Carolyn Shapiro
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cshaplaw.bsky.social
Carolyn Shapiro
@cshaplaw.bsky.social
2K followers 1.3K following 660 posts
Law prof at Chicago-Kent College of Law; co-director of CK Institute on the Supreme Court; Of Counsel, Schnapper-Casteras, PLLC; former IL Solicitor General.
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Reposted by Carolyn Shapiro
samhalpert.bsky.social
This is brilliant. I'm so grateful for this testimony. I've transcribed it to use in letters I'm writing. Sharing the full transcription here (see alt text to copy/paste it):
"I'd like to share a story from a local paper in Coldwater, Michigan dated to the 9th of April, 1945. It tells how the US Army, under General Patton--the US 3rd Army--came onto what you might call a detention center just outside the village of Ohrdruf, Germany. The US Army brought the leading citizens of Ohrdruf to tour the facility, which turned out to be part of the Buchenwald network of concentration camps. A US Army colonel told the German civilians who viewed the scenes, without muttering a word, that they were to blame. One of the Germans replied that what happened in the camp was (quote) 'done by a few people, and you cannot blame us all.' And the American, who could have been any one of our grandfathers, said, 'this was done by those that the German people chose to lead them, and all are responsible.' The morning after the tour, the Mayor of Ohrdruf killed himself. And maybe he did not know the full extent of the outrages that were committed in his community, but he knew enough. And we don't know exactly how ICE will use this warehouse. But we know enough. I ask you to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf might have thought before he died. Maybe he felt like a victim. He might have thought, 'how is this my fault? I have no jurisdiction over this.' Maybe he would have said, 'this site was not subject to local zoning, what could I do?' But I think, when he reflected on the suffering that occurred at this camp, just outside of town, that those words would have sounded hollow even to him. Because in his heart he knew--as we do--that we are all responsible for what happens in our community. I urge the council to take action to stop, or stall, or at the barest minimum to think creatively about how to exercise oversight over this proposed ICE facility. Thank you."
February 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Carolyn Shapiro
dlknowles.bsky.social
And finally there is an editorial, in which we argue that Donald Trump is "creating a militia which answers only to himself" and how he could use it to "stage provocations pretty much anywhere with impunity, including during elections" if Congress does not step in www.economist.com/leaders/2026...
ICE’s impunity is a formula for more violence
Is America’s president building his own paramilitary militia?
www.economist.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Carolyn Shapiro
rickhasen.bsky.social
So what can be done about Trump's potential interference with the 2026 midterms? As I write @slate.com:
So what can be done about all of this? To begin with, state and local election officials need to be ready to go to federal court to seek injunctions barring the government from seizing voting machines or otherwise interfering with the process of tabulating ballots. Trump might even try to send troops to seize ballots without a search warrant, and if that threat is real, proactive judicial action is necessary. These threats are most likely to materialize in those areas around the country with contested congressional races. Particular targets may be in those states, such as California and Arizona, where the tabulation of ballots takes a long time, so there is more time for Trump and his allies to act. State officials and the public need to support, with dollars and volunteers, election administrators and those who would hold the line against interference. The greater the transparency of the work of these administrators in tabulating ballots, and the quicker a fair count can take place, the harder it will be for Trump to have a legal excuse to try to interfere with the balloting.
January 29, 2026 at 7:48 PM