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Kevin Cope

@kevinlcope.bsky.social
1.4K followers 3.6K following 82 posts

Law Professor & Political Scientist at @uvalaw.bsky.social; working on legal/political decisionmaking, courts, (im)migration, & international law. 🌍⚖️🛂👩🏻‍⚖️ Jurist-Derived Judicial Ideology Scores: www.judjis.org

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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
My take on Chiles v. Salazar, decided Tuesday: theconversation.com/supreme-cour...
theconversation.com
Supreme Court ruling on Colorado conversion therapy case is not a clear win for conservatives
The court decided Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy violated the free speech of a talk therapist.
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
In #ChilesvSalazar, I think that the majority got it right—given existing precedent on speech vs. conduct. As I say in the media post, the majority “confirmed that the First Amendment robustly protects expression in the context of mental health counseling —…
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UVA Law School @uvalaw.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Prof. @kevinlcope.bsky.social examines what #SCOTUS’ ruling in Chiles v. Salazar could mean for states’ conversion therapy bans.
law.virginia.edu
Faculty Available for Comment on 2025 Supreme Court Term
University of Virginia School of Law faculty are available to speak to the media about the 2024 Supreme Court term.
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UVA Law School @uvalaw.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Even misleading political speech has broad constitutional protections, says Prof. @kevinlcope.bsky.social.
wvtf.org
What could Virginia’s redistricting amendment campaigns learn from the Afroman trial
As the campaigns for and against the effort intensify, so does that language and imagery used in their ads.
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Political Analysis @polanalysis.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Currently in FirstView: In “An Expert-Sourced Measure of Judicial Ideology,” @kevinlcope.bsky.social develops a method for estimating the ideology of federal judges. He introduces the Jurist-Derived Judicial Ideology Score (JuDJIS) which is based on over 20,000 evaluations by a sample of jurists.
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Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
“An Expert-Sourced Measure of Judicial Ideology” electionlawblog.org?p=152327
electionlawblog.org
"An Expert-Sourced Measure of Judicial Ideology" #ELB
Kevin Cope has written this article for Political Analysis. Abstract: This article develops the first dynamic method for systematically estimating the ideologies and other traits of nearly the entire ...
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
My op-ed in the Atlantic this morning with Mila Versteeg was originally called “Why American Democracy is Harder to Break.” And I really do believe that’s true. But as we say in the article, that can’t be an excuse for complacency.
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Thomas Frampton @tframpton.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
For those assuming this is just attempt to summarize the holding of U.S. v. Snyder (2024) . . . that's not even what the Court held. "Bribes," as prohibited by 18 U.S.C. sec. 666, require a "quid pro quo"; at no point did the Court suggest that "corrupt" carried that same meaning.
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UVA Law School @uvalaw.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Prof. @kevinlcope.bsky.social discusses #SCOTUS rulings that govern students’ First Amendment rights.
wvtf.org
Alexandria City Public Schools debates future policy for student journalists
Alexandria City High School students who run the over 70-year-old Theogony newspaper say the school should adopt a less restrictive policy.
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Celebrating the Confederacy is despicable, but Virginia’s stripping Confederate groups of tax exemptions probably violates the 1st Amendment. I talked to @radioiq.bsky.social about the issue yesterday.
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Richmond City Council prohibits any resident speaker from *mentioning* Mayor @dannyavula.bsky.social’s name during meetings! The @richmond.com Times-Dispatch asked me whether that’s unconstitutional. Short answer: most certainly yes. richmond.com/news/local/g...
richmond.com
City Council's actions during public comment likely violate First Amendment, lawyers say
City Council President Cynthia Newbille says the body's rules of procedure prohibit members of the public from referencing public officials when giving their remarks.
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People’s Parity Project @peoplesparity.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
👉 1/3 Capitulation to Trump is not the only option ahead for Big Law, writes Rachel Cohen and Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social, former Skadden attorneys. Here are two others: slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com
There’s Only One Real Way to Reverse Big Law’s Capitulation to Trump
We are former attorneys of the law firm Skadden, Arps; one of us recently resigned a position over Skadden’s capitulation to a threatened executive order.
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Thomas Frampton @tframpton.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Good stuff from my colleague @kevinlcope.bsky.social and Rachel Cohen: slate.com/news-and-pol...
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
In this op-ed with @cohen489.bsky.social just published on @slate.com, we explain how law students and junior lawyers may have a unique power to fight and end the #BigLaw firm EO crisis. slate.com/news-and-pol... @uvalaw.bsky.social
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
My amazing wife Mila Versteeg was quoted in the @nytimes.com today on the prospect of a Trump 3rd term: "Mila Versteeg, a law professor at [@uvalaw.bsky.social] and the study’s lead author, said such leaders try to wrap their power grabs in the veneer of legality." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/u...
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
I'm proud to be part of this statement released by 68 @uvalaw.bsky.social faculty colleagues, on the recent executive orders and administration actions. tinyurl.com/statementof6... It's great to see so many law colleagues speaking up for the rule of law & the legal profession.
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
The National Law Journal gives my take on Trump's coming impact on the Third Circuit. Also has some new @judjis.bsky.social data! www.judjis.org www.law.com/nationallawj...
law.com
Trump Gets Second Shot at Flipping the 3rd Circuit. What Might its Future Look Like?
Gregg Nunziata, executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, said there are open questions about what the future of the court will look like, given uncertainties about Trump’s judicial selection approach.
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Ross Dahlke @rossdahlke.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
~20% of Twitter users authored ~80% of uncivil tweets, with political incivility showing a homophilous network structure and being more prominent in politically competitive geographic regions, finds Pendzel, @alonzoizner.bsky.social et al. aclanthology.org/2024.emnlp-m...
A Closer Look at Multidimensional Online Political IncivilityTable 3Figure 2
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Leonore (Lee) Carpenter @leecarpenter.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
The consequence for not outlining at the outset of a legal writing project is that you will still have to outline it - only later, when it’s full of words.
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Carissa Byrne Hessick @cbhessick.bsky.social · 08/12/2024
I know that some people aren’t interested in hearing any thoughts with which they disagree. It can be unpleasant. But not everyone feels that way. Some of us want to hear opposing views because it allows us to test whether our own beliefs and opinions are correct.
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
This is a mistake: secondary boycotts like @jessothomson.bsky.social’s exacerbate the Bluesky echo chamber and reduce the quality of discourse here. (To be clear, @jessesingal.com’s documented views on transgender issues are moderate, or even center-left.)
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gelbach @gelbach.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
I saw that story and I have to say that I find the idea that Antonin Scalia is Donald Trump‘s judicial hero almost as preposterous as the idea that Donald Trump has a judicial hero other than the last judge to find/hold Trump should dodge any consequences for his misdeeds
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Kevin Cope @kevinlcope.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Some exciting news: today my UVA Law faculty colleagues voted to recommend me for tenure. Hoping to spend many more years in this community of brilliant scholars and students!
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Jennifer Granick @granick.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
RFK Jr. is one of the best arguments for the First Amendment I have ever seen. He is a daily reminder that you and your friends won't be the people who decide what is and is not true. It’s the First Amendment that lets the truth keep talking anyway.
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