The Kansas electorate is so fascinating. This amendment vote and the one in 2022 tell one story. The split vote for gov/AG that same year told another. And what happens in the governor race this fall will be really interesting to watch, too.

Update: Kansas voters appear poised to overwhelmingly reject a proposal to rewrite the state constitution and elect Kansas Supreme Court justices, spiking a plan long coveted by Republicans who want more conservative rulings on issues like abortion #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/08/04/e...

Early results show Kansans rejecting constitutional amendment by wide margin • Kansas Reflector

Kansas voters were set to evaluate a proposed constitutional amendment that would spike a 68-year-old system for selecting justices for the highest court

kansasreflector.com

🧵

Jay Willis@jaywillis.net · 2d ago

I urge you to pay attention to Kansas's election on Tuesday, when voters will decide whether to abolish the state's nonpartisan nominating commission for Kansas Supreme Court justices, and allow lawmakers to institute partisan supreme court elections instead. This proposal is...not what it seems.

For anyone interested in the state constitutional law casebook that I authored with Marcus Gadson and Jon Marshfield, I'm very pleased to share that we now have a robust teacher's manual with sample class discussions! I'm also happy to share syllabuses and exams, or just talk through teaching it.

hey Kansas, just look what judicial elections could do for us!! 🤪

Thomas Frampton@tframpton.bsky.social · last wk.

Super normal stuff: Citing "extraordinary" misconduct, the other six members of the Louisiana Supreme Court have forced the Chief Justice to recuse himself from a case (after he refused to do so on his own).

New draft paper on SSRN: "Fact Avoidance," forthcoming in the Harvard Law Review Supreme Court Issue. This Essay identifies a recurring feature where the Court decides presidential power cases entirely on legal grounds without engaging at all with the facts /1 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

STATE 👏 CONSTITUTIONS 👏 MATTER 👏

Eric Segall@espinsegall.bsky.social · 2w ago

“The Roberts Court sees only white. It refuses to acknowledge who the Equal Protection Clause was written to protect. The freed people, their descendants, and all others denied equal citizenship. The 14th Amend. is not colorblind. It never was.” Me? No a judge www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/u...

Yet another judge finds a pattern of fourth amendment violations at the hands of ICE/CBP, but denies injunction because plaintiffs can’t show “with near certainty” that they will be arrested again. We have to drastically rethink standing doctrine. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion in Limine AND Order on Motion to Certify Class AND Order on Motion to Dismiss/Lack of Jurisdiction – #81 in Peralta v. Department of Home...

Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction AND Order on Motion in Limine AND Order on Motion to Certify Class AND Order on Motion to Dismiss/Lack of Jurisdiction

storage.courtlistener.com

new civ pro & fed courts mega hypo just dropped

Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney.bsky.social · 2w ago

JUST IN: A federal judge in Minnesota — Trump appointed chief judge Eric Tostrud — has rejected the administation's effort to force Minnesota to cooperate in enforcing federal immigration law. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

heading back home after a lovely first experience at CrimFest! thanks @hashtagblevin.bsky.social and @cbhessick.bsky.social for organizing a really fun, helpful two days..

The Washington University Law Review is pleased to publish Ex Parte Young Redux by Katherine Mims Crocker in Volume 103, Issue 5. The Article reexamines Ex parte Young and argues for a limited extension of the doctrine. Read: wustllawreview.org/2026/07/04/e...

I’ve hit the “is this even a paper” stage of writing/editing. Welcome, mid July! I’ve come to hate you every year.

Ah yes, the crossover content I have long desired, merging my love of sports with my love of standing doctrine!

Lawrence Hurley@lawrencehurley.bsky.social · last mo.

um so who exactly would ever have standing to appeal....

what a day to be prepping the "proposed supreme court reforms" class for fed courts

I’m co-hosting the academia lunch with JP! We really hope you join us, and let me know if you’ll be around tomorrow otherwise!

JP Collins@profjpc.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The American Constitution Society’s National Convention kicks off today here in DC. I’m co-hosting the academia practice group lunch and the DC lawyers chapter is hosting a happy hour, both tomorrow. Hope you can make it and say hi if you can! www.acslaw.org/get-involved...

Had a lovely two days at the Law of the Police conference (always a treat to be with @vanessamiller.bsky.social!). Snuck in lunch with @jdmortenson.bsky.social as a bonus. Now I’m smuggling Zingermans pickles back to Kansas. IYKYK.

the biggest problem with summer is that the people with good candy in their office don't come in and their doors are locked.

I have 2 soccer obsessed kids & live w/in 45 minutes of pool games. Tickets start at over $200 (for nosebleeds at the austria v. algeria game; the argentina game is $800+/ticket). I'm not your constituent (I just have your former office 😜) but @mayorq.bsky.social, hook this up for your people, too!

The Athletic | Football@theathleticfc.bsky.social · 3mo ago

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has secured 1,000 $50 tickets to World Cup games at MetLife Stadium for New York City residents after negotiations with FIFA president Gianni Infantino... and a FaceTime call with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. FREE READ | @adamcrafton.bsky.social

The full decision in Loe is here 👇🏻

Josh Block@joshablock.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Decision here! assets.aclu.org/live/uploads...

🧵on Kansas and the state court case challenging SB63, which bans gender affirming care for minors. I'll add more links as they become available.

Sharon Brett@sharonbrett.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The Douglas County district court just preliminarily enjoined parts of SB 63, the anti-trans healthcare bill for minors. The PI hearing was back in November. I'm sure the ACLU will post it soon, but this is a very important first step, both for the Loe case as well as other litigation (1/x)

The Douglas County district court just preliminarily enjoined parts of SB 63, the anti-trans healthcare bill for minors. The PI hearing was back in November. I'm sure the ACLU will post it soon, but this is a very important first step, both for the Loe case as well as other litigation (1/x)

Totally agree w/ this take. I somehow managed to become extremely close with two people I randomly met at a conference in my first year. We are now each others' biggest cheerleaders. To say nothing of the more senior faculty I've gotten to engage with, who have been so generous/kind/fun. Its a hoot!

Anthony Michael Kreis@anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Something it took me time to learn, but I try to instill in junior faculty: there is real joy in building professional networks, sharing work, and developing ideas with people you respect immensely—and across different disciplines. The scholarly process should be as rewarding as the end result.

I loved getting to meet Bob last year and hearing his insights - this is worth a read, and dovetails with some stuff we discuss in my seminar on law and social change.

State Court Report@statecourtreport.org · 3mo ago

@law.rutgers.edu Prof. Bob Williams reflected on the PA abortion case he lost 40 years ago — and what lawyers on the losing side can do to set the stage for an eventual reversal of cases they lose.

Guys remember when Michigan won the ncaa men’s basketball championship

The Callais opinion is the worst of all worlds: pretending to keep Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act intact while making it functionally impossible to satisfy. All in the name of protecting states’ partisan preferences. And when dealing with congressional maps where Congress’s power is at its apex.

Today seems like a good day to announce that the Kansas Law Review's symposium next year, on October 9, 2026, is entitled "Voting Rights in a Post-Callais World," and will be centered around the Callais opinion and its repercussions. Reach out if you want to attend. (I am the faculty sponsor).

Teaching done ✅ Next up: hosting Fed Courts Jr Scholars Workshop starting tonight!

Gonna leave this here again in case it’s helpful…..

NYU Law Review@nyulawreview.bsky.social · 6mo ago

In her Case Comment, Prof. @sharonbrett analyzes Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence in the recent Supreme Court case Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, highlighting the distinctions undermining his reliance on City of Los Angeles v. Lyons and his skepticism of the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claims.

I actually think there is a broader point to be made about lots of judges evaluating claims for injunctive relief against the police. They have never felt the endemic, oppressive force of policing; they find it hard to believe that systemic solutions are necessary/worth the squeeze.

Julian Sanchez@normative.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Pity; she was absolutely right. Kavanaugh’s idealized, Pollyanaish picture of ICE stops as a trivial inconvenience rapidly terminated by those with legal status, and with no systemic chilling effects, could only have been drawn by someone mindbogglingly detatched from the reality.

I wrote a shorter piece for @inquest.bsky.social that distills my forthcoming article in the Virginia Law Review about the ubiquity of gang designations, the arbitrariness involved, and the consequences suffered as a result. Check it out below! Full article here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Inquest@inquest.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Gang databases "represent yet another black box of U.S. policing—a system in which an individual can be labeled, tracked, surveilled, and harassed based on innocuous criteria." Sharon Brett on how police manufacture criminality—with life-altering consequences