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Leah Litman

@leahlitman.bsky.social

220K followers 920 following 2.7K 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” https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628

www.simonandschuster.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · May 13

She’s in her AUTHOR ERA!

It’s publication day for LAWLESS: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, & Bad Vibes!

As a forever book nerd, I had so much fun writing this-I hope you have fun reading it! Get it at your local bookstore today!! bookshop.org/p/books/lawl...

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Dave Itzkoff @ditzkoff.bsky.social · 18m

so what's in the news today

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 2h

2/2 Judge Smith's Order from today:

"Defendants’ new condition is not a good faith effort to comply with the order."

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

(h/t @kyledcheney.bsky.social)

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2h

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 2h

JUST IN: The 3rd Circuit *denies* a push by national GOP to reconsider ruling on misdated mail ballots in Pa.

Judge Emil Bove may have cast his first vote here in dissent of the decision -- and plans to write about it later. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 3h

TONIGHT! (Rain or shine)

Rick Hasen @rickhasen.bsky.social · 5d

Very excited to be interviewing my friend and former colleague @leahlitman.bsky.social at the @hammer.ucla.edu on Tuesday, October 14 (cosponsored by @law.ucla.edu) about her new book, Lawless. Free admission and video of the event will post afterwards. Join us!
hammer.ucla.edu/programs-eve...

Leah Litman on the Supreme Court | Hammer Museum

University of Michigan Law School professor Leah Litman will discuss her provocative new book, which argues that the Supreme Court has abandoned legal reasoning in favor of political grievances dresse...

hammer.ucla.edu

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Reuters Legal @legal.reuters.com · 1d

A conservative legal group has ended a discrimination lawsuit against the University of Michigan’s flagship law journal.

Conservative group ends discrimination lawsuit against Michigan Law Review

A conservative legal group has ended a discrimination lawsuit against the University of Michigan’s flagship law journal.

reut.rs

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

Our episode on the first week of the term is up!

We also got to chat with John Fabian Witt about his new (out tomorrow!) book THE RADICAL FUND - about how a group of progressives helped remake American democracy for the better in an era of inequality, violence, & more.

Strict Scrutiny Podcast @strictscrutiny.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: The first week of the new SCOTUS term (& the likely hypocrisy on conversion therapy vs. gender-affirming care); lower court litigation against Natl Guard deployments; & more.

+ John Fabian Witt @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social joins to talk his new book THE RADICAL FUND crooked.com/podcast/will...

a rooster and a penguin are standing next to each other in the ocean .

Alt: a rooster and a penguin are standing next to each other in the ocean .

media.tenor.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

coming soon to CBS!!

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

OBVIOUSLY

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

extremely extremely same. when we spent time here on our last sabbatical, I probably went to sidecar every other day (at least).

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

scenes from war torn LA

(I 💙 SoCal for many reasons; the excellent donuts are just one.)

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

yes, that's part of my semi-rant on this idea of just applying the 1A w/o consideration of context or why the "speech" is being regulated!

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Michelle Goldberg @michellegoldberg.bsky.social · 1d

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/o...

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

A2 - we've got a No Kings protest at Veterans Park on 10/18!

Home of the Brave @ofthebraveusa.bsky.social · 1d

On October 18th, millions of brave Americans will stand up and peacefully protest against the authoritarian disease metastasizing under Donald Trump.

No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings. @gtconway.bsky.social

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Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 1d

I wonder if ruling for an authoritarian president of your own party 18 straight times (or whatever it is now), often without any reasoning at all, gives any impressions that a Supreme Court justice should wish not to give.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 2d

At first i thought the majority on the court was just a bunch of hardcore gop partisans with brains pickled in right wing propaganda but after seeing them do these softball book tour interviews with right wing outlets I'm convinced they're just neutral arbiters doing their best.

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

“Alito has the opinion”

Natasha Simonova @philistella.bsky.social · 2d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

New library catalogue website.

🏰meg⚔️ @Birthright Audiobook! @impavid.us · 4d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Kamala Harris: "The Supreme Court made the decision that the president would be immune from any of his conduct while in office. So we went into the election with this individual, Donald Trump, knowing that he would essentially be immune from any consequence for misbehavior while in office."

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

I haven't done ~exactly~ that but ... close?

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

forgot to pack my flight anxiety meds in my carry on .... deeply sorry for the people next to me .....😬🥴😵‍💫

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

Ladies & gentlemen & nonbinary readers - the civil rights heroes (according to this Supreme Court)!!!

One woman made national news when she protested the Covid-19 vaccine at her local City Council. Another is a member of the Trumpettes, a group of women united in their ardent support for the president. A third is a retired grocery salesman who said he didn’t remember signing up to be involved in a lawsuit.

The three are among the 12 Louisiana voters at the center of a case set to be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday that could gut what remains of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark civil-rights-era legislation.

In January 2024, the group filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Louisiana’s congressional district map, arguing state lawmakers had discriminated against them as white voters by impermissibly taking race into account when they drafted the map after the 2020 census.

Since then, they’ve been referred to in court filings merely as the “non-African-American” voters.

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

The "plaintiffs" seeking to dismantle the Voting Rights Act (in a case this week at SCOTUS) include:

-a member of the "Trumpettes," a group of women who ardently support for the president
-a retiree who said he didn’t remember signing up to be involved in a lawsuit.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/u...

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 2d

Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.

www.cbsnews.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

LA people - any place you would recommend for dim sum / dumplings (around Brentwood, Westwood, or Santa Monica)?

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ttaboada.bsky.social @ttaboada.bsky.social · 2d

You’ll just be minding your own business when suddenly Martha-Ann

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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 3d

This is important exculpatory evidence bc the indictment accuses James of seeking a “second home” mortgage when in reality she intended to use it as an “investment” home by renting it out.

(James disclosed between $1,000-5,000 in rent during 1st year, but the contract allowed short term rentals.)

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 3d

NYT reports that Letitia James’s great niece lives in the home that is the subject of the indictment.

The niece reportedly testified before a *different* grand jury, telling them that she had lived there for many years without paying rent. James visits regularly.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Letitia James
Indictment
Read the Indictment
Timeline of Conflict
Indic
But in June, IMs. Thompson testified to a grand
jury in Norfolk that she had lived in the house for years and that she did not pay rent, a person familiar with her testimony said. She was not asked to testify again, and the grand jury that voted to indict Ms. James was not seated in Norfolk, but in Alexandria.
The specter of Mr. Trump's revenge campaign has so far overshadowed the facts of the case, given how he has pushed for Ms. James's punishment. For years, he has railed against her on social media, calling her a "crook" and
"corrunt" Last month. he also appointed Ms.

for a peaceful life after years of turbulence in several cities.
The family, Nakia Thompson and her children, have lived at the address ever since, according to two people familiar with the home, and until this week, the plan for a more lacid existence had largely gone as expected. Several times a year, the people said, a great-aunt who had purchased the house in 2020 with Ms.
Thompson in mind would come for an extended stay.
This week, with the filing of court papers some 200 miles north, the plan came to an abrupt end.
The great-aunt - Letitia James, the New York attorney general - was indicted by President Trump's Justice Department. The yellow house,

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