Kim L. Scheppele | Lightnews

Kim Lane Scheppele

@kimlanelaw.bsky.social

37K followers 1.5K following 630 posts

Tracking autocratic legalism around the world from Princeton University.

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Kim Lane Scheppele is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Scheppele works on topics related to comparative constitutional ethnography within the sociology of law. .. more

Political science 58%

Law 31%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 3h

Me on DOJ’s behavior: “it’s malevolence *exacerbated* by incompetence. That’s problematic enough for the government’s credibility before federal district judges. But at some point soon, one suspects that the Supreme Court itself may well have to grapple with its consequences—or risk being duped.”

194. Another Bad Week for the Presumption of Regularity

Three different flashpoints highlight how much the Trump administration has done, in such short order, to undermine its own litigation efforts and to damage—perhaps irreparably—DOJ's credibility.

www.stevevladeck.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Steve Peers, Marie-Laure Basilien-Gainche

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3h

Paper now available here democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/articles/lau...
For those of you familiar with the EU's rule of law toolbox, you can go straight to the section offering concrete/multiple examples of timid use, misuse and non-use of the main EU prevention/monitoring & response/enforcement tools

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Common Dreams @commondreams.org · 18h

“This is Trump doing what he always does: demagoguing immigrants without justification or evidence and using that demagoguery in an attempt to take away important life-saving protections,” one immigrants' rights expert said.

In 'Political Attack,' Trump Revokes Protected Status for Minnesota Somalis

"This decision, fueled by harmful misinformation campaigns that we believe have external political motives, will tear families apart and send individuals to a country they have not known for over 20 years," one campaigner said.

www.commondreams.org

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner

Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 1d

The Russian delegation at the Geneva 'peace' plan negotiations with Ukraine on Sunday

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Axel Bruns , and 12 more Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Axel Bruns, Will Jennings, Elena Litchman, John R. Hutchinson, American Library Association, David R. Miller, Scott A. Imberman, James Goodwin, Brian Keegan, Mark Rice, Ann Bartow, Woodrow Hartzog, Greg Linden

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

Bye bye, “DOGE”.

It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Jan W. Mueller , and 11 more Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Jan W. Mueller, Smith, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, Rebecca Tushnet, Andrew L. Whitehead, Anne Norton, Brian Keegan, Kathleen Kennedy, Prakash Kashwan, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

Deva Woodly @devawo.bsky.social · 1d

Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.

The exit economy is here. Black Women are paying the highest price | Fortune

This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. And it's not a recovery, it's a redistribution of opportunity.

fortune.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers , and 11 more Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Fabián Muniesa, Alan Richardson, Aaron Sojourner, W. Andy Knight, Scott A. Imberman, Jason Lyall, Ann Bartow, Alexandra Cirone, Peter Bergman, David Darmofal

Luca Migo ❌👑 @victinibcn.bsky.social · 1d

In Monrovia, California, protesters are purchasing 17¢ ICE scrapers from Home Depot and immediately returning them to create long lines and slow down the entire store. Their aim is to disrupt sales and convey a message opposing ICE raids occurring in their neighborhood.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 1d

You should definitely get Lindsey Halligan to indict them.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 2 more Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer, Rosemary A. Joyce, Rebecca Tushnet

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

Some incredible details in this piece
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted

When Davis learned that a breakaway faction was gathering on a Saturday afternoon at the offices of venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to plot a strategy for DOGE’s future, he began calling likely attendees and told them not to attend what he called the “coup” meeting. (The firm did not respond to a request for comment on its role in DOGE’s work.) Those at the meeting who looked at their phones would have seen their fortunes change in real time, as they were removed from Signal group chats — DOGE’s primary status marker of who belonged.

Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 1d

Wordle 1,617 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Now that was strange!

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 1d

Jeff Nesbit unpacks Trump’s aggressive attacks on the press.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/from-fake-news-to-quiet-piggy-the

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking of judges, Musk has on multiple occasions called for a nationwide purge of judges. His source of inspiration: the president of El Salvador.

Here's one example.

Musk replies with the 100 percent emoji when someone else endorses a nationwide purge of judges.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

I have a review of Justice Barrett's recent book, "Listening to the Law,"in the LA Review of Books.

Check it out!

lareviewofbooks.org/article/is-j...

Is Justice Barrett Listening? | Los Angeles Review of Books

Leah Litman prosecutes Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s new legal memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.”

lareviewofbooks.org

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

SaltyBitchables @saltybitchables.bsky.social · 2d

If you use Gmail, you need to be aware of this new feature that allows it to use your emails to train AI, but there is a way to opt out.

#Pinks #ProudBlue #StrongerTogether #Gmail #Google

youtube.com/shorts/XqXo2...

Why You Should Turn Off Gmail Smart Features (and How To Do It)

YouTube video by Meira G

youtube.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David R. Miller

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2d

Wrote about the time when Trump said some Democrats should be executed, whenever that was.

So, we’re just moving on from the sedition-execution thing?

It's quite tidy how the whole thing worked out, in a way. Democratic members of Congress, recognizing that President Trump would be more than happy to dispatch the military to aid his political object...

www.pbump.net

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 2 more Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Gavin A. Schmidt, Daniel W. Drezner, Michael Jones‐Correa

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 2d

On the patently unlawful boat strikes

It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.

WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:

1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵

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

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Marc Lynch, Kim L. Scheppele , and 3 more Cas Mudde, Marc Lynch, Kim L. Scheppele, Jonathan Hopkin, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 2d

Well, this is chilling AF.

The Department of Education is suing Penn (in their quest for "combat antisemitism") requesting detailed information about Jewish faculty and staff.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

1/2

storage.courtlistener.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Erwin Dekker , and 5 more Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Erwin Dekker, Melanie C. Green, Aaron Sojourner, Jacob T. Levy, Scott A. Imberman, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 2d

Dipshit is smashing out a car window with his gun, barrel first. Just rogue, cowboy stiff.

There were two US citizens in the car. They were apprehended and detained for “obstructing” ICE by honking their horn to let people know ICE was in the neighborhood.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Joseph Schafer, Bonnie Honig , and 5 more Kim L. Scheppele, Joseph Schafer, Bonnie Honig, Michael Jones‐Correa, Brian Doucet, Adele Perry, Nicole Guenther Discenza, Peter Gratton

Tabatha Southey🇨🇦 @tabathasouthey.bsky.social · 2d

Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…

A screenshot of a Facebook post where a person named Andy ask the Well now “What the hell is transgender?”
The Royal Canadian Air Force account response with “That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way, Andy.

‘Transgender’ putting describes someone whose gender – who they know themselves to be – doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. It’s not new, and it’s certainly not a fad. People have lived this experience for as long as people have existed; we’re just finally talking about it openly.

You don’t have to fully understand it right away, most learning takes time, but we can always start from a place of respect. That’s how decent folks handle things they’re still getting used to.”

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Steve Peers

Juan Escalante @handle.invalid · 2d

Judge blocks IRS from sharing data with DHS for immigration enforcement

A federal judge blocked the Internal Revenue Service from sharing data with immigration enforcement officials, ruling that the tax agency violated federal law and individual rights in its support for ...

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

George Pearkes @peark.es · 2d

Heartbreaking stuff. And more good journalism from @charlotteobserver.com which has been a part of an incredible effort from local media to cover this past week’s attack on our city.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Scott A. Imberman

Josh Block @joshablock.bsky.social · 3d

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David H. Kaye, Ralf Michaels , and 5 more Kim L. Scheppele, David H. Kaye, Ralf Michaels, Ben Crum, Henry Farrell, Manuel Puppis, Andrew Novak, Frederik Dhondt

Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 3d

An absolute scandal compounded in this case by failure of French government and EU institutions to forcefully react and sanction in turn those who have sanctioned ICC judges and prosecutors. Makes a total mockery of FR/EU's repeated commitment to the rule of law/ICC

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, David Rothschild , and 11 more Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, David Rothschild, Guy Grossman, Trevon D. Logan, Aaron Sojourner, James Goodwin, Eric Hehman, Tim Stephens, Karen O’Leary, Manisha Sinha, Charles T. Mathewes, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, David Darmofal

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 3d

Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.

The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”