LSM
@slukemorgan.bsky.social
law professor. dad. democracy & the constitution. hoops. my opinions are solely my own & not attributable to anyone else. or even to me. thoughts arise of their own volition. ssrn: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=6381985
in the law we generally assume that people intend the foreseeable consequences of their actions
Bill@bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · 1h agothe first time one of these kills a bunch of people, there’s going to be such a rich record of defendants saying they might kill a bunch of people
The AALS Section on State Constitutional Law has two calls for papers for the 2027 AALS Meeting: * Emerging Issues in State Constitutional Law (January 6 at 8 AM) * Works-in-Progress Panel (January 6 at 1 PM) Submissions due by September 11; calls are linked here: connect.aals.org/discussion/2...
![Emerging Issues in State Constitutional Law
Though the modern focus on state constitutions really began in the 1970s, state constitutions have taken on new relevance in the modern era. As the protection of some rights and liberties has eroded at the federal level, advocates have seen success at the state level, either with judicial decisions or formal constitutional amendments. Voters have successfully used their powers of initiative and referendum to adopt far-reaching reforms to their state governments—perhaps most notably, to create nonpartisan redistricting commissions. Today, as democracy and representative government both face threats, new issues continue to arise. The Section invites potential contributors to reflect on some of the modern issues that relate to state constitutions, which may include answers to the following questions:
• How effective has the move to litigate rights under state constitutions been? What interpretative modalities should judges use when construing state constitutional rights?
• How should judges undertake the task of deciding questions under state systems of separated powers? Here, too, what is the appropriate modality for answering these questions?
• Can state constitutions be used to thwart power plays at the state level? Is there a risk that they may encourage certain power plays?
• What can state constitutions do to respond to abuses by the federal government?
Submissions should be sent to the Chair-elect of the Committee, Quinn Yeargain, at yeargain@law.msu.edu, by Friday, September 11, 2026, at 11:59 PM. Please indicate “AALS Emerging Issues Submission [LASTNAME]” as the subject line of the email. Submissions should include abstracts of no more than 500 words summarizing what the contributor will discuss. The submission does not have to relate to a forthcoming work or a work-in-progress, although it may. In the body of the email, please include your name and institution (and your affiliation).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:q3dycka5ce2gybcbau5gfehd/bafkreigktbzrikhhbzkkghriayxn37uaneldhyqvvn3aztq3ytnnzudxfy)
![Works-in-Progress Panel
The Section invites submissions of early-, mid-, and late-stage works-in-progress, which may relate to any aspect of state constitutional law. Preference will be given to earlier-stage faculty members, fellows, and VAPs, though all are invited to submit. Submissions should be sent to the Chair-elect of the Committee, Quinn Yeargain, at yeargain@law.msu.edu, by September 11, 2026. Please indicate “AALS WIP Submission [LASTNAME]” as the subject line of the email.
Submissions should include abstracts of no more than 500 words. In the body of the email, please include your name, your name, institution (and your affiliation), and the state of the project (e.g., early-stage or final draft).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:q3dycka5ce2gybcbau5gfehd/bafkreiezfd36j3t4uji3pfchvrbh25p7dncqgho233zg4qqbfg7pocok7u)
Can that still come up with pretty complex solutions to pretty complex problems pretty fast? Sure! Do I think that's going to kill everyone on earth? No! Do I think they're probably going to webscrape every public log of a porn site anyone's ever visited and make it searchable? Yeah, unfortunately!
My 2c: we need non-AI-industry-koolaid framing devices. If you drop "superintelligence" and just start with "billions of dollars are being spent on the singular objective of releasing self-editing computer viruses onto the internet, and that will have consequences," seems consequential and solvable!
Alejandra Caraballo@esqueer.net · 14h agoThe alarms are all flashing red.
I think a good question for the kneejerk "it's just marketing" people might be to ask yourself what particular person you're waiting for to come out and say "no this is really concerning" whose advocacy you'll accept as being in good-faith
Alejandra Caraballo@esqueer.net · 14h agoThe alarms are all flashing red.
Excited to share that my article, “Health Sharenting and a Child’s Right to Privacy,” is now published w/ The George Washington Law Review! Sincere thanks to the editors for their wonderful work and to all those who gave me helpful feedback through the writing process www.gwlr.org/wp-content/u...
Astrophotographer Adam (AJ) Smadi caught this image a few hours ago from Washington state. A thin crescent Moon, sunlight illuminating the rugged lunar surface. And 2,400 times farther away—and on the other side of the Sun—mighty Jupiter, and its moons Io (left) and Ganymede (right).
This isn't really about the footnote, but one of my favorite things I've ever seen is the Boston Evening Post sticking a gratuitous complaint about the Stamp Act into an unrelated report about an executed criminal.
LSM@slukemorgan.bsky.social · 15h agowhatever else happens in my life I will always be the first person to cite dril in a law review footnote
whatever else happens in my life I will always be the first person to cite dril in a law review footnote
Kenny Pearce@kennypearce.bsky.social · 23h agoAcademics, share your best footnote! Here's mine.
“Democrats would be better advised to follow the example of Thomas Jefferson’s Republicans,” this WSJ oped says about court reform. They thought the courts were so partisan they abolished entire circuit courts and prevented the Supreme Court from meeting for a year! www.wsj.com/opinion/is-c...
Opinion | Is Court Packing Constitutional? Don’t Be So Sure
The precedents don’t support what the Democrats want to do, which would be an assault on the separation of powers.
wsj.com
Rooker, Feldman found dead
Missouri Independent@missouriindependent.com · 16h agoBREAKING (again): Shortly after SCOTUS refused to overturn the state Supreme Court's ruling blocking the gerrymandered map, a federal judge in St. Louis issued a temporary restraining order in a separate lawsuit that freezes that state Supreme Court's ruling. #moleg #mogov
BREAKING (again): Shortly after SCOTUS refused to overturn the state Supreme Court's ruling blocking the gerrymandered map, a federal judge in St. Louis issued a temporary restraining order in a separate lawsuit that freezes that state Supreme Court's ruling. #moleg #mogov
Missouri Independent@missouriindependent.com · 17h agoBREAKING: US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denies GOP effort to revive gerrymandered Missouri congressional map #moleg #mogov
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=...
Hey just your hitman here again. Can you please put it in writing that you are paying me to kill someone. Thanks.
Gabriel Malor@gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 21h ago9th Cir.: you can be guilty of murder-for-hire even where the person you hired wasn't really a gonna murder the victim because . . . what do we say, friends? 👉It's Always The FBI👈 cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
this eventually going to court would be the funniest possible outcome. I think LawyerBall is disastrous for the sport!! the Bail Mary is probably the most legally redressable officiating call I can imagine, but I think any court faced with it should run screaming. over yonder be dragons
Chris Vannini@chrisvannini.com · 21h agoBREAKING: The MAC has reversed its position and is fighting the Big Ten's extra 1 second for Michigan. "The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained."
The Toledo Blade, one of the oldest newspapers in the country, will publish its final edition on Dec. 31. if it can’t find a buyer “Founded in 1835, the newspaper is Toledo’s oldest continually operating business”
Possible final edition of Blade announced; company explores sale
Block Communications has announced its intention to explore a sale of The Blade’s assets, which, if unsuccessful, will result in the final edition of the ...
toledoblade.com
Also very strange is unitarians' focus on "accountability," when presidential elections are an unusually poor accountability mechanism: just one (fairly arbitrary) election after the first four years, and no accountability mechanism whatsoever for the second four years.
Professa Murray@kalimurray.bsky.social · 2d agoThis part of Unitary Executive Theory is the part that bugs me: the President as Avatar of Election Mandates. 1: you know who is elected every two years, the House of Representatives. And 2: the Electoral College is an anti-democratic super-majority requirement enacted by slaveholders.
[benoit blanc] speaking only with the utmost respect, of course, surely you and I both know that all circles are flat
[benoit blanc in true detective] now i know you think time is a flat circle, but if i may, you’re thinking of a clock
Jill Krajewski@jillkrajewski.bsky.social · 3y ago[benoit blanc in twin peaks] lordy there’s a burrito lookin girl on the beach
Checking the board's commitment to intellectual diversity: Private Equity Tech investor Navy Admiral NFL counsel Lamar Alexander Hedge Fund (not listed in bio) Phil Bredesen Private Equity Private Equity nepo Baby EVP of UFC CEO of Nasdaq Private Equity Defense Contractor Private Equity ...
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · 3d ago“elite powerhouse”? whatever. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Very interesting paper from my colleagues Kellen Funk and Tom Schmidt on what they call the “equity docket.” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Equity Docket
<div> The Supreme Court has two sides. On its ordinary docket, the Court answers questions of law after briefing and oral argument. On its extraordinary docket
papers.ssrn.com
That the house has standing to sue to enforce!
The Weekday@professormusgrave.bsky.social · 3d agoAppropriations bills are laws
In the wake of Hugging Face I’m more worried about metafiction. Swarms of AI’s trained on every SF story ever written, thereby inscrutably weighted so as to re-enact its classic tropes. What if the future is a dystopian sf metafiction whose complex irony no consciousness is positioned to relish?
Elephant Mastodon@emath.bsky.social · 4d agoLiterary fiction is coming. It is going to revolutionize the economy. We know that China has already got a start on literary fiction. We can’t afford to be left out of the literary fiction economy. Think of your kids. They might already be engaging with literary fiction.
would really love someone to sort out the "all my students hate AI actually" and "all my students constantly use AI to cheat all the time" empirical question
this issue predates AI, but AI has made it orders of magnitude easier. Anyone who has compared trying to find an app on the (basically open) Google ecosystem versus the (basically closed) apple ecosystem is familiar with the tradeoffs
The Questionable Authority@questauthority.bsky.social · 4d agoJust went to buy @gilduran.com's "The Nerd Reich" on Google Books, and discovered that the enshittification is so thorough that it's not safe to do so - I was very close to buying one that's actually AI slop with an identical title and author name. This is utterly insane.
