Bailey Barnes
@baileydbarnes.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law at Mizzou | Civil Rights, Federal Courts, Constitutional Law, & Civil Procedure | Rural Appalachian | Views My Own
Academia tests your scheduling skills. Half of my day is spent sending my availability and calendar invites for what I am going to do on other days.
February 11, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Academia tests your scheduling skills. Half of my day is spent sending my availability and calendar invites for what I am going to do on other days.
What about 7 cups? Is that overachieving?
Two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day may help lower the risk of dementia, new science suggests.
2 to 3 Cups of Coffee a Day May Reduce Dementia Risk. But Not if It’s Decaf.
One to two cups of caffeinated tea per day helps too, researchers found after following nearly 132,000 people for 40 years.
nyti.ms
February 10, 2026 at 3:39 AM
What about 7 cups? Is that overachieving?
When I was practicing, a local attorney would exclusively send messages via fax. They were often just short, scribbled handwritten notes. We kept the fax machine stocked with paper just for her.
U.S. institutions use fax machines on a daily basis for three reasons: familiarity, consistency and security.
Did the fax machine really die? Not at all, many business operations say
U.S. institutions use fax machines on a daily basis for three reasons: familiarity, consistency and security.
www.columbiamissourian.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:05 PM
When I was practicing, a local attorney would exclusively send messages via fax. They were often just short, scribbled handwritten notes. We kept the fax machine stocked with paper just for her.
Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, it is a comfort knowing I can count on a Michigan Law Review rejection.
February 7, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, it is a comfort knowing I can count on a Michigan Law Review rejection.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
“Late Friday night, the Fifth Circuit adopted the extreme minority view—that the government can indefinitely detain without bond millions of non-citizens who have been here for generations; who have never committed a crime; and who pose neither a risk of flight nor any threat to public safety.”
208. The Fifth Circuit Jumps the Immigration Detention Shark
Late Friday, two of the nation's most right-wing circuit judges adopted an odious legal claim that district court judges from across the country (and ideological spectrum) have overwhelmingly rejected
www.stevevladeck.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:34 PM
“Late Friday night, the Fifth Circuit adopted the extreme minority view—that the government can indefinitely detain without bond millions of non-citizens who have been here for generations; who have never committed a crime; and who pose neither a risk of flight nor any threat to public safety.”
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
In a recent episode of #HistoryInFocus, @danieljstory.bsky.social revisits historian Elizabeth Hinton’s exploration of W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1935 magnum opus Black Reconstruction. We also hear from Eric Foner, Chad Williams, Sue Mobley, and Kendra Field. 🗃️
Black Reconstruction
A revisited episode, Daniel Story speaks to Elizabeth Hinton, Eric Foner, Kendra Field, Sue Mobley, and Chad Williams about W. E. B. DusBois's book Black Reconstruciton.
www.historians.org
February 2, 2026 at 7:17 PM
In a recent episode of #HistoryInFocus, @danieljstory.bsky.social revisits historian Elizabeth Hinton’s exploration of W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1935 magnum opus Black Reconstruction. We also hear from Eric Foner, Chad Williams, Sue Mobley, and Kendra Field. 🗃️
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
🚨HOLY CRAP. The Trump admin just took a SLEDGEHAMMER to due process, largely eliminating the Board of Immigration Appeals process and MANDATING DISMISSAL of ALL appeals (which cost $1,000 thanks to OBBBA) filed after tomorrow unless a majority of the BIA votes to hear the case.
February 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM
🚨HOLY CRAP. The Trump admin just took a SLEDGEHAMMER to due process, largely eliminating the Board of Immigration Appeals process and MANDATING DISMISSAL of ALL appeals (which cost $1,000 thanks to OBBBA) filed after tomorrow unless a majority of the BIA votes to hear the case.
Wherein Judge Lawrence VanDyke writes what amounts to a judicial essay decrying Roe v. Wade, nearly four years after it was overruled. Appears he sought en banc review for the sole purpose of writing a statement regarding the denial of review….all while decrying judicial activism.
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov
February 3, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Wherein Judge Lawrence VanDyke writes what amounts to a judicial essay decrying Roe v. Wade, nearly four years after it was overruled. Appears he sought en banc review for the sole purpose of writing a statement regarding the denial of review….all while decrying judicial activism.
This is an obvious violation of the Constitution. Precedent should not be required here. Nonsense.
11th Cir., 2-1, holds that it was not clearly established that it would violate a person's right to bodily integrity for sheriff's deputy to drive drunk at night without lights, hit the person's car, and then flee leaving person to die.
QI for deputy.
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
QI for deputy.
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
![Though these situations may be factually distinct, we cannot cast them aside in our “obvious clarity” analysis. Where precedent injects such uncertainty, it does not follow logically that the complained of offense “so obviously violates th[e] [C]onstitution.” Mercado v. City of Orlando, 407 F.3d 1152, 1159 (11th Cir. 2005). Indeed, when caselaw indicates that a certain type of conduct does not rise to the level of a constitutional violation, officials cannot possibly be on notice that the conduct is a constitutional violation—and certainly not with obvious clarity. See Hope, 536 U.S. at 741; al-Kidd, 563 U.S. at 741. The existence of this caselaw casting doubt on the “obvious clarity” of Moss’s claimed right—and, indeed, disclaiming such a right altogether—necessarily means that the right was not clearly established at the time of the violation. To be sure, similar out-of-circuit cases have reached the opposite conclusion. For example, as the district court noted in its order, in Browder v. City of Albuquerque, the Tenth Circuit concluded that a police officer’s misuse of a squad car resulting in a fatal collision could give rise to a claim under the Fourteenth Amendment. 787 F.3d 1076, 1083 (10th Cir. 2015).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:24vva42nxim6zbcmnozegoef/bafkreidebqwemly2zfgozo4wrt56vrpcdotmda42nxhtve6vdvv256uso4@jpeg)
January 29, 2026 at 6:38 PM
This is an obvious violation of the Constitution. Precedent should not be required here. Nonsense.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
In a police brutality case that drew national attention, Sean Grayson fatally shot the Black woman in her home in 2024 after she had called 911 to investigate a possible prowler.
White former downstate cop gets 20-year sentence for murdering Sonya Massey
In a police brutality case that drew national attention, Sean Grayson fatally shot the Black Springfield area woman in her home in 2024 after she had called 911 to investigate a possible prowler. His second-degree murder conviction carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.
n.pr
January 29, 2026 at 6:32 PM
In a police brutality case that drew national attention, Sean Grayson fatally shot the Black woman in her home in 2024 after she had called 911 to investigate a possible prowler.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
The civil rights law that has allowed lawsuits against local and state police doesn’t apply to federal agents.
Why It’s Hard for Civilians to Sue ICE for Its Actions in Minnesota
The civil rights law that has allowed lawsuits against local and state police doesn’t apply to federal agents.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 29, 2026 at 6:01 PM
The civil rights law that has allowed lawsuits against local and state police doesn’t apply to federal agents.
Just another part of the totality of the circumstances for use of force.
Trump on Renee Good: "I know her parents were big Trump fans. Makes me feel bad anyway, but I mean I guess you could say even worse. They were tremendous Trump people."
January 27, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Just another part of the totality of the circumstances for use of force.
Not sure how to feel about this, but I think maybe good?
Brian Daboll has signed his contract to become the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator, per sources.
He's been in the building all day.
He's been in the building all day.
January 27, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Not sure how to feel about this, but I think maybe good?
Seems like a good case for invoking the obvious violation exception to qualified immunity, which I wrote about in 2024 in the Washington Law Review. Requiring parallel precedent here appears unnecessary to show notice of the state of the law.
January 27, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Seems like a good case for invoking the obvious violation exception to qualified immunity, which I wrote about in 2024 in the Washington Law Review. Requiring parallel precedent here appears unnecessary to show notice of the state of the law.
This is the problem with these injunctive relief requests. Even if the judiciary agrees that ICE is acting unlawfully, can (should) the judiciary be the de facto commander of executive branch law enforcement agencies? Not sure that “don’t violate the Constitution” is permissible relief.
Judge:
"I can detail the number of agents. I can pick and choose about who to arrest[...] I can tell them to take off masks and wear bodycams. I can do all that?!"
"I can detail the number of agents. I can pick and choose about who to arrest[...] I can tell them to take off masks and wear bodycams. I can do all that?!"
January 26, 2026 at 4:25 PM
This is the problem with these injunctive relief requests. Even if the judiciary agrees that ICE is acting unlawfully, can (should) the judiciary be the de facto commander of executive branch law enforcement agencies? Not sure that “don’t violate the Constitution” is permissible relief.
Teaching Powell v. McCormack & US Term Limits v. Thornton in Con Law this week. I thought I might have at least one day that didn’t relate in some way to current events. I was wrong.
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to disqualify some U.S. citizens from a shot at running for federal office, a move likely to face constitutional questions as Republicans target immigrants this session.
Tennessee Republican bill would limit federal office to natural-born citizens • Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee Rep. Johnny Garrett is trying to disqualify some U.S. citizens from a shot at running for federal office.
tennesseelookout.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Teaching Powell v. McCormack & US Term Limits v. Thornton in Con Law this week. I thought I might have at least one day that didn’t relate in some way to current events. I was wrong.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
The Supreme Court has agreed this term to hear the fewest number of cases since the Civil War. While #SCOTUS's emergency/shadow docket often gets flak for overwhelming the court, some say this term's caseload is part of a bigger, more concerning trend. www.law360.com/articles/243...
January 26, 2026 at 3:05 PM
The Supreme Court has agreed this term to hear the fewest number of cases since the Civil War. While #SCOTUS's emergency/shadow docket often gets flak for overwhelming the court, some say this term's caseload is part of a bigger, more concerning trend. www.law360.com/articles/243...
Fantastic piece from @stevevladeck.bsky.social & @barryfriedman1.bsky.social on how to hold federal law enforcement accountable. As they note, an even better solution would be for Congress to codify Bivens.
In today's @nytimes.com, @barryfriedman1.bsky.social and I argue that, with no *other* means of pursuing accountability for lawlessness by ICE, local/state prosecutions become not just legally viable, but necessary—both to punish past abuses and to deter future ones:
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/o...
Opinion | Local Prosecution Is the Answer to Federal Lawlessness
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Fantastic piece from @stevevladeck.bsky.social & @barryfriedman1.bsky.social on how to hold federal law enforcement accountable. As they note, an even better solution would be for Congress to codify Bivens.
My family in Tennessee assures me that grocery stores are already out of milk and bread.
Tennessee is expecting a major winter storm this weekend. How will it stack up against our region's past historic snowfalls?
wpln.org/post/middle-...
wpln.org/post/middle-...
Middle Tennessee is bracing for a major winter storm this weekend. Here's what to expect.
Middle Tennessee is expecting a major winter storm this weekend. But how would that stack up against our region's past historic snowfalls?
wpln.org
January 22, 2026 at 1:37 AM
My family in Tennessee assures me that grocery stores are already out of milk and bread.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
NEW: For law students and young attorneys, state supreme court clerkships are among the most exciting jobs available, but the application process can be confusing. @jakemazeitis.bsky.social explains which courts regularly hire term law clerks and roughly how many opportunities might be available.
Who’s Hiring State Supreme Court Clerks?
State-by-state information to aid law students and young attorneys in securing a state clerkship.
statecourtreport.org
January 21, 2026 at 5:50 PM
NEW: For law students and young attorneys, state supreme court clerkships are among the most exciting jobs available, but the application process can be confusing. @jakemazeitis.bsky.social explains which courts regularly hire term law clerks and roughly how many opportunities might be available.
Constitutional Torts: “It Just Happens”
Trump: "ICE is gonna be too rough with somebody. They're gonna make a mistake sometimes. I felt horribly when I was told the young woman had the tragedy. But when I learned her father is - I hope he still is, but I don't know - was a tremendous Trump fan. It's terrible. It's so sad. It just happens"
January 20, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Constitutional Torts: “It Just Happens”
Law and order that exempts law enforcement is not law and order. It’s power without responsibility. Constitutional accountability should not be partisan.
In the immediate aftermath of the death of Renée Good in Minneapolis, FBI agents launched a civil rights investigation into the actions of the ICE agent who shot her. Instead, Justice Department leaders have tried to pursue a probe against Good’s partner.
FBI opened probe on Minneapolis shooting; none exists now, Justice Dept. says
After the death of Renée Good in Minneapolis, FBI agents launched a civil rights probe into the shooting. The Justice Department says no such case now exists.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Law and order that exempts law enforcement is not law and order. It’s power without responsibility. Constitutional accountability should not be partisan.
A true Tennessee treasure.
Tennessee Governor Declares Jan. 19 ‘Dolly Parton Day’
Tennessee Governor Declares Jan. 19 ‘Dolly Parton Day’
Jan. 19 is officially Dolly Parton Day in the state of Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee issued the proclamation in honor of the country icon's 80th birthday.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 7:40 PM
A true Tennessee treasure.
Reposted by Bailey Barnes
Two significant externalities to the lack of a civil remedy against federal officials:
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
January 19, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Two significant externalities to the lack of a civil remedy against federal officials:
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
Teaching Con Law & Fed Courts this semester, at a moment of upheaval for both. Marbury hits a bit different in 2026. Going to be an interesting semester.
January 19, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Teaching Con Law & Fed Courts this semester, at a moment of upheaval for both. Marbury hits a bit different in 2026. Going to be an interesting semester.