A truly incredible number of people listening to shit on phones without headphones on this plane. Wasn't planning on being the pro-carceral one in the room at this upcoming symposium, but I'm on that path!
Michael Smith
@msmith750.bsky.social
Associate professor of law at University of Oklahoma College of Law. Researching constitutional law, criminal law, and legal oddities. https://law.ou.edu/node/716
All U.S. courts have judicial review, (aka the supreme power to tell other parts of the government they are behaving unlawfully) right? Actually, no. Some tribal courts don't. Read my latest in UChicago Law Review for more.
UChicago Law Review@uchilrev.bsky.social · 4d agoProfessor Reese analyzes tribal court opinions on the topic of judicial review, using the underexplored body of case law to surface new insights about the institution of judicial review and about tribal courts themselves.
Colleen Murphy and I just posted a new paper on the rule of law to SSRN: "When Does the Government Follow the Law?" The paper is forthcoming in the Journal of Law & Politics but remains a work in progress. Comments are welcome! papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=...
Long shot: Any profs with a background in cognitive science want to review an early draft of a paper that involves that science and legal writing? Just looking for high-level comments at this point: does the science sciences and does the organization and flow of the paper work? email cwo@uakron.edu
A student asked me for advice on DOJ Honors hiring this year. I have a lot of views on DOJ at this moment in history, but this post isn't about that. Poking around, I saw that DOJ at some point created the Gaye Tenoso Indian Country Fellowship. www.justice.gov/legal-career...
The Gaye L. Tenoso Indian Country Fellowship
justice.gov
My wife made a helpful chart for distinguishing between the black and white cats that visit us.
After suffering through shocking attacks on my scholarly reputation by @noahchauvin.bsky.social, I'm ready for my one million dollars. www.wsj.com/opinion/an-a...
Opinion | An Award for Scholars Who Tell the Truth
The Carob Trust Prize for Academic Courage will honor social scientists who face unjustified attacks.
wsj.com
A couple weeks ago, Oklahoma's governor announced a vote on a constitutional convention. The state constitution mandates a vote every 20 years--but it's been 56 years since the last one. Critics say the legislature must call the vote, not the governor. My deep dive: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
"How Often Are Articles in Top Law Reviews Written In Part By AI?," by Julian Nyarko. The finding, based on Pangram AI detection software: Most 2026 articles in T14 journals have none, but a few have a decent amount, and one is majority AI-written. reason.com/volokh/2026/...
How Often Are Articles in Top Law Reviews Written In Part By AI?
A guest post from Julian Nyarko.
reason.com
Don't let my weekend animal posts fool you. Just finished the first draft of an article on this. Will post it soon--email or message if you want it sooner!
Michael Smith@msmith750.bsky.social · 2w agoI'm quoted in the Oklahoman on Governor Stitt's announcement that there will be a vote over holding a state constitutional convention next year: www.oklahoman.com/story/news/p...
My surveys of old newspapers have confirmed what I long suspected: People have always been driven to Post.
Side-benefit of looking at old newspapers for research: the relevant stories sometimes appear alongside the daily cartoons. (From: Chickasha Daily Express, Nov. 3, 1950).
McCrudden on Muñoz’s Children Garreth W. McCrudden (Stanford Law School) has posted Muñoz’s Children (61 Ga. L. Rev., forthcoming) on SSRN....
McCrudden on Muñoz’s Children
Garreth W. McCrudden (Stanford Law School) has posted Muñoz’s Children (61 Ga. L. Rev., forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: When the government denies a noncitizen’s visa application, can federal judges review that decision? For fifty years, the answer to that question was “sometimes.” Though most visa denials were unreviewable, courts understood U.S. citizens to be entitled to certain procedural protections whenever a visa denial implicated their own fundamental liberty interests.
legaltheoryblog.com
oh wow, the Cornell Law Review has informed me they need additional time to proceed with a complete review of the article I expedited, I'm sure this is a great sign
As a scholar of public health law, torts and bioethics, I am excited to share my new article, "Negligence by Design and the Mental Health Harms of AI Chatbots."
#ELB: Missouri’s Gamesmanship and the Purcell Principle https://electionlawblog.org/2026/missouris-gamesmanship-and-the-purcell-principle/
OU Football lockdowns are preventing the successful delivery of expensive state constitutional convention records to the law school! It's gone too far!
Missouri! missouriindependent.com/2026/09/03/m...
Missouri Supreme Court blocks gerrymandered congressional map, orders referendum vote • Missouri Independent
Missourians will vote on the gerrymandered congressional map muscled through the Legislature in 2025, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled.
missouriindependent.com
In @statecourtreport.org today discussing state pushes to go beyond the 13th amendment to ban slavery and involuntary servitude with no exceptions and what needs to happen to turn those rights on paper into on-the-ground change. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
Transforming the Modern Push to Abolish Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
Nine states have amended their constitutions to eliminate or narrow the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. The exception exists in the federal 13th Amendment.
statecourtreport.org
In a true writing frenzy, taking breaks only for pokemon battles outside my front door.
