Michael Smith
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msmith750.bsky.social
Michael Smith
@msmith750.bsky.social
8.9K followers 1.9K following 1.3K posts
Associate professor of law at University of Oklahoma College of Law. Researching constitutional law, criminal law, and legal oddities.
https://law.ou.edu/node/716
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msmith750.bsky.social
Hoping for a muffin
A red cat's head poking over the edge of a table as he looks at some muffins
November 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Comfy
Me, reading on a couch, as a cat sleeps on me
November 27, 2025 at 3:38 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
New professional headshots
Me, on the floor, taking a photo of the cat sitting nearby The cat, looking majestic
November 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Enjoying a succulent Chinese meal in Iowa City
China Star in the Old Capitol Mall. Their dumplings have not gone back to the way they once were, unfortunately.
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Iowa
Long grass and trees with a clear blue sky
November 23, 2025 at 8:43 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Unimpressed
The neighborhood cat on the front stoop looking at the camera with a bored expression.
November 21, 2025 at 11:44 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Lawyers learning history
Columbo, saying "I want you to teach me everything you know." George Gaynes as an impossibly French wineseller saying, "It took me 40 years to acquire my expertise." Columbo replying, "Well, what can you do in an hour-and-a-half?"
November 21, 2025 at 4:14 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Fox!!
A Fox trotting across a lawn, with a broken wooden fence and trees in the background
November 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Hell yeah
Book by Max Radin, titled, "The Law and Mr. Smith"
November 18, 2025 at 5:31 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
?
Spotify alert about a new Warren Zevon album coming soon
November 17, 2025 at 4:32 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Multiple successive rounds of article editing have finally broken my brain
Pinhead from Hellraiser, saying "We have such cites to show you"
November 17, 2025 at 4:15 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
We have power tonight. The neighborhood remains protected.
A cat sitting at the end of a driveway. The houses across the street are lit up with Christmas lights already.
November 17, 2025 at 3:20 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Help has arrived
Neighborhood cat, illuminated by the camera flash, on the front steps
November 16, 2025 at 5:32 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
OU squirrels enjoy KitKats as well
Squirrel with a kit Kat in its front paws. Squirrel holding a kit Kat in its mouth
November 15, 2025 at 6:50 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
New law school guy
A light green frog sitting on the door to the law school
November 15, 2025 at 5:17 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Homer looking at newspaper with half moon glasses. A photo of Poochy is on the front page. Headline text is altered to read, "HATED ARTICLE TO MAKE LIFE WORTHWHILE"
November 11, 2025 at 3:21 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Reprint Stack
Big ol stack of reprints on a desk in front of some shelved books The stack from another angle
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
And that's okay!
The astronauts looking at the earth/Ohio meme. The earth is labeled "Legal Scholarship," the first astronaut is saying, "wait, it's all fads?" and the astronaut with the gun pointed at the first saying "always has been," has a name badge on his arm saying Roscoe Pound.
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Got home late at night after a few days away at the Constitutional Law Colloquium (wonderful time), and the neighborhood cat instantly materialized and demanded food before I even got out of the car.
Neighborhood cat eating from a dish on a porch late at night.
November 9, 2025 at 6:47 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Evening, buddy
A tiny gecko leaning against the wall, with its tail on the carpet.
November 6, 2025 at 12:36 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
Serpentining my way back to the law school
Another guy on a different roof with a gun on a tripod under a little blanket Different roof, different gun Another one! Damn!!
November 5, 2025 at 9:18 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Snipers, nice
Three guys on a roof nearby, looking on ominously Same guys on roof, zoomed out to include beautiful fall foliage
November 5, 2025 at 9:14 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
Charming!
Sign on campus advertising a Steven Crowder event advocating deportations
November 5, 2025 at 8:06 PM
msmith750.bsky.social
New Guy
Handcrafted squirrel in a three wheel acorn cart, with arms filled with autumnal foliage and an acorn, sitting on a bookshelf
November 5, 2025 at 2:19 AM
msmith750.bsky.social
A strong summation of why the genre of Justice-authored books not only comes up short, but is counterproductive.
This, finally, is the problem with the genre itself. By presenting judging as a realm of pure law, insulated from politics, the justices offer a picture so implausible that it makes the opposite claim—that judging is nothing but politics—more credible. In their effort to inspire confidence, they deepen cynicism. If the only choices are civics class pieties or unvarnished partisanship, many readers will conclude, not unreasonably, that the latter is closer to the truth. Publishers, of course, will not mind. Judicial celebrity sells, and the market for reassurance is deep. Barrett closes with optimism that the constitutional project will endure, with no hint of constitutional crisis or recognition that many Americans believe one already exists. That is for serious studies of law and politics. Barrett’s purpose, like that of her colleagues’ books, is to persuade readers that all will be well so long as the justices remain in charge.
November 3, 2025 at 5:22 PM