Pinned
Lynda Dodd
@ldodd.bsky.social
· Dec 5
The Case Against Despair in Trump’s Second Term
David Cole, the former legal director of the ACLU, believes that civil society helped protect the Constitution before and will do so again.
www.theatlantic.com
David Cole on the role of civil society as the "ultimate protector" defending democracy and the Constitution:
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
11 years ago today, 12 year old Tamir Rice was gunned down by police officers on Cleveland’s west side.
The officer shot him within seconds of arriving at the park he was playing in.
Tamir’s life mattered. It still does. My thoughts are with his family today.
The officer shot him within seconds of arriving at the park he was playing in.
Tamir’s life mattered. It still does. My thoughts are with his family today.
November 22, 2025 at 11:32 PM
11 years ago today, 12 year old Tamir Rice was gunned down by police officers on Cleveland’s west side.
The officer shot him within seconds of arriving at the park he was playing in.
Tamir’s life mattered. It still does. My thoughts are with his family today.
The officer shot him within seconds of arriving at the park he was playing in.
Tamir’s life mattered. It still does. My thoughts are with his family today.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
UPDATE: Justice Alito Grants Administrative Stay: Texas Files Emergency Supreme Court Motion to Stay District Court Order Throwing Out 2026 Gerrymandered Maps for Congressional Elections; What Should We Expect at SCOTUS and When? electionlawblog.org?p=153164
UPDATE: Justice Alito Grants Administrative Stay: Texas Files Emergency Supreme Court Motion to Stay District Court Order Throwing Out 2026 Gerrymandered Maps for Congressional Elections; Justice Alit...
The State of Texas, as expected, has filed an application for a stay at the Supreme Court of the 2-1 racial gerrymandering decision issued earlier this week (over a fiery dissent by Judge Smith). Just...
electionlawblog.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:54 AM
UPDATE: Justice Alito Grants Administrative Stay: Texas Files Emergency Supreme Court Motion to Stay District Court Order Throwing Out 2026 Gerrymandered Maps for Congressional Elections; What Should We Expect at SCOTUS and When? electionlawblog.org?p=153164
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
John Roberts isn't coming in for enough discredit for the Trump presidency, writes @ryanlcooper.com.
"Roberts turned the presidency into a kingship, and the first president to govern under this ruling has compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months."
"Roberts turned the presidency into a kingship, and the first president to govern under this ruling has compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months."
The Right-Wing Legal Movement Made Trump a King - The American Prospect
John Roberts created a monster: Donald Trump compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months.
prospect.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:43 PM
John Roberts isn't coming in for enough discredit for the Trump presidency, writes @ryanlcooper.com.
"Roberts turned the presidency into a kingship, and the first president to govern under this ruling has compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months."
"Roberts turned the presidency into a kingship, and the first president to govern under this ruling has compressed a solid millennium or two of monarchical misrule into a mere ten months."
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss how it will handle a North Dakota case and a Mississippi case on whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing.
ICYMI:
ICYMI:
60 years later, Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters face new threats
Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act became a landmark law against racial discrimination, legal challenges heading to the Supreme Court could curtail its remaining protections for minority voters.
www.npr.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss how it will handle a North Dakota case and a Mississippi case on whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing.
ICYMI:
ICYMI:
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
ChatGPT, please summarize this
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:38 PM
ChatGPT, please summarize this
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
ICE’s Detention Center outside Chicago was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. One day later, a "system crash" lost all video footage that could have shown how detainees were being treated. trib.al/QwT3aqI
November 21, 2025 at 12:12 AM
ICE’s Detention Center outside Chicago was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. One day later, a "system crash" lost all video footage that could have shown how detainees were being treated. trib.al/QwT3aqI
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Harvard Magazine on Harvard alum John Roberts:
"The leader of the nation’s judicial system has empowered the president who is the most disdainful in history of the decrees of judges, the provisos of the Constitution, and the workings of American democracy." www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
"The leader of the nation’s judicial system has empowered the president who is the most disdainful in history of the decrees of judges, the provisos of the Constitution, and the workings of American democracy." www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy | Harvard Magazine
Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.
www.harvardmagazine.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Harvard Magazine on Harvard alum John Roberts:
"The leader of the nation’s judicial system has empowered the president who is the most disdainful in history of the decrees of judges, the provisos of the Constitution, and the workings of American democracy." www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
"The leader of the nation’s judicial system has empowered the president who is the most disdainful in history of the decrees of judges, the provisos of the Constitution, and the workings of American democracy." www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
There’s one person squarely to blame for Trump’s corruption, authoritarianism & assault on democracy: John Roberts. He’s enabled so much of Trump’s lawlessness while somehow escaping accountability for it
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
This is all John Roberts’ fault
Trump owes his corrupt and abusive reign to one man.
www.motherjones.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:27 PM
There’s one person squarely to blame for Trump’s corruption, authoritarianism & assault on democracy: John Roberts. He’s enabled so much of Trump’s lawlessness while somehow escaping accountability for it
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
New cover story from @pemalevy.bsky.social & me
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
That John Roberts was more concerned with nuisance lawsuits against the president than he was with whatever this is will haunt this country for a long time
Trump posts again about Democrats, saying their behavior is “punishable by DEATH!”
November 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
That John Roberts was more concerned with nuisance lawsuits against the president than he was with whatever this is will haunt this country for a long time
Very excited to hear Marilynne Robinson deliver the Farnum Lecture later today at 5 pm. Livestream link here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/events/2025/...
dof.princeton.edu/news/2025/au...
dof.princeton.edu/news/2025/au...
Author Marilynne Robinson to deliver lecture at Princeton
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is presented by Princeton Public Lectures as part of the J. Edward Farnum Lecture Series. It will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in McCosh Hall, Room 50...
dof.princeton.edu
November 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Very excited to hear Marilynne Robinson deliver the Farnum Lecture later today at 5 pm. Livestream link here: mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/events/2025/...
dof.princeton.edu/news/2025/au...
dof.princeton.edu/news/2025/au...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
"Before folks assume that one side of this fight clearly acted in bad faith and the other didn’t, it’s worth indulging the possibility that Purcell itself is the culprit—and that its standardless-ness creates perverse incentives for lower courts in election cases."
Me on the TX redistricting case:
Me on the TX redistricting case:
Bonus 193: The Pernicious Effects of Purcell
The remarkable row between the majority and dissent in the three-judge district court's ruling in the Texas redistricting case can be traced directly to the Supreme Court's election-related case law.
www.stevevladeck.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:23 PM
"Before folks assume that one side of this fight clearly acted in bad faith and the other didn’t, it’s worth indulging the possibility that Purcell itself is the culprit—and that its standardless-ness creates perverse incentives for lower courts in election cases."
Me on the TX redistricting case:
Me on the TX redistricting case:
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
This such a simple and obvious point — the idea you’d invoke Purcell when the map itself was passed with just weeks to go shows there’s a transparent issue. electionlawblog.org?p=153101
November 19, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This such a simple and obvious point — the idea you’d invoke Purcell when the map itself was passed with just weeks to go shows there’s a transparent issue. electionlawblog.org?p=153101
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
The first mid-decade redistricting case is headed to the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Here's why the so-called Purcell Principle--which counsels against enjoining redistricting maps close to an election--should not apply here:
electionlawblog.org?p=153101
electionlawblog.org?p=153101
Mid-Decade Redistricting and the Purcell Principle #ELB
Yesterday, a three-judge district court preliminarily enjoined Texas’s mid-decade congressional redistricting map. This case will be promptly appealed to the Supreme Court, and it will be the first of...
electionlawblog.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM
The first mid-decade redistricting case is headed to the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Here's why the so-called Purcell Principle--which counsels against enjoining redistricting maps close to an election--should not apply here:
electionlawblog.org?p=153101
electionlawblog.org?p=153101
An excellent book review and interesting analysis by Amy Davidson Sorkin. ⤵️ www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
If the Legal Campaigns Against Donald Trump Had Ended Differently
New books look at the January 6th Trial That Wasn’t and other failed prosecutions—and whether they might have changed history.
www.newyorker.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:16 PM
An excellent book review and interesting analysis by Amy Davidson Sorkin. ⤵️ www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
The DOJ has been pressing states since May for their registration rolls, which include sensitive personal information of every single voter, claiming the agency wants to ensure compliance with federal voter laws. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
States Want to Know: Why Does the DOJ Want Their Voter Rolls, Really?
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The DOJ has been pressing states since May for their registration rolls, which include sensitive personal information of every single voter, claiming the agency wants to ensure compliance with federal voter laws. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Great @jamellebouie.net piece tying together many of the administration's grafts - for cash, for power...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...
Opinion | The White House Gold Rush Is On
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Great @jamellebouie.net piece tying together many of the administration's grafts - for cash, for power...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Diversity on the bench can strengthen decision-making and improve public confidence in courts. But our research finds that states' highest courts are overwhelmingly white and male: bit.ly/3JW6lN6
State Supreme Court Diversity - November 2025 Update
Many state supreme courts lack diversity in terms of their justices’ race, ethnicity, gender, and professional background.
www.brennancenter.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Diversity on the bench can strengthen decision-making and improve public confidence in courts. But our research finds that states' highest courts are overwhelmingly white and male: bit.ly/3JW6lN6
This double bind is not at all surprising . . . It will be interesting to follow these retaliation cases. ⤵️
www.law.com/2025/11/18/w...
www.law.com/2025/11/18/w...
When DEI Leaders Become Plaintiffs: The Emerging Wave of Discrimination Lawsuits| Law.com
Combined with political pressure and regulatory uncertainty, this shift signals a new litigation landscape for employers. They are now at risk from both directions—majority-group plaintiffs challengin...
www.law.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:07 PM
This double bind is not at all surprising . . . It will be interesting to follow these retaliation cases. ⤵️
www.law.com/2025/11/18/w...
www.law.com/2025/11/18/w...
I posted about neo-Luddites yesterday, with a good deal of sympathy for that way of thinking. This is even more worrisome. Ugh. ⤵️
The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
Opinion | The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I posted about neo-Luddites yesterday, with a good deal of sympathy for that way of thinking. This is even more worrisome. Ugh. ⤵️
The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
The Sad and Dangerous Reality Behind ‘Her’ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Under the district+circuit three-judge panel procedure for redistricting cases, there's no appeal to the 5th Circuit on this, only direct to SCOTUS. The filing deadline for candidates is in 20 days.
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Federal judges block Texas from using redrawn congressional maps that would boost the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.
November 18, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Under the district+circuit three-judge panel procedure for redistricting cases, there's no appeal to the 5th Circuit on this, only direct to SCOTUS. The filing deadline for candidates is in 20 days.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Procedural note:
Under 28 U.S.C. §2284(a), a case challenging apportionment /districting is heard at trial-level by a panel of three judges, including one circuit court judge. This decision was 2–1 (Trump appointee writing for the court joined by Obama appointee, Trump 5th Circuit judge dissenting)
Under 28 U.S.C. §2284(a), a case challenging apportionment /districting is heard at trial-level by a panel of three judges, including one circuit court judge. This decision was 2–1 (Trump appointee writing for the court joined by Obama appointee, Trump 5th Circuit judge dissenting)
Whoa: A federal court just barred Texas from using its new congressional map, drawn by the GOP to target Dems.
"Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map."
Court says the old map must be used in 2026. Appeals are certain. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map."
Court says the old map must be used in 2026. Appeals are certain. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Procedural note:
Under 28 U.S.C. §2284(a), a case challenging apportionment /districting is heard at trial-level by a panel of three judges, including one circuit court judge. This decision was 2–1 (Trump appointee writing for the court joined by Obama appointee, Trump 5th Circuit judge dissenting)
Under 28 U.S.C. §2284(a), a case challenging apportionment /districting is heard at trial-level by a panel of three judges, including one circuit court judge. This decision was 2–1 (Trump appointee writing for the court joined by Obama appointee, Trump 5th Circuit judge dissenting)
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Inside the GOP’s Assault on Youth Voting Rights talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
Inside the GOP’s Assault on Youth Voting Rights
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Inside the GOP’s Assault on Youth Voting Rights talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/inside-...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
If #SCOTUS weakens the Voting Rights Act Section 2 protections against racial discrimination in political mapmaking, it could spark a new wave of congressional redistricting. @mcpli.bsky.social talks to @npr.org about what that could mean.
Redistricting deadlines for the midterms loom as states wait for a Supreme Court ruling
Depending on the timing, a Supreme Court ruling that weakens Voting Rights Act protections against racial discrimination may lead to more states redrawing congressional maps before the 2026 midterms.
www.npr.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
If #SCOTUS weakens the Voting Rights Act Section 2 protections against racial discrimination in political mapmaking, it could spark a new wave of congressional redistricting. @mcpli.bsky.social talks to @npr.org about what that could mean.
I can't wait to read Shaun Ossei-Owusu’s Law on Trial. I heard him share early chapters when he was a fellow at Princeton. It’s a sharp, much-needed critique of the legal system at a time when many focus on preserving existing institutions. We can make them better. www.amazon.com/Law-Trial-Un...
Law on Trial: An Unlikely Insider Reckons with Our Legal System
www.amazon.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:19 PM
I can't wait to read Shaun Ossei-Owusu’s Law on Trial. I heard him share early chapters when he was a fellow at Princeton. It’s a sharp, much-needed critique of the legal system at a time when many focus on preserving existing institutions. We can make them better. www.amazon.com/Law-Trial-Un...