Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Quinn Yeargain

@yeargain.bsky.social

9.7K followers 530 following 2.6K posts

1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy at Michigan State. Contributor to The Downballot. I teach, write, and post about state constitutional law, institutional development, and criminal law. I write (infrequently) at guaranteedrepublics.substack.com.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 2d

to be honest, I was legitimately worried that the ridiculous pressure campaign might work, so I’m quite relieved that our budding autocrat, the dumbest man in the world, did not win the Nobel Peace Prize

3 7 40

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 2d

these people are sick. they hate our country, they hate our freedoms, and they’re trying to destroy both. it’s repulsive. even more repulsive is that no one in the Republican Party will take a stand against this or anything else. we need a third reconstruction.

Politico @politico.com · 2d

REAKING: New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Trump foe, is indicted by Trump’s DOJ.

She has been charged with one count of bank fraud by the same U.S. attorney who brought charges against James Comey.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Trump foe, is indicted by Trump’s DOJ

She has been charged with one count of bank fraud by the same U.S. attorney who brought charges against James Comey.

www.politico.com

1 7 37

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 2d

Indicting political opponents & critics because they are political opponents & critics is terrifying.

It's completely inconsistent with the rule of law & democracy.

It should scare everyone - and (hopefully) will get people to realize that we all need to stand against this.

40 370 1.3K

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 3d

I am begging orgs that bring cases and post press releases about decisions in those cases to POST THE OPINIONS THEIR PRESS RELEASES ARE ABOUT

4 16

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 3d

Central Florida, easier mode: Kissimmee

Harder mode: Chuluota

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 3d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 3d

fun fact: you actually aren't obligated to give segregationists a platform. you're allowed to say no. there aren't always two sides to an issue.

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 3d

if your starting position is that integrating schools went Too Far, then yes, it's unsurprising that you think that what Hegseth said was "pretty good"

But the military of the 2020s has been as overburdened by the imperatives of progressivism as schools were by the duties of racial integration in the 1970s. And if, as Mr. Hegseth argues, the hallmark of the military is not order and hierarchy but the taking and saving of lives, then it is the wrong place for such experiments in the first place.

1 2 11

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

Garnet Henderson @garnethenderson.com · 4d

This is absurd. What the amendment would actually do is ban abortion and youth gender-affirming care. Are you getting that… at all from this ballot language? missouriindependent.com/2025/10/07/m...

“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

Guarantee women’s medical care for emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages;
Ensure women’s safety during abortions;
Ensure parental consent for minors;
Repeal Article I, section 36, approved in 2024; allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;
and Prohibit sex-change procedures for children?”

3 43 77

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 4d

what a bizarre characterization of this interview. the reporter here was extremely hostile, and for no real reason.

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 4d

Someone who used to work with Katie Porter sent me this clip from a train wreck interview with her and said “now imagine what she’s like when there aren’t cameras around.”

6 2 21

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 5d

Lexis and Westlaw, sites I use every day, the first time that I try to use them each day:

Mackenzie Zales from the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School" asking "Who the fuck are you?"

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 6d

Ten years and five months apart

Greg Abbott & @GregAbbott_TX
Follow
I've ordered the Texas State Guard to monitor Jade Helm 15 to safeguard Texans' constitutional rights, private property & civil liberties
2:21 PM • 4/28/15

98 890 2.7K

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 5d

go away

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 6d

I truly think they mean a draft article! it’s a scourge in CFPs, and one of my hobby horses is persuading law reviews to not do that

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 6d

i'll nominate every article published for this symposium:

Scholastica: Call for Papers: Liberty University Law Review Health Law Symposium

Call for Papers: Liberty University Law Review Health Law Symposium

app.scholasticahq.com

3 4

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 6d

exactly why I have a strict "no devil's advocacy" policy in my classes!!

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 6d

what I find dumb is that the underlying lesson taught (clarify what people mean when they say things, engage when the definition of something is contested, etc.) is entirely defensible, but many people internalized it as "move the goalposts and win :)"

signed,
someone who did high school debate

1 8

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 6d

I'm so confusedddddd because I thought that the whole fucking point of originalismmmmmmm was to surface Founding Era statutes and then use them to express what we understood the Founders to meannnnnnnn but how he's saying that's not relevanttttttttttt

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 6d

They’re using American tax dollars to fund infrastructure in Argentina because that’s where they’re all going to flee when we kick them out of office

Ryan Grim @ryangrim.bsky.social · 10d

After announcing a $20 billion bailout of Argentina, the White House now says it's pausing $18 billion in funding for NYC infrastructure projects

Russ Vought would love nothing more than to tear this country down to its studs

670 4.2K 14K

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 7d

1 6

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 7d

*Donald Trump says he is about to put 10 Marines in my home*

Wurman: Have you considered tort law?

20 120 960

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 7d

I'm teaching Michigan v. Long soon, and wanted to show the location where the vehicle search took place. based on the testimony of one of the officers, this is my very best guess as to the ditch into which Long drove his car, linked below on Google Street View:
tinyurl.com/3j4u8m4a

screenshot of location here: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5738077,-85.4667196,3a,90y,312.03h,81.29t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZQblOHkdShRns99PmkZsEw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D8.708835790291232%26panoid%3DZQblOHkdShRns99PmkZsEw%26yaw%3D312.03106427593156!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTAwMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

testimony of George Howell in preliminary examination:
. . . us. We had moving radar. Tripped the radar at seventy-one miles an hour. At this time I turned aromd, went after the vehicle. The vehicle I believed to be the same one that tripped the radar made a left turn headed west on Mullin Road. After it (5) turned west on Mullin Road approximately a hundred and fifty feet, something ; like that, a short ways down the road, the front end of the car went into the north ditch. The car ended up broadside in the road. The car was facing north with the front end of the car in the ditch.

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

EveryLibrary @everylibrary.bsky.social · 7d

We wrote this handy step-by-step guide for anyone who wants to ban a book.

What Do I Do If I Don’t Like a Book at the Library?

A handy step-by-step guide.

buff.ly

2 22 43

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 7d

I don't know how he even *thinks* that his bespoke theory of judicial power on display here squares with the lawsuits that he has personally filed against cities for not removing homeless encampments.

1 1 11

Quinn Yeargain @yeargain.bsky.social · 7d

This isn't how judicial power works. Courts can't "enjoin" or "restrain" the President from launching a nuclear strike on Congress. If a private party is injured by the nuclear strike, that party can bring a lawsuit. The legality and constitutionality of the action will be adjudicated. And compensat

Pat Sobkowski @patsobkowski.com · 7d

We don’t have to carry water for dictators. Just my thought.

1 14

Reposted by Quinn Yeargain

Pat Sobkowski @patsobkowski.com · 7d

We don’t have to carry water for dictators. Just my thought.

71 110 1.3K