iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael C. Dorf

@dorfonlaw.bsky.social

13K followers 383 following 1.4K posts

Cornell constitutional law professor and dilettante in many other fields. Vegan. Cyclist. Knicks fan. I mostly provide links to my work, especially my Verdict columns & blog posts (as well as those of my co-bloggers). I also occasionally post snark.

Posts Replies Media

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 17h

During yesterday's SCOTUS argument, CJ Roberts & other conservatives were more concerned about a flood of lawsuits than the literal floods that climate change unleashes. They thus were sympathetic to blocking the Colorado case based on what I call the "dormant Nothing Clause." Details on the blog. 👇

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For first Monday in October today, @espinsegall.bsky.social & @jamessample.bsky.social critique Trump's claim that his appointees have disappointed him. Compared with those of Ike, Nixon, and Bush I, his appointees and the Roberts Court overall have done very little to block the president's agenda.👇

The Biggest Damn Fool Mistake: Trump and the Roberts Court

Today the Supreme Court opens its October 2026 Term, though the idea of a term with a beginning and an end is mostly ceremony now. In the sh...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The Jane Doe case has led to calls to amend the NY law making voluntary intoxication of a conscious victim generally irrelevant to consent. I explain why that's not necessarily relevant to the case, which includes allegations that could support convictions regardless. Many other observations too. 👇

New York's Law Regarding Intoxication and Consent Needs Reform, But That's not the Core Issue in the Jane Doe Case

A number of readers and others have asked for my view of the lawsuit filed by Jane Doe and the ensuing controversy over her treatment by th...

Reposted by Michael C. Dorf

Alan Chen @profalankchen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Seems like an appropriate time to re-post this piece on lethal injection executions from NINE years ago on @dorfonlaw.bsky.social. www.dorfonlaw.org/2017/03/arka...

Arkansas's Reckless Rush to the Execution Chamber

by Justin F. Marceau & Alan K. Chen Last week, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced an unprecedented plan to execute eight death r...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Title VI (concerning federally funded institutions) doesn't cover religious discrimination. Title II (concerning public accommodations) doesn't cover sex discrimination. Why not? On the blog, I recount the history, which amounts to: There's not good reason for it; it's just our policy. 👇

The Puzzling Gaps in Federal Civil Rights Law

Yesterday on this blog, I reproduced my supplemental statement to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for its campus antisemitism investiga...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

🧵My new column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social praises the US Civil Rights Comm'n report on campus antisemitism for calling out illegal & unhelpful Trump admin actions. I also rebut a claim that the Comm'n should have endorsed a definition of antisemitism, following up on my earlier testimony. /1

verdict.justia.com

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission Tackles Campus Antisemitism with Justified Nuance

Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the U.S. Civil Rights Commission’s final report on the federal response to campus antisemitism, examining both its bipartisan findings and the separate....

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There is a housing shortage in wealthy countries around the world. On the blog, Prof Neil Buchanan explains that it is not mostly a product of over-regulation of the building of housing but a complex of misaligned regulations and norms (including the preference for owning rather than renting). 👇

Affordability, the "Wealth Ladder," and the True Causes of the Housing Shortage

Count Binface became an international phenomenon this past summer. For those who are unaware, the Count is a "novelty candidate" who has u...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

An important thread on the just-released US Civil Rights Comm'n report on campus antisemitism and the federal response from @beidelson.bsky.social. Like him, I testified at the hearing discussed in the report. I will have more to add in a column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social on Wednesday.

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

@espinsegall.bsky.social praises the new book "Supremacy" by @nikobowie.bsky.social & @daphnarenan.bsky.social while questioning their distinction between jud'l review of state & fed'l laws & their claim that courts exercise jud'l review of state laws under fed'l statutes rather than the Const'n. 👇

If You Come at the the King, You Best not Miss: The Uphill Battle for Supreme Court Reform

Critiques of judicial supremacy and proposals limiting the Supreme Court's power are common on the left side of the legal academy these days...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Today on the blog, Professor Neil Buchanan uses three recent relatively minor Trump outrages--trying to rename AI "super-intelligence," misunderstanding his own press ban, and threatening the Fed with tariffs--to illustrate the president's toxic mix of cognitive decline and impetuous cruelty. 👇

Three Examples of Seemingly Minor Issues that Shine a Light on Trump's Misrule

Last week, Professor Dorf reminded us of "the risk of getting distracted by the relatively inconsequential nonsense emanating from Trump an...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The Greenland deal does not substantially alter the status quo. That's good but saying too loudly that Trump backed down jeopardizes the agreement. Trump's fragile ego and his limited exposure to negative information thus present a variation on what Robert Putnam called a two-level game. Details 👇

Playing the Two-Level Game With Trump: Greenland Edition

To the relief of Greenlanders, Danes, and everyone who counts on NATO's continued existence, on Tuesday President Trump, Danish Prime Minist...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I don't know the mechanism yet, but I suspect the Trump administration of this latest effort at voter disenfranchisement!

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Originalist Justices' history-&-tradition 2nd Am test discounts historical antecedent laws as disanalogous unless they have the same purpose as a challenged modern law. But, as @ggkrishnamoomoo.bsky.social argues on the blog, that's contrary to the same Justicses' textualism in statutory cases. 👇

We Can’t Be Originalists *and* Textualists Now

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen , the Supreme Court set forth a new test to determine whether a particular firea...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

On the blog, I briefly explain why the lawsuit by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico should succeed. I then note that access to the White House is not crucial to reporting on the administration but that the symbolic blow to press freedom is worth contesting, as succumbing to bullying invites more bullying. 👇

Trump's Ban on CNN, Politico, and MS NOW is Plainly Unconstitutional: Is it Also Important?

On Friday of last week, President Trump announced via Truth Social that he was "banning . . . CNN, MS NOW . . . and Politico . . . from the ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

On the blog, I ask whether pundits (like me) too often get distracted by Trump's inconsequential stupidity and thus pay inadequate attention to his truly harmful policies. I conclude that we don't. We need humor and many of the silly stupidities reinforce the narrative created by the deadly ones. 👇

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

On the blog Prof Neil Buchanan suggests it might now be easier and safer for scholars to travel to an academic conference in Hong Kong despite the CCP's anti-democratic crackdown than to such a conference in the U.S. in the midst of its anti-immigrant, anti-democratic, anti-knowledge crackdown. 👇

What Fear (or not) of Crossing Borders Says About the United States Today

Not long ago, traveling to the United States for business or academic purposes was a relatively simple matter for non-US citizens. Perhaps ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Perhaps needless to say, I'm not on Truth Social or X. Has Trump threatened to fire Kevin Warsh yet? Has Jeanine Pirro issued a subpoena to Warsh? Did Bill Pulte accuse Warsh of mortgage fraud?

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Prof Neil Buchanan derides Trump's ignorant assurances on AI but also says that to address any potential catastrophe, one needs some sense of the mechanism by which the catastrophe unfolds--which we have all too well for global warming but less so for AI and other possible extinction events. 👇

Fears of Extinction Events, with and without Plausible Stories to Back Them Up

Are human beings (and maybe all other living things) going to be killed off ... soon? And if so, what will cause the catastrophe to come ab...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Justice Alito's dissent in the Post Office case both accepts the Trump administration's bogus fraud-prevention rationale at face value and blames the victims of disenfranchisement. The latter move recalls his callous treatment of persons fated for a torturous death in Glossip v Gross a decade ago.👇

In the Vote-by-Mail Case, Justice Alito is Back to Victim Blaming and Guerrilla War

Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order rejecting the Trump administration's application for a stay of the injunction agai...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Trump's $5k payment plan is vaporware but craven Republican pols are taking it seriously, so in my latest column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social I analyze its legality as well as its likely macroeconomic and distributive effects. Spoiler alert: Illegal if unilateral and a very very bad policy. 👇

verdict.justia.com

Is Trump the Real Socialist? Evaluating the $5,000 Promise

Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses President Trump’s promise to send every adult U.S. citizen $5,000 if Republicans retain Congress in the midterms, examining both the legality of such a....

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

No standing or cause of action according to the Alito & Thomas dissent in the mail voting order case because "The Postal Service has broad authority to regulate the mail." Got it. So that includes the authority to sabotage elections and presumably to censor criticism of the President. What else?

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

SCOTUS & lower courts often dismiss otherwise meritorious lawsuits on the ground that the plaintiffs lack Art III standing. Yet as @espinsegall.bsky.social explains, standing doctrine is a mess and a modern invention. Traditionally, anyone with a cause of action could sue. So much for originalism. 👇

Once More Into the Breach: The Incoherence of the Personal Injury Requirement for Standing

The Supreme Court’s fabricated standing doctrines are not grounded in text, history, tradition, or common sense. Standing case law is so inc...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I revisit prior recollections and discuss the foreign policy lessons we haven't learned, the fading of our collective PTSD from 9/11, and the PTSD (without the "P" for "post" part) to which our president exposes us on a more-than-daily basis. Details on the blog. 👇

On the 25th Anniversary of 9/11: Thoughts on Collective PTSD

Today is the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary, I published on this blog two perso...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

On the blog, Prof Buchanan has nothing but praise for Dolly Parton and mostly praise for Gloria Steinem (respecting her memory by disagreeing with her views of the Clinton/Lewinsky saga, which she did not change in the fullness of time).

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The NBA punished the LA Clippers for evading the salary cap by paying extra $$ to Kawhi Leonard, stripping the Clippers of their next 5 first-round draft picks. On the blog, I argue the league went too hard on the Clippers and too easy on their owner Steve Ballmer, who should get a lifetime ban. 👇

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

AfD's strong showing in Saxony-Anhalt is alarming but also holds lessons for Americans resisting what in our case is the incumbent far-right party: Neo-fascism isn't all or even mostly fueled by deindustrialization leaving behind the working class. Prof Neil Buchanan has details on the blog. 👇

Politics Is Not All (or Even Mostly) About Economics: US Democrats Need to Learn the Right Lesson from the Frightening Germany Election

Given my background and interests, I typically do not find myself writing columns about politics in Germany, and certainly not about German ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The procedure used to rename Lake Ontario appears to be even more illegal than I originally realized. Apparently the Board on Geographic Names never even met to rubber-stamp Trump's decision, but a staffer simply did his bidding because Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wanted no delay. Details 👇

The Renaming of Lake Ontario is Even More Illegal Than I Originally Realized

In my Verdict column on Monday, I explained why a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act by either New York State or a business tha...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Examining right-wing claims that colleges indoctrinate their students in left-wing ideas, Prof Neil Buchanan offers evidence that they don't; and even if they did, the effect would fade over time. The right should welcome that conclusion but won't because the indoctrination myth serves their ends. 👇

My Failure as an Indoctrination-Crazed Lefty Professor (Part 2 of 2)

According to a former US Justice Department lawyer in a whistleblower disclosure, the Trump Administration's attacks on American colleges an...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In the ballroom case, CJ Roberts and the other dissenters were right that the majority misapplied the Court's environmental precedents, but those precedents are themselves too stingy with standing and now look to be even stingier. I provide details on the blog. 👇

Standing Doctrine in Environmental Cases Was Always Too Strict. After the Ballroom Case, It's Impossible

In Monday's per curiam opinion in National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation , the 5-4 majority said that a setback t...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Sean Duffy's staged intervention to stop his daughter from going to Harvard to have her mind corrupted was unintentionally comical. On the blog, Prof Neil Buchanan explains that David French's response was less ridiculous but nonetheless repeated baseless claims about left-wing campus monoculture. 👇

My Failure as an Indoctrination-Crazed Lefty Professor (Part 1 of 2)

I taught in US colleges and universities for my entire 43-year career (with some visiting gigs in Canada and other not-America places along ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

As with the mail-in ballot case, so in the ballroom case, SCOTUS includes a whopper in the opening line. Today: "In October 2025, the federal government started a project to replace the East Wing of the White House." "The federal government?" More like "the rogue president who thinks he's a king."

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Trump's executive order directing federal actors to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America isn't just stupid and petty. It's also illegal. In my new column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social, I explain how NYS and affected businesses could successfully sue under the APA to block the change 👇

verdict.justia.com

Renaming Lake Ontario is Not Just Stupid and Petty. It is also Illegal.

Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses President Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” explaining its political symbolism, historical ignorance, and legal limits. Pro...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

On the blog, Prof Buchanan distinguishes between a general milieu of political violence (very bad) and being the specific target of political violence (even worse). Both destabilize democracy. 👇

Can the US's Political System Remain Stable in the Face of Growing Threats of Violence?

Note to readers: Last week, I wrote " Debt Fear-Mongering Has Moved from Mockable to Dangerous ," discussing the carefully orchestrated publ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Renaming Lake Ontario is idiotic and likely ineffectual but it could have been worse. At least he didn't call it Trump Lake. Meanwhile, if Trump wants to start referring to "America Geese," Canada should probably let us have them. Those birds are assholes. www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/ca...

What’s Been Your Scariest Canada Goose Encounter?

You have support here.

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Following up on why even lame-duck Republican Senators are afraid to cross Trump (at least w/o Susan Collins-style permission because their votes won't be needed to get a majority), Prof Neil Buchanan identifies fear of Trump-inspired violence and social ostracism as the leading candidate causes. 👇

Cultishness, Social Comfort, or Fear of Violence: Why Not All Three?

Because of the endless churn of the news cycle, the capitulation by three lame-duck Republican Senators to the Todd Blanche nomination not e...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The ideology and values of Justices and judges clearly influence their decisions. Should they also give effect to partisan considerations? On the blog, @espinsegall.bsky.social evaluates a proposal for making party loyalty a legitimate factor in adjudication and what it implies for legal realism. 👇

Party Loyalty as a Legitimate Factor in Constitutional Law Cases or Legal Realism run Amuck?

Author Disclaimer : The ideas expressed below may at first blush be deemed off the wall crazy by many of our readers. I would sincerely ask ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Yesterday's appalling SCOTUS per curiam allowing (for now) Trump's abuse of the Post Office is just one more victory in Republicans' ongoing war on democracy. On the blog, I consider it along with a scenario in which Mike Johnson, red states & SCOTUS prevent winning Democrats from taking the House.

Could Mike Johnson Foil a Democratic House Victory? Yes, But Only With Help from the Supreme Court and/or Red States

Inspired and aided by President Trump, Republicans have been pursuing multiple pathways to give themselves advantages in the upcoming midter...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Trump's tactic in the ballroom case and others of creating facts on the ground before courts can stop him is not new. Robert Moses perfected this dark art in NYC--and as a young man Trump wanted to be the next Robert Moses. Prof Martin Siegel has details on the blog. 👇

Trump and Robert Moses (Guest Post by Professor Martin Siegel)

Much has been written about how Donald Trump learned hardball tactics and power politics at the feet of his father, the developer whose comp...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

NY Times reporters and editors are clutching their pearls because US debt (which increases as the economy grows whether the govt chooses wise or foolish policies) has hit another round number. Prof Buchanan mocks their economic illiteracy and calls out the long-term harm debt fear-mongering does. 👇

Debt Fear-Mongering Has Moved from Mockable to Dangerous

The lead news story for most of the day at The New York Times on Wednesday was: " U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America’s Borrowing Binge...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Trump's rehearing petition in the E Jean Carroll case never had a chance, but by teeing it up for SCOTUS to reject, Trump allowed the Court to appear to be tuning Trump out. Here and elsewhere, that false appearance relies on the framing effect created by Trump's outrageous assertions. Details 👇

The E.J. Carroll Case as Anchoring Device

In my various essays following the conclusion of the latest SCOTUS term earlier this summer, I emphasized a number of points to push back on...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Prof Neil Buchanan profiles the cowardice of the Republican Senators who voted to confirm Todd Blanche as AG, with some reminders of how, even in an administration filled with zealots and cranks, Blanche is especially awful. Prof Buchanan almost excuses them as fearful of Trump-backed violence. 👇

Cowardly Senators and the Specter of Political Violence

One of the smaller dramas of recent weeks was the US Senate's confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General of the United States (AG). I...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Whether or not the second Dan Sullivan is running in Alaska's primary simply to sow voter confusion, same-name candidates create confusion, especially among low-info voters. I'd have more sympathy for the Republicans crying foul if they weren't undermining democracy in every other way. Details 👇

Courting Voter Confusion in Alaska?

In today's Senate primary election, Alaska voters will have many choices, including two named Dan Sullivan. One is the incumbent Republican....

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I have 2 higher-ed related essays out today. In my @justiaverdict.bsky.social column, I wonder why the new U of Michigan policy of masking first-semester grades was national news. I suggest it's because it fits the rightwing narrative of colleges coddling "snowflakes" and the broader culture war. 👇

verdict.justia.com

Why Was One College’s Change to its First-Semester Grading Policy National News?

Michael C. Dorf discusses the extensive national news coverage to the University of Michigan’s decision to adopt a pass/fail grading policy for first-semester undergraduates. Professor Dorf argues tha...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Air Force One ruse that left unknowing journalists and staff exposed to the risk of a missile attack echoes the time Judge Kaufman fled his chambers due to a bomb threat but did not reveal his purpose to the law clerks he left behind. Can such behavior ever be justified? I discuss on the blog.👇

Are the Lives of Public Officials More Valuable than the Lives of Others? (Thoughts Inspired by the Air Force One Ruse)

Judge Irving Kaufman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was an infamous bosshole to his clerks. He frequently pitted them ...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

From Prof Neil Buchanan: Driverless cars can bring greater safety but whether they will depends as much on regulation as on tech, thus making traffic safety--and decisions about how much to invest in autonomous vehicles versus public transportation--subject to our broken and money-driven politics. 👇

It's Not Just the Tech: Driverless Cars Inevitably Force Us to Make Political Choices About Regulation and Funding Different Types of Transportation

Will we ever reach the point where cars are fully autonomous (that is, driverless)? If so, how soon? At that point, will the American poli...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

@espinsegall.bsky.social has long advocated Thayerian deference from SCOTUS, in which courts invalidate only those laws & policies that clearly violate the Constitution. He now concedes that's not in the cards & supports "pragmatic pluralism," in which Justices admit the role their values play. 👇

The Case for Pragmatic Pluralism as the Best Method of Constitutional Interpretation

How judges should interpret the United States Constitution is an issue as old as the Constitution itself. The myth that the text plays a ser...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

While we await results in more primary elections, here's Prof Neil Buchanan on the framing of leftists-vs-moderates. He's especially critical of the Democratic establishment figures whose entire pitch appears to be: "Vote for us. We're not for anything that might make some people uncomfortable." 👇

Now We'll See Whether the Democratic Establishment Truly Cares About Democracy (Part 2 of 2)

For those of us who follow US politics reasonably closely, the 2026 primary season has been quite a ride. And we are back at it today, with...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

On one view the Roberts Court is constraining executive power (Loper Bright & Major Questions) while giving Prez more control over the exec (Slaughter). There's some truth there but overall the Court is empowering the current autocratic president and constraining any future public-regarding ones. 👇

The Roberts Court Record on Executive Power is Mostly Lose-Lose

A little over two years ago, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo , the Supreme Court jettisoned the Chevron doctrine requiring judici...

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

A propos of the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, Prof Neil Buchanan parses the ugliness and the data showing that turnout from nominating a progressive and crossover from a moderate cancel out. 👇

Michael C. Dorf @dorfonlaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Are you about to begin your legal studies? In the middle of them? Know someone who is currently a law student? In my latest column for @justiaverdict.bsky.social, I offer some advice about how to use (and at least as importantly, not use) AI. 👇

verdict.justia.com

Advice About AI for New Law Students

Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses how incoming law students should approach AI use in law school, addressing academic integrity, exam and classroom policies, the Socratic method, and AI’...