Legal Time Travel

When I advise students on papers involving current topics, I tell them to be aware that a new case could come out that would require them to revise their work. This will certainly be the case for the draft papers on the possible application of Section Three to Donald Trump. The Supreme Court will probably decide the issue before the papers are published.

This creates a curious situation. The Court's opinions may well cite the draft papers. But then the draft papers will be revised to cite the Court's opinion. There's nothing wrong with any of that, but there's a paradox in there somewhere.