Lucien Ferguson
@lucienferguson.bsky.social
Lawyer & political theorist writing on social mobility and multiracial democracy • Assistant Prof. @chicagokentlaw.bsky.social • Con Law (state and federal), Local Gov, Labor & Property
Book rec.: I recently read Kimberly Welch’s Black Litigants in the Antebellum American South — it is SO SO SO GOOD (and available open access!). Unpacks how Black southerners leveraged property rights—the very source of their oppression—as a tool of empowerment library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...
library.oapen.org
This is a very important and timely piece!
Lawrence Solum@lsolum.bsky.social · last wk.Van Kley on Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering Constance Van Kley (University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law) has posted Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering in the States…...
Van Kley on Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering Constance Van Kley (University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law) has posted Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering in the States…...
Van Kley on Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering
Constance Van Kley (University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law) has posted Legislative Privilege and Partisan Gerrymandering in the States (Kansas Law Review, Vol. 74, pp. 561-609) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: After Rucho closed the door on federal review of partisan gerrymandering, state courts became the exclusive forum for challenges to partisan gerrymanders. Most state courts to consider the question have found such claims justiciable, generally requiring plaintiffs to prove that the map’s drafters acted with discriminatory partisan intent.
legaltheoryblog.com
💯 Congratulations to @abdulelsayed.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...
Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, notching a Midwest victory for the left
The former public health official has defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, NBC News projects, despite facing a huge advertising disadvantage.
nbcnews.com
Just updated my Law-Policy Tethering article on SSRN. I hope people use it to help understand the recent Supreme Court term, as we hurdle away from judicial review's longstanding respect for evidence, democracy, and policy to ad hoc 'legal' determinations! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
I think it says a lot... almost too much. It's all baseball as far as the Court is concerned: The Constitution = the Official Baseball Rules; judges = umpires; corporations = teams; a few individuals = players; the rest of us = masses to be placated with panem et circenses
Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD@medlawdan.bsky.social · last mo.Does this snippet from the Supreme Court's recent decision in West Virginia v. BPJ say a lot about the supermajority's ideology? I've never thought about sports in this way. Seems noxious, and I wonder if the Court views politics and society in the same way. #LawSky #Law
Call for Papers for the 2027 Election Law Conference at USC Gould School of Law! Feel free to reach out with any questions. electionlawblog.org?p=157307
New paper from me: Reconstructing the Civil Rights State After Democratic Backsliding. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
<p><b><span>Reconstructing the Civil Rights State After Democratic Backsliding</span></b></p>
<p>American civil rights law has always been tied to the project of building a multiracial democracy that guarantees full and equal membership in the community
papers.ssrn.com
Am I right that Slaughter effectively eliminates Congress’s requirement of bipartisan commissioners? The president can just fire the Dems and fail to replace them. For some agencies, that might mean no quorum, but not for the FTC. www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/...
16 CFR § 4.14 - Conduct of business.
law.cornell.edu
Andy Craig@andycraig.bsky.social · 2mo agoThere are many decisions that are wrong, sometimes egregiously, as to a particular policy issue. But Slaughter belongs next to Trump v. United States as doing deep violence to the constitutional structure itself, profoundly incompatible with the very idea of power being subject to the rule of law.
A few things among many the Supreme Court has invented: 1) Color-Blindness 2) Presidential Immunity 3) State Sovereign Immunity from federal law suits by a state’s own citizens. 4) Qualified Immunity 5) The Dormant Commerce Clause 6) Free Exercise Equal Protection Clause 7) Most of standing law.
They keep screaming at us that they intend to steal the election. I know lots of folks on the Dem side are working against that goal, and I think the countermeasures will be effective, but we all need to be in this fight. Literally nothing is more urgent for our democracy.
Peter Baker@peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 2mo agoPulte, who has no national security background and has targeted Trump adversaries, installs a GOP political operative at ODNI, raising concerns that he plans to use the intelligence agencies to promote Trump's election denialism. @julianbarnes.bsky.social Dustin Volz www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/u...
I’m honored to share that I’ve been elected to membership in The American Law Institute. The ALI has long played an important role in improving and clarifying American law, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to that work.
ALI Elects New Members
ali.org
You can't trust these folks as far as you can throw them. (Not to mention that even without the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" they could just be using the Judgment Fund directly to pay off the J6 thugs right now and not telling anyone about it.)
Scott MacFarlane@macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 2mo agoFLASH: Justice Dept refuses to make official court filing which would've confirmed they're halting the Trump $1.7 billion slush fund DOJ: "Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns"
Relying on the Supreme Court's decision in Callais and its gutting of Section 2 of the VRA, the OLC released a memo declaring unconstitutional the EEOC's interpretive rules and guidance documents governing Title VII's disparate-impact provisions. Here's my take: electionlawblog.org?p=156693
Trump Administration says Callais's Logic Applies to Title VII's Disparate Impact Provisions #ELB
The collateral damage of Louisiana v. Callais is spreading to employment discrimination. Relying on Callais, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued a memo declaring unconstitutional the EEOC’s i...
electionlawblog.org
My essay on the many ways that state courts interpret state constitutions in lockstep with federal doctrine is now live on the @statecourtreport.org! statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
The Many Versions of State Constitutional Lockstepping
The practice of interpreting state constitutions identically to their federal counterpart is often criticized in blanket terms. But the ways state courts lockstep vary widely.
statecourtreport.org
The level of ambition is correct. I would start with DC statehood. But see this new paper for why fair maps are a better goal than proportional representation—and how Congress can actually legislate fair maps, if there is a D trifecta in 2029, using partisan constitutional hardball:
A Narrow Path Out of Gerrymandergeddon
<p>What would it take to end the present downward spiral of partisan gerrymandering in the United States? This essay, a revised and expanded version of a
papers.ssrn.com
Dennis Lytton@dennislytton.bsky.social · 2mo ago1st 60 days of 2029: - confirm 4-6 new SCOTUS judges - DC statehood. DC Gov. appoints 101st & 102nd Senators - independent prosecutor for 45/47 crimes - 600-900 member House with multiparty proportional representation teed up for '30 midterms >>>bigger reforms over 29-30 to follow<<<
Labor law x patent prosecution: "An arbitrator ruled Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office "committed a clear and patent breach" of agreements with the union representing some of its employees when the office eliminated telework arrangements last year at the urging of...Donald Trump."
Arbitrator Rules USPTO Violated Law By Ending Telework - Law360
An arbitrator ruled Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office "committed a clear and patent breach" of agreements with the union representing some of its employees when the office eliminated te...
law360.com
I'm very happy to share that the AALS Section on State Constitutional Law has been approved and is now live! Thank you very much to everyone who supported this effort. We look forward to building a long-term infrastructure for state constitutional scholarship, study, and advocacy.
Section on State Constitutional Law - Association of American Law Schools
Date Chartered: 6/1/2026 Purpose The Section on State Constitutional Law will organize scholars whose work revolves around the interpretation, application, modification, development, and understanding...
aals.org
Quinn Yeargain@yeargain.bsky.social · 9mo agoHello! @adamsopko.bsky.social and I have been working on a proposal to charter an AALS Section on State Constitutional Law. We believe that such a section is long overdue and that it is urgent to foster scholarly community and support in a growing discipline. Links to support this effort below: ⬇️
In the Kansas Law Review: Anti-McCarthyism and the Right to “Fair and Just Treatment” in State Constitutions People treated unfairly during executive or legislative investigations often lack a remedy. But two state constitutions guarantee "fair and just treatment." papers.ssrn.com/abstract=687...
we just covered this angle: www.patreon.com/posts/159412...
135 | The Ambiguities of Reconstruction w/ Professor Lucien Ferguson | What's Left of Philosophy
135 | The Ambiguities of Reconstruction w/ Professor Lucien Ferguson by What's Left of Philosophy on Patreon. Join What's Left of Philosophy's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
This is a really nice piece, as is the underlying law review article. I highly recommend it. I agree that state constitutions can play an important role in protecting the public interest from private capture. There remain hard questions about the role of the courts here, even at the state level.
Lucien Ferguson@lucienferguson.bsky.social · 2mo agoA short piece I wrote for @statecourtreport.org on the problems "state capture" poses for state and local government, and how state constitutions might be used to prevent them. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana... Based on an article first published with @cardozolaw.bsky.social (link below).
A short piece I wrote for @statecourtreport.org on the problems "state capture" poses for state and local government, and how state constitutions might be used to prevent them. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana... Based on an article first published with @cardozolaw.bsky.social (link below).
“State Capture” and the Role of State Courts
State constitutions offer powerful tools for combatting control of state and local institutions by private interests.
statecourtreport.org
Am reading every newspaper article I can find from April 7-16 on reaction to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Not my main concern, or theirs, but every piece that says something says the act makes everyone born on American soil a citizen of the United States.
new episode out today! professor Luke Ferguson joins us to talk about the history of constitutional law, how the Supreme Court gutted the project of reconstruction, and why the left should treat the law as a site of struggle 👇 www.patreon.com/posts/159412...
135 | The Ambiguities of Reconstruction w/ Professor Lucien Ferguson | What's Left of Philosophy
135 | The Ambiguities of Reconstruction w/ Professor Lucien Ferguson by What's Left of Philosophy on Patreon. Join What's Left of Philosophy's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
Will really hits the correct analysis here, the republicans are the only ones in America that treat the Constitution as a living document, the Dems give it too much deference as a dead document. Legal realism wins again.
What's Left of Philosophy@leftofphilosophy.bsky.social · 3mo agonew episode out today! professor Luke Ferguson joins us to talk about the history of constitutional law, how the Supreme Court gutted the project of reconstruction, and why the left should treat the law as a site of struggle 👇 www.patreon.com/posts/159412...
Constitutions evolve & remain a site of struggle for today’s Left, as explored on @leftofphilosophy.bsky.social’s chat with @lucienferguson.bsky.social on Reconstruction’s legacy. Loved considering notions of freedom as historically and economically contingent. #marxwasright #socialism #philosophy
Good piece, happy to see my article Ending Forced Labor in ICE Detention Centers cited. Very bleak that six years later the government has still done nothing to stop private prison contractors from profiting from forced labor. scholar.law.colorado.edu/faculty-arti...
Ending Forced Labor in ICE Detention Centers: A New Approach
By Jonathon J. Booth, Published on 01/01/20
scholar.law.colorado.edu
David Dayen@ddayen.bsky.social · 3mo agoImmigrant detainees at Delaney Hall ICE prison in Newark, NJ have been forced to cook, clean, & repair the facility for as little as $1/day and sometimes for free. They are on a hunger & labor strike; protesters outside have been tear-gassed. Here's our report, including a quote from a detainee:
Redemption was a STRUGGLE between multiracial democracy and white supremacy. It's easy to see Jim Crow at the end of that struggle and despair in this 2nd Redemption. But the outcome of struggle is not foreordained. The work of building a pro-democracy mass politics remains urgent and essential.
Watching history repeat itself is indeed disheartening. The Callais decision is going to frustrate American democracy for decades to come. I gave some initial thought about the decision’s meaning in this coverage for NPR. www.npr.org/2026/04/29/n...
Supreme Court deals another blow to Voting Rights Act : The NPR Politics Podcast
In a landmark ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act. We discuss what the ruling could mean for Black representation — not just in Congress but at all levels of g...
npr.org