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Leah Litman

@leahlitman.bsky.social
224K followers 947 following 3.4K posts

Michigan Law Prof. Co-host, Strict Scrutiny Podcast Author, NYT Bestseller “LAWLESS: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, & Bad Vibes” www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawl…

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Reposted by Leah Litman
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 19h
Beyond the horrifying reality that a hospital is trying to "clear the pentobarbital from [Christa Pike's] system" currently, the litigation over Tennessee's actions this week will shine a very clear light on the many, many reasons why governments should not be trusted with killing their citizens.
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Check out my piece in the @contrariannews.org talking about what’s going on at SCOTUS - and what’s on tap… www.contrariannews.org/p/next-on-th...
contrariannews.org
Next on the Docket: Dismantling Democracy
The Supreme Court is enabling Trump’s corruption while also doing the kind of institutional damage that will long outlast him.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
some descriptive statistics here on the civility industrial complex on college campuses that I haven’t seen analyzed before www.uncivilcollective.org/resources
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Laura Petto @laurarpetto.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Why did no one on jeopardy get Dobbs v Jackson women’s health last night?!?!? Idk seems like the case overturning Roe is something everyone should know, and definitely people studying trivia. At least Ken seemed disappointed
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
More confirmation that the Trump Administration is staying underground with its anti-abortion plans until after the midterms. www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/ab...
washingtonsun.com
White House Officials Told the DOJ to Delay Action on Abortion Ahead of the Midterms
Attorney General Todd Blanche has moved slowly in abortion pill litigation and department officials have told advocates to wait until after the election.
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Paul Rosenberg @paulrosenberg.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Super duper!!!
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Legal AF @legalafmtn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NEW: Leah Litman, University of Michigan law professor and Strict Scrutiny co-host, joins Somil Trivedi of Court Accountability Action to discuss the Supreme Court's horrific order allowing the Trump Administration to send immigrants to random countries they're not from, without a hearing.
youtube.com
Supreme Court Makes SHOCK RULING on Trump Case...
YouTube video by Legal AF
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Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
@leahlitman.bsky.social makes the case for Supremacy (the book, not the idea!) in @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social:
lareviewofbooks.org
Who Is Supreme, the People or the Court? | Los Angeles Review of Books
Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan’s new book challenges the supremacy of judicial review over democracy itself.
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Christine Kexel Chabot @kexelchabot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Since when is it anti-democratic for a President to abide by the terms of a federal statute? @leahlitman.bsky.social @profmmurray.bsky.social @kateshaw.bsky.social have an important new paper highlighting slippery slope problems presented by the strong form of UET: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
Is the Unitary Executive Democratic or Autocratic Governance?
This essay examines whether the unitary executive theory provides for democratic or autocratic governance. It argues that the unitary executive theory's underly
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Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Another person has died in Trump's concentration camps. 47-year-old Julian Curo-Churata was from Peru. He died on Sept. 29 after he was imprisoned for three months in Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. That camp is run by LaSalle Corrections. There's no cause of death listed.
ice.gov
Illegal alien from Peru passes away in ICE custody in Louisiana
ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
(Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said he regretted nominating three Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, .. according to a Time Magazine interview. ".. What can I do? .. I gave them the position of a lifetime, and they vote against me often."
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I reviewed SUPREMACY for the Los Angeles Review of Books! @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/supr...
lareviewofbooks.org
Who Is Supreme, the People or the Court? | Los Angeles Review of Books
Nikolas Bowie and Daphna Renan’s new book challenges the supremacy of judicial review over democracy itself.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As promised, I wrote about what really bothers me about Tuesday's unsigned, unexplained #SCOTUS ruling clearing the way for the resumption of third-country removals with minimal (if any) process. Turns out, it's a lot: www.stevevladeck.com/p/254-four-t...
stevevladeck.com
254. Four Things That (Really) Bother Me About “D.V.D. III”
“Third-country removals” raise a host of difficult procedural and substantive questions. The Supreme Court should have answered those questions *before* greenlighting deportations to torture.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
UPDATE: At a call with the federal court tonight, "the state [of Tennessee] represented that medical personnel have begun to administer medical care as requested in the motion."
ORDER finding as moot 123 Motion to Expedite. At a conference call with counsel for all parties, the state represented that medical personnel have begun to administer medical care as requested in the motion. This is the complete order of the court. There is no document associated with this docket entry. Signed by District Judge Clifton L Corker on 9/30/2026. (Corker, Clifton) (Entered: 09/30/2026)
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Zach Everson @zacheverson.com · 01/10/2026
Tennessee's last botched execution was way back in [checks notes] May. "Mark Fowler, the doctor who was involved in Carruthers’ attempted execution, also oversaw Pike’s — at this time — attempted death sentence."
wsmv.com
Doctor involved in Tony Carruthers’ botched execution administered Christa Pike’s lethal injection — and she’s still alive
Ihnen confirmed the team is filing a motion to stay the execution, the latest in a back-and-forth over the “Jobs Corps Murder” convict’s execution.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
By my math, the order was filed 11 minutes after the Trump administration's reply brief came in.
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
static.klipy.com
I'm Dead Lmao Reaction Meme
Alt: I'm Dead Lmao Reaction Meme
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
some ~personal news~ as they say .... I'm writing a second book! I loved writing Lawless & working with One Signal. And I'm having a 💥blast 💥working on ... IDENTIFIED! more info coming, soon(ish)?
Author of LAWLESS and cohost of the Strict Scrutiny podcast Leah Litman's IDENTIFIED, chronicling the paradigm shift in how law and politics approach issues of identity, with right-wing ideology transforming identity-based discrimination into a tactic to restructure government and civic institutions, to position themselves as victims, and to persecute the very minorities those classifications were created to protect, to Alessandra Bastagli at One Signal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2028, by Amelia Atlas at CAA (world English).
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ICYMI: The band is back together to preview the upcoming SCOTUS term! I also talked with Mahmoud Khalil about his new book, out today: NO LAND TO STAND ON - Notes From Detention Get it from our friends at bookshop: bookshop.org/p/books/no-l...
bookshop.org
No Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention
A revelatory and powerful testament of protest, courage, and imprisonment in America’s deportation regime“Are you Mahmoud Khalil?” The question marked the start of a politically charged odyssey that t...
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Essential post & commentary from Jay Willis @jaywillis.net @ballsandstrikes.org ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
ballsandstrikes.org
The Conservative Takeover of SCOTUSblog Is Just What the Supreme Court Needed
SCOTUSblog used to cover the Supreme Court. Now, it cheers for it.
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Ruben Rabasa in ITYSL: He Admit It!
Alt: Ruben Rabasa in ITYSL: He Admit It!
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Major u-turn from Justice Alito as Supreme Court reveals he will no longer participate in the big climate change case being argued next week. Previously, the court told NBC News there was no reason for him to step aside despite his earlier recusal in same case.
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Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I was explaining this at a political meeting last night. Stephen Miller has smartly decided to fly below the radar after the backlash to Minneapolis, Chicago, and other outrages. But by many measures things have gotten worse.
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm thrilled to share that my new book about #SCOTUS, "The Court We Need: What's Really Wrong With the Supreme Court—and How to Fix It," is now available for pre-orders: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812983... The book is set to be published by @vikingbooks.bsky.social on May 4, 2027.
penguinrandomhouse.com
The Court We Need by Stephen Vladeck: 9798217061815 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A brilliant and bracing account of the Supreme Court’s rise, its unraveling, and what it will take to save it, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Docket Richard Nixon turned...
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I understand social media probably isn’t a net benefit to society, but it’s still really nice to have when girlie releases some additional blech takes on her worst album
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Dom Ervolina @dominicervolina.com · 25/09/2026
Holy forking shirt balls
Since I was not present, I was a convenient target to be scapegoated and publicly vilified. You
recklessly agreed in court that I had committed misconduct without even asking for my account,
fully reviewing the record or briefing the law. That evening, you sent an office-wide email laying
responsibility at my feet for a felony prosecution that you personally directed over my objection
that the case was better suited to misdemeanor charges. You then publicly announced an
investigation of my conduct spanning twenty years. These inexplicable actions severely damaged
a reputation I worked hard to build over decades and have damaged my prospects for future
employment and income.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
BREAKING: DC Circuit rejects Anthropic challenge to DOD's exclusion of Anthropic's AI from DOD's supply chain on a 2-1 vote. Katsas writes for him and Rao. Henderson dissents. Opinions to follow.
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 26-1049
ANTHROPIC PBC,
September Term, 2026
FILED ON: SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
PETITIONER
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF WAR AND PETER B. HEGSETH, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF WAR, RESPONDENTS
Consolidated with 26-1162
On Petitions for Review of an Agency Action of the Department of War
Before: HENDERSON, KATSAS, and RAO, Circuit Judges
JUDGMENT
Departmense aar aname o aread the sitions onside faranty action of the
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the petitions for review be denied, in accordance with the opinion of the court filed herein this date.
Per Curiam
BY:
FOR THE COURT:
Clifton B. Cislak, Clerk
/s/
Daniel J. Reidy
Deputy Clerk
Date: September 25, 2026
Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge Katsas.
Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge Henderson.
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Strict Scrutiny Podcast @strictscrutiny.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NEW! Lev Menand & Lina Khan join HOT SCOTUS REFORM SEPTEMBER to discuss jurisdiction stripping & other reforms to protect statutes or agency regulations from the Court - especially those tackling economic issues. crooked.com/podcast/we-n...
static.klipy.com
Taylor Chan: Pshh In This Economy
Alt: Taylor Chan: Pshh In This Economy
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Alyssa Edwards / Justin Johnson embodies poise and grace. They have made so many people laugh, cry with joy, and realize their own worth and potential. Ken Paxton is a garbage human being. Texas deserves better. www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdra...
reddit.com
From the rupaulsdragrace community on Reddit: Alyssa Edwards responds to Ken Paxton
Explore this post and more from the rupaulsdragrace community
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm part of the CROOKED CON 2026 lineup for @crooked.com! Join us on November 7th in Washington D.C. for panels, candidate forums, live shows, interviews, organizing events, and more. Tickets available now at crookedcon.com @strictscrutiny.bsky.social
Leah Litman / Strict Scrutiny host, Crooked Media
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
NYT has now independently corroborated all the major allegations against Susan Collins in the ProPublica report, including that investigators were prepared to move against her and then Trump intervened to shut it down. This put Trump in a position of exceptional and extortionate leverage over her.
nytimes.com
F.B.I. Shut Down Inquiry Into Top Ally of Senator Susan Collins
The inquiry was closed last year because senior bureau officials questioned the veracity of a campaign donor’s account, according to current and former officials.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵
Martin Kao, CEO of defense contractor Navatek, poses next to Sen. Susan Collins for a photo. Collins is holding a model of a boat in her hands. Behind them is a large sign with the Navatek logo.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Communism has no place in America, the President declares the day before rolling out his new state television station.
The White House •
...
WALLE HOUSE
1d•
Communism directly opposes the United States
Constitution and American values.
While every Democrat voted against the largest tax cuts in American history and over 100 refuse to condemn socialism, President Trump will ensure that communism never has a place in America.
ПОЛЕННІ
COMMUNISM HAS NO
PLACE IN AMERICABenny Johnson • • Follow
... X
TRUMP TV IS OFFICIALLY LIVE 24/7
The White House just launched "TRUMP TV: The Essentials Station" — a nonstop stream featuring President Trump's speeches, major announcements, past highlights and administration updates, refreshed in real time.
The launch comes amid Trump's escalating fight with
CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which have sued his administration after being barred from White House access.
Americans can now watch the White House's own selected footage and announcements DIRECTLY,
24/7.
The media landscape just changed in a BIG way. •*
TRUMPOV
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Propublica really can’t stop won’t stop with its anti corruption hustle, as we said on yesterdays Strict Scrutiny! @strictscrutiny.bsky.social @propublica.org
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
NEW: In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump was reelected and eviscerated the FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption probes.
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Crooked Media @crooked.com · 21/09/2026
@profmmurray.bsky.social on WH press ban: I think this is f*cking bonkers.
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 21/09/2026
This will make it nearly impossible to file habeas petitions, because attorneys won’t even know what federal district their client has been moved to to stage for their removal. Something like a third of all people in ICE custody. apnews.com/article/ice-...
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
NEW: @apnews.com confirms that ICE has begun electronically "disappearing" people in the agency's custody who have final orders of removal. As of last week, anyone jailed by ICE with a final order of removal will NOT appear in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, making them effectively vanish.
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 20/09/2026
Breaking News: Federal officials are drafting an executive order that would help cement President Trump’s ability to control billions of dollars in scientific grants funded by the National Institutes of Health.
nyti.ms
White House Moves to Take Control of N.I.H. Grants
Federal officials are drafting an executive order that would place grants under review by an outside panel, the latest effort to redirect billions of dollars in research spending.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
T. Elliot Gaiser strikes again. www.justice.gov/olc/media/14...
Application of 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) to
Young Adults
Section 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) of title 18, U.S. Code, is unconstitutional as applied to young
adults between eighteen and twenty who seek to purchase handguns. The provision
prevents young adults, who are members of “the people” to whom the Second
Amendment applies, from owning “arms” in common use for self-defense. This places
the burden on the government to show that the restrictions are consistent with the
Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation, which it cannot do.
September 17, 2026
MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Our laws deem an eighteen-year-old “mature enough to be drafted,
vote, serve as a juror, and be sentenced to death.”1 One such eighteenyear-old represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020,
shooting skeet.2 Yet, due to statutes predicated on concerns over an
eighteen-year-old’s ability to handle a pistol as a responsible adult, it
would have been a federal felony if a licensed dealer had sold her such a
firearm before she left or after she returned to her studies at the University
of Texas at Arlington. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1), (c)(1). You have asked
whether that restriction may be enforced against otherwise law-abiding
citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty who seek to purchase
a handgun consistent with the individual right to keep and bear arms
recognized by District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and
“fleshed out,” Wolford v. Lopez, 146 S. Ct. 2032, 2043 (2026), in New
York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022). It may
not. Section 922(b)(1) and (c)(1) may not be enforced to impose criminal
penalties on dealers who sell handguns to a class of law-abiding adults
who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political
community.
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Then get the book & enter that giveaway!
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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Listen in!!!
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
🚨An alarm is being sounded for the American public. Sitting federal judges go on the record with the NYT. On threats to democracy by DOJ/administration actions. Includes 90 minute interview with conservative Judge Patrick Schiltz. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns (Gift Article)
In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions “a grave threat to the rule of law.”
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is APPALLING. The Trump administration is detaining multiple random Somali immigrants with no criminal record at Guantanamo Bay, seemingly because the White House ordered ICE specifically to detain Somalis at Gitmo as part of its effort to punish an ethnic group Trump has attacked.
According to Mohamed, guards at Guantanamo have said they are being held there because that's what officials in Washington, DC, want. "There's no other nation, only Somali people in Guantanamo Bay, in the prison," he told me. "And when we ask them why we are here, they tell us... Washington...ordered to keep Somali people in the Guantanamo Bay."
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Strict Scrutiny Podcast @strictscrutiny.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A bonus episode on what went down with SCOTUS's decision to leave the Trump administration's Postal Service regulation slash election interference slash mass disenfranchisement blocked. For now. crooked.com/podcast/brea... @profmmurray.bsky.social @kateshaw.bsky.social @leahlitman.bsky.social
crooked.com
BREAKING: SCOTUS Blocks Trump's Mail-In Ballots BS | Crooked Media
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
AG Todd Blanche just defended Trump's comments about the court, saying the president has an absolute right to criticize justices individually when they rule against him, while praising them when they rule in his favor. This apparently is the rule now.
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Daphna Renan @daphnarenan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Supremacy is out today! Join @nikobowie.bsky.social and me for a virtual book talk with the great @adamserwer.bsky.social tonight at 7 pm EST.
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
BREAKING: SCOTUS denies the Trump administration’s request to enforce the new U.S. Postal Service rule for the 2026 elections. Justices Alito and Thomas dissent. More to come at Law Dork. www.lawdork.com
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 26A305
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, ET AL. U.
CALIFORNIA, ET AL.
ON APPLICATION FOR STAY
[September 14, 2026]
The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON and by her referred to the Court is denied. The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court's preliminary injunction. And the equitable factors applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court do not favor a stay.
JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, concurring.
In my view, based on the briefing the Court has received at this interim stage, there is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service's statutory authority. See 39 U. S. C. §401(2). But applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections. See 39
U. S. C. §3001(m); 5 U. S. C. §706(2)(A). For that reason, I concur in the denial of the application for stay.
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Nicholas Bagley @nbagley.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
After years of thinking and writing about why American governance is so clunky and slow, I wrote a book about how our well-intentioned laws have lots of unintended consequences. Why We Can’t Have Nice Things comes out Dec. 1 from Norton. Pre-order now! www.nicholasbagley.com
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is a VERY significant decision, given the impact of the rule change, which was set to upend the student visa process which has been in place for the last half-century. Colleges and universities said the rule would impose millions in costs and cause a big drop in enrollment.
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