law professor @BCLAW. I teach and write about local government, social change, history, and the constitution. he/him.
Cambridge, MA
Joined November 2012
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Now writing:
Book - Abolition in Practice (a history of abolitionist lawyering)
Article - Manifest Localism
Recent things:
Plantation Localism: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
Redemption Localism: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
A Commons in the Master's House
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
An Emersonian polemic on why originalism is an undesireable way of thinking about self-government.
open.substack.com/pub/postca…
New thing from me at Postcards of the Hanging. On the "judicial revolt" and the question of judicial solidarity.
open.substack.com/pub/postca…
Popping in from exile to say:
Ben Levin and I have set up a place where we can, at irregular intervals, inflict our thoughts on you. My first thing there is an essay on founding moments, the 1850s, Thoreau, and the mess we're in.
open.substack.com/pub/postca…
Dan Farbman retweeted
I spoke with @dsfarbman about parallels between current events and America in the 1850s, the abolitionist movement and resistance lawyering, working within “the master’s house,” and protests in Los Angeles on the latest @DemConBlog episode.
democraticconstitutionblog.s…
Not over here much. But I wrote this thing about outrage and optimism.
Today, Dan Farbman looks back at the largely forgotten case of Horace Preston — a free black man arrested on false charges and enslaved in 1852 — to illustrate how lawyers can use legal proceedings to galvanize the public against unjust policies.
lpeproject.org/blog/outrage-…
Reupping this: if there are any folks out there interested in doing non-profit, movement-rooted election protection work on or before election day, let me know in DMs or over email.
If any law professors or law students (or other law-related folks) on here are interested in doing some volunteer grassroots election protection work either before or on election day, let me know. Happy to share more information outside of the character limit.
Except non citizens pay taxes (often more than citizens). Obviously this whole issue is meant to stoke nativist anxiety since no mainstream dems are pushing non citizen suffrage at the state or national level. But the fact that it’s gross doesn’t make the analogy less stupid.
You’d never open shareholder votes to non-shareholders
We shouldn’t open up our elections to non-citizens
#PassTheSAVEAct
These are actually the best pretzels. I prefer the spicy ones, but either way this is a huge two-way endorsement that I am happy to endorse myself.
Grabbed some Tasty Ranch Dill pretzels for @DouglasEmhoff from Port City Pretzel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire—hopefully he doesn’t eat them all at once.
Dan Farbman retweeted
Congratulations, Luke!!! (Law school friends … he’s on the entry level market!!!)
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Counterpoint: critique of the constitution goes back to 1787 and has generated some of the most important changes to our constitutional order. See Garrison, (early) Douglass, Wendell Phillips, DuBois, etc. Veneration is a bad way to tend a Republic. TLDR: read Aziz Rana’s book.
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Every year I ask my students to make their best arguments in favor of the senate and the EC. And every year it’s clear that those arguments run against democracy and in favor of some combination of: land should vote and rural votes should count more.
These are theoretically defensible positions! We don’t all have to agree on one person one vote. But most students don’t feel comfortable abandoning Reynolds rhetorically—although some seem to feel as though it’s wrong to count every vote equally as a matter of intuition.
Dan Farbman retweeted
Aziz Rana’s new book, The Constitutional Bind, describes how the 20th century reverential view of the Constitution has begun to lose its hold on the American imagination, making space for lessons offered by past voices of opposition and reform. lawmagazine.bc.edu/2024/07/e…
I’ve got a piece in the slurry of the submission cycle right now about the history of the difference between towns and counties and why it matters. I don’t generally post to SSRN before publication, but I’m happy to share a draft if you’re interested.
This was the scenario of my final exam this year. With the addition of Biden becoming president of Harvard. Not an endorsement of the idea necessarily…
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I heartily endorse @veenadubal's thread. This lawsuit is an example intentionally chilling bullying rather than argument. Post SFFA the underlying legal argument is depressingly salient, but the complaint chooses attack and insult over substance--which is the whole point.
Professor @JameliaNMorgan is one of the most brilliant people in the legal academy. The lawsuit which included attacks on her work & the work of others @NorthwesternU Law reflects not only blatant racism, but a shocking lack of intellectualism.
Dan Farbman retweeted
Professor @JameliaNMorgan is one of the most brilliant people in the legal academy. The lawsuit which included attacks on her work & the work of others @NorthwesternU Law reflects not only blatant racism, but a shocking lack of intellectualism.
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