Lawrence Solum
lsolum.bsky.social
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Law professor at the University of Virginia. Legal theory, originalism, textualism, virtue jurisprudence, artificial intelligence, philosophy of language, moral and political philosophy.

Lawrence Byard Solum is an American legal theorist known for his work in the philosophy of law and constitutional theory. He is the William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law and the Douglas D. Drysdale Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he has taught since 2020. He was previously the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. .. more

Law 35%
Political science 32%

Mordaunt on the Queensland Puberty Blocker Directive

Dylan A Mordaunt (Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka; University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Students; Flinders University - College of Medicine and Public Health) has posted Executive…
Mordaunt on the Queensland Puberty Blocker Directive
Dylan A Mordaunt (Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka; University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Students; Flinders University - College of Medicine and Public Health) has posted Executive Override and Clinical Governance: The Queensland Puberty Blocker Directive in Administrative Law Context on SSRN. Here is the abstract: On a Tuesday morning in late October 2025, the Queensland Supreme Court handed down a decision that should make every clinician in Australia stop and reflect.
legaltheoryblog.com

Litwak, St. Michel, & Currell on Interstate Compact Law

Jeffrey Litwak (Lewis & Clark Law School - Paul L Boley Law Library), Graham St. Michel, & William Currell (Lewis & Clark College - Lewis & Clark Law School) have posted Developments in Interstate Compact Law and Practice 2025 on SSRN. Here…
Litwak, St. Michel, & Currell on Interstate Compact Law
Jeffrey Litwak (Lewis & Clark Law School - Paul L Boley Law Library), Graham St. Michel, & William Currell (Lewis & Clark College - Lewis & Clark Law School) have posted Developments in Interstate Compact Law and Practice 2025 on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article discusses the wide range of judicial, administrative, and legislative developments in interstate compact law in 2025.
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Cavedon on Natural Property Rights

Matthew Cavedon (Emory University - Center for the Study of Law and Religion) has posted Eden America: John Locke and the School of Salamanca on Natural Property Rights (Cambridge University Press Elements in Law and Religion (under contract)) on SSRN. Here is…
Cavedon on Natural Property Rights
Matthew Cavedon (Emory University - Center for the Study of Law and Religion) has posted Eden America: John Locke and the School of Salamanca on Natural Property Rights (Cambridge University Press Elements in Law and Religion (under contract)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This book contends that there is a way to understand natural property rights that avoids the historical inaccuracy, imperialist imperatives, and anti-environmentalism of John Locke’s approach.
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Originalism, Nonoriginalism and Venezuela Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog originalismblog.com/originalism-...
Originalism, Nonoriginalism and Venezuela Michael Ramsey – The Originalism Blog
The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law
originalismblog.com

Diller on Gubernatorial Decrees and Emergency Administrative Rules

Paul A. Diller (Willamette University - School of Law) has posted Gubernatorial Decreemaking versus Emergency Administrative Rulemaking: Lessons from the Covid Pandemic (Tennessee Law Review, Volume 93 (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN.…
Diller on Gubernatorial Decrees and Emergency Administrative Rules
Paul A. Diller (Willamette University - School of Law) has posted Gubernatorial Decreemaking versus Emergency Administrative Rulemaking: Lessons from the Covid Pandemic (Tennessee Law Review, Volume 93 (forthcoming 2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Governors’ broad exercise of emergency power for an extended period of time during the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented in United States history.  Looking back with the hindsight of five years, however, the means by which governors exercised their power was perhaps not as novel as it initially seemed. 
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Shulga on Ukranian Refugees and the EU Temporary Protection Directive

Ievgenii Shulga (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine - Department of International Law and Comparative Law) has posted The Ukrainian Precedent and The Transformation of The International Protection…
Shulga on Ukranian Refugees and the EU Temporary Protection Directive
Ievgenii Shulga (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine - Department of International Law and Comparative Law) has posted The Ukrainian Precedent and The Transformation of The International Protection Regime: Protracted Temporaries and The Challenge of Legal Uncertainty on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The International Refugee Protection Regime (IRPR), anchored by the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol, is currently facing an unprecedented existential challenge.
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Naik on LGBTQ Rights in Kazakhstan

Yeshwant Naik (University of Muenster) has posted LGBTQ Rights and the Anti-LGBTQ Propaganda Law in Kazakhstan: Legal, Social, and Human Rights Analysis on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This research article examines the legal status of LGBTQ people in Kazakhstan…
Naik on LGBTQ Rights in Kazakhstan
Yeshwant Naik (University of Muenster) has posted LGBTQ Rights and the Anti-LGBTQ Propaganda Law in Kazakhstan: Legal, Social, and Human Rights Analysis on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This research article examines the legal status of LGBTQ people in Kazakhstan and analyzes the implications of the law banning so‑called “LGBTQ propaganda,” approved by Kazakhstan’s Senate in December 2025 and pending presidential signature.
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Kenneth Himma, Jotwell, What is "Naturalized Jurisprudence"? - Jurisprudence buff.ly/Wpu6Hoa
What is "Naturalized Jurisprudence"? - Jurisprudence
Luka Burazin, Naturalized Jurisprudence, in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Legal Theory and Philosophy of Law, (John Linarelli ed.) __ (forthcoming 2026), available at SSRN (Nov. 11, 2024).Kenneth…
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Legal Theory Lexicon: Deference

Introduction Because the first-year curriculum emphasizes common-law courses (property, contracts, torts), law students may not encounter the concept of "deference" early on.  Nonetheless, understanding deference is important in a wide variety of contexts, including…
Legal Theory Lexicon: Deference
Introduction Because the first-year curriculum emphasizes common-law courses (property, contracts, torts), law students may not encounter the concept of "deference" early on.  Nonetheless, understanding deference is important in a wide variety of contexts, including standards of appellate review and judicial review of both legislation and administrative action.  This entry in the Legal Theory Lexicon provides a short introduction to the idea of deference.
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Ryan Goodman, Maduro Capture Operation and the President’s Duty to Faithfully Execute U.N. Charter www.justsecurity.org/127962/madur...
Maduro Capture Operation and the President’s Duty to Faithfully Execute U.N. Charter
A decades-old Office of Legal Counsel memorandum claiming the President can disregard the UN Charter does not withstand serious scrutiny.
www.justsecurity.org

Legal Theory Bookworm: “Just Price Theory,” edited by Petersen & Reyes

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Just Price Theory: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Insights, edited by Matías Petersen & Joaquín Reyes. Here is a description: This book presents an interdisciplinary approach to…
Legal Theory Bookworm: “Just Price Theory,” edited by Petersen & Reyes
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Just Price Theory: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Insights, edited by Matías Petersen & Joaquín Reyes. Here is a description: This book presents an interdisciplinary approach to just price theory, focusing on the conceptual and normative (moral, legal, and political) implications of the concept of the just price. This volume brings together world-leading experts in the fields of political and legal philosophy to explore the political economy of justice in pricing and socio-legal aspects surrounding the idea of just prices.
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Download of the Week: “For Whom Should Legislation be Written?” by Zamboni

Mauro Zamboni (Stockholm University - Faculty of Law) has posted For Whom Should Legislation be Written? Legislative Audiences, Legal Outputs, and Participatory Democracy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Modern legislation is…
Download of the Week: “For Whom Should Legislation be Written?” by Zamboni
Mauro Zamboni (Stockholm University - Faculty of Law) has posted For Whom Should Legislation be Written? Legislative Audiences, Legal Outputs, and Participatory Democracy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Modern legislation is commonly portrayed as a universal instrument addressed equally to all citizens. This article challenges that assumption by arguing that legislative texts are inevitably written for particular audiences and that identifying a primary or “default” addressee is a decisive normative choice in legislative drafting.
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Sağlam on Aristotelian Equity, Discretion, Hart, and Dworkin

Rabi̇a Sağlam (Kocaeli University) has posted Aristotelian Equity and Discretion Thesis in Modern Legal Philosophy (Beytulhikme An International Journal of Philosophy, volume 15:3, issue 15:3, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This…
Sağlam on Aristotelian Equity, Discretion, Hart, and Dworkin
Rabi̇a Sağlam (Kocaeli University) has posted Aristotelian Equity and Discretion Thesis in Modern Legal Philosophy (Beytulhikme An International Journal of Philosophy, volume 15:3, issue 15:3, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This essay explores the Aristotelian concept of equity and the discretionary power of judges within the context of modern legal philosophy. Modern jurisprudence has changed profoundly as a result of the debates between Hart and Dworkin on judicial discretion and the principles of equity.
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Lerer on Corporations and Moral Agency

Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted The Generalized Intentionality Mismatch Theorem: When Law Assumes Moral Agency that Doesn't Exist on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal theory assumes all actors operate as moral agents capable of shame, reciprocity, and…
Lerer on Corporations and Moral Agency
Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted The Generalized Intentionality Mismatch Theorem: When Law Assumes Moral Agency that Doesn't Exist on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal theory assumes all actors operate as moral agents capable of shame, reciprocity, and good-faith compliance. This assumption fails for corporations, which function as optimization algorithms: they minimize Cost(compliance) versus Cost(violation × P(detection)), immune to social enforcement mechanisms that constrain humans.
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Tafs on Algorithmic Bias and AI

Hayden Tafs (University of Wisconsin - Whitewater) has posted Ethical Challenges and Algorithmic Bias in Artificial Intelligence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly growing and becoming an increasingly important part of many…
Tafs on Algorithmic Bias and AI
Hayden Tafs (University of Wisconsin - Whitewater) has posted Ethical Challenges and Algorithmic Bias in Artificial Intelligence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly growing and becoming an increasingly important part of many industries, but it also raises significant ethical and social concerns. This paper looks at how algorithmic bias, which can come from bad data, poor sampling, labeling mistakes, and old patterns in society, can make unfairness worse in AI systems.
legaltheoryblog.com

Franks on Counterman v. Colorado

Mary Anne Franks (George Washington University - Law School) has posted How Stalking Became Free Speech: Counterman v. Colorado and the Supreme Court’s Continuing War on Women on SSRN. Here is the abstract: One of the most devastating, unprincipled, and dangerous…
Franks on Counterman v. Colorado
Mary Anne Franks (George Washington University - Law School) has posted How Stalking Became Free Speech: Counterman v. Colorado and the Supreme Court’s Continuing War on Women on SSRN. Here is the abstract: One of the most devastating, unprincipled, and dangerous decisions handed down by the Supreme Court in 2023—a decision that jeopardizes women’s rights to speak, to associate, to work, and to live—was not the product of the conservative supermajority, but of an alliance of the entire liberal wing with the majority of the conservatives.
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How to access Legal Theory Blog and the Legal Theory Lexicon! Legal Theory Blog is now at buff.ly/ExRaHzr. The Legal Theory Lexicon is at buff.ly/QRjaM5E. There is a Table of Contents for the Lexicon: buff.ly/QNKOgiH
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Bell on Official Recognity of Marginalized Community Achievement and its Exclusion from Curriculum

Russell Bell (Independent Scholar) has posted The Documentation Paradox: Official Recognition and Educational Exclusion as Proof of Discriminatory Intent on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The…
Bell on Official Recognity of Marginalized Community Achievement and its Exclusion from Curriculum
Russell Bell (Independent Scholar) has posted The Documentation Paradox: Official Recognition and Educational Exclusion as Proof of Discriminatory Intent on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Documentation Paradox describes a systematic divergence between official state recognition and educational exclusion of marginalized community histories. This paper demonstrates that states extensively document achievement of formerly enslaved people and other marginalized communities through historical markers, National Register designations, museum exhibits, and archival preservation—while simultaneously excluding identical content from mandatory K-12 curriculum standards.
legaltheoryblog.com

Pasch on Cultural Differences and AI Regulation

Stefan Pasch (Goethe University Frankfurt) has posted National Culture and AI Governance: The Cultural Origins of Differences in AI Regulation on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Despite widespread agreement on the importance of responsible artificial…
Pasch on Cultural Differences and AI Regulation
Stefan Pasch (Goethe University Frankfurt) has posted National Culture and AI Governance: The Cultural Origins of Differences in AI Regulation on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Despite widespread agreement on the importance of responsible artificial intelligence (AI), countries differ markedly in how strongly AI is governed, ranging from no government action to non-binding guidance and fully enforceable legal regulation. Yet the sources of these differences remain poorly understood.
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Legal Theory Bookworm Selections for 2025

Here are ten of the selections from the Legal Theory Bookworm that I found most interesting in 2025: The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North by Michelle Adams Contemporary Non-Positivism by Emad H. Atiq…
Legal Theory Bookworm Selections for 2025
Here are ten of the selections from the Legal Theory Bookworm that I found most interesting in 2025: The Containment: Detroit, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North by Michelle Adams Contemporary Non-Positivism by Emad H. Atiq Research Handbook on the Philosophy of Contract Law, edited by Mindy Chen-Wishart & Prince Saprai The Changing Constitution: Constitutional Law in the Trump-Era Supreme Court…
legaltheoryblog.com

Downloads of the Year 2025

Here are ten papers that I found particularly interesting, innovative, or valuable in 2025. Originalism, the Administrative State, and the Clash of Political Theories by J. Joel Alicea The Supreme Court Under Threat: Early Lessons in Judicial Self-Protection by Curtis…
Downloads of the Year 2025
Here are ten papers that I found particularly interesting, innovative, or valuable in 2025. Originalism, the Administrative State, and the Clash of Political Theories by J. Joel Alicea The Supreme Court Under Threat: Early Lessons in Judicial Self-Protection by Curtis Bradley & Neil Siegel Managing Legal Concepts: Maintenance, Modulation, Modification  by Andrew S. Gold & Henry E. Smith Deepfake Torts: Emerging Tort Frameworks in U.S.
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Wankhade on the Rule of Law in India, the US, and the UK

Anuj Wankhade (Department of Law, Vishwakarma University) has posted A Critical Analysis of the Rule of Law and Forms of Government in India, USA, And UK on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The principles of the rule of law and the structure of…
Wankhade on the Rule of Law in India, the US, and the UK
Anuj Wankhade (Department of Law, Vishwakarma University) has posted A Critical Analysis of the Rule of Law and Forms of Government in India, USA, And UK on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The principles of the rule of law and the structure of the government in three great democracies like India, USA and UK vary vastly. Thus, this paper aims to analyse their legal foundations critically, as these countries incorporate the rule of law as the sustenance of democracy, protection of fundamental rights, and provision for social justice.
legaltheoryblog.com

Bell on Democratic Legitimacy and Judicial Review

Russell Bell has posted Democracy Preservation Through Congressional Constitutional Supremacy: An Empirical Framework for Constitutional Crisis Response on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article addresses a fundamental and unsettled question in…
Bell on Democratic Legitimacy and Judicial Review
Russell Bell has posted Democracy Preservation Through Congressional Constitutional Supremacy: An Empirical Framework for Constitutional Crisis Response on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article addresses a fundamental and unsettled question in American constitutional law: when do judicial decisions lose democratic legitimacy and require congressional intervention to preserve constitutional democracy? Through application of the Supreme Court's own institutional accountability standards from United States v.
legaltheoryblog.com

Thanks to Michael Madison who posted this on Paul’s TaxProf Blog!

Thank you, Paul Caron: Shout Out to Larry Solum and the Legal Theory Blog • TaxProf Blog taxprofblog.aals.org/2025/12/30/s...
Shout Out to Larry Solum and the Legal Theory Blog • TaxProf Blog
On the cusp of the new year and its new beginnings, I pause to celebrate the astonishing continuity of the Legal Theory Blog, published since 2002 (at least) by Lawrence (Larry) Solum, now at the…
taxprofblog.aals.org

Lerer on Corporate Moral Agency and Environmental Law

Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted Environmental Law and the Myth of Corporate Citizenship: Intentionality Mismatch in Ecological Regulation on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Environmental law assumes corporations internalize environmental values,…
Lerer on Corporate Moral Agency and Environmental Law
Ignacio Adrian Lerer has posted Environmental Law and the Myth of Corporate Citizenship: Intentionality Mismatch in Ecological Regulation on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Environmental law assumes corporations internalize environmental values, comply voluntarily when monitoring is weak, and reciprocate regulatory cooperation with genuine stewardship. This assumes corporations operate as moral agents (Level 3 intentionality). I argue this assumption is false. Corporations are Level 1 optimizers: they minimize Cost(compliance) vs Cost(violation × P(detection)).
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Decker on AI Personhood and Mappability

Nicolin Decker has posted The Continuity vs. Conscience Doctrine (CVC): The Mappability Boundary in Artificial Systems and Human Rights on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper articulates an origin-level classification doctrine within a broader, integrated…
Decker on AI Personhood and Mappability
Nicolin Decker has posted The Continuity vs. Conscience Doctrine (CVC): The Mappability Boundary in Artificial Systems and Human Rights on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper articulates an origin-level classification doctrine within a broader, integrated canon of constitutional and governance analysis addressing artificial systems and human authority. Together with The Artificial Conscious Agency Doctrine (ACAD): A Constitutional, International, and Moral Framework for Synthetic Intelligence in the Post-Semiconductor Era, The Doctrine of Moral Closure in Artificial Systems: The Continuity Paradox, and The Doctrine of Force Multiplication Without Formation (DFM): Artificial Intelligence, Market Competition, and the Educational Substitution Prohibition, this work examines a foundational question posed by persistent artificial systems: what kinds of entities are capable, in principle, of bearing moral and legal rights.
legaltheoryblog.com

Cyphert on AI Regulation

Amy Cyphert (West Virginia University - College of Law) has posted Confronting the Challenges of Regulating Artificial Intelligence (FIU Law Review, volume 20, issue 1, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Public opinion polls conclude that the American public is in favor…
Cyphert on AI Regulation
Amy Cyphert (West Virginia University - College of Law) has posted Confronting the Challenges of Regulating Artificial Intelligence (FIU Law Review, volume 20, issue 1, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Public opinion polls conclude that the American public is in favor of regulating artificial intelligence (“AI”), and many technology companies publicly claim that they would welcome regulation. And yet the United States has struggled to enact federal comprehensive AI regulations beyond a shortlived Executive Order.
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Setia & Suri on AI on Fundamental Rights

Aryaman Setia (Panjab University, University Institute of Legal Studies) & Nipun Suri (Panjab University, University Institute of Legal Studies) have posted Evolution of Fundamental Rights in the Era of Artificial Intelligence (Impact of Artificial…
Setia & Suri on AI on Fundamental Rights
Aryaman Setia (Panjab University, University Institute of Legal Studies) & Nipun Suri (Panjab University, University Institute of Legal Studies) have posted Evolution of Fundamental Rights in the Era of Artificial Intelligence (Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Constitutionalism and Rule of Law (Bookwards, 2024), pp. 32 – 49) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Fundamental rights have evolved throughout the history with significant impacts of Renaissance, Industrial revolution and Digital revolution.
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Boruah & Das on Diversity in Personal Laws and Indian Democracy

Jayanta Boruah (Central University of Karnataka) & Junu Das (Dhubri Law College; North Eastern Hill University) have posted Optimizing the Judicial Interventions in Harmonizing the Conflicting Personal Laws for Preserving Indian…
Boruah & Das on Diversity in Personal Laws and Indian Democracy
Jayanta Boruah (Central University of Karnataka) & Junu Das (Dhubri Law College; North Eastern Hill University) have posted Optimizing the Judicial Interventions in Harmonizing the Conflicting Personal Laws for Preserving Indian Democracy on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Democracy stands for the will of the people who are equal, and free from discrimination. A democratic society is based on the principles of egalitarianism.
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