Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026His description of how the cracks in people's ethical foundations become chasms is *very* accurate about the legal profession, IMO. 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yeah, it works well for the particular goals of The Inner Ring -- might have been the only way to get a bunch of rich college-aged boys in the middle of WWII to think about the likelihood that some of them would become scoundrels! -- but limits him in other ways 100
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Was just recommending The Inner Ring to an early-career lawyer for the umpteenth time and remembered this post - I’m curious what your critique is! 100
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The Contract with America is another great example - overtly partisan project that radically changed our government and society thanks to their ability to get Clinton and enough congressional dems on board Though I don’t think they did that through accepting edits, AFAIK 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026(Not that there’s a better alternative, short of marching to the sea) 051
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026You could view the VRA and civil rights more generally through a conflicting lens, though: even buy-in doesn’t prevent (a) diehard opponents from lying in wait or (b) compromisers on the other side subverting the compromise once they have more power 170
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Any thoughts on why they granted Rhoney as opposed to any of the others? (Or is that just the first one with a cert petition?) 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Yeah I think at a certain point you get some really tough questions about whether the rule of lenity *should* allow a prosecution like that. Not sure where I’d come down. 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Certainly, though “I am skeptical that this SCOTUS would bless” applies to pretty much anything in the “accountability for 2025-2028” or “preventing a repeat” category 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Yeah but Hammerschmidt isn’t in the two paragraphs I read on Cornell’s website so is it really good authority? (More seriously, I wonder if you could prove “deceit” or “dishonesty” simply by reliance on efforts to conceal the rescissions until it was too late to do anything about it.) 110
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Has SCOTUS weighed in on whether depriving someone of their rights because of their immigration status = acting on account of such person being an alien? 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026If by “thoughtfully” you mean “looked at the Notes section on LII to refresh your memory of something you vaguely remember Bill Stuntz talking about.” 160
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 27/09/202618 USC 371? Way out of my wheelhouse but “The statute is broad enough in its terms to include any conspiracy for the purpose of impairing, obstructing, or defeating the lawful functions of any department of government.” Haas v. Henkel, 216 U.S. 462, 479 (1909). 581
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026In my memory Xander was often pretty inept, but maybe I'm misremembering. Wasn't there a whole episode where the gang said "geez, this one is too dangerous for Xander" and saved the world in the background while he had a very dumb adventure on his own? 130
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Yep. And with hindsight it was even more limited, since most of those opportunities were things like withholding or administrative closure, which don’t stop this administration from doing (almost) whatever it wants to a person. 050
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I thought seriously about it at one point and those jobs were miserable even before this administration 280
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026No Counterpart, Orphan Black, or Dark Matter. NYT once again revealing its "every person's identity is fixed at Episode One" bias 020
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026The second season is very good on rewatch. It's funny how the most panned seasons of good shows (The Wire S2, The Americans S5) often hit different when you know where the show is headed. (The Wire S5 and The Americans S2, on the other hand... did not improve for me.) 130
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I wouldn't know about that. I never read it. I had pressing business to attend to. IN POLAND. 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026It's time for 'p(doom) or MF DOOM'. As always, you'll be asked to decide whether a phrase is a lyric from rapper MF DOOM, or the mad ramblings of a Rationalist thinkfluencer. Today's first question: Who defined 'super-villain' as 'One who is well-skilled in destruction, as well as building'? 054
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Even Jones and Elrod have affirmed findings that a prison’s response to excessive heat was deliberately indifferent. They’ve scrutinized remedies pretty closely, though. caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-5th... law.justia.com/cases/federa... 040
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Staring At The Eclipse Believing Exercise Shortens Your Life 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Have you seen any analysis of how the current practice of moving people across the country against their will squares with Founding-era notions of due process, habeas, etc.? 120
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Yeah, if you judge by “passed legislation that reshaped the country,” he’s arguably the most effective in the last 50 years. Welfare reform, IIRIRA, Telecommunications Act & CDA, DMCA, HIPAA, AEDPA, huge budgetary changes… 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 10/09/2026@jonleesherman.bsky.social honored to be your first follower/followee! 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Dinosaurs have feathers. Black holes have hair. Will the scientists leave no childhood interest alone? 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Right, they’d need Congressional approval. And I have no idea how the Sixth Amendment or Due Process applies to international extradition to jurisdictions without juries - I imagine there’s been a lot written about it, I just know nothing about it. 100
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026I forget who said it here first, but the next administration’s best shot at an agreement might be “you agree to allow in the IAEA, we’ll agree to retroactively join the ICC” … 140
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Years ago I worked with cocounsel who had Gimme Shelter as their hold music. I never got confirmation, but I always suspected they left opposing counsel on hold through that line as a psych-out tactic. 000
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 04/09/2026If someone told you 20 years ago “nearly every major politician will text you multiple times a week” you’d be like, wow, guess I’m gonna do something really special to earn that Nope. So very nope. 142
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 03/09/2026A friend once got into a protracted Wikipedia editing war about whether Lonnie Chisenhall’s first name was short for “Lonald” 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Good thread. Separation of powers isn't an open-ended license for courts to neuter explicit constitutional provisions. It's something the Founders implemented through specific provisions -- including the clause letting *Congress* "make all laws" for carrying into execution the government's powers 032
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026He opposes TransUnion so maybe we found Clarence Thomas’s alt? 050
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Some lower courts have found that Congress itself can sue to enforce appropriations statutes, but SCOTUS hasn’t weighed in and we can guess how the current court would come down. So it looks like the only entity Congress can empower to enforce the law on this issue is… the unitary executive itself 092
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/09/2026That’s the problem with TransUnion. It held that even a statute explicitly creating a right for people to sue over can’t create standing if SCOTUS doesn’t think the injury Congress identified is “concrete.” 2122
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Yes, when you pair this with TransUnion it’s downright anti-constitutional. How can Congress pass a law that actually binds the executive here? They’ve distorted “cases and controversies” to make Article I and the Take Care Clause dead letters. 2182
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 01/09/2026I wrote a Monopoly quiz for Learned League and still couldn’t pull this from memory. Tough question. 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Nope -- thanks to a different 5-4 decision, TransUnion, Congress can't define an injury if this Court decides there isn't a historical analogue *Maybe* Congress could sue the President for spending unappropriated funds, but that's never made it to SCOTUS and we can guess what they'd say now... 040
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 31/08/2026RETVRN (to Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 163 (1803)) 040
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Also this one coming out soon from @storybrewersroleplaying.com — I’ve heard Good Society is fantastic so I’ll be really interested to see this! storybrewersroleplaying.com/legal-minds/storybrewersroleplaying.comLegal MindsTake on the role of rival lawyers, fighting cases, battling for a promotion, and dealing with personal drama of your own. 020
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 29/08/2026There are a few law-talking TTRPGs - been thinking about trying one but haven’t had a chance to check them out yet www.reddit.com/r/rpg/s/TpSo...reddit.comFrom the rpg community on RedditExplore this post and more from the rpg community 120
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Struggling to think of another play where the pitcher, hitter, and fielders ALL embarrassed themselves at the same time 010
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 22/08/2026Ah man, this and the opening of a new Friendly Local Game Store are BOTH on a day I’m out of town? 110
Jeff Dubner @dubner.bsky.social · 21/08/2026The climate change board game Daybreak is pretty good on this score. I forget the exact wording but I think Central Heating, Regenerative Agriculture, and Mixed-Use Zoning are all cards you can play. And “No Nukes” is one of the biggest setbacks 060
