Aaron Bruhl
@aaronbruhl.bsky.social
Law professor
Statutory interpretation, legislation, federal courts, administrative law
Research: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=648978
Posts do not speak for my employer
Statutory interpretation, legislation, federal courts, administrative law
Research: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=648978
Posts do not speak for my employer
Pinned
Aaron Bruhl
@aaronbruhl.bsky.social
· Nov 7
In light of the influx of people here, a brief intro:
I write about legislation and judicial process. I’m currently working on papers about (1) statutes that backstop threatened constitutional rights, (2) pre-Erie understandings of interpretive methods.
Sometimes post fun stuff from old books.
I write about legislation and judicial process. I’m currently working on papers about (1) statutes that backstop threatened constitutional rights, (2) pre-Erie understandings of interpretive methods.
Sometimes post fun stuff from old books.
This week’s scorecard of German Idealism in legal documents:
Kant 1
Hegel ?
Left: Hunter Biden motion for default judgment
Right: Judge Smith’s dissent in Texas redistricting case
(Smith’s reference is obviously meant to be negative, but given the tenor of the dissent, how to score?)
Kant 1
Hegel ?
Left: Hunter Biden motion for default judgment
Right: Judge Smith’s dissent in Texas redistricting case
(Smith’s reference is obviously meant to be negative, but given the tenor of the dissent, how to score?)
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
This week’s scorecard of German Idealism in legal documents:
Kant 1
Hegel ?
Left: Hunter Biden motion for default judgment
Right: Judge Smith’s dissent in Texas redistricting case
(Smith’s reference is obviously meant to be negative, but given the tenor of the dissent, how to score?)
Kant 1
Hegel ?
Left: Hunter Biden motion for default judgment
Right: Judge Smith’s dissent in Texas redistricting case
(Smith’s reference is obviously meant to be negative, but given the tenor of the dissent, how to score?)
It is officially “dogs trying to hide in raked-up piles of leaves” season.
November 15, 2025 at 12:20 AM
It is officially “dogs trying to hide in raked-up piles of leaves” season.
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
Friday reading recommendation: my new article, “The Amended Statute,” which is now out with @uchilrev.bsky.social! Hope you’ll check it out!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Amended Statute
We live in a republic of amended statutes. In each Congress, our laws are amended tens of thousands of times. Individual statutes make amendments that number in
papers.ssrn.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Friday reading recommendation: my new article, “The Amended Statute,” which is now out with @uchilrev.bsky.social! Hope you’ll check it out!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
I missed this when it was posted.
Among my other things, some nice points about congressional reliance on Humphrey’s Executor:
Among my other things, some nice points about congressional reliance on Humphrey’s Executor:
October 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I missed this when it was posted.
Among my other things, some nice points about congressional reliance on Humphrey’s Executor:
Among my other things, some nice points about congressional reliance on Humphrey’s Executor:
Ok, make that two kings.
No kings but Mookie Betts.
That's our starting shortstop, Mookie Betts!
October 18, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Ok, make that two kings.
No kings but Mookie Betts.
That's our starting shortstop, Mookie Betts!
October 17, 2025 at 1:06 PM
No kings but Mookie Betts.
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
Please help me get the word out about the new websites for Legal Theory Blog and the Legal Theory Lexicon. Reposting here and on other social media sites is great. It would be especially helpful if law school faculty members could send an email to their colleagues with the new addresses.
Legal Theory Blog
Discover our latest articles and updates. Stay informed with recent posts that cover a variety of topics you care about!
legaltheoryblog.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Please help me get the word out about the new websites for Legal Theory Blog and the Legal Theory Lexicon. Reposting here and on other social media sites is great. It would be especially helpful if law school faculty members could send an email to their colleagues with the new addresses.
This morning SCOTUS heard Berk v. Choy, a Civil Procedure case about the Erie doctrine. The state requires an “affidavit of merit” to accompany medical malpractice complaints. Does it apply in federal court?
I listened to the oral argument.
Reactions in next post.
Docket and briefs at this link:
I listened to the oral argument.
Reactions in next post.
Docket and briefs at this link:
Search
www.supremecourt.gov
October 6, 2025 at 4:29 PM
This morning SCOTUS heard Berk v. Choy, a Civil Procedure case about the Erie doctrine. The state requires an “affidavit of merit” to accompany medical malpractice complaints. Does it apply in federal court?
I listened to the oral argument.
Reactions in next post.
Docket and briefs at this link:
I listened to the oral argument.
Reactions in next post.
Docket and briefs at this link:
The Supreme Court’s reference, in QP 2 in the Slaugher removal case, to “at equity or at law,” rather than using the traditional formulaic prepositions “in equity or at law” stands as a stark contrast to its embrace of “history and tradition.” In this essay I will …
#pedantry
#pedantry
September 29, 2025 at 3:50 PM
The Supreme Court’s reference, in QP 2 in the Slaugher removal case, to “at equity or at law,” rather than using the traditional formulaic prepositions “in equity or at law” stands as a stark contrast to its embrace of “history and tradition.” In this essay I will …
#pedantry
#pedantry
I went to the library to get High on Extraordinary Legal Remedies.
September 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I went to the library to get High on Extraordinary Legal Remedies.
Given the Supreme Court’s grant of a stay (which allows FTC member’s ouster) and its grant of certiorari on the remedies question as well as on the merits of Humprey’s Executor, this from Sam Bray is sure timely:
@dividedargument.bsky.social
@dividedargument.bsky.social
Remedies in the Officer Removal Cases
A brief note that I have just posted a draft paper on SSRN called Remedies in the Officer Removal Cases. Here’s the abstract:
blog.dividedargument.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Given the Supreme Court’s grant of a stay (which allows FTC member’s ouster) and its grant of certiorari on the remedies question as well as on the merits of Humprey’s Executor, this from Sam Bray is sure timely:
@dividedargument.bsky.social
@dividedargument.bsky.social
A brag and a request for teaching ideas:
I am honored to be this year’s Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching. The professorship comes with the duty to present lunchtime sessions to my colleagues on teaching-related themes. What ideas do you have?
I am honored to be this year’s Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching. The professorship comes with the duty to present lunchtime sessions to my colleagues on teaching-related themes. What ideas do you have?
September 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A brag and a request for teaching ideas:
I am honored to be this year’s Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching. The professorship comes with the duty to present lunchtime sessions to my colleagues on teaching-related themes. What ideas do you have?
I am honored to be this year’s Kelly Professor for Excellence in Teaching. The professorship comes with the duty to present lunchtime sessions to my colleagues on teaching-related themes. What ideas do you have?
They are now up to about a dozen of the ideas in this interesting series.
🚀 Launching with 100 Ideas in 100 Days
The Democracy Project at @nyulaw.bsky.social is publishing a daily essay from authors across the ideological spectrum to explore the issues facing democracy today.
Read the first three essays: democracyproject.org
The Democracy Project at @nyulaw.bsky.social is publishing a daily essay from authors across the ideological spectrum to explore the issues facing democracy today.
Read the first three essays: democracyproject.org
The Democracy Project
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
September 19, 2025 at 12:42 PM
They are now up to about a dozen of the ideas in this interesting series.
I found this to be a very helpful investigation of some of the practical issues in the impoundment litigation.
www.yalejreg.com/nc/looming-m...
www.yalejreg.com/nc/looming-m...
Looming Mootness Questions in the Appropriations Litigation, by Zachary S. Price - Yale Journal on Regulation
The Trump administration’s long-running effort to cancel certain foreign aid is back on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket. In Trump v. Global Health Council, the government is seeking to stay an i...
www.yalejreg.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I found this to be a very helpful investigation of some of the practical issues in the impoundment litigation.
www.yalejreg.com/nc/looming-m...
www.yalejreg.com/nc/looming-m...
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
Hard to believe this threatened lawsuit about blue slips actually actually gets filed. There are, what, like five fatal jurisdictional/threshold defects?
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com
August 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Hard to believe this threatened lawsuit about blue slips actually actually gets filed. There are, what, like five fatal jurisdictional/threshold defects?
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
Reupping latest Substack on new legal scholarship.
Judges as Chaos Agents
A seismic shift is underway in the American legal academy.
open.substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reupping latest Substack on new legal scholarship.
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
Interested in clashes between the judiciary and legislature? How about injudicious judges who publish their correspondence with famous political figures? Boss Tweed connection? Old treatises?
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Judge Platt Potter and the Politics of Judicial Contempt of the Legislature
<p><span>Suppose that a court arrests a legislator for contempt of court, a possible violation of legislative privilege. And suppose further that in response to
papers.ssrn.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Interested in clashes between the judiciary and legislature? How about injudicious judges who publish their correspondence with famous political figures? Boss Tweed connection? Old treatises?
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Does the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) make it more or less likely that SCOTUS ever overrules Obergefell?
Case for “less likely”:
1) Court would pay the legitimacy cost of overruling without getting much policy benefit.*
2) RMA shows enactable legislative preferences / public opinion.
1/3
Case for “less likely”:
1) Court would pay the legitimacy cost of overruling without getting much policy benefit.*
2) RMA shows enactable legislative preferences / public opinion.
1/3
July 31, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Does the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) make it more or less likely that SCOTUS ever overrules Obergefell?
Case for “less likely”:
1) Court would pay the legitimacy cost of overruling without getting much policy benefit.*
2) RMA shows enactable legislative preferences / public opinion.
1/3
Case for “less likely”:
1) Court would pay the legitimacy cost of overruling without getting much policy benefit.*
2) RMA shows enactable legislative preferences / public opinion.
1/3
Reposted by Aaron Bruhl
🚨50 Constitutions Update🚨
Our latest update to 50constitutions.org adds tracking constitutional change features to 4 additional states!
These tools allow users to explore a state's full amendment history.
50constitutions.org
Our latest update to 50constitutions.org adds tracking constitutional change features to 4 additional states!
These tools allow users to explore a state's full amendment history.
50constitutions.org
July 31, 2025 at 2:43 PM
🚨50 Constitutions Update🚨
Our latest update to 50constitutions.org adds tracking constitutional change features to 4 additional states!
These tools allow users to explore a state's full amendment history.
50constitutions.org
Our latest update to 50constitutions.org adds tracking constitutional change features to 4 additional states!
These tools allow users to explore a state's full amendment history.
50constitutions.org
Interested in clashes between the judiciary and legislature? How about injudicious judges who publish their correspondence with famous political figures? Boss Tweed connection? Old treatises?
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Judge Platt Potter and the Politics of Judicial Contempt of the Legislature
<p><span>Suppose that a court arrests a legislator for contempt of court, a possible violation of legislative privilege. And suppose further that in response to
papers.ssrn.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Interested in clashes between the judiciary and legislature? How about injudicious judges who publish their correspondence with famous political figures? Boss Tweed connection? Old treatises?
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
Have I got the (short!) draft article for you.
Here is the link.
Abstract in next post.
⚖️ 🗃️
During my vacation in Europe, I averaged over seven miles of walking per day and climbed more than six times as many stairs as usual. Now my watch tells me my averages are way down. Clearly my health demands more vacations.
Pictured: beautiful door on a church in Naxos, Greece.
Pictured: beautiful door on a church in Naxos, Greece.
July 21, 2025 at 1:07 PM
During my vacation in Europe, I averaged over seven miles of walking per day and climbed more than six times as many stairs as usual. Now my watch tells me my averages are way down. Clearly my health demands more vacations.
Pictured: beautiful door on a church in Naxos, Greece.
Pictured: beautiful door on a church in Naxos, Greece.
Has an American judge ever been held in contempt of a legislature?
Yes, and in this thread I’ll give a short version of the story of Judge Platt Potter, held in contempt of the NY Assembly in 1870. The story is a bit zany, as Potter went to unusual lengths to publicize his side of it.
⚖️🗃️
🧵
Yes, and in this thread I’ll give a short version of the story of Judge Platt Potter, held in contempt of the NY Assembly in 1870. The story is a bit zany, as Potter went to unusual lengths to publicize his side of it.
⚖️🗃️
🧵
July 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Has an American judge ever been held in contempt of a legislature?
Yes, and in this thread I’ll give a short version of the story of Judge Platt Potter, held in contempt of the NY Assembly in 1870. The story is a bit zany, as Potter went to unusual lengths to publicize his side of it.
⚖️🗃️
🧵
Yes, and in this thread I’ll give a short version of the story of Judge Platt Potter, held in contempt of the NY Assembly in 1870. The story is a bit zany, as Potter went to unusual lengths to publicize his side of it.
⚖️🗃️
🧵
Sam Bray on David Marcus on the birthright-citizenship class actions.
(Tl;dr is class certification is right.)
@dividedargument.bsky.social
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(Tl;dr is class certification is right.)
@dividedargument.bsky.social
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Birthright Citizenship and Class Actions after CASA
David Marcus has a terrific essay explaining why class certification in the birthright citizenship cases is an easy yes under existing law: The Class Action after Trump v.
substack.com
July 12, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Sam Bray on David Marcus on the birthright-citizenship class actions.
(Tl;dr is class certification is right.)
@dividedargument.bsky.social
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(Tl;dr is class certification is right.)
@dividedargument.bsky.social
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#AppellatePlaces
#LawSky
Not a normal court, sure, but the first appeals in England were in the church courts, a hierarchical system where appeals ran eventually to Rome (before Henry VIII’s break). Then equity had appeals. The common law had the clunky writ of error until relatively recently.
#LawSky
Not a normal court, sure, but the first appeals in England were in the church courts, a hierarchical system where appeals ran eventually to Rome (before Henry VIII’s break). Then equity had appeals. The common law had the clunky writ of error until relatively recently.
June 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
#AppellatePlaces
#LawSky
Not a normal court, sure, but the first appeals in England were in the church courts, a hierarchical system where appeals ran eventually to Rome (before Henry VIII’s break). Then equity had appeals. The common law had the clunky writ of error until relatively recently.
#LawSky
Not a normal court, sure, but the first appeals in England were in the church courts, a hierarchical system where appeals ran eventually to Rome (before Henry VIII’s break). Then equity had appeals. The common law had the clunky writ of error until relatively recently.