Mark Joseph Stern
@mjsdc.bsky.social
Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law. Co-host of the Amicus podcast. Dad.
This decision is very obviously correct and it is startling to learn that the defendant has been imprisoned or confined for two decades while his case made its way through the courts. He was convicted based on pure speech about a matter of immense public importance!
4th Cir. holds that it violated the First Amendment to convict Virginia man of soliciting treason for his inflammatory, disturbing, and deeply offensive post-9/11 statements which urged no concrete criminal plan or provide assistance to crime.
Huge case.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/144...
Huge case.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/144...
January 9, 2026 at 8:58 PM
This decision is very obviously correct and it is startling to learn that the defendant has been imprisoned or confined for two decades while his case made its way through the courts. He was convicted based on pure speech about a matter of immense public importance!
Connecting the dots with @dahlialithwick.bsky.social slate.com/news-and-pol...
January 9, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Connecting the dots with @dahlialithwick.bsky.social slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
More SCOTUS rulings expected on Wednesday
January 9, 2026 at 4:19 PM
More SCOTUS rulings expected on Wednesday
Super smart thread about certain Republican-appointed justices abandoning textualism in habeas cases
We filed an Amicus in brief here.
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
It's the right result, and I just want to make a wonky observation. A case like this scrambles traditional outcome-method alignments.
1/
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
It's the right result, and I just want to make a wonky observation. A case like this scrambles traditional outcome-method alignments.
1/
January 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Super smart thread about certain Republican-appointed justices abandoning textualism in habeas cases
Love it when she breaks the fourth wall
After reading a summary of the opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said to the courtroom, which contained SG John Sauer and his deputies: "Seeing who's here, it's not the case you thought."
We still don't know when #SCOTUS will release its tariffs decision.
We still don't know when #SCOTUS will release its tariffs decision.
January 9, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Love it when she breaks the fourth wall
The Supreme Court's ONLY opinion today is Bowe v. U.S., a habeas decision with a good outcome for the defendant—albeit by a 5–4 vote, with Roberts and Kavanaugh joining the libs. I'll take it.
No tariffs, no VRA! www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
No tariffs, no VRA! www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
January 9, 2026 at 3:03 PM
The Supreme Court's ONLY opinion today is Bowe v. U.S., a habeas decision with a good outcome for the defendant—albeit by a 5–4 vote, with Roberts and Kavanaugh joining the libs. I'll take it.
No tariffs, no VRA! www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
No tariffs, no VRA! www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
American Samoans, unique among *everyone* born in US states or territories, are denied US citizenship.
That means they are banned from voting.
That's made some a target of vicious GOP prosecution for fraud; even if they were told incorrect info from public officials.
A. New. Must. Read.
That means they are banned from voting.
That's made some a target of vicious GOP prosecution for fraud; even if they were told incorrect info from public officials.
A. New. Must. Read.
Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts
This story was produced in partnership with High Country News. I. The state troopers came first for Tupe Smith. They arrived in a pair on November 30, 2023, traveling a stretch... Read More
boltsmag.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:26 PM
American Samoans, unique among *everyone* born in US states or territories, are denied US citizenship.
That means they are banned from voting.
That's made some a target of vicious GOP prosecution for fraud; even if they were told incorrect info from public officials.
A. New. Must. Read.
That means they are banned from voting.
That's made some a target of vicious GOP prosecution for fraud; even if they were told incorrect info from public officials.
A. New. Must. Read.
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
It’s easy to think that schools in Minneapolis are closed because the Feds murdered someone in the street but no, the actual reason is that while that was happening, the Feds were busy doing other heinous shit across the city like tear-gassing a school
“The move came after officials at Roosevelt High School said armed U.S. Border Patrol officers came on school property during dismissal Wednesday and began tackling people, handcuffed two staff members and released chemical weapons on bystanders.” — www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
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 1:31 PM
It’s easy to think that schools in Minneapolis are closed because the Feds murdered someone in the street but no, the actual reason is that while that was happening, the Feds were busy doing other heinous shit across the city like tear-gassing a school
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
Trying to turn the culture war into an actual war on your fellow citizens.
Jesse Watters highlights that Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE, had "pronouns in her bio" and "leaves behind a lesbian partner and a child from a previous marriage"
January 8, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Trying to turn the culture war into an actual war on your fellow citizens.
Excellent, clarifying piece on the (real) legal pathway that Minnesota has to prosecute the ICE agent who shot and killed a woman today.
No, federal agents do not have absolute immunity from start charges, no matter what the Trump administration claims.
No, federal agents do not have absolute immunity from start charges, no matter what the Trump administration claims.
Wrote a piece for @slate.com explaining that states have a long history of prosecuting federal officers when they allegedly use excessive force. Federal officers are only immune from such prosecutions when they act reasonably in carrying out lawful duties.
Minnesota Could Prosecute the ICE Shooter. Trump Can’t Pardon Him.
Shortly after an ICE officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, city leaders began looking into whether the officer had violated state criminal law.
slate.com
January 8, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Excellent, clarifying piece on the (real) legal pathway that Minnesota has to prosecute the ICE agent who shot and killed a woman today.
No, federal agents do not have absolute immunity from start charges, no matter what the Trump administration claims.
No, federal agents do not have absolute immunity from start charges, no matter what the Trump administration claims.
What are they saying?
January 7, 2026 at 3:38 PM
What are they saying?
Here is the Wyoming Supreme Court's 4–1 decision striking down the state's draconian abortion bans under the state constitution's provision guaranteeing residents the right to make health care decisions (which was enacted as a rejoinder to the ACA). documents.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions/S-2...
January 6, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Here is the Wyoming Supreme Court's 4–1 decision striking down the state's draconian abortion bans under the state constitution's provision guaranteeing residents the right to make health care decisions (which was enacted as a rejoinder to the ACA). documents.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions/S-2...
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
Supreme Court will have rulings on Friday.
Tariffs is a possibility, but not guaranteed.
Tariffs is a possibility, but not guaranteed.
January 6, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Supreme Court will have rulings on Friday.
Tariffs is a possibility, but not guaranteed.
Tariffs is a possibility, but not guaranteed.
Newsom should absolutely call the special election under the new lines. It's the map adopted by the people of California, and on top of being democratically defensible, it's the kind of hardball that DeSantis or Abbott would obviously pull in the converse scenario.
In 2022, the June special election for NE-01 took place under the new lines, even though the special was ostensibly to fill the seat under the old lines. I wonder if Newsom will attempt to call the special under the new lines, which would be a Democratic pickup.
Punchbowl News & Fox News are reporting that U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican, has died.
LaMalfa represents a currently ruby red district (CA-01) that is becoming pretty reliably blue under the state's new map. There'll be a special to replace him under current lines.
LaMalfa represents a currently ruby red district (CA-01) that is becoming pretty reliably blue under the state's new map. There'll be a special to replace him under current lines.
January 6, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Newsom should absolutely call the special election under the new lines. It's the map adopted by the people of California, and on top of being democratically defensible, it's the kind of hardball that DeSantis or Abbott would obviously pull in the converse scenario.
The legal justification for Trump’s new war is so preposterously wrong that the Justice Department concealed it from Congress when Bill Barr first road-tested it for George H.W. Bush in 1989, even in the face of a subpoena. Then Barr lied about it under oath. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The Once Secret Memo That Trump Thinks Justifies His Venezuela Invasion
The legal theories the administration has floated to defend its actions draw on a historical source the president once disavowed.
slate.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:08 PM
The legal justification for Trump’s new war is so preposterously wrong that the Justice Department concealed it from Congress when Bill Barr first road-tested it for George H.W. Bush in 1989, even in the face of a subpoena. Then Barr lied about it under oath. slate.com/news-and-pol...
There's a rising faction of the legal academy that stays quiet when their MAGAdemic colleagues produce fraudulent psuedo-scholarship in service to the cruelest aspects of Trump's agenda ... then leap in to police the discourse when their progressive colleagues criticize those MAGAdemics too bluntly.
January 5, 2026 at 3:43 PM
There's a rising faction of the legal academy that stays quiet when their MAGAdemic colleagues produce fraudulent psuedo-scholarship in service to the cruelest aspects of Trump's agenda ... then leap in to police the discourse when their progressive colleagues criticize those MAGAdemics too bluntly.
Nobody is even pretending that Congress authorized a military operation to remove a foreign leader as a prelude to occupying his country and running it by (presumably) American military rule. The unitary executive theory now just makes Trump emperor of the world, I guess. Incredible stuff.
BREAKING
President Trump says the United States will run Venezuela until a “safe, proper, and judicious” transfer of power can take place.
President Trump says the United States will run Venezuela until a “safe, proper, and judicious” transfer of power can take place.
January 3, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Nobody is even pretending that Congress authorized a military operation to remove a foreign leader as a prelude to occupying his country and running it by (presumably) American military rule. The unitary executive theory now just makes Trump emperor of the world, I guess. Incredible stuff.
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
It's crystal clear: a pending criminal indictment does NOT cure the clear illegality of this attack under int'l law. It violated the UN Charter in just the same way Russia's attack on Ukraine did. And unlike our 1989 Panama invasion, there seems not even a pretense of a threat to Americans there.
Vance pushes back and says this was not illegal, arguing "Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas."
January 3, 2026 at 4:13 PM
It's crystal clear: a pending criminal indictment does NOT cure the clear illegality of this attack under int'l law. It violated the UN Charter in just the same way Russia's attack on Ukraine did. And unlike our 1989 Panama invasion, there seems not even a pretense of a threat to Americans there.
1. Yes, Trump launching a new military operation overseas without Congress’ prior declaration of war or authorization of force is almost certainly unlawful.
2. No, there is no real chance the courts will stop it.
Unfortunately our Constitution means little when the judiciary won’t enforce it.
2. No, there is no real chance the courts will stop it.
Unfortunately our Constitution means little when the judiciary won’t enforce it.
January 3, 2026 at 4:14 PM
1. Yes, Trump launching a new military operation overseas without Congress’ prior declaration of war or authorization of force is almost certainly unlawful.
2. No, there is no real chance the courts will stop it.
Unfortunately our Constitution means little when the judiciary won’t enforce it.
2. No, there is no real chance the courts will stop it.
Unfortunately our Constitution means little when the judiciary won’t enforce it.
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
Supreme Court has posted the oral argument calendar for the late February/early March session. Highlight is a gun case on March 2 on whether users of illegal drugs can be barred from possessing firearms.
January 2, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Supreme Court has posted the oral argument calendar for the late February/early March session. Highlight is a gun case on March 2 on whether users of illegal drugs can be barred from possessing firearms.
Beside the point, really, but it's just tragic what has happened to Tablet. As recently as 10 years ago, it was not at all inevitable that the magazine would become an ultra-racist and rabidly pro-Trump slop factory.
Here is the editor of Tablet agreeably reposting someone calling nonwhite NYC immigrants "worthless biotrash." It's astonishing how quickly this stuff has escaped containment
January 2, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Beside the point, really, but it's just tragic what has happened to Tablet. As recently as 10 years ago, it was not at all inevitable that the magazine would become an ultra-racist and rabidly pro-Trump slop factory.
Stone is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and director of its "Pronatalism Initiative," and he regularly gets quoted as an authoritative source by commentators across the political spectrum despite this kind of gutter racism and other undisguised bigotries. I find that baffling.
I was wondering why their is so much random racist discourse on Somalis on the TL rn but oh it’s election season for governor rn lol
January 2, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Stone is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and director of its "Pronatalism Initiative," and he regularly gets quoted as an authoritative source by commentators across the political spectrum despite this kind of gutter racism and other undisguised bigotries. I find that baffling.
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
This really is the culmination of the unitary executive theory — the entire cabinet must profess servile fealty to the personality of one man & forswear any notion that their office entails responsibilities to the American people or concern for the public good beyond servicing his whims
Ladies and gentlemen, the head of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division
December 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM
This really is the culmination of the unitary executive theory — the entire cabinet must profess servile fealty to the personality of one man & forswear any notion that their office entails responsibilities to the American people or concern for the public good beyond servicing his whims