Ben Heath
@jbentonheath.bsky.social
Associate Professor, Temple University School of Law. I post about things that interest me, some of which are about law.
Pinned
Ben Heath
@jbentonheath.bsky.social
· Jul 30
New paper! This essay takes a step toward developing what I call a "jurisprudence of weaponized interdependence.: Building on @himself.bsky.social & @abenewman.bsky.social's groundbreaking work, I develop an account of the legal processes that facilitate the weaponization of networks. 1/x
Reposted by Ben Heath
Social science takes time. Here, social scientists analyze a decade of evidence to show that a Supreme Court decision designed to suppress the black vote actually did. SCOTUS may soon obliterate the rest of the Voting Rights Act and we should not be shy about calling out what's going on here.
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Social science takes time. Here, social scientists analyze a decade of evidence to show that a Supreme Court decision designed to suppress the black vote actually did. SCOTUS may soon obliterate the rest of the Voting Rights Act and we should not be shy about calling out what's going on here.
Reposted by Ben Heath
If the executive can unilaterally shift all functioning out of an congressionally established agency, then what is left of Congress’ lawmaking?
Why should Congress authorize executive agencies to do anything at all, ever?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Why should Congress authorize executive agencies to do anything at all, ever?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
School Groups Sue to Stop Dismantling of the Education Department
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
If the executive can unilaterally shift all functioning out of an congressionally established agency, then what is left of Congress’ lawmaking?
Why should Congress authorize executive agencies to do anything at all, ever?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Why should Congress authorize executive agencies to do anything at all, ever?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Had the realization the other day that the current number of books I own but haven't finished is greater than the number of books I could reasonably expect to finish in a long and well-lived life, and that I still plan to buy more books. This was a liberating thought.
”you can’t fit all those books in there” is a challenge that I invariably accept
November 26, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Had the realization the other day that the current number of books I own but haven't finished is greater than the number of books I could reasonably expect to finish in a long and well-lived life, and that I still plan to buy more books. This was a liberating thought.
Reposted by Ben Heath
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
Reposted by Ben Heath
I'm still waiting to hear one way that the AI industry is good
“Artificial intelligence, meet artificial accounting.” The guy who first pointed out Enron’s sketchy accounting is now scrutinizing AI accounting and it’s the same nonsense: www.wsj.com/tech/meta-ai...
AI Meets Aggressive Accounting at Meta’s Gigantic New Data Center
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I'm still waiting to hear one way that the AI industry is good
Reposted by Ben Heath
The Trump administration arrested and detained two gospel singer brothers from Guatemala who have lived in Memphis for 10 and 20 years. The administration lied and claimed one had an extensive criminal record. Neither does. One has now been deported.
www.psrmemphis.org/christian-si...
www.psrmemphis.org/christian-si...
Christian Singers Caught In Deportation Net, One Branded 'Worst of Worst' - Institute for Public Service Reporting - Memphis %
% %
www.psrmemphis.org
November 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The Trump administration arrested and detained two gospel singer brothers from Guatemala who have lived in Memphis for 10 and 20 years. The administration lied and claimed one had an extensive criminal record. Neither does. One has now been deported.
www.psrmemphis.org/christian-si...
www.psrmemphis.org/christian-si...
Reposted by Ben Heath
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:23 PM
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Ben Heath
Spotify is helping ICE recruit more agents to infringe our rights and terrorize our communities. Stop paying for or using the app until Spotify stops running ads for ICE: indivisible.org/cancel-spotify?source=bluesky
November 21, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Spotify is helping ICE recruit more agents to infringe our rights and terrorize our communities. Stop paying for or using the app until Spotify stops running ads for ICE: indivisible.org/cancel-spotify?source=bluesky
Brett's right. A must-read.
This is a very good essay from the @ACLU’s Brett Kaufman making the case that Trump’s boat strikes should be viewed as the logical end point of legal arguments normalized by OLC lawyers during the war on terror. Highly recommend. www.justsecurity.org/124776/secre...
November 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Brett's right. A must-read.
Reposted by Ben Heath
They misidentified the intern. The judge told them they had misidentified the intern. But instead of double checking, they took that as an affront to their authority. So they surrounded the judge's car and threatened to smash the windows to get to the intern.
They had misidentified the intern.
They had misidentified the intern.
The part where they threatened to break a judge’s car windows should be a bigger story … they feel comfortable treating judges this way, which means they are being told that they can do literally anything to nearly everyone
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
November 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
They misidentified the intern. The judge told them they had misidentified the intern. But instead of double checking, they took that as an affront to their authority. So they surrounded the judge's car and threatened to smash the windows to get to the intern.
They had misidentified the intern.
They had misidentified the intern.
Reposted by Ben Heath
Terrific resource. Note that while many of the strike announcements assert a link to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), only some specify which (there are dozens of possibilities) or mention nationality of those killed. In other cases, is there too much uncertainty?
Timeline now includes reactions of U.S. allies and other international actors:
A timeline of all major events in the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
A timeline of all major events in the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
Timeline of Vessel Strikes and Related Actions
A timeline that chronicles major events in the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers.
www.justsecurity.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Terrific resource. Note that while many of the strike announcements assert a link to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), only some specify which (there are dozens of possibilities) or mention nationality of those killed. In other cases, is there too much uncertainty?
Reposted by Ben Heath
It's up! www.yalejreg.com/nc/trump-reg...
Trump Regulatory Policy: 2025 Compendium - Yale Journal on Regulation
As part of my prep for this year’s ABA Administrative Law Conference, I put together a list of the regulatory policy documents that have been issued since the start of President Trump’s second term. L...
www.yalejreg.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:33 PM
It's up! www.yalejreg.com/nc/trump-reg...
Reposted by Ben Heath
This doesn't end with Trump, it doesn't end with his removal from power or his death. He's reorganized half of the political nation in a fascist-authoritarian mode, disinhibiting the worst among us to resume the most disgusting & evil traditions of belief & action in our country's history.
November 21, 2025 at 2:49 PM
This doesn't end with Trump, it doesn't end with his removal from power or his death. He's reorganized half of the political nation in a fascist-authoritarian mode, disinhibiting the worst among us to resume the most disgusting & evil traditions of belief & action in our country's history.
Reposted by Ben Heath
Today at 4:00PM EST/3:00 PM CST, I'll be at the ABA Administrative Law Conference speaking with @ajosephoconnell.bsky.social, @nicholashandler.bsky.social, and Philip Howard about the future of the civil service. Have been looking forward to this conversation all semester!
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Today at 4:00PM EST/3:00 PM CST, I'll be at the ABA Administrative Law Conference speaking with @ajosephoconnell.bsky.social, @nicholashandler.bsky.social, and Philip Howard about the future of the civil service. Have been looking forward to this conversation all semester!
Reposted by Ben Heath
There’s a through the looking glass quality to discussions of what constitute “lawful orders” within an executive branch where POTUS asserts authority to say what the law is regardless of legal reality.
If POTUS orders it and he (or his yes men at OLC) say it is legal, then it is a “lawful order.”
If POTUS orders it and he (or his yes men at OLC) say it is legal, then it is a “lawful order.”
LEAVITT: They are encouraging service members not to follow lawful orders!
REPORTER: They're talking about illegal orders
LEAVITT: They're suggesting the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. Every single order given is lawful.
REPORTER: They're talking about illegal orders
LEAVITT: They're suggesting the president has given illegal orders, which he has not. Every single order given is lawful.
November 21, 2025 at 2:14 AM
There’s a through the looking glass quality to discussions of what constitute “lawful orders” within an executive branch where POTUS asserts authority to say what the law is regardless of legal reality.
If POTUS orders it and he (or his yes men at OLC) say it is legal, then it is a “lawful order.”
If POTUS orders it and he (or his yes men at OLC) say it is legal, then it is a “lawful order.”
The section labeled “Credibility“ beginning at page 6 is worth reading in full. For Civ Pro folks, it’s notable that the section also indirectly cites Scott v Harris.
THREAD: Judge Ellis is the first federal judge to review extensive body cam video of DHS's actions in Chicago. She finds that DHS *repeatedly* misled the public and made claims that were disproven by agents' own videos.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
I'll go through some of the most egregious ones here.
November 21, 2025 at 1:44 PM
The section labeled “Credibility“ beginning at page 6 is worth reading in full. For Civ Pro folks, it’s notable that the section also indirectly cites Scott v Harris.
Reposted by Ben Heath
Published today—at the start of Transgender Awareness Week—in the American Journal of International Law, my new book review, "International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?" arrives at a moment that feels both personal and profound.
Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?
This essay reviews two recent edited volumes—Queer Engagements with International Law: Times, Spaces, Imaginings and Queer Encounters with International Law: Li
papers.ssrn.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Published today—at the start of Transgender Awareness Week—in the American Journal of International Law, my new book review, "International Law as a Site for Queer Joy?" arrives at a moment that feels both personal and profound.
Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Now up at @ssrn.bsky.social : papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Ben Heath
Excellent Fact Check
On State Department's designation of "Antifa Groups" as foreign terrorist organizations
3/4 have no apparent "Antifa" anything
4/4 have no apparent statutorily required threat to US national security
by counter-extremism expert @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
On State Department's designation of "Antifa Groups" as foreign terrorist organizations
3/4 have no apparent "Antifa" anything
4/4 have no apparent statutorily required threat to US national security
by counter-extremism expert @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
State Dept's FTO Designations Undermine Claims of "Antifa" Threat
Leading counter-extremism expert unpacks the administration's claimed designation of "Antifa Groups"
www.justsecurity.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Excellent Fact Check
On State Department's designation of "Antifa Groups" as foreign terrorist organizations
3/4 have no apparent "Antifa" anything
4/4 have no apparent statutorily required threat to US national security
by counter-extremism expert @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
On State Department's designation of "Antifa Groups" as foreign terrorist organizations
3/4 have no apparent "Antifa" anything
4/4 have no apparent statutorily required threat to US national security
by counter-extremism expert @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Heath
“The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration’s position that the operations are lawful — and his views were sidelined” per 6 sources
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:58 AM
“The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration’s position that the operations are lawful — and his views were sidelined” per 6 sources
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Reposted by Ben Heath
This is the Gig Surveillance Economy: ssrn.com/abstract=388...
November 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
This is the Gig Surveillance Economy: ssrn.com/abstract=388...
Reposted by Ben Heath
Good thread on the impact of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the IEEPA tariffs.
The most obvious thing to say about the Court's IEEPA decision is that Trump will continue tariffs no matter the outcome, but that alone misses that each possible tariff authority has its own scope and constraints which means that different tariffs behave very differently with different impacts.
November 18, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Good thread on the impact of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the IEEPA tariffs.
Reposted by Ben Heath
No surprise that Mr. "We May Need to Tell the Courts 'Fuck You'" was also pushing the administration's campaign of extrajudicial killings.
www.npr.org/2025/11/17/g...
www.npr.org/2025/11/17/g...
Justice Department official told prosecutors that U.S. should 'just sink' drug boats
NPR interviews with current and former officials reveal more of the backstory around the military's strikes in the Caribbean.
www.npr.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:12 PM
No surprise that Mr. "We May Need to Tell the Courts 'Fuck You'" was also pushing the administration's campaign of extrajudicial killings.
www.npr.org/2025/11/17/g...
www.npr.org/2025/11/17/g...
Reposted by Ben Heath
My NSPM-7 coverage has for weeks been met with smug assurances that there's no law for domestic terrorism. Well, the Trump admin just designated Antifa groups as Foreign Terror Orgs - for which there is a law:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-slap...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-slap...
Trump Escalates War on Leftists With Antifa Foreign Terror Label
Move cites NSPM-7, saying four European Antifa groups espoused "anti-Christianity," "anti-capitalism," and "anti-Americanism"
www.kenklippenstein.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:29 PM
My NSPM-7 coverage has for weeks been met with smug assurances that there's no law for domestic terrorism. Well, the Trump admin just designated Antifa groups as Foreign Terror Orgs - for which there is a law:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-slap...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-slap...