Monday, May 01, 2023
JOTWELL: Steinman on constitutional remedies
The new Courts Law essay comes from Adam Steinman (Alabama) reviewing Brandon L. Garrett & Kaitlin Phillips, AEDPA Repeal, 107 Cornell L. Rev. 1739 (2022) and Alexander Reinert, Joanna C. Schwartz & James E. Pfander, New Federalism and Civil Rights Enforcement, 116 Nw. U. L. Rev. 737 (2021); the articles explore and criticize different limitations on constitutional remedies.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on May 1, 2023 at 11:02 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, April 13, 2023
JOTWELL: Coleman on Brito, Sabbeth, Steinberg & Sudeall on racial capitalism
The new Courts Law essay comes from Brooke Coleman (Seattle) reviewing Tonya L. Brito, Kathryn A. Sabbeth, Jessica K. Steinberg & Lauren Sudeall, Racial Capitalism in the Civil Courts, 122 Colum. L. Rev. 1243 (2022), which explores the racial inequality embedded in state court procedure.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 13, 2023 at 01:19 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, March 31, 2023
JOTWELL: Pfander on Elliott on SCOTUS original jurisdiction
The new Courts Law essay comes from James Pfander (Northwestern-Pritzker) reviewing Heather Elliott, Original Discrimination: How the Supreme Court Disadvantages Plaintiff States, 108 Iowa L. Rev. 175 (2022), a takedown of SCOTUS's exercise of discretion in original jurisdiction and some solutions.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on March 31, 2023 at 02:55 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, March 10, 2023
JOTWELL: Smith on Sohoni and procedural originalism
The new Courts Law essay comes from Fred Smith (Emory) reviewing Mila Sohoni, The Puzzle of Procedural Originalism, 72 Duke L.J. 941 (2023), which explores how originalism has not (yet) come for constitutional doctrines in civ pro, such as personal and subject matter jurisdiction.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on March 10, 2023 at 12:31 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, February 24, 2023
JOTWELL: Thomas on Adams, et al. on open justice
The new Courts Law essay comes from Suja Thomas (Illinois) reviewing Zoe Adams, Abi Adams-Prassl & Jeremias Adams-Prassl, Online Tribunal Judgments and the Limits of Open Justice, 42 Legal Stud. 42 (2022).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 24, 2023 at 09:36 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, February 10, 2023
JOTWELL: Kalajdzic on Tang on copyright class actions
The new Courts Law essay comes from Jasminka Kalajdzic (Windsor), reviewing Xiyin Tang, The Class Action as Licensing and Reform Device, 122 Colum. L. Rev. 1627 (2022).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 10, 2023 at 01:58 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, January 27, 2023
JOTWELL: Shatzman on Fogel, Hoopes, & Liu on diversity in clerkship hiring
The new Courts Law essay comes from guest Aliza Shatzman, reviewing Jeremy Fogel, Mary Hoopes, and Goodwin Liu, Law Clerk Selection and Diversity: Insights from Fifty Sitting Judges of the Federal Courts of Appeals.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on January 27, 2023 at 01:06 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, January 13, 2023
JOTWELL: Tidmarsh on Hershkoff & Norris and democracy and jurisdiction
The new Courts Law essay comes from Jay Tidmarsh (Notre Dame) reviewing Helen Hershkoff & Luke Norris, The Oligarchic Courthouse: Jurisdiction, Corporate Power, and Democratic Decline, Mich. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2023), exploring how corporate power influences jurisdictional rules in ways that enhance corporate power and limit democracy.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on January 13, 2023 at 12:52 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 07, 2022
JOTWELL: Michalski on FJC on pro se electronic filing
The new Courts Law essay comes from Roger Michalski (Oklahoma) reviewing the Federal Judicial Center's study of electronic filing by pro se litigants.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on December 7, 2022 at 01:55 PM in Article Spotlight, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
JOTWELL: Campos on Francus on the Texas Two-Step
The new Courts Law essay comes from Sergio Campos (Miami), reviewing Michael A. Francus, Texas Two-Stepping Out of Bankruptcy, 120 Mich. L. Rev. Online 38 (2022), another discussion of the use of bankruptcy in mass tort.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on November 22, 2022 at 02:33 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 07, 2022
JOTWELL: Effron on Simon on bankruptcy as aggregate litigation
The new Courts Law essay comes from Robin Effron (Brooklyn) reviewing Lindsey D. Simon, Bankrtupcy Grifters, 131 Yale L.J. 1154 (2022), which considers bankruptcy as a tool of aggregate litigation and the problem of solvent debtors running to bankruptcy to avoid mass-tort litigation.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on November 7, 2022 at 03:01 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 02, 2022
More on SB8 and its imitators: NYT v. Sullivan as Historical Analogue
Houston Law Review has published Solving the Procedural Puzzles of the Texas Heartbeat Act and Its Imitators: New York TImes v. Sullivan as Historical Analogue, Rocky and my third piece in this series. This argues that the events leading to NYT v. Sullivan--a campaign of private civil litigation designed to chill conduct through costly litigation and liability--offer an historical analogue for SB8 and the imitators popping up in other states and on other issues. We do not defend or support what Sullivan and other Southern officials did in the early 1960s. The point is that it did not require offensive litigation or special procedures in federal court; the Times could and did defend in state court and pursue (successfully) their constitutional rights defensively. And those ordinary processes are available for current controversies.
Here is the abstract:
The Texas Heartbeat Act (S.B. 8) prohibits abortions following detection of a fetal heartbeat while delegating exclusive enforcement through private civil actions brought by “any person,” regardless of injury, for statutory damages of a minimum of $10,000 per prohibited abortion. Texas sought to impose costly litigation and potentially crippling liability on reproductive health providers and rights advocates, with the hope of stopping abortion in the state. Prior to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruling Roe v. Wade and eliminating constitutional protection for abortion, the law represented a unique threat to reproductive freedom. But states are spreading S.B. 8’s exclusive private enforcement mechanism to other disfavored-but-protected activities, seeking to impose private civil liability.
This Article—the third in a series unpacking the procedural puzzles of S.B. 8 and its imitators—considers the historical analogue of New York Times v. Sullivan, the Court’s foundational modern free speech case. New York Times arose out of a southern campaign to use state defamation law and private civil litigation to silence media outlets from reporting on Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. That southern litigation campaign and S.B. 8 supporters shared a goal—deter locally unpopular but constitutionally protected activity through threat of hundreds of lawsuits and devastating civil liability and monetary exposure. But the defendants in New York Times could not and did not go to federal court ahead of any private lawsuit or seek to functionally enjoin the state’s trial courts. The Times litigated the First Amendment defensively, with successful review to the Supreme Court of the United States. Contrary to the views and concerns of critics of S.B. 8 and new copycats, rights holders can follow the same process to challenge the substantive validity of privately enforced laws. The history of New York Times shows the way.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on November 2, 2022 at 09:31 AM in Article Spotlight, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 24, 2022
JOTWELL: Bartholomew on Ormerod on qui tam
The new Courts Law essay comes from Christine Bartholomew (Buffalo) reviewing Peter Ormerod, Privacy Qui Tam, ___ Notre Dame L. Rev. (forthcoming 2023), proposing qui tam actions to enforce privacy rights.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 24, 2022 at 01:14 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (2)
Monday, October 10, 2022
JOTWELL: Mullenix on Dodge, Gardner, & Whytock on Forum Non Conveniens
The new Courts Law essay comes from Linda Mullenix (Texas), reviewing William S. Dodge, Maggie Gardner, & Christopher A. Whytock, The Many State Doctrines of Forum Non Conveniens, 72 Duke L.J. (forthcoming 2023).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 10, 2022 at 08:47 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
JOTWELL: Vladeck on Codrington on Purcell
The new Courts Law essay comes from Steve Vladeck (Texas), reviewing Wilfred U. Codrington III, Purcell in Pandemic, 96 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 941 (2021), exploring the use of Purcell to avoid challenges to COVID-related voting restrictions.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on September 27, 2022 at 09:31 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (1)
Monday, September 12, 2022
JOTWELL: Carroll on Greene & Renberg on judges without J.D.s
The new Courts Law essay comes from Maureen Carroll (Michigan) reviewing Sara Sternberg Greene & Kristen M. Renberg, Judging Without a J.D., 122 Colum. L. Rev. 1287 (2022), examining the phenomenon of low-level state judges who do not have law degrees.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on September 12, 2022 at 02:38 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, July 21, 2022
JOTWELL: Wasserman on Clopton on catch-and-kill jurisdiction
I have the new Courts Law essay, reviewing Zachary D. Clopton, Catch and Kill Jurisidiction (Mich. L. Rev., forthcoming), which describes a category of cases in which federal courts pull cases out of state court through expansive federal jurisdiction, then dismiss on uniquely federal non-merits bases. For further reading, see the response forthcoming in Mich. L. Rev. Online.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on July 21, 2022 at 12:23 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, May 13, 2022
JOTWELL: Coleman on Reda on data and inequality
The new Courts Law essay comes from Brooke Coleman (Seattle), reviewing Danya Sochair Reda, Producing Procedural Inequality Through the Empirical Turn, 94 Colo. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming 2023), on how data has been misused in a partisan rulemaking process to create and further procedural inequality.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on May 13, 2022 at 09:18 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
JOTWELL: Campos on Gilles on compelled arbitration
The new Courts Law essay comes from Sergio Campos (Miami), discussing the legislative testimony of Myriam Gilles (Cardozo) on bills designed to limited compelled arbitration.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 19, 2022 at 10:59 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Solving the Procedural Puzzles of the Texas Heartbeat Act, Part II
Our second SB8 article has been published in SMU Law Review. This focuses on the commonality of defensive litigation against constitutionally invalid law and how defensive litigation might play out.The third piece, on New York Times as historical analogue, will be published in Houston Law Review next fall.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 14, 2022 at 06:01 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Constitutional thoughts, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, April 11, 2022
Civil Procedure in the Chief Justice's Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary
Published in Stetson Law Review, part of a SEALS symposium on the Roberts Court's renewed interest in civil procedure.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 11, 2022 at 09:38 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, April 04, 2022
JOTWELL: Bartholomew on Borchers on tag jurisdiction
The new Courts Law essay comes from Christine Bartholomew (Buffalo) reviewing Patrick J. Borchers, Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court and "Tag Jurisdiction" in the Pennoyer Era, 72 Case W. L. Rev. 45 (2021), considering Gorsuch's Ford opinion and arguing for corporate tag jurisdiction.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 4, 2022 at 03:00 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 21, 2022
JOTWELL: Endo and Beerdsen on discovery as practice
The new Courts Law essay comes from Seth Katsuya Endo (Florida), reviewing Edith Beerdsen, Discovery Culture, 57 Georgia L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022). The article and the review are great. I used this idea of discovery as norms and practices in teaching that section last week.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on March 21, 2022 at 10:45 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, February 28, 2022
JOTWELL: Erbsen on Bookman & Shanahan on lawyerless courts
The new Courts Law essay comes from Allan Erbsen (Minnesota), reviewing Pamela K. Bookman & Colleen F. Shanahan, A Tale of Two Civil Procedures, 122 Colum. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022), which considers how procedure operates in the many courts dominated by pro se litigants. This is the latest in a run of articles and JOTWELL essays considering procedure on the ground outside of the federal courts we focus on in the classroom and in much scholarship.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 28, 2022 at 08:48 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Solving the Procedural Puzzles of the Texas Heartbeat Act, Part I
The first of Rocky's and my (hopefully) three SB8 articles has been published in American University Law Review. This focuses on how providers cannot and can challenge SB8 through offensive litigation, including why WWH was correct and other offensive options the Court did not consider. AULR's editors were impressive in turning the piece around in less than three months after the Court's decision We are editing the second piece, forthcoming in SMU Law Review and focused on how defensive litigation may play out. The third piece, on New York Times as historical analogue, sits on a law review editorial desk near you.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 16, 2022 at 10:28 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Constitutional thoughts, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, February 11, 2022
JOTWELL: Smith on Citron & Solove on privacy harms
The new Courts Law essay comes from Fred Smith, Jr. (Emory) reviewing Danielle Keats Citron & Daniel J. Solove, Privacy Harms, 102 B.U. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming 2022), which explores how to better recognize and remedy privacy violations.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 11, 2022 at 10:04 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, February 08, 2022
New York Times v. Sullivan as Historical Analogue
Charles W. "Rocky" Rhodes and I have posted to SSRN the third piece in our series on SB8--Solving the Procedural Puzzles of the Texas Heartbeat Act and its Imitators: New York Times as Historical Analogue. The piece compares Alabama's defamation regime and the coordinated campaign of private civil litigation to silence the northern media and stop coverage of the civil rights moves, none of which triggered offensive litigation.
The Texas Heartbeat Act (S.B. 8) prohibits abortions following detection of a fetal heartbeat, while delegating exclusive enforcement through private civil actions brought by “any person,” regardless of injury, for statutory damages of a minimum of $ 10,000 per prohibited abortion. Texas sought to burden reproductive-health providers and rights advocates with costly litigation and potentially crippling liability.
This Article—the third in a series unpacking S.B.8’s procedural puzzles—considers the historical analogue of New York Times v. Sullivan, the Court’s foundational modern free-speech case. Like S.B. 8, New York Times arose out of a campaign to deter locally unpopular-but-constitutionally protected activity through threat of hundreds of lawsuits and devastating liability; southern governments used state defamation law and private civil litigation to silence The Times and other media outlets from reporting on Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. As with S.B. 8, state defamation law was enforced through private civil damages litigation. As with S.B.8, defendants faced severe monetary exposure through the cost of litigation and potential liability. But defendants in New York Times could not go to federal court ahead of any private lawsuit and seek to functionally enjoin the state’s trial courts. Rather, the paper litigated defensively, with successful review to the Supreme Court of the United States; providers can follow the same process to challenge the substantive validity of the Texas heartbeat ban.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 8, 2022 at 04:05 PM in Article Spotlight, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, January 10, 2022
JOTWELL: Kalajdzic on Freer on class actions in the Roberts Court
The new Courts Law essay comes from Jasminka Kalakdzic (Windsor), reviewing Richard D. Freer, The Roberts and Class Litigation: Revolution, Evolution, and Work to Be Done, 51 Stetson L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022).
(Freer's article is part of a symposium on procedure in the Roberts Court after 15 years; my piece on the Year-End Reports is part of the issue, which arose from a 2020 SEALS discussion group).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on January 10, 2022 at 11:14 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, December 03, 2021
JOTWELL: Bookman on Summers on eviction court
The new Courts Law essay comes from Pamela Bookman (Fordam) reviewing Nicole Summers, Civil Probation, on the absurd procedure in eviction court.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on December 3, 2021 at 11:04 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, November 18, 2021
JOTWELL: Michalski on Burch & Williams on voices of MDL
The new Courts Law essay comes from Roger Michalski (Oklahoma) reviewing Elizabeth Chamblee Burch & Margaret Williams, Perceptions of Multidistrict Litigation: Voices from the Crowd, ___ Cornell L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022), a study of individual MDL plaintiffs and their views of the process.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on November 18, 2021 at 03:49 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, November 04, 2021
JOTWELL: Pfander on Bray & Miller on equity
The new Courts Law essay comes from James Pfander (Northwestern), reviewing Samuel L. Bray & Paul Miller, Getting Into Equity, 97 Notre Dame L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022), including a shout-out to the SB8 litigation on everyone's mind.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on November 4, 2021 at 02:20 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 25, 2021
Welcome to the Velt Serye
In The Forward, as we prepare for the most Jewish World Series in history, talking about Jews playing rather than sitting out. Max Fried's expected Game 2 start, in which Joc Pederson should be the Braves DH and Alex Bregman will bat third for the Astros, is the one to watch.
Update: Should we be concerned that this most-Jewish Series pits ethically compromised teams? Well, if our comparator is 1959 (the prior 3-Jew Series), it is worth noting that the Go-Go Sox stole signs. Their general manager, who knew? Hank Greenberg. Turns ourt some of Greenberg's championship teams in Detroit also stole signs.
Addendum: Garrett Stubbs, the Astros' third-string catcher, is not on the World Series roster. So that leaves us with three Jews on rosters, matching 1959, but all will play.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 25, 2021 at 01:08 PM in Article Spotlight, Howard Wasserman, Religion, Sports | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
JOTWELL: Mullenix on Norris on neoliberal procedure
The new Courts Law essay comes from Linda Mullenix (Texas) reviewing Luke Norris, Neoliberal Civil Procedure, 12 UC Irvine L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 20, 2021 at 11:56 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, October 06, 2021
JOTWELL: Vladeck on Siegel on habeas
The new Courts Law essay comes from Steve Vladeck (Texas), reviewing Jonathan R. Siegel, Habeas, History, and Hermeneutics, Ariz. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2022), which traces the history of habeas in the shadow of Edwards v. Vannoy.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 6, 2021 at 01:23 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, September 20, 2021
JOTWELL: Steinman on Bayefsky on respect and Article III
The new Courts Law essay comes from Adam Steinman (Alabama) reviewing Rachel Bayefsky, Remedies and Respect: Rethinking the Role of Federal Judicial Relief, 109 Geo. L.J. 1263 (2021). This is a great article (and great review), although I unsurprisingly do not believe the model, however valid, gets us to universal injunctions.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on September 20, 2021 at 12:27 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, September 03, 2021
JOTWELL: Carroll on Sabbeth & Steinberg on gender and the right to counsel
The new Courts Law essay comes from Maureen Carroll (Michigan) reviewing Kathryn A. Sabbeth & Jessica Steinberg, The Gender of Gideon (forthcoming UCLA L. Rev), which considers how the Court has rejected a civil right to counsel in cases involving women litigants and gendered contexts.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on September 3, 2021 at 12:53 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, August 30, 2021
A Court with No Names: Anonymity and Celebrity on the "Kardashian Court"
My essay, A Court with No Names: Anonymity and Celebrity on the "Kardashian Court", has been published in Iowa Law Review Online. This is a response to Suzanna Sherry's Our Kardashian Court (And How to Fix It), which argues that the solution to judicial celebrity is to require the Court to issue one per curiam opinion with no separate opinions or vote counts. I consider some things lost or gained under Sherry's plan, why it may be too late for it, and how to expand the plan or combine it with other court-reform proposals.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on August 30, 2021 at 09:31 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Constitutional thoughts, Howard Wasserman, Judicial Process | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Solving the Procedural Puzzles of Texas' Fetal-Heartbeat Law
Posted to SSRN (corrected version) and appearing in a law review submissions box near you. Charles (Rocky) Rhodes (South Texas Houston) joined me with his expertise on Texas law and procedure. The paper expands on my posts on the subject to game out what providers and advocates can (and cannot) do offensively in federal court and defensively in state court. Here is the abstract:
The Texas Fetal-Heartbeat Law enacted in 2021 as Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, a constitutionally invalid ban under current Supreme Court precedent. But the method of enforcement in the Texas law is unique—it prohibits enforcement by government officials in favor of private civil actions brought by “any person.” Texas employed this enforcement mechanism to impose potentially crippling financial liability on abortion providers and advocates and to stymie their ability to challenge the law’s constitutional validity through offensive litigation in federal court to enjoin enforcement of the law. Texas lawmakers sought to confine abortion providers and advocates to a defensive litigation posture in state court.
This article works through the procedural and jurisdictional obstacles that SB8 creates for abortion providers and abortion-rights advocates seeking to challenge the constitutional validity of the fetal-heartbeat ban. While Texas has created a jurisdictional and procedural morass, the law does not achieve the ultimate objectives. Providers and advocates can litigate in federal court, although it requires creativity as to timing and proper litigation targets. They also should find greater success defending in state court than legislators expected or hoped. Other avenues remain to vindicate the rights of abortion providers and advocates—and the pregnant patients they serve--that accord with the traditional operation of and limitations upon the federal and state judiciaries in adjudicating constitutional rights.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on August 18, 2021 at 04:15 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Constitutional thoughts, Howard Wasserman, Judicial Process, Law and Politics | Permalink | Comments (3)
Thursday, July 22, 2021
JOTWELL: Re on Varsava on judicial opinion-writing
The new Courts Law essay comes from guest Richard Re (Virginia), reviewing Nina Varsava, Professional Responsibility and Judicial Opinions (Hous. L. Rev., forthcoming), on judges have (too much?) fun in their opinions.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on July 22, 2021 at 12:36 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, July 16, 2021
Congress and universal injunctions
My latest, published at Cardozo Law Review De Novo. The essay analyzes the role of Congress in ending the controversy over universal/non-particularized injunctions. It considers the details, wisdom, and efficacy of five legislative proposals to eliminate or limit universal/non-particularized injunctions; it concludes that one approach resolves the problem—a flat and unequivocal prohibition on injunctions that protect anyone other than the plaintiffs.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on July 16, 2021 at 04:04 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
JOTWELL: Malveaux on Spaulding on "actual" procedure
The new Courts Law essay comes from Suzette Malveaux (Colorado), reviewing Norman W. Spaulding, The Ideal and the Actual in Procedural Due Process, 48 Hastings Const. L.Q. 261 (2021) on how much of civil procedure occurs outside of federal court and the need for legal education to acknowledge and reflect that reality.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on June 9, 2021 at 09:39 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 23, 2021
JOTWELL: Erbsen on Gluck & Burch on MDL
The new Courts Law essay comes from Allan Erbsen (Minnesota), reviewing Abbe R. Gluck & Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, MDL Revolution, 96 N.Y.U. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming 2021).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on May 23, 2021 at 02:25 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday, April 24, 2021
JOTWELL: Coleman on Gadson on stolen plausibility
The new Courts Law essay comes from Brooke Coleman (Seattle) reviewing Marcus Alexander Gadson, Stolen Plausibility, __ Geo. L.J. ___ (forthcoming 2021), on courts preventing plaintiffs from relying on facts from other cases and other investigations as a way to satisfy Twiqbal.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 24, 2021 at 10:31 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Thursday, April 08, 2021
JOTWELL: Thomas on Coleman on the Rules Committees
The new Courts Law essay comes from Suja Thomas (Illinois), reviewing Brooke D. Coleman, #SoWhiteMale: Federal Procedural Rulemaking Commitees, 68 UCLA L. Rev. Disc. 270 (2020), which explores the race and gender composition of the rules committees and the problems lack of diversity creates.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on April 8, 2021 at 01:38 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
JOTWELL: Kalajdzic on Salib on AI class actions
The new Courts Law essay comes from Jasminka Kalajdzic (Windsor) reviewing Peter Salib, Artificially Intelligent Class Actions, ___ Tex. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming), which explores how AI might be used in class-action certification.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on March 24, 2021 at 08:48 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 01, 2021
Forum-Defendant Rule, Mischief Rule, and Snap Removal
My essay, The Forum-Defendant Rule, the Mischief Rule, and Snap Removal, has been published in Wm. & Mary Law Review Online. It uses Sam Bray's reconfiguration of the mischief rule to provide a textualist solution to snap removal, without having to resort to purposivism or needing new congressional action.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on March 1, 2021 at 10:46 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (1)
Thursday, February 18, 2021
JOTWELL: Mulligan on Main on snap removal
The new Courts Law essay comes from Lumen Mulligan (Kansas), reviewing Thomas O. Main, Jeffrey W. Stempel, & David McClure, The Elastics of Snap Removal: An Empirical Case Study of Textualism (Aug. 17, 2020), which studies the demographics of the judges who follow the textualist approach to snap removal (allowing removal prior to service of a forum defendant, in the face of clear legislative intent). I considered snap removal in a prior JOTWELL essay and expand on that argument in a forthcoming essay; Main's article and a companion piece by the same authors were essential to the research.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 18, 2021 at 01:26 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, February 05, 2021
New Draft Papers
I have two new articles on SSRN and in circulation to law reviews.
Zombie Laws explores something I discussed here--the statute that remains on the books following a judicial declaration of invalidity, which Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa called a "zombie law." The article discusses how Congress and state legislatures can narrow, expand, or eliminate them. Larry Solum was good enough to flag this one.
Congress and Universal Injunctions discusses five legislative proposals for eliminating universal injunctions and why they do or do not work tor resolve the problem.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 5, 2021 at 02:27 PM in Article Spotlight, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (4)
Thursday, February 04, 2021
JOTWELL: Bookman on King on global civil procedure
The new Courts Law essay comes from Pamela Bookman (Fordham), reviiewing Alyssa King, Global Civil Procedure (Harv. J. Int'l L., forthcoming).
Posted by Howard Wasserman on February 4, 2021 at 01:40 PM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
JOTWELL: Bartholomew on Lammon on class-action appeals
The new Courts Law essay comes from new contributor Christine Bartholomew (Buffalo), reviewing Bryan Lammon, An Empirical Study of Class-Action Appeals.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on January 27, 2021 at 10:57 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)