Molly Brady
@maureenebrady.com
Professor @ Harvard Law writing on property institutions, land use, private law, and eminent domain. Section 3 for life. Always half-joking. (AKA Maureen.)
My teaching scaries dream of the semester has arrived: I showed up and @lessig.bsky.social (their con law teacher) had actually just done the exact same class, down to Pierson v. Post. I feigned a coughing attack to cover my panic
January 20, 2026 at 11:31 AM
My teaching scaries dream of the semester has arrived: I showed up and @lessig.bsky.social (their con law teacher) had actually just done the exact same class, down to Pierson v. Post. I feigned a coughing attack to cover my panic
In 2016, I wrote this mission statement at a seminar for new faculty at UVA. As true today as it was then! (And still on my bulletin board.)
January 19, 2026 at 7:40 PM
In 2016, I wrote this mission statement at a seminar for new faculty at UVA. As true today as it was then! (And still on my bulletin board.)
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear a big gun rights case - Wolford v. Lopez. I've posted some thoughts. Given the property dynamics here, I'm not sure balancing can be avoided in reconciling the serious level-of-generality problems the history poses. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
January 19, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear a big gun rights case - Wolford v. Lopez. I've posted some thoughts. Given the property dynamics here, I'm not sure balancing can be avoided in reconciling the serious level-of-generality problems the history poses. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
My four-year-old said “6-7” to me. I asked him what it meant and he said “it comes after 1 2 3 4 5.”
January 9, 2026 at 5:53 PM
My four-year-old said “6-7” to me. I asked him what it meant and he said “it comes after 1 2 3 4 5.”
In the New Haven Land Records ca. 2016 there was a man who would come in every morning, put up pictures of his family and a sports car like it was his office, and then pack it all up at the end.
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
December 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
In the New Haven Land Records ca. 2016 there was a man who would come in every morning, put up pictures of his family and a sports car like it was his office, and then pack it all up at the end.
CFP: Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory, Volume V. We're seeking contributions in contract, property, tort, fiduciary, equity, unjust enrichment, and remedies law. Submissions are 12,000 words, and you get a trip to Cape Town! Deadline August 1, 2026! philevents.org/event/show/1...
Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory, Volume V
Oxford University Press is pleased to announce a call for papers for Volume V of Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory, edited by Paul Miller (Notre Dame) and John Oberdiek (Rutgers).
Oxford Studi...
philevents.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
CFP: Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory, Volume V. We're seeking contributions in contract, property, tort, fiduciary, equity, unjust enrichment, and remedies law. Submissions are 12,000 words, and you get a trip to Cape Town! Deadline August 1, 2026! philevents.org/event/show/1...
Mom’s Arrest for Taking Crayons (2025). Marker on paper.
December 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Mom’s Arrest for Taking Crayons (2025). Marker on paper.
Are you a fan of Cambridge history? Lego enthusiast? Flemish architect? CrimEd filled with regret? Now available for order in limited quantities - to help keep this building going another 100+ years. malampy.harvardlampoon.com/150th-store/...
HARVARD LAMPOON CASTLE BUILDING SET WITH GENUINE LEGO BRICKS® — The Harvard Lampoon
Discover the Harvard Lampoon Castle Limited-Edition 796-Piece Building Set, a premium collectible for fans of humor, history, and high-detail LEGO® construction kits. This unique build includes a mode...
malampy.harvardlampoon.com
December 16, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Are you a fan of Cambridge history? Lego enthusiast? Flemish architect? CrimEd filled with regret? Now available for order in limited quantities - to help keep this building going another 100+ years. malampy.harvardlampoon.com/150th-store/...
This might be a new one, which in zoning land is saying something
November 21, 2025 at 12:15 AM
This might be a new one, which in zoning land is saying something
What I don't need help with: generic, cringe responses to emails
What I do need help with:
What I do need help with:
October 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
What I don't need help with: generic, cringe responses to emails
What I do need help with:
What I do need help with:
Should I tell this “swiftie” what No Body No Crime is about or
October 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Should I tell this “swiftie” what No Body No Crime is about or
The Gen Zs in this coffee shop are absolutely rocking out to Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me, and I feel optimism for the first time in years
October 20, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The Gen Zs in this coffee shop are absolutely rocking out to Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me, and I feel optimism for the first time in years
Everything is land use. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/u...
To Fight ICE, Portland’s Leaders Turn to What They Know Best: Zoning
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Everything is land use. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/u...
My mom when I got cut from 7th grade basketball
Kristi Noem’s message to the NFL for selecting Bad Bunny for the halftime show:
“The NFL sucks and we’ll win and God will bless us and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe…”
“The NFL sucks and we’ll win and God will bless us and we’ll stand and be proud of ourselves at the end of the day and they won’t be able to sleep at night because they don’t know what they believe…”
October 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
My mom when I got cut from 7th grade basketball
(Sigh) well now I’m gonna have to work on that property / second amendment essay
NEW at SCOTUS: just five cert grants from the long conference
October 3, 2025 at 3:32 PM
(Sigh) well now I’m gonna have to work on that property / second amendment essay
I’m sorry is this a love song about the SUBURBS
September 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I’m sorry is this a love song about the SUBURBS
Are all three year olds drawing maps at school or is this an early sign of love for property
August 13, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Are all three year olds drawing maps at school or is this an early sign of love for property
I have fallen victim to this - and other Property profs might’ve too! Crabgrass Frontier often gets misread and cited for the proposition that racial deed restrictions originated in The Lindens in Brookline MA. It’s false, a kind local historian pointed out. We need to be real skeptics in this age.
From my own academic research, even pre LLMs there was a huge danger of zombie factoids that begin in a respectable publication by mistake and then get reprinted for decades because no one is backtracing to the original source. Once bad info gets into the system it can take years to clear it out.
I've seen numerous examples of this in recent days - we're at a point where some reporters are using LLMs as a source and not even remotely properly factchecking, but also where LLM generated material is making its way into other material and being unknowingly reproduced by others.
July 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I have fallen victim to this - and other Property profs might’ve too! Crabgrass Frontier often gets misread and cited for the proposition that racial deed restrictions originated in The Lindens in Brookline MA. It’s false, a kind local historian pointed out. We need to be real skeptics in this age.
Reposted by Molly Brady
Someone on here compared AI produced material as "digital asbestos " which in a few decades' time we will have to work out how to eradicate from the fabric of research.
From my own academic research, even pre LLMs there was a huge danger of zombie factoids that begin in a respectable publication by mistake and then get reprinted for decades because no one is backtracing to the original source. Once bad info gets into the system it can take years to clear it out.
I've seen numerous examples of this in recent days - we're at a point where some reporters are using LLMs as a source and not even remotely properly factchecking, but also where LLM generated material is making its way into other material and being unknowingly reproduced by others.
July 30, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Someone on here compared AI produced material as "digital asbestos " which in a few decades' time we will have to work out how to eradicate from the fabric of research.
A heartbreaking day. In the middle of my *job interview*, I half jokingly told Dick I didn’t know where any of the HLS buildings were, and he promptly put on a fishing hat and gave me a tour. I had to pinch myself. The definition of professional humility.
RIP Dick Fallon. A devastating loss professionally and personally.
July 14, 2025 at 5:57 PM
A heartbreaking day. In the middle of my *job interview*, I half jokingly told Dick I didn’t know where any of the HLS buildings were, and he promptly put on a fishing hat and gave me a tour. I had to pinch myself. The definition of professional humility.
Just posted: new Essay for the state con law club. It examines the states that actually enabled takings for *private use* in the late 19th century, and some of the interesting themes that emerge from debates over the provisions (on "necessity," on nonlawyer drafters) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Debates Over "Public Use" in the State Constitutional Conventions
Historians and legal scholars alike have previously noted that the meaning of "public use" began to change in the nineteenth century, continuing into
papers.ssrn.com
July 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Just posted: new Essay for the state con law club. It examines the states that actually enabled takings for *private use* in the late 19th century, and some of the interesting themes that emerge from debates over the provisions (on "necessity," on nonlawyer drafters) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Molly Brady
July 1, 2025 at 7:13 PM
HABEMUS TORT DEAN news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
smoke coming out of a chimney with trees in the foreground
ALT: smoke coming out of a chimney with trees in the foreground
media.tenor.com
June 30, 2025 at 6:59 PM
HABEMUS TORT DEAN news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Reposted by Molly Brady
Hey Property profs:
Shoot lasers from your house to keep trees from blocking your view.
US Patent 12317790
US Patent 12317790
June 30, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Hey Property profs:
Dangers of marrying property professors:
Me: [gasp] our new house is on REGISTERED LAND!!!!
Spouse: I love you dearly but I have no idea what that means
Me: [gasp] our new house is on REGISTERED LAND!!!!
Spouse: I love you dearly but I have no idea what that means
June 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Dangers of marrying property professors:
Me: [gasp] our new house is on REGISTERED LAND!!!!
Spouse: I love you dearly but I have no idea what that means
Me: [gasp] our new house is on REGISTERED LAND!!!!
Spouse: I love you dearly but I have no idea what that means