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I Taught the Law
Lawyers, law professors, students, and other legal professionals bring you the untold stories of the rules, institutions, and people that govern our lives (without too much legalese).
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Tied to the Hitching Post: What Will Stop Alabama Prisons from Killing and Torturing?
Tied to the Hitching Post: What Will Stop Alabama Prisons from Killing and Torturing?
In May 1995, the state of Alabama forced Larry Hope to work as part of the last chain gang in America. When Hope got into an argument with…
Dan Canon
Feb 17
The Sirius Murderer
The Sirius Murderer
Should the law protect the “exquisitely stupid” from being tricked into suicide?
Dan Canon
Feb 9
Do Trump’s Lawyers Really Believe What They Say?
Do Trump’s Lawyers Really Believe What They Say?
For years now, we have been saturated with increasingly ridiculous arguments by increasingly ridiculous lawyers representing Donald Trump…
Dan Canon
Jan 26
The Only Man in an Island Prison
The Only Man in an Island Prison
What does the case of Turkey’s most infamous political prisoner tell us about American solitary confinement?
Dan Canon
Jan 19
The Trump Exception to the Constitution
The Trump Exception to the Constitution
The First Amendment Isn’t What’s Enabling Trump. It’s the Courts.
Dan Canon
Jan 12
On the Legality of Mailing Feces
On the Legality of Mailing Feces
I mailed a box of my own poop to a lab in Wisconsin. Before I sent it, I made the mistake of setting the box down ever so briefly in our…
Dan Canon
Jan 5
Remembering Justice O’Connor (but not fondly)
Remembering Justice O’Connor (but not fondly)
A different take on the legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice.
Dan Canon
Dec 6, 2023
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: New York’s Adult Survivors Law Explained
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: New York’s Adult Survivors Law Explained
Puff Daddy.
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Dec 1, 2023
Tried it in a Small Town: A Condensed History of the Expansion of Hate Crime Legislation
Tried it in a Small Town: A Condensed History of the Expansion of Hate Crime Legislation
July 2023 sure was an awkward time to be a black country music fan. On one hand, you had black artists like Willie Jones, Breland, and…
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Sep 8, 2023
On Mass Shootings and Final Exams
On Mass Shootings and Final Exams
One week before the end of the semester, a 23-year-old bank employee took an AR-15 to work with him. He killed four people before he was…
Dan Canon
Aug 8, 2023
A letter to the law school class of 2026
A letter to the law school class of 2026
Dear (soon to be) 1Ls,
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Aug 5, 2023
The Northwestern Football Players Who Participated in “Running” Their Teammates Should Be Charged…
The Northwestern Football Players Who Participated in “Running” Their Teammates Should Be Charged…
In my 2021 book, “The Title IX Guy”, I wrote a chapter about male victims of sexual misconduct. While the U.S. Military puts up high…
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Jul 18, 2023
1L: My Experience as a Woman of Color
1L: My Experience as a Woman of Color
I used to paint a picture in my head of law school as this place of forward thinking, innovation, and change. However, once I finally made…
Jordan Butler
May 19, 2023
How Plea Bargaining Perpetuates a Racist Legal System
How Plea Bargaining Perpetuates a Racist Legal System
Plea bargaining accounts for more than 95% of all convictions in America. How does it help create a racial imbalance in the law?
Dan Canon
Apr 23, 2023
Help: Domestic Violence Resources and Barriers in Louisville
Help: Domestic Violence Resources and Barriers in Louisville
With the pandemic requiring us to stay at home in 2020, a subsequent rise in incidents of domestic violence followed. Two years later, the…
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Feb 8, 2023
Plea Bargaining: The Everyday Practice that Undermines Working-Class Solidarity
Plea Bargaining: The Everyday Practice that Undermines Working-Class Solidarity
A primer on how plea bargaining has been used by the ruling classes since the 19th century.
Dan Canon
Jan 26, 2023
The Varsity Blues Mastermind Got Prison Time for His White Collar Crime — What Does That Mean?
The Varsity Blues Mastermind Got Prison Time for His White Collar Crime — What Does That Mean?
Are wealthy criminals finally starting to see penalties as harsh as poor and working class people?
Dan Canon
Jan 14, 2023
Kentucky Traffic: What a Trip to Thurby Taught Me About Human Trafficking
Kentucky Traffic: What a Trip to Thurby Taught Me About Human Trafficking
In 2017, I had box seats at Thurby. For those unfamiliar, Thurby takes place at Churchill Downs on the Thursday of Derby week. It’s a time…
James J. Wilkerson, J.D.
Oct 25, 2022
Why Should You Care About the Bar Exam?
Why Should You Care About the Bar Exam?
You didn’t take the bar exam. That’s probably because you didn’t go to law school. Good for you. Law school is hard. Your first year is an…
Dan Canon
Sep 27, 2022
Heslin v. Jones — A Case of Bad Lawyering
Heslin v. Jones — A Case of Bad Lawyering
Last week, Alex Jones, founder of far-right news website Infowars, was ordered by a jury to pay $49.3 million in compensatory and punitive…
JoAnne Sweeny
Aug 14, 2022
A Billion-Dollar Idea
A Billion-Dollar Idea
Entrepreneurs: Are you looking for a way to start a business that helps marginalized people, thereby lending direction to your purposeless…
Dan Canon
Jul 20, 2022
Prepare for the New War on Drugs
Prepare for the New War on Drugs
The coming War on Abortion is likely to be worse than anything we can imagine.
Dan Canon
Jun 30, 2022
On Being the First
On Being the First
Who’ll be first?
Marcia Ziegler
Jun 24, 2022
Can We Be The Generation That Ends School Shootings?
Can We Be The Generation That Ends School Shootings?
How old were you when you realized that an individual adult’s right to own a gun is more important than a child’s life?
Erin Gow
Jun 2, 2022
Where is the Lie?
Where is the Lie?
The Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial was never about who abused whom. The verdict is a major setback for #Metoo.
JoAnne Sweeny
Jun 2, 2022
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