Blake Emerson
@blakeprof.bsky.social
Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law.
Administrative law, political theory. Author: The Public’s Law. Personal views only. https://law.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/blake-emerson
Administrative law, political theory. Author: The Public’s Law. Personal views only. https://law.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/blake-emerson
Pinned
Federal Tort Claims Act (as well as criminal prosecution).
I wrote up my analysis of what Ross's movements and actions reveal about whether or not he had a "reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury" (the legal standard). I list 7 crucial moments that suggest he did not. asharangappa.substack.com/p/friday-rou...
Friday Round Up! 1/9/26
It was a bad shoot.
asharangappa.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Federal Tort Claims Act (as well as criminal prosecution).
Reposted by Blake Emerson
I can't describe how bad Minneapolis feels right now. My neighbors are pulling kids out of school. The public schools are offering remote learning until 2/12. We are having conversations in our alleys about how to protect ourselves. It feels like a military occupation with a blockade.
The US Department of Agriculture suspends all federal funding to Minnesota, effective immediately.
January 10, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I can't describe how bad Minneapolis feels right now. My neighbors are pulling kids out of school. The public schools are offering remote learning until 2/12. We are having conversations in our alleys about how to protect ourselves. It feels like a military occupation with a blockade.
Regardless of what Minnesota prosecutors do, Good’s family should bring a tort claim—very strong case for negligence (at least) I would think.
January 9, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Regardless of what Minnesota prosecutors do, Good’s family should bring a tort claim—very strong case for negligence (at least) I would think.
A despotic regime killing protesters, you say?
January 9, 2026 at 8:58 PM
A despotic regime killing protesters, you say?
Reposted by Blake Emerson
It's very funny how the ideology and propaganda of the Trump administration is all about male-coded, macho work returning to the US, but manufacturing is shriveling and the only thing growing is care work
January 9, 2026 at 4:01 PM
It's very funny how the ideology and propaganda of the Trump administration is all about male-coded, macho work returning to the US, but manufacturing is shriveling and the only thing growing is care work
Seems like putting Vance up there to justify the killing of Renee Good is a pretty effective way to make sure he’s never president.
January 9, 2026 at 6:04 AM
Seems like putting Vance up there to justify the killing of Renee Good is a pretty effective way to make sure he’s never president.
Reposted by Blake Emerson
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
Reposted by Blake Emerson
I wrote about Carl Schmitt and how he came up with a theory specifically to counter US power. Which the Trump administration is now embracing.
Europe’s Place in the New ‘Spheres of Influence’ World - my latest for @wpr.bsky.social
www.worldpoliticsreview.com/europe-trump...
www.worldpoliticsreview.com/europe-trump...
Europe’s Place in the New ‘Spheres of Influence’ World
For Europe, the Trump administration’s embrace of a world dominated by great powers represents a completely new challenge.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:12 PM
I wrote about Carl Schmitt and how he came up with a theory specifically to counter US power. Which the Trump administration is now embracing.
Ah yes, ye olde legitimate door to door search for minorities.
JD Vance: "It was a legitimate law enforcement operation. We were going door to door to try to find criminal illegal aliens and deport them from the United States ... say a prayer for that agent ... he deserves a debt of gratitude."
January 8, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Ah yes, ye olde legitimate door to door search for minorities.
Cover up. Hard to do when there is video. Don’t let them get away with it, keep the pressure on.
According to my sources, the FBI was initially open to a concurrent investigation with the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (the state agency that would do this investigation).
Trumpy U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen heard about this and intervened, barring the FBI from cooperating with local police.
Trumpy U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen heard about this and intervened, barring the FBI from cooperating with local police.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota investigators say they can't access evidence after fatal ICE shooting and FBI won't work jointly on probe.
@reuters.com
@reuters.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Cover up. Hard to do when there is video. Don’t let them get away with it, keep the pressure on.
REVENGE OF THE APPOINTMENTS CLAUSE is my favorite Star Wars movie.
BREAKING:
Ex-Trump campaign lawyer John Sarcone is DISQUALIFIED from investigating or prosecuting NY Attorney General Letitia James because he was unlawfully appointed as US Attorney.
This is the second investigation, which I covered live from Albany. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Ex-Trump campaign lawyer John Sarcone is DISQUALIFIED from investigating or prosecuting NY Attorney General Letitia James because he was unlawfully appointed as US Attorney.
This is the second investigation, which I covered live from Albany. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 8, 2026 at 5:43 PM
REVENGE OF THE APPOINTMENTS CLAUSE is my favorite Star Wars movie.
Reposted by Blake Emerson
“'The guy, I’m telling him like, "Please step off the school grounds," and this dude comes up and bumps into me and then tells me that I pushed him, and he knocked me down,' an official at Roosevelt High School said. 'They don’t care. They’re just animals. I’ve never seen people behave like this.'"
Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt
Minneapolis schools closed for the week citing safety concerns after an encounter involving armed Border Patrol agents near Roosevelt High School.
www.mprnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:09 PM
“'The guy, I’m telling him like, "Please step off the school grounds," and this dude comes up and bumps into me and then tells me that I pushed him, and he knocked me down,' an official at Roosevelt High School said. 'They don’t care. They’re just animals. I’ve never seen people behave like this.'"
“Ice acts more like the Gestapo than it does any kind of legitimate law enforcement agency.”
January 8, 2026 at 3:23 AM
“Ice acts more like the Gestapo than it does any kind of legitimate law enforcement agency.”
On the unitary executive theory the Supreme Court has embraced, Trump shot and killed a woman on camera today.
ICE shot and killed a woman on camera today. We all saw the video.
The Trump administration is lying.
The Trump administration is lying.
January 7, 2026 at 9:52 PM
On the unitary executive theory the Supreme Court has embraced, Trump shot and killed a woman on camera today.
David Brooks: Bring back the neocons!
Donald Trump: hold my beer!
Donald Trump: hold my beer!
January 7, 2026 at 9:45 PM
David Brooks: Bring back the neocons!
Donald Trump: hold my beer!
Donald Trump: hold my beer!
Ok so it’s just a personal Trump shakedown for oil money, got it
??? Apparently Venezuela oil revenues will go into “offshore accounts” outside of the US Treasury, PBS reports.
January 7, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Ok so it’s just a personal Trump shakedown for oil money, got it
Reposted by Blake Emerson
Mayor Jacob Frey: “To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
January 7, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Mayor Jacob Frey: “To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”
A distinctive feature of the Trump administration is that the lawlessness always risked to some degree in executive power has spread out vertically and horizontally and in depth—from top to bottom of hierarchy, from international to domestic, from economic coercion to the widespread use violence.
January 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
A distinctive feature of the Trump administration is that the lawlessness always risked to some degree in executive power has spread out vertically and horizontally and in depth—from top to bottom of hierarchy, from international to domestic, from economic coercion to the widespread use violence.
The Claremont Institute could not be reached for comment.
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 6, 2026 at 9:36 PM
The Claremont Institute could not be reached for comment.
How did Shirley Bassey do all the best Bond songs? Banger upon banger
January 6, 2026 at 9:18 PM
How did Shirley Bassey do all the best Bond songs? Banger upon banger
Why is Jeffrey Toobin back?
January 6, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Why is Jeffrey Toobin back?
Learned last night on The Daily that Bill Barr was the author of the OLC opinion that Bush I had inherent authority to depose Noriega. Strong case for consistency between the worst abuses of the Trump presidency and the more mainstream unitary executive folks. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
January 6, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Learned last night on The Daily that Bill Barr was the author of the OLC opinion that Bush I had inherent authority to depose Noriega. Strong case for consistency between the worst abuses of the Trump presidency and the more mainstream unitary executive folks. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Win the midterms, rake them over the coals with Congressional oversight, inherent contempt power
Trump: "You gotta win the midterms. Because if we don't win the midterms, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached."
January 6, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Win the midterms, rake them over the coals with Congressional oversight, inherent contempt power
The unitary executive is a symptom of political misogyny
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:16 AM
The unitary executive is a symptom of political misogyny
I actually just asked Claude to “complete the system of German idealism,” and it failed. It just offered me cliffs notes on Kant, Schelling, Fichte, and Hegel. Better luck next time, AI!
Maybe think twice about laughing at this, guys. Beings only create complete systems of German Idealism under conditions of extreme stress and alienation from external reality.
claude code is fucking insane
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
i know literally NOTHING about Hegel. ZERO. and it just built me a complete system of German idealism
January 5, 2026 at 9:37 PM
I actually just asked Claude to “complete the system of German idealism,” and it failed. It just offered me cliffs notes on Kant, Schelling, Fichte, and Hegel. Better luck next time, AI!