Michael Plaxton
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michaelplaxton.bsky.social
Michael Plaxton
@michaelplaxton.bsky.social

Law professor. Books: Implied Consent & Sexual Assault; Sovereignty, Restraint, & Guidance; The Tenth Justice (w/ Carissima Mathen).

Law 53%
Political science 27%
Tweet less; research more.

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

Another shot of an avocet in a rainbow, @rspb.bsky.social RSPB Titchwell Marsh @rspbtitchwellsnett.bsky.social , Norfolk, Saturday 13th September. With @richard013.bsky.social #UKBirding

Yes.
Violence only begets violence. Enduring change comes from building solutions, transforming minds, and cultivating what is good, in the human heart and in the world.

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

Violence only begets violence. Enduring change comes from building solutions, transforming minds, and cultivating what is good, in the human heart and in the world.

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

I've been profoundly depressed seeing so many leftists either joke about or celebrate the murder of someone for political speech. Glad to see this political clarity from @benburgis.bsky.social and Meagan Day in @jacobinmag.bsky.social.

jacobin.com/2025/09/char...

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‘Standpoint epistemology’ - mostly an excuse to talk about yourself

Fyi, I've gathered together a bunch of recent X posts on defence of person against home intruders on my Substack.

open.substack.com/pub/michaelp...
A Collection of X posts on Defence of Person in the Context of Home Intruders
I've been posting quite a bit on X about the law of defence of person in the context of home intruders.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

And it's funny as Twitter isn't doing great either. Their advertising cpm is now payable in-kind in nutritional supplements and shit coins. Where is everyone? Threads? Signal chats? Sitting in the parlor swirling brandy snifters and playing charades?

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The stats suggest Bluesky is dying. I think it is just too plain crazy on here.

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I am surprised anti-luminosity about philosophical playerhood is not the default position at DailyNous.

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Musings about AI as we head into the fall term.

lagassep.com/2025/07/25/a...

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My column: Why do men accused of sexual crimes so often prefer women lawyers? To hide behind their skirts. Such hearings were always torment for complainants faced with public scorn, extreme cross-examination and vicious misogynists like the late Chris Blatchford www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Heather Mallick: Why would female lawyers represent men in sexual crimes?
I don’t object to diversity hiring — it has let women, the disabled, and racialized people into workplace once reserved for white men — but you’d think the diverse would
www.thestar.com

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Richard Fallon, In Memoriam, buff.ly/6WxLugJ - A tribute to the great scholar and dear friend.

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Starting at Harvard College this fall (or know someone who is)?

Want to think through hard moral and political issues?

Look into my first-year seminar on "Abortion in Controversy," Tuesdays, 3-5 pm

stevesachs.com/syllabi/abor...

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Rarely have I known someone so universally beloved by his colleagues, his students, and his community. May his memory be a blessing.
RIP Dick Fallon. A devastating loss professionally and personally.
RIP Dick Fallon. A devastating loss professionally and personally.

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Research leave for the first time in a while and the out of office is on.

Yes.

Absolutely. At its best, a lecture is a form of experiential learning: the student is watching the expert think through a problem in real time. There is no substitute.
Thing I am an absolute complete total reactionary about: there has not actually been invented a better model of conveying information in a learning environment than the basic structure of a traditional lecture. A speaker standing in some sort of unique focal point for the attention of listeners...

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It's not helpful for, yknow, having other things to do with your day, but imo you should be tired at the end of a 1 hr lecture and exhausted at the end of a 2 hr one; it's live improv combined with scholarly rigor if done well, and that uses a shitload of energy.
Thing I am an absolute complete total reactionary about: there has not actually been invented a better model of conveying information in a learning environment than the basic structure of a traditional lecture. A speaker standing in some sort of unique focal point for the attention of listeners...

A big part of me sympathizes with the spirit of this piece. But it is also one of the most unintentionally hilarious - because forehead-slappingly oblivious - op-eds in recent memory.

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Oh I'm very sorry.

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In my experience, it definitely comes from some, maybe even many, teachers (law professors, in my corner of the world), but certainly also from students and admin staff
Got gossip from a managing editor pal of a journal that a few reviewers used ChatGPT to write their assessments for them, and didn't even conceal it. I'll say it again - it won't be the neoliberal administrators that take down the humanities. It'll be humanities professors who've stopped reading.

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We had an amazing Legal Philosophy Workshop with papers by Stephanie Barclay, Tarek Yusari, Anna Lukina, @markedsouza1.bsky.social, Suzanne Bloks, @apoama.bsky.social and Julian Davis. It was a pleasure to host the event at @uvalawschool.bsky.social

Reposted by Michael Plaxton

Reposted by Michael Plaxton