Lawrence Solum
lsolum.bsky.social
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Law professor at the University of Virginia. Legal theory, originalism, textualism, virtue jurisprudence, artificial intelligence, philosophy of language, moral and political philosophy.

Lawrence Byard Solum is an American legal theorist known for his work in the philosophy of law and constitutional theory. He is the William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law and the Douglas D. Drysdale Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he has taught since 2020. He was previously the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. .. more

Law 35%
Political science 32%

Legal Theory Bookworm: “Sedition” by Gadson

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis by Marcus Alexander Gadson. Here is a description: How Americans have weathered constitutional crises throughout our history Since protestors…
Legal Theory Bookworm: “Sedition” by Gadson
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis by Marcus Alexander Gadson. Here is a description: How Americans have weathered constitutional crises throughout our history Since protestors ripped through the Capitol Building in 2021, the threat of constitutional crisis has loomed over our nation. The foundational tenets of American democracy seem to be endangered, and many citizens believe this danger is unprecedented in our history.
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Download of the Week: “In Casa You Missed It” by Sohoni

The Download of the Week is In CASA You Missed It by Mila Sohoni. Here is the abstract: This Essay’s purpose is to show how Trump v. CASA should be read—and how it emphatically should not be read. While CASA rejected one pathway to universal…
Download of the Week: “In Casa You Missed It” by Sohoni
The Download of the Week is In CASA You Missed It by Mila Sohoni. Here is the abstract: This Essay’s purpose is to show how Trump v. CASA should be read—and how it emphatically should not be read. While CASA rejected one pathway to universal injunctive relief on statutory grounds, the decision simultaneously left intact a number of alternative routes to broad relief, including complete relief injunctions, universal remedies under the APA and other statutes, class actions, and relief based on associational and state standing.
legaltheoryblog.com

Puder on Convivencia

Markus G. Puder (Loyola University New Orleans College of Law) has posted Convivencia of the Third Kind: The Rise of Rights of Nature and Life Balance Under the Cupola Called Earth (40 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 85 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Convivencia - a term that…
Puder on Convivencia
Markus G. Puder (Loyola University New Orleans College of Law) has posted Convivencia of the Third Kind: The Rise of Rights of Nature and Life Balance Under the Cupola Called Earth (40 J. Envtl. L. & Litig. 85 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Convivencia - a term that translates to “living together” - is a concept that legal scholars have applied to the effort to develop a cosmopolitan jurisprudence that transcends the envelope of the nation state in the pursuit of ensuring humanity’s survival.
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Smolin on Nontherapeutic Research with Children

David M. Smolin (Samford University - Cumberland School of Law) has posted Nontherapeutic Research with Children: The Virtues and Vices of Legal Uncertainty on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay examines the legal framework governing…
Smolin on Nontherapeutic Research with Children
David M. Smolin (Samford University - Cumberland School of Law) has posted Nontherapeutic Research with Children: The Virtues and Vices of Legal Uncertainty on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay examines the legal framework governing nontherapeutic research involving children, arguing that the law deliberately embraces uncertainty rather than providing clear substantive rules. Federal regulations prioritize process—through Institutional Review Boards, parental permission, and child assent—over definitive standards, reflecting societal ambivalence about subjecting children to risk for societal benefit.
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Sohoni on CASA

Mila Sohoni (Stanford Law School) has posted In CASA You Missed It (139 Harvard Law Review (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Essay’s purpose is to show how Trump v. CASA should be read—and how it emphatically should not be read. While CASA rejected one pathway…
Sohoni on CASA
Mila Sohoni (Stanford Law School) has posted In CASA You Missed It (139 Harvard Law Review (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Essay’s purpose is to show how Trump v. CASA should be read—and how it emphatically should not be read. While CASA rejected one pathway to universal injunctive relief on statutory grounds, the decision simultaneously left intact a number of alternative routes to broad relief, including complete relief injunctions, universal remedies under the APA and other statutes, class actions, and relief based on associational and state standing.
legaltheoryblog.com

Meyler & Setzer on Cardozo’s Constitutional Theory

Bernadette Meyler (Stanford Law School) & Elliot Setzer (Yale University) have posted Cardozo's Living Constitutionalism in Comparative Context (Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities | Vol. 35:3 2024) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although he…
Meyler & Setzer on Cardozo’s Constitutional Theory
Bernadette Meyler (Stanford Law School) & Elliot Setzer (Yale University) have posted Cardozo's Living Constitutionalism in Comparative Context (Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities | Vol. 35:3 2024) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although he served as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court from 1932-1938, the source of Benjamin Cardozo’s preeminence has generally been his contributions to common law jurisprudence and his theories of common law judging.
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Abelson on Intrusion and the Fourth Amendment

Laura Ginsberg Abelson (Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law) has posted The Fourth Amendment's Hidden Intrusion Doctrine (111 Va. L. Rev. 1255 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Fourth Amendment’s concept of probable cause is…
Abelson on Intrusion and the Fourth Amendment
Laura Ginsberg Abelson (Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law) has posted The Fourth Amendment's Hidden Intrusion Doctrine (111 Va. L. Rev. 1255 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Fourth Amendment’s concept of probable cause is the linchpin of legal standards governing law enforcement actions such as arrests, searches, and seizures. This article challenges the assumption that the same quantum of evidence can meet the probable cause standard regardless of whether law enforcement seek to conduct a search, to seize evidence, or to make an arrest, and regardless of the intrusiveness of such search or seizure.
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Lukina on Aquinas on Evil Law

Anna Lukina (London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)) has posted Evil Law in St. Thomas Aquinas's Philosophy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this paper, I argue that St. Thomas Aquinas's account of evil as privation holds a key to understanding the…
Lukina on Aquinas on Evil Law
Anna Lukina (London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE)) has posted Evil Law in St. Thomas Aquinas's Philosophy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this paper, I argue that St. Thomas Aquinas's account of evil as privation holds a key to understanding the nature of extremely morally iniquitous (or 'evil') law of the kind found in regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin.
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Giving Thanks

It is my annual tradition to give thanks to a person to whom I owe debts of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. This year, I want to thank Richard Fallon, who was a teacher, interlocutor, mentor, and friend for fifty years. Dick was my Federal Courts teacher at Harvard Law School. He was…
Giving Thanks
It is my annual tradition to give thanks to a person to whom I owe debts of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. This year, I want to thank Richard Fallon, who was a teacher, interlocutor, mentor, and friend for fifty years. Dick was my Federal Courts teacher at Harvard Law School. He was an extraordinary teacher--even though it was his first time teaching an extraordinarily difficult course.
legaltheoryblog.com

Lim on AI Legal Practice in the Philippines

Nestor Lim (News Media Nest; University of Makati) has posted A Legal Framework for the Allowance of Artificial Intelligence Systems to Practice Law in the Philippines on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal services in the Philippines are currently…
Lim on AI Legal Practice in the Philippines
Nestor Lim (News Media Nest; University of Makati) has posted A Legal Framework for the Allowance of Artificial Intelligence Systems to Practice Law in the Philippines on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal services in the Philippines are currently provided by lawyers who must be natural persons that have undergone training in law school and have successfully met the other qualifications, such as satisfactorily passing the Bar examinations, as set forth by the Supreme Court.
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Douglas on State Constitutional Limits on Mid-Decade Redistricting

Joshua A. Douglas (University of Kentucky - J. David Rosenberg College of Law) has posted One Decade, One Map: State Constitutional Limits on Mid-Decade Redistricting (110 Minnesota Law Review (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN. Here is…
Douglas on State Constitutional Limits on Mid-Decade Redistricting
Joshua A. Douglas (University of Kentucky - J. David Rosenberg College of Law) has posted One Decade, One Map: State Constitutional Limits on Mid-Decade Redistricting (110 Minnesota Law Review (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court closed the federal courthouse doors to claims of partisan gerrymandering, effectively permitting states to engage in what it called “constitutional political gerrymandering.” By 2025, several states embraced this invitation, redrawing maps mid-decade for openly partisan ends.
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Gold on Kinds of Private Law Justice

Andrew S. Gold (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posterd The Many Kinds of Justice in Private Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Private law theorists often employ a single type of justice to explain the field.  Typically, the chosen type is…
Gold on Kinds of Private Law Justice
Andrew S. Gold (University of California, Irvine School of Law) has posterd The Many Kinds of Justice in Private Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Private law theorists often employ a single type of justice to explain the field.  Typically, the chosen type is corrective justice.  While it is true that courts look to do “justice between the parties”, I will argue that “justice between the parties” is an open-ended category that encapsulates multiple types of justice. 
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Slocum & Tobia on Textualism and Consequences

Brian G. Slocum & Kevin Tobia have posted the final version of Pragmatic Textualism on the Duke Law Journal website.  Here is the abstract: Traditional textualism instructs judges to adhere to a statute's linguistic meaning and reject as irrelevant its…
Slocum & Tobia on Textualism and Consequences
Brian G. Slocum & Kevin Tobia have posted the final version of Pragmatic Textualism on the Duke Law Journal website.  Here is the abstract: Traditional textualism instructs judges to adhere to a statute's linguistic meaning and reject as irrelevant its interpretive consequences. Justice Scalia famously contrasted his restrained textualist judge with "Mr. Fix-It," a judge who inappropriately weighs consequences. Today, however, textualists increasingly embrace consequentialist reasoning.
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Fish & Keller on the Crime of Undocumented Presence

Eric S. Fish (University of California, Davis - School of Law) & Doug Keller have posted Fabricating the Crime of Undocumented Presence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2025, the Trump Administration’s Office of Legal Counsel declared that it is…
Fish & Keller on the Crime of Undocumented Presence
Eric S. Fish (University of California, Davis - School of Law) & Doug Keller have posted Fabricating the Crime of Undocumented Presence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 2025, the Trump Administration’s Office of Legal Counsel declared that it is a federal crime simply to be an undocumented immigrant. But Congress has enacted no such crime. Congress has made it a crime, codified at 8 U.S.C.
legaltheoryblog.com

Lerer on Orthodoxy and Rational Debate

Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted Epistemological Clergies: When Orthodoxy Blocks Rational Debate on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Why is rational debate about criminal or labor law reform impossible in certain jurisdictions This article proposes that dominant…
Lerer on Orthodoxy and Rational Debate
Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted Epistemological Clergies: When Orthodoxy Blocks Rational Debate on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Why is rational debate about criminal or labor law reform impossible in certain jurisdictions This article proposes that dominant legal doctrines function as secular religions with memetic architectures immune to rational debate. Applying Daniel Dennett's framework on religion as natural phenomenon, I argue that extreme criminal guarantism, orthodox abolitionism, and unconditional defense of labor ultraactivity exhibit religious structures: (1) sacralization of concepts, (2) conversion of empirical disagreements into moral transgressions, (3) exclusion through costly signaling, and (4) ideological purity blocking gradualism.
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Park and Park on Causal Reasoning Capabilities in LLMs

Jee Won Park (Hallym University) & Sungmi ‍Park (Hallym University) have posted When Correct Isn't Enough: Deconstructing Legal Causal Reasoning Capability in Large Language Models on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Knowledge-based systems powered…
Park and Park on Causal Reasoning Capabilities in LLMs
Jee Won Park (Hallym University) & Sungmi ‍Park (Hallym University) have posted When Correct Isn't Enough: Deconstructing Legal Causal Reasoning Capability in Large Language Models on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Knowledge-based systems powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) require process validity as much as output correctness. In legal AI-- a highly regulated domain--this translates to a mandatory requirement for transparent and causally justified decision-making.
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Lee on Exploitation of Home Care Workers

David Lee (Columbia University - Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; The New School) has posted The Nonprofit War on Workers. Weapons of Labor Violence: An Analysis of the Chinese-American Planning Council's Legal Tactics to Exploit Workers on SSRN. Here is…
Lee on Exploitation of Home Care Workers
David Lee (Columbia University - Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; The New School) has posted The Nonprofit War on Workers. Weapons of Labor Violence: An Analysis of the Chinese-American Planning Council's Legal Tactics to Exploit Workers on SSRN. Here is the abstract: With the increasing tendency of federal jurisprudence to undermine statutory labor protections, employees in precarious, low-skilled jobs face mounting challenges in safeguarding their rights in the workplace.
legaltheoryblog.com

Frost & Eason on Eligibility Challenges to Members of Congress and the Original Meaning of Citizen

Amanda Frost (University of Virginia School of Law) & Emily Eason (University of Virginia (UVA) School of Law - Alumni/Adjunct/Student) have posted The Dog That Didn't Bark: Eligibility To Serve In…
Frost & Eason on Eligibility Challenges to Members of Congress and the Original Meaning of Citizen
Amanda Frost (University of Virginia School of Law) & Emily Eason (University of Virginia (UVA) School of Law - Alumni/Adjunct/Student) have posted The Dog That Didn't Bark: Eligibility To Serve In Congress And The Original Understanding Of The Citizenship Clause (Georgetown Law Journal Online, vol. 114) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: President Donald J. Trump's 2025 Executive Order restricting birthright citizenship has prompted new interest in the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause.
legaltheoryblog.com

Eisler on “Populist Primacy” as the Democratic Theory of the Roberts Court

Jacob Eisler (Florida State University College of Law) has posted Populist Primacy (Brooklyn Law Review, Forthcoming 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Critics of the Roberts Court assert that the conservative justices…
Eisler on “Populist Primacy” as the Democratic Theory of the Roberts Court
Jacob Eisler (Florida State University College of Law) has posted Populist Primacy (Brooklyn Law Review, Forthcoming 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Critics of the Roberts Court assert that the conservative justices are remaking American democracy to implement a corrupt Republican agenda. Conversely, the justices claim to be following originalism, with democratic transformation as an incidental side effect. These views share no common ground, and there is little space left for fruitful dialogue.
legaltheoryblog.com

Legal History Blog: Danaher, "The Second Amendment's Catholic Problem"
Danaher, "The Second Amendment's Catholic Problem"
The Duke Law Journal has published a Note of interest, on " The Second Amendment's Catholic Problem ." It is by J.D. candidate Jared Danaher...
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Fernandes Ormelesi on the Inclusive-Exclusive Legal Positivism Debate

Vinicius Fernandes Ormelesi (Minas Gerais State University) has posted The Inclusive-Exclusive Legal Positivism Debate: A Very Short Introduction on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The debate between inclusive and exclusive legal…
Fernandes Ormelesi on the Inclusive-Exclusive Legal Positivism Debate
Vinicius Fernandes Ormelesi (Minas Gerais State University) has posted The Inclusive-Exclusive Legal Positivism Debate: A Very Short Introduction on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The debate between inclusive and exclusive legal positivism represents one of the most significant theoretical divides in contemporary legal philosophy. At its core, this scholarly discourse examines the fundamental relationship between law and morality, particularly whether moral criteria can function as conditions for legal validity.
legaltheoryblog.com

Zoupas on AI and Court Clerks

Konstantinos Zoupas has posted From The Court Clerk of Criminal Trials to the Algorithm: Technology and the Future of Court Clerks in Criminal Proceedings on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The introduction of artificial intelligence technologies into judicial functions…
Zoupas on AI and Court Clerks
Konstantinos Zoupas has posted From The Court Clerk of Criminal Trials to the Algorithm: Technology and the Future of Court Clerks in Criminal Proceedings on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The introduction of artificial intelligence technologies into judicial functions raises new questions that transcend technical efficiency. This article examines philosophically the gradual transition from the human court clerk to automated recording systems in the context of criminal trials.
legaltheoryblog.com

Brauch on “Beauty and the Law” by Fowler

Jeffrey A. Brauch (Regent University - Regent University School of Law) has posted Beauty, Justice, and the Lawyer's Calling: A Review of Mark Fowler's Beauty and the Law (Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Volume 15, No. 2 (2025), pp. 72-75) on SSRN. Here…
Brauch on “Beauty and the Law” by Fowler
Jeffrey A. Brauch (Regent University - Regent University School of Law) has posted Beauty, Justice, and the Lawyer's Calling: A Review of Mark Fowler's Beauty and the Law (Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Volume 15, No. 2 (2025), pp. 72-75) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In 1917, Marcel Duchamp entered a surprising object into an exhibition held by the Society of Independent Artists in New York.
legaltheoryblog.com

Levine on Jewish Law and Authoritarianism

Samuel J. Levine (Touro University - Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center) has posted A Brief Look at Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism Through a Perspective of Jewish Law and Tradition (Perspectives on Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism from Literature,…
Levine on Jewish Law and Authoritarianism
Samuel J. Levine (Touro University - Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center) has posted A Brief Look at Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism Through a Perspective of Jewish Law and Tradition (Perspectives on Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism from Literature, Philosophy, Law, and History (Marko Trajkovic, ed., 2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A view of authoritarianism and totalitarianism through a perspective of Jewish law and tradition might take various forms and draw upon different approaches, depending on a number of components, including definitions of terms, modes of analysis, and the scope of disciplines and materials to be incorporated.
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Mazzone & Amar on Mootness in Little v. Hecox

Jason Mazzone (University of Illinois College of Law) & Vikram D. Amar (University of California, Davis - School of Law; University of Illinois College of Law) have posted Open Letter To The Supreme Court Urging Adherence To Settled Mootness Principles…
Mazzone & Amar on Mootness in Little v. Hecox
Jason Mazzone (University of Illinois College of Law) & Vikram D. Amar (University of California, Davis - School of Law; University of Illinois College of Law) have posted Open Letter To The Supreme Court Urging Adherence To Settled Mootness Principles In  Little V. Hecox (2025 U. Ill. L. Rev. Online 160 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In Little v.
legaltheoryblog.com

Baude on Liquidation

William Baude (University of Chicago - Law School) has posted Liquidation, Then and Now (3 Journal of American Constitutional History 869 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The deliberate acts of different parts of our government have created various non-judicial…
Baude on Liquidation
William Baude (University of Chicago - Law School) has posted Liquidation, Then and Now (3 Journal of American Constitutional History 869 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The deliberate acts of different parts of our government have created various non-judicial precedents. Those precedents had force under historical theories of liquidation. Today’s jurists and scholars have reasons for looking to what has historically been understood as liquidated.
legaltheoryblog.com

Chad Squitieri on Nondelegation Doctrines Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog originalismblog.com/chad-squitie...
Chad Squitieri on Nondelegation Doctrines Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog
The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law
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