Jonathan H. Adler

@jadler1969.bsky.social

14K followers 670 following 1.6K posts

Father, Husband, W&M LawProf, guy with opinions; @chkbal co-founder;
@volokhc.bsky.social contributor;
Law before policy before politics;
Philly sports always;
'the cowbell of Twitter'-N. Schulz
typos are part of the brand. .. more

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Jonathan H. Adler is a conservative American legal commentator and law professor at William & Mary Law School. He has been recognized as one of the most cited professors in the field of environmental law. His research is also credited with inspiring litigation that challenged the Obama Administration's implementation of the Affordable Care Act, resulting in the Supreme Court's decision in King v. Burwell. .. more

Economics 28%

Law 23%

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Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

reason.com/volokh/2025/...

Welcome to the "Interim Docket"

Speaking to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit's Judicial Conference, Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggests that the "interim…

reason.com

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

cc: @amandafrost.bsky.social

Reposted by Jonathan H. Adler, Nathan Richardson

Julian Davis Mortenson @jdmortenson.bsky.social · 2d

this @jadler1969.bsky.social post is a great summary of the Frost-Eason paper’s findings

reason.com/volokh/2025/...

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

And?

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

There are also examples of cases that the administration deliberately slow walked in ways that suggest they were trying to keep them from getting to SCOTUS too quickly.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Last time I ran the numbers there were over 400 suits brought against the government and approximately 120 adverse decisions in District Courts of which approximately two dozen were brought to scotus.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

There are several relevant populations worth comparing them to:
- administration actions (some of which can't be challenged)
- cases challenging administration actions
- administration losses in district courts

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Yes. Those were the cases that came before the court because the SG brought them before the court, and the SG chose approximately 1 in 6 cases to bring before the court and chose carefully.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

And I have at length before.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

It just means that the significance of the Court's early judgments and the uniformity of results didn't have the implications that many people claimed (but that doesnt mean they were decided correctly).

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

What I mean is that they are not representative of the cases that have been brought against the administration, nor are they representative of cases likely to ultimately come before the Court.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Look man, you're the empiricist. I'm just the guy making casual observations.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

I agree.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

They were a small fraction of the cases the administration lost in the district courts (about 1/6) and a disproportionate share of those were filed in carefully chosen districts.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Today's decision in Trump v Illinois is the second Trump Administration loss on the interim docket this week. It's almost as if the administration's early victories were not a representative sample.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Source:
x.com/i/status/200...

x.com

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 2d

Bad news

Reposted by Jonathan H. Adler, Daniel W. Drezner, Aaron Sojourner , and 1 more Jonathan H. Adler, Daniel W. Drezner, Aaron Sojourner, Charles T. Mathewes

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 5d

Love the kinder, gentler social media site

Reposted by Jonathan H. Adler

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 8d

A unanimous D.C. Circuit panel clears the way for Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., staying a lower court's order that foudn the deployment illegal. The panel

Millett: Obama
Rao: Trump
Katsas Trump.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 11d

Remember the heroes, not the shooters

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 12d

Incredible footage out of Australia, confirmed by NEWS AU, of a brave bystander neutralizing one of the terrorists in the Bondi Beach attack which took place during a Hanukkah gathering.

Australian authorities say multiple people have been killed.

At least two suspects are in custody.

Reposted by Jonathan H. Adler, John Mullahy, Ann Bartow , and 3 more Jonathan H. Adler, John Mullahy, Ann Bartow, Melanie O’Brien, Magda Teter, Timothy D. McBride

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 12d

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

I just debated Kurt for our FedSoc chapter and have pointed out bad claims (e.g. misuse of Story Comflict of Laws treatise).

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

Likewise. Be well.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

Whether or not it's principled (and I'm not contesting that claim) it may be counterproductive.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

I am on record rejecting and disparaging many sloppy arguments and claims made in support of the unlawful EO.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

I think we largely agree on the common law (and that it informs the meaning of the 14A).

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

And I said it was a good and usef thread on that point.

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

You're somewhat illustrating my point. The claim that 700 years of thought tells us what a 150-year-old amendment that, like the Constitution itself, was revolutuonary, is not self-evident, and claims of "consensus" only ever go so far (and, in the current moment, do more to alienate than convince).

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

And I'd add that one can wonder about the answer to this ultimate question and still reject the Trump EO, and I think that point is not made nearly enough while appealscto self-proclaimed authority (trust the academy!) and attacks on the motivations of skeptics are made too often. 3/3

Jonathan H. Adler @jadler1969.bsky.social · 13d

Threads like the one above are helpful. But it still only addresses one concern (the common law rule) and is not entirely dispositive of larger question, which is what 14A does, and whether the "subject to ..." exceptions are necessarily a closed set with rigid definitions. 2/

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