The Balkinization blog is running a symposium, based on an earlier in-person conference, on “Free Speech in Crisis and the Limits of the First Amendment“. My contribution is an excerpt from an essay I published in a book… Continue reading

In response to this recent post from Justin, I would just briefly flag note 12 in the majority opinion: “There may be other injuries for which it is all but impossible for courts to craft relief that is complete and… Continue reading

This post is co-written with Bob Bauer, NYU Professor of Practice who formerly represented in private practice national and state Democratic Party committees: Later this week, the Supreme Court will consider hearing a case next Term on whether the First… Continue reading

Proponents of ranked-choice voting often say the system will lead to more moderate candidates being elected. I don’t think that’s correct or the right way to put things. RCV makes it more likely that candidates who are the preference of… Continue reading

Bruce Mehlman, at Mehlman Consulting, has put together this data showing a dramatic shift that takes place in the late 1960s/1970s about whether lengthy prior experience in Washington, DC appears to be an advantage or a disadvantage in presidential elections.… Continue reading

In a couple of earlier posts, here and here, I explained the mix of politics and Voting Rights Act issues involved in the Louisiana v. Callais case. The specific issue is whether LA engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering when it… Continue reading

Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections raises important questions about who, if anyone, has standing to bring federal challenges to certain types of election laws in advance of an election. These are laws that expand opportunities to vote but… Continue reading

The Supreme Court issued a major decision today involving NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County Co. Here’s a slightly modified version of a thread I posted on X regarding the significance of… Continue reading

As a practical matter, the issue in Louisiana v. Callais is not whether LA will have a second Voting Rights Act (VRA) district, in which black voters will have an equal opportunity to elect their candidate of choice. The issue… Continue reading

At an earlier stage of Judge Griffin’s attempt to challenge the election results in the contest for the North Carolina Supreme Court seat, I had written that the state court of appeals decision to call into question over 61,000 ballots… Continue reading

I’m happy to be doing this event shortly. The link to watch the event is here: https://hopkinsathome.jhu.edu/watch-now

The recent 2-1 decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals calls into question the legitimacy of over 61,000 ballots cast in the Griffin-Riggs battle over a critical seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.  The court’s decision appears to… Continue reading

Maire Le Pen’s National Rally party received the most votes in France’s recent elections and is the largest party in the National Assembly. Tomorrow, the judicial system is going to reach a verdict in a prosecution that seeks a criminal… Continue reading

I’m struck by the similarity of the underlying factual contexts in these two cases. Only one Justice on the current Court, Justice Thomas, was on the Court that decided Shaw, and the similarity is not apparent from the opinion in… Continue reading