David Ziff
@djsziff.bsky.social
Teaching Professor, University of Washington School of Law #LegalWriting
My stuff: https://linktr.ee/djsziff
My stuff: https://linktr.ee/djsziff
Pinned
David Ziff
@djsziff.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Um. Hello new followers. I apologize in advance for my posts. I write about legal citation and #LegalWriting generally. E.g.,
A 27-page review of The Bluebook: digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-arti...
An essay on the citation of so-called "slave cases": digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-arti...
1/
A 27-page review of The Bluebook: digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-arti...
An essay on the citation of so-called "slave cases": digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-arti...
1/
Reposted by David Ziff
A further problem is, US student editors, bless their hearts, generally don’t know standards of 19th century peerages & naming conventions. So when they try to make sense of citing to the “Lives” his name is all over the place. Including making “Lord” a middle initial! 6/
January 16, 2026 at 8:44 PM
A further problem is, US student editors, bless their hearts, generally don’t know standards of 19th century peerages & naming conventions. So when they try to make sense of citing to the “Lives” his name is all over the place. Including making “Lord” a middle initial! 6/
Reposted by David Ziff
As for Campbell, he died in 1861 after a short stint as Lord Chancellor himself, with no idea of the confusion he’d inflict on his transatlantic editor cousins. In any case, if you’re an editor somewhere suffering under a Campbell citation I hope you’ve enjoyed this 🧵 9/9.
January 16, 2026 at 8:47 PM
As for Campbell, he died in 1861 after a short stint as Lord Chancellor himself, with no idea of the confusion he’d inflict on his transatlantic editor cousins. In any case, if you’re an editor somewhere suffering under a Campbell citation I hope you’ve enjoyed this 🧵 9/9.
Reposted by David Ziff
Reflections on Bluebook Rule 15.1, The Peerage, Lord Campbell, & Student Editors. A 🧵.
Recently I asked on here whether one should use a title for an author such as “Sir” or “Lord” in a properly Bluebooked citation. @djsziff.bsky.social helpfully pointed me to Rule 15.1: 1/
Recently I asked on here whether one should use a title for an author such as “Sir” or “Lord” in a properly Bluebooked citation. @djsziff.bsky.social helpfully pointed me to Rule 15.1: 1/
January 16, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Reflections on Bluebook Rule 15.1, The Peerage, Lord Campbell, & Student Editors. A 🧵.
Recently I asked on here whether one should use a title for an author such as “Sir” or “Lord” in a properly Bluebooked citation. @djsziff.bsky.social helpfully pointed me to Rule 15.1: 1/
Recently I asked on here whether one should use a title for an author such as “Sir” or “Lord” in a properly Bluebooked citation. @djsziff.bsky.social helpfully pointed me to Rule 15.1: 1/
Do not vote for any budget that gives one dime to the agencies or agents who are inflicting this terror on an American city. This is not a budget negotiation. This is a moral imperative. Do NOT fund this.
www.fox9.com/video/fmc-bv...
@cantwell.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov @adamsmith.house.gov
www.fox9.com/video/fmc-bv...
@cantwell.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov @adamsmith.house.gov
Children hospitalized after flashbang hits father's vehicle
A man said his children were taken to the hospital after his vehicle was hit by a flashbang grenade during clashes between protesters and police in north Minneapolis. This came after the second shooti...
www.fox9.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:59 AM
Do not vote for any budget that gives one dime to the agencies or agents who are inflicting this terror on an American city. This is not a budget negotiation. This is a moral imperative. Do NOT fund this.
www.fox9.com/video/fmc-bv...
@cantwell.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov @adamsmith.house.gov
www.fox9.com/video/fmc-bv...
@cantwell.senate.gov @murray.senate.gov @adamsmith.house.gov
@tylerjfisher.com hey! Huge fan. I'm getting an internal server error when trying to login this evening. Just a heads up if it's a more general issue.
January 14, 2026 at 3:24 AM
@tylerjfisher.com hey! Huge fan. I'm getting an internal server error when trying to login this evening. Just a heads up if it's a more general issue.
Reposted by David Ziff
COINAGE ALERT
I try to be a good Blueskitizen.
January 13, 2026 at 8:09 PM
COINAGE ALERT
Reposted by David Ziff
Reposted by David Ziff
Any Democratic votes to fund DHS later this month as Minneapolis is being terrorized by DHS is going to be a major slap in the face to Americans living here. Demand major reforms or shut the government down.
January 13, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Any Democratic votes to fund DHS later this month as Minneapolis is being terrorized by DHS is going to be a major slap in the face to Americans living here. Demand major reforms or shut the government down.
Perhaps of interest to my friends in Washington government, legislative, judicial, or executive branch.
1. Some information on creating a state-law cause of action against federal officials for federal constitutional torts. Sort of a state-law Bivens.
statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...
1. Some information on creating a state-law cause of action against federal officials for federal constitutional torts. Sort of a state-law Bivens.
statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...
Explainer: State-Created Damages Remedies Against Federal Officials
Harrison Stark, Senior Counsel PDF Available Here Published: August 1, 2025 Introduction & Summary What recourse do people have if federal agents violate their constitutional rights? In recent months,...
statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu
January 13, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Perhaps of interest to my friends in Washington government, legislative, judicial, or executive branch.
1. Some information on creating a state-law cause of action against federal officials for federal constitutional torts. Sort of a state-law Bivens.
statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...
1. Some information on creating a state-law cause of action against federal officials for federal constitutional torts. Sort of a state-law Bivens.
statedemocracy.law.wisc.edu/featured/202...
Everyone is focused on the negative aspects of AI here. But wouldn't it be easier to catch the monkeys if we just used information on monkey behavior to create a custom MonkeyGPT and then asked the GPT to predict the locations of the escaped monkeys?
Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St. Louis. And AI generated images are complicating the effort to find them.
Monkeys are on the loose in St. Louis and AI is complicating efforts to capture them
Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St. Louis. And AI generated images are complicating the effort to find them.
bit.ly
January 13, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Everyone is focused on the negative aspects of AI here. But wouldn't it be easier to catch the monkeys if we just used information on monkey behavior to create a custom MonkeyGPT and then asked the GPT to predict the locations of the escaped monkeys?
Reposted by David Ziff
States can also enact statutes providing tort liability for violations of constitutional rights by state or federal officers. State legislative sessions are gearing up now, so it’s a good time to call your state reps!
It would take a two-word amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to subject ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers to the same liability for constitutional violations that local and state officers currently face.
If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.
If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.
January 12, 2026 at 11:40 PM
States can also enact statutes providing tort liability for violations of constitutional rights by state or federal officers. State legislative sessions are gearing up now, so it’s a good time to call your state reps!
Generalizable advice: When seeking relief from a Court, you need to make it *easy* for the judge to rule in your favor. Making it easy means making the law and facts easy, of course, but also making the practicalities and mental decisionmaking easy. Sometimes that means helping the judge save face.
Yes, maybe that's crazy optimistic. But you pitch the injunction as "the votes to stay the prior injunction were obviously given on a different record, Brett said it was only ok based on assumptions that have proven very wrong, and had he but known he would never ..."
Give him the out
Give him the out
January 12, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Generalizable advice: When seeking relief from a Court, you need to make it *easy* for the judge to rule in your favor. Making it easy means making the law and facts easy, of course, but also making the practicalities and mental decisionmaking easy. Sometimes that means helping the judge save face.
I'd love to see this as one of the demands to get any Dem votes for the next funding bill.
It would take a two-word amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to subject ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers to the same liability for constitutional violations that local and state officers currently face.
If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.
If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.
January 12, 2026 at 11:17 PM
I'd love to see this as one of the demands to get any Dem votes for the next funding bill.
Reposted by David Ziff
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
TRO motion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
TRO motion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 12, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Complaint: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
TRO motion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
TRO motion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by David Ziff
BREAKING: Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul sue Noem and others over DHS immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, seeking TRO to block the surge and stop unlawful actions detailed in the complaint.
January 12, 2026 at 9:56 PM
BREAKING: Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul sue Noem and others over DHS immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, seeking TRO to block the surge and stop unlawful actions detailed in the complaint.
Not a recent change! But not a big deal. Folks likely won't think the unital comma looks *too* weird since Supreme Court style (and others) only italicizes e.g., not see or any other signal. So the pre-e.g., comma in See, e.g., in SCOTUS opinions is *not* italicized. (Neither is the See, of course.)
How could I have missed that the comma after "see" in "See, e.g." is supposed to be italicized!? (In this official Bluebook example, blue = italicize.)
Hoping this was a recent change & I don't have to renounce every legal text I've ever written! They're filled with plain commas in this position...
Hoping this was a recent change & I don't have to renounce every legal text I've ever written! They're filled with plain commas in this position...
January 12, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Not a recent change! But not a big deal. Folks likely won't think the unital comma looks *too* weird since Supreme Court style (and others) only italicizes e.g., not see or any other signal. So the pre-e.g., comma in See, e.g., in SCOTUS opinions is *not* italicized. (Neither is the See, of course.)
Reposted by David Ziff
I did not expect this graf in the middle of a story about 401(k) plans:
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/b...
January 12, 2026 at 3:20 AM
I did not expect this graf in the middle of a story about 401(k) plans:
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/b...
Reposted by David Ziff
Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"
January 7, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"
Reposted by David Ziff
Every time somebody says "AI tools can improve access to justice," a thorough reporter might want to note the piles of federal court orders where pro se plaintiffs have been dismissed (and sanctioned) for using AI to write slop briefs.
January 7, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Every time somebody says "AI tools can improve access to justice," a thorough reporter might want to note the piles of federal court orders where pro se plaintiffs have been dismissed (and sanctioned) for using AI to write slop briefs.
Reposted by David Ziff
There's a lot going on but I just read an ABA Journal article in which a federal judge "suggests judges use AI to detect hallucinated cases before they send out orders, a practice she and her clerks now follow."
January 7, 2026 at 8:38 PM
There's a lot going on but I just read an ABA Journal article in which a federal judge "suggests judges use AI to detect hallucinated cases before they send out orders, a practice she and her clerks now follow."
Reposted by David Ziff
Yes, Dear Reader, a federal judge, in the ABA's magazine, recommends first to generate orders with AI, then to use AI to check for errors in that order. Does anyone have any idea how anything works at all? Do they even care?
January 7, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Yes, Dear Reader, a federal judge, in the ABA's magazine, recommends first to generate orders with AI, then to use AI to check for errors in that order. Does anyone have any idea how anything works at all? Do they even care?
Reposted by David Ziff
this will keep going until i run out of gift codes, so i decided to lower the requirements: only 500+ are required now
just send me a dm and i'll send you the redeem link!
just send me a dm and i'll send you the redeem link!
since just asking for dms didn't work out as i expected, i'll just say it here:
i'm gifting a 3-months Sponsor deck.blue membership for artists on bluesky! just reach me out on the dms to get it and be able to schedule posts!
requirements: 1k+ followers, don't use ai and keep posting real art!
i'm gifting a 3-months Sponsor deck.blue membership for artists on bluesky! just reach me out on the dms to get it and be able to schedule posts!
requirements: 1k+ followers, don't use ai and keep posting real art!
if you're an artist with 1k+ followers that uses deck.blue to schedule posts, please reach me out over on the dms! i have something for you all
December 29, 2025 at 2:18 PM
this will keep going until i run out of gift codes, so i decided to lower the requirements: only 500+ are required now
just send me a dm and i'll send you the redeem link!
just send me a dm and i'll send you the redeem link!
Reposted by David Ziff
I think YouTube Music should reconsider the photo it's using for Tchaikovsky.
January 5, 2026 at 6:24 PM
I think YouTube Music should reconsider the photo it's using for Tchaikovsky.