Author | Lightnews

Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · 6d

(plus any senior status judge on the original panel).

Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · 6d

The vote to take the case en banc and thereby necessarily to vacate the panel opinion always goes to all nonrecused active judges, and requires a majority of them (failure to vote is a yes). Then, the clerk’s office draws an en banc panel that is a subset of all active status nonrecused judges

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Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · 18d

Cheers for AFPDs Abe and Ohm, and their client Ms. Reid, guardians of democracy all three.

Dave Jamieson @jamieson.bsky.social · 18d

Wow. Sidney Reid, the DC woman just found not guilty of assaulting an FBI agent, issues a withering and gutsy statement on Trump through her attorneys.

"I feel sorry for the prosecutors really, who must be burdened by Trump's irrational and unfounded hatred for his fellow man."

It's a must-read:

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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · Oct 3

No.

Signed, a criminologist (for all intents and purposes)

NPR @npr.org · Oct 3

As President Trump ramps up efforts to send federal officers and troops into cities, criminologists are watching closely. Are the feds doing this in a smart way?

National Guard presence may deter crime, but experts warn of the long-term costs

As President Trump ramps up efforts to send federal officers and troops into cities, criminologists are watching closely. Are the feds doing this in a smart way?

n.pr

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Ryan Enos @ryanenos.bsky.social · Sep 30

I have never seen such a blistering rebuke of a President by a federal judge. He is telling us clearly to stand up for our liberty against a dictator. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Michael Yarbrough (he/him) @mwyarbrough.bsky.social · Sep 27

It is funny for sure. The reason for the difference is that the closer analogy here is between Columbia's board and ABC's executives, who responded similarly. Kimmel is more like Columbia faculty who have resisted their bosses' capitulation. The recurring pattern is: management cowers, labor fights.

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · Sep 27

It is really funny that Jimmy Kimmel Live showed more moral fortitude and adherence to a system of values than Columbia University

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · Sep 23

I'm just gonna keep reposting this inane BS from Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence on the roving immigration patrol case from LA.

The Government
sometimes makes brief investigative stops to check the
immigration status of those who gather in locations where
people are hired for day jobs; who work or appear to work
in jobs such as construction, landscaping, agriculture, or car
washes that often do not require paperwork and are
therefore attractive to illegal immigrants; and who do not
speak much if any English. If the officers learn that the
individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise
lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the
individual go

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Rhiannon Giddens @rhiannongiddens.bsky.social · Sep 20

The irony is not lost on me. Chin up, Jimmy. 🙏

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Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · Aug 15

🚨 150 University of California law professors (and counting) have now signed this open letter to the UC Regents and other officials, explaining the flagrant illegality of the Trump Administration’s UCLA funding cut offs, and urging the UC to fight back. sites.google.com/view/uclawfa...

Dear President Milliken, Regents, and Governor Newsom,
As faculty members of University of California law schools, we endorse Governor Newsom's commitment to resist the Trump Administration's unlawful actions taken against the University of California, Los Angeles. The Governor is on firm legal ground. The Trump Administration's termination and suspension of federal funds has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in numerous ways. Governor Newsom and the University of California Regents will protect the vital interests not only of Californians but of all Americans if they defend the University of California's rights.
The U.S. Department of Justice notified UCLA on July 29, 2025, that it had found that UCLA had "violated its obligations under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Chancellor Frenk subsequently announced that
"the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons" for federal grant terminations. UCLA faces losses of at least $584 million, funding that has supported vital research on matters ranging from treatments for pancreatic cancer to advances in online security.
The Trump Administration has made no pretense of following the law. Title VI permits a federal agency to terminate funding only if it has found that the particular program receiving that funding has violated the law's non-discrimination provisions. Funding cannot disappear just because the agency's policy or political preferences differ from the institution's.
Moreover, the agency can act only after following specific procedural steps. Importantly, Title VI requires a formal administrative hearing—a proceeding much like a trial-before the agency can terminate funding. At the hearing, the agency would have the burden of proving the university's alleged violations of Title VI before an impartial decision-maker. If the agency prevails at the hearing, the university or other interested persons could appea…

factually supported and consistent with civil rights laws. Without the steps Title VI requires, there is no protection against an administration alleging discrimination as a pretext to force compliance with its policy or partisan preferences. Title VI's procedures guarantee the constitutional due process requirement that no person can be deprived of liberty or property without fair notice and opportunity to be heard. They protect the university and its members' academic freedom, an endowment essential to scientific research, intellectual discovery, and open debate.
We are deeply committed to the core principle of non-discrimination codified in Title VI and in the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. The principle that no person may suffer discrimination because of race, color, or national origin protects equality and ensures fairness in political as well as social life. Allegations of discrimination deserve serious and careful consideration and, where established, effective redress. But this enforcement effort must follow the law.
We urge Governor Newsom and the UC Regents to continue to stand up for the fundamental principles of the rule of law, due process, and equal protection. A defense of the University of California's rights in court will model respect for these bedrock principles of equality and fairness, and it will ensure that the government honors them. The Trump Administration's failure to abide by the law subverts these principles by denying the University of California a fair opportunity to contest the government's charges of unlawful discrimination before an impartial decisionmaker. It is precisely because we cherish the principles of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution that we encourage Governor Newsom, the UC Regents, and the University of California to fight back.
Through its grantmaking powers, the federal government wields vast influence over social and economic life. If not held to account by the procedural protections enacted by Congres…

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · Aug 15

The thing is, it’s a more important piece of white American history.

Patrick* Neithard @patrickneithard.bsky.social · Aug 14

A very important piece of Black American History.

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Matthew Stiegler @matthewstiegler.bsky.social · Aug 13

The mayor and the governor should be threatening now to use every newton of power they have to punish Harvard if they do this. Eye-watering state and local endowment taxes, zoning and land use, litigation, you name it.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · Aug 12

Harvard University is nearing a $500 million settlement with the Trump administration, in what would be the largest payout the White House has won so far in its campaign to punish universities that it says failed to stop antisemitism on campus.

Harvard, Trump Administration Near Deal for $500 Million Settlement

Agreement would restore funding and stop litigation between the school and White House.

on.wsj.com

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · Aug 8

The billion dollars is the least of it. It’s universities’ autonomy, independence, and integrity that Trump is really after. www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/p...

Trump administration seeking $1 billion settlement from UCLA | CNN Politics

The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, CNN has exclusively learned, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher ed...

www.cnn.com

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Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · Aug 2

Chancellor Julio Frenk is the child of German refugees who fled to Mexico from Nazi Germany. He has not been shy about addressing bias where it exists.

Meanwhile, using the pretext of antisemitism to take money away from my employer is the most antisemitic thing ever to have affected me personally.

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · Aug 2

The federal government is suspending certain research funding to the University of California at Los Angeles, citing concerns about antisemitism and bias on campus, according UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk

Trump Administration Suspends UCLA Grants After Rights Probe

The federal government is suspending certain research funding to the University of California at Los Angeles over concerns about antisemitism and bias on campus, hitting one of the most prestigious public higher-education systems in the US.

bloom.bg

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Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · Jul 25

The @law.ucla.edu Behind Bars Data Project is hiring a combined public records analyst and staff writer to help us collect and disseminate data on mortality and morbidity in prisons and jails. This work has become even more pressing of late. Please share and apply! jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8221

Public Records Analyst/Staff Writer in United States | The Regents of the University of California on behalf of their Los Angeles Campus

UCLA is hiring a Public Records Analyst/Staff Writer in United States. Review all of the job details and apply today!

jobs.ucla.edu

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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · Jul 24

The mass starvation & killing of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli gov’t is a chillul hashem, a desecration of God.

Jewish leaders who criticized Zohran Mamdani for three words he doesn’t use should raise their voices loudly here as well.
forward.com/opinion/7575...

Gaza is starving. Where are the American Jewish leaders?

A fear of being labelled antisemitic still deters American Jews and Jewish institutions from taking a position that is morally correct.

forward.com

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Mark Lemley @marklemley.bsky.social · Jul 14

Now THAT's a cease and desist letter

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Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · Jul 6

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Aaron Littman @aaronlittman.bsky.social · Jul 3

Re-reading Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” constitutioncenter.org/the-constitu...

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852)

National Constitution Center Historic Documents Library record for What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852)

constitutioncenter.org

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Jun 24

Truly horrified by this order in way that is deeper and darker than I have felt over many truly awful merits decisions.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · Jun 24

"SCOTUS allows Trump admin to deport people to random countries with no notice"

Honestly still can't believe that I wrote this headline today, let alone that the U.S. Supreme Court's majority did so.

SCOTUS allows Trump admin to deport people to random countries with no notice

Justice Sotomayor called the order a "gross ... abuse" of the court's authority. Also: Law Dork in the media.

www.lawdork.com

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Kate Shaw @kateshaw.bsky.social · Jun 23

SCOTUS majority not deigning to give *any* reasons for staying the injunction of the district court - in the highest-possible stakes context & where the executive branch has acted appallingly - evincing real contempt for both district courts & the rule of law

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · Jun 23

#BREAKING: Over a (sharp) public dissent from the three Democratic appointees, #SCOTUS clears the way for the Trump administration to remove migrants to third countries *without* giving them an additional opportunity to contest whether they face persecution or other forms of mistreatment there:

www.supremecourt.gov

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Jun 23

DISASTROUS. This means they will send people to horrific situations with no due process — in direct violation of promises the Solicitor General made to the Court in previous cases.

This greenlights sending people to be enslaved in Libya or tortured in any random foreign country.

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · Jun 23

#BREAKING: Over a (sharp) public dissent from the three Democratic appointees, #SCOTUS clears the way for the Trump administration to remove migrants to third countries *without* giving them an additional opportunity to contest whether they face persecution or other forms of mistreatment there:

www.supremecourt.gov

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