lawyers takes issue with the conservative Federalist Society for "conspicuously" staying silent amid the “constitutional and other legal excesses” of former President Donald Trump, including his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Nov 28, 2023 9:04 AM CST

What ‘Wolf Hall’ taught me about practicing law

Every practicing attorney is familiar with the prelaw literary canon—that list of books every law student should read. A Civil Action, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Buffalo Creek Disaster. These books are meant to inspire a love of justice, hard work and a desire to fight for society’s underdogs.

Nov 20, 2023 8:44 AM CST

New book explores how qualified immunity protects police in brutality and wrongful death cases

High-profile cases like the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police have led to further growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, calls for defunding the police, police reform and greater police accountability. In her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, Joanna Schwartz, a professor at the UCLA School of Law and an expert in qualified immunity, tells the stories of people who have been wrongly harmed or killed by police.

Oct 1, 2023 2:20 AM CDT

So you were convicted of killing someone who’s still alive—now what?

Many installments of this column have focused on true-crime documentaries examining murder convictions and the legal process and “evidence” that led to them. While those series or stand-alone shows are undoubtedly intriguing, we always seem to be left with the same conclusion: Even if the defendant didn’t kill the person, the person is still dead. But what if we were presented with a situation in which someone was convicted for the murder of a person who was subsequently found alive and well?

Sep 6, 2023 9:42 AM CDT