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Matthew Lawrence

@mblawrence.bsky.social
6.5K followers 584 following 180 posts

Law professor at Emory Law. Admin law, health law, addictions. Addiction and Liberty: www.cornelllawreview.org/2023/04/26… Selected works: works.bepress.com/matthew-lawrence

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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 21/09/2026
A cool first for me to have one of my articles, "Against the Safety Net," translated into Traditional Chinese. Thanks to Huai-En Chen for careful engagement, and if you're curious about the original I'll link in the first comment. ennassw.medium.com/%E8%A7%A3%E6...
ennassw.medium.com
解構健康與福利法中的「安全網」隱喻(Against the “Safety Net”)
摘要
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LPE Blog @lpeblog.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What should administrative law look like after the critique of transsubstantivity? How can it be make sensitive to context without sacrificing important cross-cutting procedural values? Today, @mblawrence.bsky.social shares insights from his recent work on institutional design and drug scheduling.
lpeproject.org
Doing Applied Administrative Law
Administrative law is often described as “transsubstantive”: in understanding, evaluating, and articulating the rules governing federal agency action across public health, environmental regulation…
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 17/09/2026
Delighted to have a post today in @lpeblog.bsky.social talking applied admin law, transsubstantivity, and drug scheduling. lpeproject.org/blog/doing-a...
lpeproject.org
Law and Political Economy Blog - LPE Project
Our blog begins from the observation that democratic political processes have lost control over fundamental decisions about how resources are allocated in our society.
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Very interesting looking new piece from Joseph Blocher and David Pozen! balkin.blogspot.com/2026/09/cons...
balkin.blogspot.com
Balkinization: Constitutional Law and “Common Sense” Gun and Drug Regulation
A group blog on constitutional law, theory, and politics
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 26/08/2026
This is huge news, but the devil will be in the details. The history of settlements leading to actual public health benefits is murky, and industry standards can wind up benefiting industry in long run. A reason for those concerned to pay more attention to tech harms now, not less.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 24/08/2026
Serious bipartisan legislation to end shutdowns could inadvertently give away Congress's last, best tool to influence how the military gets used. Awesome to partner with @marknevitt.bsky.social and Emory Law 2L Amelia Powell in @lawfaremedia.org today. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/shut...
lawfaremedia.org
Shutdown Reform’s Constitutional Blind Spot: The Two-Year Clause
A bill to automatically fund the government in an appropriations lapse would end shutdowns—except the Two-Year Clause forbids funding the Army permanently.
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Ben Heath @jbentonheath.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This required me to integrate discussions across a range of issue areas—some of which I teach regularly in admin law, and some new to me. I am grateful for the work of @sbagen.bsky.social @mblawrence.bsky.social & more on appropriations law issues. See, e.g., papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 7/x
papers.ssrn.com
The Crisis of Appropriations Law
Appropriations law is a unique body of federal law.  Appropriations law imposes its own somewhat baroque set of statutory interpretation principles, approv
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 20/08/2026
For health law teachers: Here is a summer supplement addressing HR1, AI, admin law, and executive power developments relevant to health law courses. My coauthors and I hope this helps those teaching health law whether they use The Law of American Health Care or not! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The Law of American Health Care, 3d ed., 2026 Summer Supplement
We recognize our adopters and students need updates to the 3d Edition of The Law of American Health Care, which was published just before the second Trump admin
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 15/05/2026
Wow, thank you Emily Hammond for a very thoughtful review of "Second-Class Administrative Law"! adlaw.jotwell.com/putting-a-hu...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 23/04/2026
I'm so bad at social but wanted to share my take on the marijuana rescheduling order, so here's screenshots of my thread at the other place (why didn't I start here? I'd lost my password...)
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Barry Friedman @barryfriedman1.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
This is a super interesting and important take. Concerns about a standing army bar the way we are funding the military.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 17/04/2026
Some key takeaways from new work with @marknevitt.bsky.social: 🚫Funding the military long term through reconciliation is unconstitutional 🚫Long-term military funding in OBBA is unconstitutional ❓Maybe ICE funding too 🚫Tapping the Judgment Fund for defense procurement contracts is unconstitutional
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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
This is a fantastic paper -- well worth your time to read!
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Mark Nevitt @marknevitt.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Thanks to @lsolum.bsky.social for highlighting “Reviving the Military’s Term Limit,” co-written with @mblawrence.bsky.social legaltheoryblog.com/2026/04/16/l... @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social @curtbradley.bsky.social @rgoodlaw.bsky.social @bobbychesney.bsky.social @stevevladeck.bsky.social
legaltheoryblog.com
Discover Our Latest Articles and Insights
Explore our latest articles and stay updated with fresh insights and trends across diverse topics in our recent posts section.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/04/2026
Seriously, is there any better city to visit than Cleveland?Lake/vibe/food/people. Was a treat to get to do my first-ever keynote, at CSU law health insurance symposium today. Presented joint work w/ Allison Hoffman that I’m excited about. Thanks for having me!
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The Information Society Project at Yale Law School @yaleisp.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Thank you Prof. Matthew Lawrence (Emory University School of Law) for joining us for today’s Ideas Lunch and sharing your talk, “Platform Polarization?” We’re grateful for the thoughtful conversation and for the chance to engage with your work!
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/04/2026
Abby Moncrieff introduces Mark Hall and Joan Krause for an awesome opening panel at CSU Law’s health law symposium. Awesome lineup.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/04/2026
Was awesome to present at @yaleisp.bsky.social today and kind of amazing to realize yesterday that my twin brother Dave would be on a panel at Thurmond Arnold across campus at the same time. That has to be a first, right? Btw I presented “Platform Polarization?” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/04/2026
I love creative conlaw scholarship. Kessler and Pozen have a great article up on “epistemic discovery” as a first amendment theory that could gain real traction protecting a range of conduct from AI use to experimentation with psychedelics. tinyurl.com/3rz6k5bx.
tinyurl.com
Epistemic Discovery, Psychedelic Drugs, and the First Amendment
In recent years, the concept of <i>cognitive liberty</i> has drawn support from scholars and activists worldwide.  Proponents of cognitive libert
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 25/03/2026
Here’s the crux of why I think it’s right to call many social media apps “addictive” regardless whether or when “social media addiction” gets added to medicine’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual:
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 25/03/2026
Next up for social media may be a settlement or court ordered remedy. But we need to be careful that the relief is genuine and stops the harm. For one take on how, see my piece with a group of fantastic coauthors—“Social Media Harm Abatement.” nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 24/03/2026
The debates about DHS and Iran appropriations assume the long term slush funds the OBBA gave the president for ICE and military ops are constitutional. That premise is mistaken, as @marknevitt.bsky.social and I explain in our draft, now forthcoming in GW Law Review! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Dan Deacon @dtdeacon.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
For the past year or so, I've been working on a project for the Administrative Conference of the United States on best practices for drafting regulatory preambles in light of recent developments in judicial review. The draft report is now available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 1/
papers.ssrn.com
Drafting Regulatory Preambles (Draft Report to the Administrative Conference of the United States)
This is a draft report to the Administrative Conference of the United States on best practices for drafting regulatory preambles in light of recent developments
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 23/03/2026
If you’re tired of incremental marijuana rescheduling announcements and interested in the root problem with drug scheduling, or how to fix it, check out my new piece with Dave Pozen, just out in Science! SSRN version here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The Right Schedule for Marijuana (Among Other Drugs) Does Not Yet Exist
<p><span>In the marijuana rescheduling process currently underway in the United States, clinicians and researchers have urged the Drug Enforcement Administratio
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 21/03/2026
But if AI does what we are told shouldn’t it lower the cost to a handful of journals of collaborating on their own alternative? Even that they run in parallel to scholastica, as a way for interested authors to give them money directly?
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 21/03/2026
Can we find a solution to the AI in law reviews ”problem“ that involves redirecting the rents Scholastica extracts from law schools (and lawyers/law students who want to publish, of course) toward the students who do all the work? Hate to think of scholastica owners profiting off students’ toil.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 09/03/2026
I know at the end of the day the work is really not about recognition but it is still rewarding to see my name in this ranking. I just remember all the struggle that went into the pieces underlying this. Thanks to Rob Willey and Melanie Knapp for putting it together. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2025
Traditional legal scholarship rankings rely almost exclusively on career-long publication metrics, a method that inherently favors decades-old articles and ofte
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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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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 19/02/2026
Avi Sholkoff and I collected legal opinions leading up to the ongoing social media trial, as well as legal scholarship on addictive design, at Harvard’s Bill of Health blog here: tinyurl.com/8by82vpe
tinyurl.com
Addictive Design and Social Media: Legal Opinions and Research Roundup - Petrie-Flom Center
By Matthew B. Lawrence and Avraham R. Sholkoff This has been a busy year in research and regulation addressing addictive design by social media platforms, marked by advisories or initiatives from the ...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 19/02/2026
Is compulsive use of social media more like watching too much TV or getting hooked on slot machines? Kevin Yan and I bring lessons from drugs and gambling to debates about social media, including whether “addiction” is the right word when we talk about social media, here: tinyurl.com/mryv7js6
tinyurl.com
Moral Panic or Public Health Crisis? Lessons from Drugs and Gambling for “Addictive” Design
Alcohol, automobiles, guns, lottery, loot boxes, meat, music, opioid painkillers, processed foods, prop bets, slot machines, television, tobacco, violent video games. Over the last century each of the...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 11/02/2026
Hot off the presses, Dave Pozen’s and my new piece in @HarvLRev on what is broken in how we regulate marijuana, kratom, opioids, and other drugs—and how to fix it. Admin law meets public health meets LPE meets drug law meets harm reduction. Check it out! harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...
harvardlawreview.org
Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design - Harvard Law Review
The United States makes bad choices when it comes to psychoactive drugs. Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), U.S. drug law has simultaneously fueled mass incarceration, inhibited needed access,...
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Brian Galle @bdgesq.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Readers, today is the exciting launch day for my book! How to Tax the Ultrarich bit.ly/4rk6wBM In partnership with the great economic policy team @rooseveltinstitute.org A few threads will follow. 1st, the key takeaway: even w/ *this* Supreme Court, we can tax wealth at the federal level. 1/12
bit.ly
How to Tax the Ultrarich
Learn about the Fair Share Tax (FAST), a practical, constitutionally sound plan to tax the ultrarich, close loopholes, and prevent dynastic wealth accumulation.
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Nora Benavidez @attorneynora.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
At this moment, the incessant & chaotic attacks on freedom can make collective action feel daunting, even impossible. While collective & sustained action is never fail-proof, it has disrupted the admin's violent takeover. A thread on how coordinated, systemic resistance blunts Trump's tyranny: 1/
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 23/01/2026
Wow, thanks Josh for the shout out!
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 23/01/2026
I have a piece in lawfare today about a wonky but important issue—the selection of a new Comptroller General and future of both “Congress’s Watchdog” and the (badly needed) stabilizing force in federal spending it provides. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-t...
lawfaremedia.org
Is the GAO the Next Battlefield in the Fight for Separation of Powers?
The expiration of the comptroller general’s term is an opportunity for Congress to reassert itself, or retreat further.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 05/01/2026
Happy "just circling back on this" day to those who celebrate.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 05/01/2026
I’m honored to join the @oneillinstitute.bsky.social's Center for Addiction and Public Policy, Taleed El-Sabawi, Regina LaBelle, and other colleagues for the "Winter Institute on Addiction Policy and the Law” CLE event on February 9-10, 2026. Register (zoom or live): web.cvent.com/event/e921a3...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 05/01/2026
Excited to be launching and co-teaching this new course at Emory Law. If you've got ideas for articles/books/strategies/challenges to share with students to help them use law to change the world for the better, despite all that stands in the way, please do share! law.emory.edu/news-and-eve...
law.emory.edu
Emory Law launches Public Interest Pathways course | Emory University School of Law | Atlanta, GA
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 18/12/2025
Very wonky podcast with Eugene Volokh @hooverinstitution.bsky.social, Jane Bambauer, and me talking about how the first amendment does/doesn't limit states' ability to try to protect kids and adults from addictive design by tech companies. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
reason.com
Free Speech Unmuted: Does the First Amendment Protect Supposedly “Addictive” Algorithms?, with Matthew Lawrence
Can the government regulate social media features because they are "addictive"? Jane Bambauer and I talk with Emory Law professor…
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 18/12/2025
Trump marijuana EO is a big deal and, like all EOs, raises questions about "what's next" and "what has actually changed"? Here are some quick bullets about my understanding of where we are and where we are going.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/12/2025
Now on SSRN: "Platform Polarization?" is forthcoming in Emory Law Journal--about the increasing politicization of social media platforms and what it means for political parties and constitutional law. tinyurl.com/h4ynwyua Comments are very welcome on the draft!
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 10/12/2025
Now on SSRN: "The Missing Constitutional Law of Executive Conditions" (with Nicole Huberfeld) is forthcoming in Wash U. L. Rev--about the distinctive constitutional issues presented by presidential "regulation by deal." tinyurl.com/mrytp74z Comments very welcome on the draft!
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Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Well over 150 UC law faculty have just made public this open letter to the UC Regents arguing, point by specific point, for why the Regents should not accept any of the major demands the Trump administration has made of UCLA. We argue it's not a genuine settlement offer, but a form of extortion.
sites.google.com
Home
UC Law Faculty to Regents: Resist the Unlawful Demands
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 07/11/2025
This is interesting!
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 01/11/2025
Now that Character.AI is 18+ the pressure on other companies to age gate will grow. Delighted to share my piece with Brett Frischmann and Avi Sholkoff, "Tort Liability for Failure to Age Gate: A Promising Regulatory Response to Digital Public Health Hazards," www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 01/11/2025
Is the Trump admin going to appeal the RI court's order requiring SNAP distributions? DOJ's latest filing suggests they are considering it, asking for a written order to help them decide. Meanwhile the MA court says funds *are legally available* and asks admin to say if they will pay by 11/3.
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 28/10/2025
Two very different memos: Here is (1) the first Trump Admin's explanation that they'd made funds available to protect SNAP beneficiaries from shutdown-related disruptions, dated January 9, 2019, and (2) the second Trump Admin's explanation that they would not do so, posted by Axios last Friday.
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georgetownlj.bsky.social @georgetownlj.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Can the power of the purse be protected? Professors @mblawrence.bsky.social, Eloise Pasachoff, & Zachary Price analyze the Trump Admin's dramatic shift away from Congressional power and toward unilateral executive control over spending. bit.ly/appropriatio...
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 24/10/2025
Awesome presentation at Emory by Yale Law’s Nicholas Parrillo to discuss “Administrative Law as a Choice of Business Strategy.” If you’re in admin law (health care, energy, envt, consumer protection, etc.) you really ought to read this groundbreaking paper. tinyurl.com/3ejdm5a8
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Matthew Lawrence @handle.invalid · 02/10/2025
“If the President could later alter the bargain by negating provisions they disfavored, why would senators or representatives ever vote for a package including provisions they dislike?” -Me, Pasachoff & Price last spring on how appropriations presidentialism causes shutdowns. tinyurl.com/59uwsu42
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