Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
buchhandler.bsky.social
Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
@buchhandler.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law @WidenerLawCW, Criminal law, Family Law, Evidence, writes on gender-based violence, domestic and sexual violence legal reforms, alternatives to policing. An immigrant.
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
So excited to announce that my latest article, “Reckless Accomplices,” will be published by Northwestern University Law Review!

The article critiques a trend of expanding criminal causation and instead calls for a new statutory form of accomplice liability.

SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 16, 2026 at 4:50 PM
So glad to see that this terrific paper has found such a wonderful home! Congrats, @justinnyls.bsky.social ! 🎉
Now forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review, my latest work rethinks how information should get shared in criminal cases, and why we need to look beyond the celebrated Brady doctrine if we are serious about improving the fairness of criminal discovery. 🧵🔽
New paper alert!

My latest - "Brady's Shadow" - is now on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Still a work in progress—would love your thoughts.

It's about how one spectacularly failed doctrine somehow cannibalized other, more promising avenues for criminal discovery.🧵
February 16, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
My paper, Habeas and the 1948 Judicial Code, is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review (@stanlrev.bsky.social).

I argue that the 1948 Judicial Code, not the 1867 Habeas Corpus Act, should be the statutory focus for inquiry into the scope of habeas review.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 9, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Such a terrific piece! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! Congrats, @itayravid.bsky.social ! 🎉🎉
Another new article of mine is officially out: “(Re)Individualizing Criminal Law,” (67 B.C L. Rev. 255 (2026): lnkd.in/eR9eF7Fv Abstract 👇 & v. short 🧵
1/6
February 3, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
🚨🚨🚨New article with @jennoliva.bsky.social, forthcoming in @uclalawreview.bsky.social Discourse: Veteran Disability Hierarchies. Now on @ssrn.bsky.social! On disability as mitigation in veterans’ treatment courts and the politics of service-connected compensation: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Veteran Disability Hierarchies
American disability law purports to operate on principles of equality, yet it consistently distinguishes between worthy and unworthy disabled individuals based
papers.ssrn.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Huge congrats, @yeargain.bsky.social ! Looking forward to reading! 🎉🎉🎉
I'm very happy to share my latest article: "Textual (In)Difference in State Search-and-Seizure Provisions" (forthcoming in the Northwestern University Law Review). I survey textual changes in state search/seizure provisions and show that the textual distinctions have little effect on case outcomes.
January 16, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Breaking my partial social-media hiatus w/3 new papers:
Missing Children Discrimination (Wis. L. Rev 2025(4)) w/ Tanisha Brown— shorturl.at/5rl86 abstract 👇)
Anti-Holistic Algorithms (forth. Vanderbilt L. Rev)
(Re)Individualizing Criminal Law (forth. B.C. L. Rev)
More soon on SSRN—comments welcome!
November 26, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
I have a new piece up at @msnownews.bsky.social, on the recent NJ supreme court case banning shaking baby syndrome evidence, using it to discuss both the generally shoddy nature of all forensic evidence but also the legal profession's on-going refusal to confront our current data-driven world.
Opinion | New Jersey's ban on 'shaken baby syndrome' claims in court points up a larger problem in the legal system
John Pfaff: The state Supreme Court ruling underscores how thin empirical support is for much of the forensic evidence used in criminal cases.
www.ms.now
November 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Such a well-deserved recognition of Professor @maybell.bsky.social ‘s groundbreaking work! Huge congratulations, Dean Romero! 🎉🎉
October 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
I am just thrilled to have my new article Third-Party Accommodations officially out @michlawreview.bsky.social! The MLR editors were a pleasure to work with and sharing the same volume as @kovarsky.bsky.social & Daniel Fryer is the cherry on top. Read it: repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol124/i...
October 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Professor @buchhandler.bsky.social spoke with @pennlive.com about the evidentiary challenges in prosecuting rape cases. She explained that PA law limits the use of other sexual assault evidence, though it can sometimes be admitted to show intent, plan, or lack of mistake. tinyurl.com/2jcrdw9v
October 20, 2025 at 8:56 PM
"Legal Moralism in Disguise in Child Custody Cases" is forthcoming in Family Law Quarterly (FLQ). Morality hasn’t disappeared from family courts but has taken on new rhetorical forms with courts judging parents’ choices on moral grounds w/o evidence of harm to child.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Legal Moralism in Disguise in Child Custody Cases
<p>Conventional wisdom is that family law has moved away from morality-based decision-making, with moral questions left more to individuals than to the courts.
papers.ssrn.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Thrilled to be giving a talk on The Limits of the ADA’s Duty to Accommodate @oneillinstitute.bsky.social (@georgetownlaw.bsky.social) & the Georgetown Program in Disability Studies tomorrow (Sep. 25) at 5 pm. If you’re around, please join us. Details below 👇
September 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Thrilled to be hosting the 20th Annual Colloquium on Scholarship in Labor & Employment Law (COSELL) at Seton Hall Law tomorrow & on Saturday (Sep. 19-20). Over 70 legal scholars come to discuss cutting edge work on work! Check out the program: law.shu.edu/events/annua...
Annual Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL) - Seton Hall Law School
law.shu.edu
September 19, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Thank you @lsolum.bsky.social for recommending my new piece, Coercive Settlements, recently published with the George Washington Law Review! @templelaw.bsky.social
Bachar on Coercive Settlements, buff.ly/XDJ1lDZ - Gilat Juli Bachar (Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law) has posted Coercive Settlements (93 George Washington Law Review 733 (2025)) on SSRN.
Bachar on Coercive Settlements
Gilat Juli Bachar (Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law) has posted Coercive Settlements (93 George Washington Law Review 733 (2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Can civil…
buff.ly
September 8, 2025 at 12:28 PM
11 years after the horrific murder of Professor Dan Markel, a brilliant criminal law scholar and a wonderful human being, the woman who orchestrated his killing is finally behind bars. Justice is served. RIP Danny.
cnn.com CNN @cnn.com · Sep 5
Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family, has been convicted in the murder-for-hire plot to kill her former son-in-law.

Read more: https://cnn.it/48045h9
September 5, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Thrilled to have my work on Third-Party Accommodations (forth. @michlawreview.bsky.social) featured on the Chemical Sensitivity Podcast (@podcastingmcs.bsky.social) that amplifies voices of people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) & research about the illness. Take a listen: shorturl.at/RbT4e
August 25, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Thrilled that my book chapter, "Mask Shaming: On Private Enforcement and Disability Politics," in print as part of the important @nyupress.bsky.social book Regulating the Body: Autonomy, Control, and the Broken Promise of Equality in American Law, ed. by the legendary Austin Sarat & Susanna Lee! 1/3
August 18, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
It’s sooooooo good, y’all! If I were a law review editor I’d really want to snap this up for publication.
New paper alert!

My latest - "Brady's Shadow" - is now on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Still a work in progress—would love your thoughts.

It's about how one spectacularly failed doctrine somehow cannibalized other, more promising avenues for criminal discovery.🧵
<i>Brady</i><span>'s Shadow</span>
<p><i>Scholars have spent sixty years documenting </i>Brady v. Maryland’<i>s failures—its materiality standard that licenses suppression of exculpatory evidence
papers.ssrn.com
August 16, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Had a terrific time presenting my new project "A Reasonable Fear Defense in Failure-to-Protect prosecutions" at #CrimFest. I advocate for legislatures to adopt an affirmative defense for defendants charged with homicide-by-omission when they reasonably feared escalation of harm if they intervened.
July 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Second that!!! It was so great to see you, Ben!
Just wrapped up my first CrimFest! I had a fabulous time and met so many terrific young scholars. Many thanks to @cbhessick.bsky.social and @hashtagblevin.bsky.social for organizing, and Penn Carey Law for hosting!
July 16, 2025 at 12:35 AM
An amazing honor and recognition for a brave survivor. A role model for all rape and sexual assault survivors. Her courageous choice to waive her anonymity has changed the legal landscape for many survivors of gender-based violence. #StopSexualViolence #MeToo
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Gisele Pelicot awarded France's Legion of Honour - BBC News
Pelicot was named knight of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France's Bastille Day.
www.bbc.com
July 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Congratulations, @profnroemer.bsky.social !
So proud of my wonderful Seton Hall Law colleague @profnroemer.bsky.social for her important work Equity for American Indian Families now in the Minnesota Law Review! And her inscription on my reprint is spot on 🤣 Take a read: minnesotalawreview.org/article/equi...
June 26, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Thank you, @SSRN for highlighting my work.
Check it out in the link 👇
Compassionate Undercharging: this article argues for prosecutorial leniency towards victimized offenders.
http://spkl.io/63320f28OY
@buchhandler.bsky.social #LawSky
May 20, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Excited to share our latest article (with the amazing @jonpenny.bsky.social and @shoreingber.bsky.social) “The Chilling Effects of Dobbs” in Florida Law Review. The piece grew out of Jon’s creative study and our broader work together on intimate privacy. Here www.floridalawreview.com/article/1381...
May 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM