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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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The Song that Never Ends: Murder Ballads, Abortion, and Forgotten Women
The Song that Never Ends: Murder Ballads, Abortion, and Forgotten Women
A folk historian discusses what centuries of songs about killing women can tell us about this moment in history.
Karen Hogg
Aug 20
JD Vance’s Couch and the Power of Storytelling
JD Vance’s Couch and the Power of Storytelling
JD Vance and his couch — it’s not true. So why is it so persuasive?
JoAnne Sweeny
Aug 10
What Movies and TV Get Wrong About Criminal Law
What Movies and TV Get Wrong About Criminal Law
Legal dramas aren’t accurate representations of the justice system
Steven Toews, JD, MBA
Jul 25
We’re Not In Kansas Anymore. Or Iowa Or New Hampshire Or . . .
We’re Not In Kansas Anymore. Or Iowa Or New Hampshire Or . . .
Marc Murphy
Jul 24
My Second First Year of Law School
My Second First Year of Law School
Key lessons about law school that I learned as a first year law professor.
Joe Dunman
Jul 19
Lara Trump Is Ugly
Lara Trump Is Ugly
Since I began publishing political art when Barack Obama was still a US Senator I’ve drawn countless men and women of different shapes and…
Marc Murphy
Jul 19
The One Where Columbo Figures Out Why We Shouldn’t Do The Conspiracy Theory Thing, with Patrick…
The One Where Columbo Figures Out Why We Shouldn’t Do The Conspiracy Theory Thing, with Patrick…
Maybe it’s a bad idea?
Martin French
Jul 16
Plucking Another Stone from the Wall of Separation
Plucking Another Stone from the Wall of Separation
Louisiana’s deliberate effort to overrule a crucial First Amendment case.
Joe Dunman
Jul 15
The Trump Assassination Attempt: Is Joe Biden to Blame?
The Trump Assassination Attempt: Is Joe Biden to Blame?
Republicans have accused Biden of inciting the man who attempted to shoot Trump on July 13. But is it the same as the Jan. 6 insurrection?
JoAnne Sweeny
Jul 15
Importing a Husband: a Liberty Interest
Importing a Husband: a Liberty Interest
Immigration officials have a lot of authority. Now they have the power to tell you nothing.
JoAnne Sweeny
Jul 4
With fear for our democracy
With fear for our democracy
Lessons from Sotomayor’s dissent in the Trump immunity case.
Dan Canon
Jul 2
Why Would a Lawyer Choose to Give Bad Advice?
Why Would a Lawyer Choose to Give Bad Advice?
I give advice for a living. That’s been my profession for almost 20 years, and a hobby long before that. I do my best, but I don’t always…
Dan Canon
Jul 1
Working for a Sole Practitioner
Working for a Sole Practitioner
One of the greatest benefits of working for a sole practitioner as a law clerk is the mentorship experience that goes hand in hand with the…
Jaclyn Roy
Jun 28
Gagging the President
Gagging the President
Donald Trump has been the subject of multiple gag orders. But what about his freedom of speech?
JoAnne Sweeny
Jun 24
Domestic Tranquility and the Warriors of Peace
Domestic Tranquility and the Warriors of Peace
The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution says “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice…
Joe Dunman
Jun 17
I Taught the Law — Now Boosting!
I Taught the Law — Now Boosting!
Hello readers and writers!
JoAnne Sweeny
Jun 10
Saying “I Don’t” to Patriarchal Wedding Etiquette
Saying “I Don’t” to Patriarchal Wedding Etiquette
Summer brings weddings, and weddings bring elegantly addressed wedding invitations and envelopes. The soon-to-be brides dutifully follow…
Michelle Browning Coughlin
Jun 7
How to Defend a Dead Pope
How to Defend a Dead Pope
In 897, Pope Formosus was put on trial for violation of canon law and perjury. Popes were getting locked up, exiled, and murdered quite a…
Dan Canon
Jun 3
What is terrorism, actually?
What is terrorism, actually?
Definition of terrorism according to Turkish criminal law
Nuran Haydar
May 13
Is international law really a branch of law?
Is international law really a branch of law?
International Law Discussions: Part: 1
Nuran Haydar
May 12
International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law Relation
International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law Relation
International Law Discussions: Part: 2
Nuran Haydar
May 8
The Cauldron and the Courthouse
The Cauldron and the Courthouse
On ancient ordeals, modern trials, and imagining a world without courts.
Dan Canon
May 4
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
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