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Dan Epps

@epps.bsky.social
4.5K followers 262 following 131 posts

Howard and Caroline Cayne Distinguished Professor of Law, WUSTL. Con law 📜, crim law/pro 👮, SCOTUSology 🏛. Cohost 🎤 @dividedargument.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Dan Epps
Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
#ELB: Read the Missouri Supreme Court’s Contempt Order electionlawblog.org/2026/read-the-m…
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KProfsBlog @kprofsblog.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
With help from @williambaude.bsky.social and @epps.bsky.social and their @dividedargument.bsky.social podcast, today’s post explores the law of appeals waivers in plea bargains as articulated in SCOTUS’s Hunter opinion from this year. www.contractsprofblog.com/2026/08/plea...
contractsprofblog.com
Plea Bargains as Contracts
I mentioned in Friday’s post that today’s post is indebted to the Divided Argument Podcast. I try to follow the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) pretty
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Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I wrote this because most journalists facing this pressure can’t. The paper we count on to check authoritarianism spiked an investigation into the Democratic Party because the party’s lawyers threatened to sue. Holding authoritarians accountable starts with holding your own side accountable.
data4democracy.substack.com
With Fear and Favor
Institutions don’t have courage. They have incentives.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Thrilled that my and @donfro.bsky.social's new paper, "Constitutional Rights and General Private Law," will be in the Harvard Law Review next year. It's a sequel to our 2023 Yale L.J. piece, "The Fourth Amendment and General Law." We need to revise, so no @SSRN yet, but here's the abstract:
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Shalev Gad Roisman @shalevroisman.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
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....
papers.ssrn.com
Fact Avoidance
<p><i><span>The legality of the President’s exercise of statutory power depends on questions of both law and fact. Yet courts often focus exclusively on the for
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Zotero law people: I just pushed version 1.3 of the Citations Fixer plugin. It fixes recurring citation issues that the style file can't handle. Check it out: danepps.github.io/zotero/blueb...
danepps.github.io
Bluebook Citations Fixer
Bluebook rule fixes for Zotero citations
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Our latest, with more to come this week as the SCOTUS opinion dump wraps up.
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Secondly, and perhaps a bit niche but a lifesaver for those who need it, this #DigitalFriday plug in for law scholars using zotero bsky.app/profile/epps...
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Very proud of @donfro.bsky.social for her election to the American Law Institute! www.ali.org/members/memb...
ali.org
Member Directory
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Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa @benjaminschultzfig.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Yeah, it's probably not a great sign of higher-ed's stability and longevity that every few years there's a new flash-in-the-pan technology or subfield of study that all the funding gets funneled towards until another shiny object comes along.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Law folks using Zotero: I'm ready to release my "Bluebook Citations Fixer" plugin designed to address some recurring issues with law review citations that Zotero alone can't handle. Download and instructions at link below. danepps.github.io/zotero/blueb...
danepps.github.io
Bluebook Citations Fixer
Bluebook rule fixes for Zotero citations
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Law folks using Zotero: I'm ready to release my "Bluebook Citations Fixer" plugin designed to address some recurring issues with law review citations that Zotero alone can't handle. Download and instructions at link below. danepps.github.io/zotero/blueb...
danepps.github.io
Bluebook Citations Fixer
Bluebook rule fixes for Zotero citations
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I had a great time on NPR's 1A talking about SCOTUS reform with @kateshaw.bsky.social and @aliciabannon.bsky.social this morning. Link: the1a.org/segments/if-...
the1a.org
If You Can Keep It: Reforming the Supreme Court, part 2
We talk more about what’s possible and answer more questions.
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Marin K. Levy @marinklevy.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Divided Argument 🎙️ in the wild . . . @williambaude.bsky.social @epps.bsky.social #ALI
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
New @dividedargument.bsky.social episode: "Majordoma" We take a medium-deep dive into LA v. Callais. dividedargument.com/episode/majo...
dividedargument.com
Majordoma | An unscheduled, unpredictable Supreme Court podcast.
The Court’s latest Voting Rights Act decision, Louisiana v. Callais , narrows Section 2 in a way that could reshape redistricting, weaken majority-minority...
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Dru Stevenson @drustevenson.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Law profs - ICYMI, @washulawreview.bsky.social just posted a Call for Papers on Scholastica for their upcoming Symposium on "The Many Faces of the State." What a great idea for a symposium - very timely and innovative.
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Divided Argument @dividedargument.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
🎙️ New episode: "Even Eve-ier" We cover leaked SCOTUS memos, shadow docket reversals, Sotomayor's Kavanaugh apology, and a contractor preemption case narrowing a Scalia opinion. dividedargument.com/podcast/divided…
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Unfortunately, there are some features of legal cites that aren't possible to implement using a CSL style. (For example, generating "hereinafters" for two cites by the same author in the same FN. I'm working on some plugins that might fix that (using Claude ofc). Please flag other things like that!
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Law profs/students/anyone doing legal scholarship: If you're not using @zotero.org to manage cites and research, you should. An unbelievable time saver. I've revised the Bluebook style for rendering footnotes, w/ detailed instructions on using Zotero: danepps.github.io/bluebook/
danepps.github.io
Bluebook Style — Epps Version
A Bluebook CSL citation style for Zotero, customized by Prof. Daniel Epps.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Agree or disagree: the length of a dissent is inversely related to its persuasiveness.
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Joseph Fishman @jpfishman.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Some big professional news: I’m thrilled to be joining the amazing faculty at @fordhamlawnyc.bsky.social this fall! 🧵
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
For more on my and @willsortman.bsky.social's Defender General, see this NYT article by @adamliptak.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/u...
nytimes.com
A Proposal to Offset Prosecutors’ Power: The ‘Defender General’ (Published 2020)
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
A great development, but I disagree w/ the article's claim that this is totally different from my & @willsortman.bsky.social's "Defender General." This helps w/ problems we identified & resembles our proposal even if it doesn't go far enough. Article here: repository.law.upenn.edu/Documents/De...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 07/03/2026
At the 2026 National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars. The Rehnquist Center at Arizona Law puts together a great program. Neat to see tomorrow’s debates forming…and the sunsets aren’t bad.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I am 43 years old. I would like to think that if 13-year-old me could see the life I would build three decades hence, he would be pleased.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
I very much appreciate Mark’s engagement and think he makes some good points worth reading!
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
New post from me on the @dividedargument.bsky.social blog: "Case v. Montana and the General Law Approach to the Fourth Amendment" blog.dividedargument.com/p/case-v-mon...
blog.dividedargument.com
Case v. Montana and the General Law Approach to the Fourth Amendment
Justice Gorsuch seems to look to modern general law to flesh out the content of the Fourth Amendment in today's Fourth Amendment decision.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
What you want today: Tariffs, Voting Rights What you’ll (probably) get instead: USPS v. Konan (liability for undelivered mail); Coney Island Auto Parts (time limits for motions to set aside void judgments)
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Divided Argument @dividedargument.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
NEW EPISODE: "The Marshal and the Margarine" We catch up on Trump v. Illinois, the national guard case, after first warming up with new Erie scholarship, state criminal jurisdiction over federal officers, and some recent online discourse. dividedargument.simplecast.com/episodes/the...
dividedargument.simplecast.com
The Marshal and the Margarine | Divided Argument
We're back with the first episode of the new year, breaking down the interim docket opinion/order in Trump v. Illinois, the national guard case, after first warming up with new Erie scholarship, state...
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
When you’re waiting for huge opinions, never, ever underestimate the Court’s ability to disappoint you.
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Chad Oldfather @oldfatherc.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
The entire thread is worth your time. The portion around and including this post gets at a point I tried to make in my book - the less common ground within the profession about what the rule of law entails, the less likely we are to be able to sustain the rule of law.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Regardless of one's view of politics, is it a better world if courts declare—even in ordinary breach-of-contract cases—that "Plaintiff wins because he's a Dem" (or R based on who appointed the judge)? Even if you dislike judicial review, we need courts for ordinary disputes. We need law for those.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Pretty sure I'm one of the folks Mark's subtweeting. While I don’t feel compelled to respond, this actually provides a beautiful lesson for how academics and other serious observers might think about engaging with the Court and law. (thread)
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
I was not tagged so did not see my thread was screenshot-ported here from X until now. I'd add that I don't think profs (or any lawyers) should advance arguments they believe to be dishonest. But I also think. . . .
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
I'm quoted in this @wsj.com story about what to call SCOTUS's interim/shadow/emergency/whatever docket: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
A follow-up on Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence in Trump v. IL over at @scotusblog.com: www.scotusblog.com/interim-dock...
scotusblog.com
Interim Docket Blog
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Quick reactions to the National Guard ruling at the @SCOTUSblog Interim Docket blog: www.scotusblog.com/interim-dock...
scotusblog.com
Interim Docket Blog
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
This is not a remotely fair characterization of what I or Jack said. Fact-free caricatures are good for RTs and clicks from co-partisans, but critics of the Court (of which I am often one!) do their cause no service when they don't even pretend to engage on the merits with different views.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Paging @stephenesachs.bsky.social
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Steve, can clarify whom specifically you are accusing of "deliberately misleading" people?
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Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Today seems as good a time as any to note my extended discussion of SCOTUS expansion here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Also, @epps.bsky.social and @ganeshsitaraman.bsky.social specifically propose a lottery along @mmasnick.bsky.social's lines here: yalelawjournal.org/pdf/EppsSita...
papers.ssrn.com
The Nonpartisan Case for Supreme Court Expansion
<p><span>It should be a shared premise across the ideological spectrum that individual Supreme Court justices hold too much power. The only other public officia
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
In case anyone is curious: even if this dismissal becomes final/upheld on appeal, because the dismissal is w/o prejudice, the government will have 6 months to reindict even though the statute of limitations would have otherwise run. Statute:
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Divided Argument @dividedargument.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
NEW EPISODE: "Counter-Counter-Counter-Designations" Live from Wilkinson Stekloff's attorney retreat, we dive into the legal (and ethical?) issues in Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited v. Burton before revisiting last Term's DIG'd case LabCorp v. Davis. dividedargument.simplecast.com/episodes/cou...
dividedargument.simplecast.com
Counter-Counter-Counter-Designations | Divided Argument
Will and Dan record a rare live show in an unusual venue: the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia, at the annual attorney retreat for trial boutique Wilkinson Stekloff. Dan teaches Will some of ...
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
I'm quoted in this @nytimes.com piece by @jodikantor.bsky.social about the quandaries faced by the liberal SCOTUS justices today. (link below).
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
I'm quoted in this @nytimes.com piece by @jodikantor.bsky.social about the quandaries faced by the liberal SCOTUS justices today. (link below).
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Just got my copy of Justice Kennedy’s memoir, LIFE, LAW & LIBERTY. I was grateful to have been asked to perform an unusual bit of empirical research while he was writing it.
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
This @rollingstone.com piece by @andrewlseidel.bsky.social is embarrassing. A judge must recuse from any case in which he actually participated, not from all cases involving *legal issues* on which he ever took a position as an attorney on behalf of a client.
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Kate Klonick @klonick.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Losing my ever-loving-mind watching the same people who were just clutching their pearls claiming censorship over mean emails from WH staffers to Twitter about COVID misinfo are now HAVING THE FCC CHAIR openly threaten broadcast licenses over a joke about the president AND THE BROADCASTERS CENSOR IT
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Dan Epps @epps.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
I'm thrilled to have been named the Howard and Caroline Cayne Distinguished Professor of law here at WashU Law! I'm very grateful to the Law School, the University, and my Dean for their support.
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty... The free speech crusade will continue until complete conformity and submission are achieved.
insidehighered.com
5 More Faculty, Staff Removed for Kirk Comments
Republican politicians and other conservatives are calling for employees, including those in higher ed, to be terminated for their social media posts about Kirk's killing.
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