Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 25/06/2026The Wolford decision this AM yet again makes clear that the Court has no clear theory as to when or why the "tainted" motivations of legislation or judicial doctrine matter for (non-14th am.) Const'l analysis. The debate b/w Barrett and Jackson only underscores the confusion. 020
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 16/03/2026I have not tried to raise legal and philosophical questions on Blue Sky recently (or possibly ever). I have a question about Dworkin that I'd be curious to crowd source, but is anyone out there interested? 010
Reposted by Charles BarzunMicah Schwartzman @micahschwartzman.bsky.social · 10/02/2026This post by Joeseph Heath is wonderfully written and a concise overview of Rawls's main contributions to liberal thought (h/t @cbarzun.bsky.social). A few quibbles: (a) the persistence of his ideas is not unexpected ... /1persuasion.communityThe Unexpected Persistence of John RawlsWe walk in the garden of his ideas. 241
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 28/10/2025My review of Scott Hershovitz's recent book, Law is a Moral Practice. Published in the University of Toronto Law Journal: utppublishing.com/stoken/autho...utppublishing.com 021
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Mike Klarman v. Jonathan Turley on whether we're in a constitutional criss. Very interesting, if a bit embarrassing for Turley, IMHO. I would have liked to him to try to answer MK's question about whether there are any past comparables to the Trump actions MK listed. He didn't. vimeo.com/1115185437vimeo.com9.18.25 Is There A Constitutional Crisis? How Would We Know?This year’s Constitution Day Debate at Colgate will feature Jonathan Turley, the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of public interest law at George Washington… 040
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 23/09/2025It's that time of year again: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/its...mcsweeneys.netIt’s Decorative Gourd Season, MotherfuckersFirst published on October 9, 2009, this classic by Colin Nissan is our most-read article of all time. We’re celebrating the 16th anniversary of th... 030
Reposted by Charles BarzunPeter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 16/09/2025A century in the making - this week's University of Virginia conference on John Dewey's "Experience and Nature" (1925). A majestic, frustrating, (endless) book. Event organized by @cbarzun.bsky.social www.law.virginia.edu/event/sympos... 1/ 1115
Reposted by Charles BarzunUVA Law School @uvalaw.bsky.social · 28/05/2025Prof. @cbarzun.bsky.social ’05, who taught Rule of Law and Its Threats with Prof. Josh Bowers, discusses why the rule of law is so important to democracy and why it is not easily defined.karshinstitute.virginia.eduWhat Is the Rule of Law—and Why Does It Matter?A UVA law professor explains why this phrase is so important to democracy, and how its definition is harder to pin down than you might think. 021
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 22/05/2025Part of my continuing effort to show that the late Justice Souter was more than a mild-mannered, common-law judge (though he was that, too). His philosophy of the common law has a radical side. 061
Reposted by Charles BarzunJoel Johnson @joeljohnson13.bsky.social · 09/05/2025I'd also recommend @cbarzun.bsky.social's excellent article, "Justice Souter's Common Law." It gets Souter exactly right. virginialawreview.org/articles/jus...virginialawreview.orgJustice Souter’s Common Law - Virginia Law ReviewThe first-year law-school curriculum aims to teach students the “common law method.” But exactly what sort of judicial reasoning that method permits and requires has long been the subject of debate. T... 151
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 17/03/2025Disturbingly relevant (again). Souter: "The day will come when somebody will come forward and we and the government will in effect say 'take the ball and run with it,' 'do what you have to do.' And that is the way democracy dies." youtu.be/rWcVtWennr0?...youtu.beFormer Supreme Court Justice Souter on The Danger of America's 'Pervasive Civic Ignorance'YouTube video by PBS NewsHour 081
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 05/03/2025My review essay of Scott Hershovitz's very interesting recent book, Law is a Moral Practice. @shershovitz.bsky.social lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/...lsolum.typepad.comBarzun on "Law is a Moral Practice" by HershovitzCharles L. Barzun (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Is Law an Intellectual Practice?: A Review of Scott Hershovitz’s Law is a Moral Practice (University of Toronto Law Journal, Forthco... 0143
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 10/02/2025Below is from yesterday's NYT Editorial. The statement seems dead right to me. But the question I'm interested in is this: What assumptions does the idea that history is the proper judge of morality (and legality) depend on? www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/o... 030
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 21/11/2024My interest in the idea of progress and its relevance to Constitutional Interpretation has led me to Judge David Barron's recent essay/lecture, "The Court of History." Super interesting: nyulawreview.org/wp-content/u...nyulawreview.org 290
Charles Barzun @cbarzun.bsky.social · 13/11/2024(First post on this platform) What does it mean to say that social or moral "progress" has occurred over some period of time? An important Q for political progressives, IMO. In this essay, I argue that it entails a judgment that social *learning* has taken place during that time. t.co/00KH5ilnRJt.cohttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5018723 1131