On SSRN: I've updated my forthcoming article: The "U.S. Sentencing Commission in a Formalist Era." The USSC has many unique attributes and is one of the only remaining indp. agencies left. Is it constitutional after Slaughter? (Yes.) Can a Pres. fire at will? (No.) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Over at Lawfare, I talk about the indeterminacy in Slaughter, the ways the Trump administration may weaponize it, and why federal courts are not the best enforcement mechanism for preserving administrative capacity. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/slau...

Slaughter’s Silence

Trump v. Slaughter’s silence on the civil service raises concerns of executive aggrandizement.

lawfaremedia.org

Nick Bednar@nicholasbednar.bsky.social · last mo.

My take: Slaughter is not well written, but there are two ways to read it. The Court has traditionally used a tripartite framework in these cases: principal officers, inferior officers, and employees. It uses broad language about "subordinates" here.

It was an honor get interrupted by a landmark decision (Barbara) and help break it down for the public in real time.

The Court tinkering with structures that have proved (more or less) workable/stable is also very dangerous. The system might not be able to handle such haphazard swings (e.g., powerful modern agencies + the spoil system).

Jamal Greene@jamalgreene.bsky.social · last mo.

This seems to me the headline. I happen to think there’s a lot to be said for the legitimacy of incremental constitutional change through genuine movement-building over decades. This is something else entirely. Unworthy of a constitutional democracy.

One of the most incredible things I have ever worked on: Recently discovered documents, written by John Dickinson in 1775, that reveal his secret and previously unknown efforts to prevent the American Revolution. Now featured in the New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...

A Founder’s Previously Unknown Attempt to Avert the Revolutionary War

nytimes.com

I'll be back on NewsNation again tomorrow at 9:30 (central) analyzing SCOTUS opinions as the Court releases them.

This is a dangerous pattern with this Court: They find a delegation paired with a constraint, decide they don’t like the constraint, but appear totally untroubled by the idea that Congress delegated the power only *because* prior precedent assured them their constraints would be binding.

Andy Craig@andycraig.bsky.social · last mo.

Accepting the (wrong) premise, if Congress created agencies and officers structured unconstitutionally, then the rule of law result would be striking down their existence and powers entirely. Instead the Court treats it like a one-way ratchet: grants of power by Congress upheld, limits struck down.

I enjoyed breaking down some of the remaining SCOTUS cases this term.

This opinion will facilitate a lot of good. If a defendant pleads guilty after knowing relevant facts and the precise sentence or range, fine.But if (as is common) they plead expecting 1-2 years and get 20+, or receive some unconst. condition and can't appeal, there are serious legitimacy questions.

Anthony Michael Kreis@anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

SCOTUS: Hunter v. U.S., Kagan, 8-1. "An agreement not to appeal a sentence is unenforceable when it would result in a miscarriage of justice—meaning, when it would leave in place the kind of egregious error that would bring the judicial system into disrepute." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

This article asks whether the Roberts Court’s formalist turn—resurgent nondelegation, major‑questions doctrine, & unitary‑executive theory—threatens independent agencies, focusing on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Read: spkl.io/63324AAnZC Subscribe: spkl.io/63328AAnw8

I wrote short piece on the bizarre Joseph "Afroman" Foreman case. The salacious details of the case draw people in, but getting past those we can use the case to explore, and convey to the public/students, some of the more serious constitutional questions from this saga. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Dark Comedy: Proportionality and the Bizarre Case of Joseph “Afroman” Foreman

There is no way to adequately prepare someone who is not already familiar with the details of this case.

substack.com

Josh Chafetz@joshchafetz.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1/2 This memo identifies absolutely no source of legal authority for paying TSA. It does not point to an appropriation that is available for this purpose, nor does it point to any legal authority to transfer some other appropriation to TSA. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

@sammerchant.bsky.social was interviewed by @law360.bsky.social about the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. The proposed new amendments could lead to shorter prison terms for many offenders. z.umn.edu/b2lm

My summary of Tranche 2 of the proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In a nutshell, these: (1) encourage more probation sentences, and (2) offer alternatives to the infamous “categorical approach” (crim/immigration folks know). sentencing.substack.com/p/sentencing...

Excited to announce that my book, REVOLUTION IN REDLINE, is finally out! I compile key docs leading to the Founding, then present the Founding Docs in "redline," visually tracking the drafters' edits to show how the text evolved. (The Founders didn't start from scratch, and they disagreed often.)1/6

My summary of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's first round of proposed changes to the Sentencing Guidelines. sentencing.substack.com/p/sentencing...

Sentencing Matters Summaries: The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Proposed 2026 Guideline Amendments – Tranche #1

Comments can be submitted to the Commission through February 10, 2026

sentencing.substack.com

Code of Conduct for United States Judges, Canon 5: "A judge should not . . . attend or purchase a ticket for a dinner or other event sponsored by a political organization or candidate... A judge should not engage in any other political activity." (All judges receive training on this.)

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Via MS NOW: Emil Bove is in attendance at Trump’s speech in Pennsylvania tonight.

Katyal just referred to "French Revolutioning" all statutes.

SCOTUS to decide constitutionally of criminal prohibition against gun possession by an “unlawful user” of drugs. This case will either prove the goofiness of the strict “historical analogs” test (there are none here) or the justices will make up a new test.

Forbes@forbes.com · 10mo ago

The case is one of at least two major gun disputes the Supreme Court is set to decide this term.

Enjoyed workshopping a piece at Georgetown Law today, and thank you Michael Klarman for commentary!

Here I try to break down this controversial sentence without getting distracted by shiny objects.

CrimProf Blog@crimprof.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Sam J. Merchant posts "Sentencing Transgender Assassins of Supreme Court Justices." On the sentencing of Sophie Roske, who planned to assassinate Brett Kavanaugh... and why sentencing is hard. crimprof.blog/sentencing-t...

Sam Merchant posts "Explained: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison." Unpacking one of the most high-profile applications of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in years. crimprof.blog/explained-se...

I analyze the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal sentencing proceeding. crimprof.blog/explained-se...

Prof. Sam Merchant was quoted by @nytimes.com about the length of sentence that rapper Sean Combs will receive at a hearing this Friday, saying that while guidelines often act as an “anchor” in sentencing, judges have significant leeway when deciding a defendant’s ultimate punishment. z.umn.edu/ar8c

"Wake up, babe, new @nicholasbednar.bsky.social article just dropped." [Genuinely me this morning.]

Lawfare@lawfaremedia.org · 10mo ago

Unless the Senate acts, the government will shut down midnight on Wednesday. @nicholasbednar.bsky.social evaluates OMB Director Russ Vought's plan to use this shutdown as a springboard for permanent federal workforce cuts.

Our drift from Thomas Paine: “The word ‘republic’ means the public good, or the good of the whole, in contradistinction to the despotic form, which makes the good of the sovereign, or of one man, the only object of the government.”

It reminds of the Articles of Association (1774) (which Lincoln credits in his First Inaugural as "forming" the "Union"). Clause 8: "We will . . . encourage frugality, economy, and industry . . and will discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation."

David Mack@davidmackau.bsky.social · 12mo ago

no but this is crazy

Honored to be appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission‘s Advisory Group on Research and Data Practices. This group combines sentencing scholars with experts from other fields to inform criminal sentencing policies and practices. www.ussc.gov/about/news/p...

SCOTUS grants cert in another crim case involving supervised release (RICO v. US). D served her time, was on supervised release, but stops checking in (absconds). Terms of SR expire in 2021. She possesses drugs in 2022, which would violate SR terms. Is SR tolled? www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

SG Prelogar also teed up the constitutionality of universal injunctions when NDTX was enjoining Biden left and right, and SCOTUS passed.

David Binnig@binnig.bsky.social · last yr.

IANAL but looks to me like the Biden administration asked SCOTUS to take up the universal injunctions question in Texas Top Cop Shop: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...