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sonofdavid.bsky.social
Adam Davidson
@sonofdavid.bsky.social
440 followers 280 following 49 posts
Assistant Professor at UChicago Law. Researching police, prisons, abolition, and the 13th amendment. Views, for better or worse, are my own.

Things I wrote: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4329951

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sonofdavid.bsky.social
Adam Davidson @sonofdavid.bsky.social · Dec 1
Now online: My latest article on state constitutional amendments that go beyond the Thirteenth Amendment's protections against slavery and involuntary servitude. All about what they are, what they've done, and what they could and should do going forward.

lawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archiv...
No Exceptions: The New Movement to Abolish Slavery and Involuntary Servitude | The University of Chicago Law Review
In recent years, many states passed constitutional amendments prohibiting modern day slavery in the form of forced prison labor allowed by the Thirteenth Amendment. However, the state amendments' text...
lawreview.uchicago.edu
Reposted by Adam Davidson
danielahorwitz.bsky.social
Grand juries, neighbors > elite universities, law firms
radleybalko.bsky.social Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d
Have to confess, if you had asked me which institutions would prove to be formidable against the threat of fascism, I would not have guessed grand juries.
February 11, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
adamserwer.bsky.social
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
kylegriffin1.bsky.social Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 10d
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
tframpton.bsky.social
All of this.

And Le wasn't the only "volunteer" attorney there. Two of the (illegally held) petitioners are being repped by an attorney who works at Climate Defense Project (which, I'm guessing, doesn't specialize in immigration).

Read THEIR remarks at the end of the hearing; far more powerful.
February 5, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
tframpton.bsky.social
Yale prof David Gelernter defends his letter urging Epstein to hire "v small goodlooking blonde" student by saying that he was "keep[ing] the potential boss's habits in mind."

This creep shouldn't be allowed anywhere near students.

yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
February 5, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
blmckean.bsky.social
Good framing from local news here
nbc4i.com NBC4 Columbus @nbc4i.com · 13d
A last-minute ruling has prevented one-fourth of Springfield from losing the right to live and work legally in the U.S. https://nbc4i.co/4qSuVhV?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_ 
Image 1
February 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
adamrose.bsky.social
Lawyers can't reach clients in ICE detention. I've heard it anecdotally, but scale of issue is horrifying.

Bloomberg Law is a legal trade pub so many may miss this. Screenshot from their CA newsletter summarizes "bleak" situation for justice and rule of law.

news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/l...
What we found is bleak. Attorneys told us they’re struggling to get information in to or out of ICE and Customs and Border Protection facilities, which are holding nearly 69,000 people this month. And detainees often are forced to choose between remaining in crowded, squalid conditions or leaving the country immediately. Judges in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles have ordered the government to facilitate attorney-client communications at Homeland Security buildings. But attorneys say that doesn’t always happen. Even if detainees get the option, some worry they’ll be punished if they take it.
January 31, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
stevevladeck.bsky.social
For today's bonus issue of "One First," I wanted to follow up on a post from last August that looked at legal pedagogy and the dual state by reflecting on the relationship between legal *scholarship* and governmental lawlessness—with a particular focus on how I think about my own work:
Bonus 206: Legal Scholarship and the Dual State
A few thoughts on the responsibilities of legal academics in a time of increasing governmental lawlessness.
www.stevevladeck.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
chowleen.bsky.social
"It may take time to prove you're right, but you have to stick to it."
- Fred Korematsu

Jailed for refusing to abide by FDR's Exec Order 9066, he took his case against internment all the way to the Supreme Court - and lost. Remember him on Korematsu Day, January 30th. 1/
A young Fred Korematsu A photo of Fred Korematsu in his later years
January 30, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
kylegriffin1.bsky.social
Breaking on MS NOW:

Career DOJ prosecutors in both Minnesota and Los Angeles refused to be involved in charging Don Lemon and the other journalists who covered the Minneapolis church protests.

The prosecutors believe the evidence does not support the charges, per @carolleonnig.bsky.social.
January 30, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
jamalgreene.bsky.social
The constitutional prohibition on using federal law to abridge the freedom of the press is unusually explicit and really does mean what it says.
January 30, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
phillewis.bsky.social
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning

I was sent this video of agents at her door:
January 30, 2026 at 2:58 PM
sonofdavid.bsky.social
This is pretty much the Black History Month celebration I expected from them.
rgoodlaw.bsky.social Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 17d
White House with image of a Black man and an emoji of chains.

And the chosen image is of Don Lemon doing journalism.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17d
the White House's official X account gloats over the arrest of Don Lemon with a chains emoji
January 30, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
prisonculture.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:44 PM
sonofdavid.bsky.social
*Stares abolition constitutionally*
kalimurray.bsky.social Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 19d
This right here is one of my great pet peeves: THERE WERE NOT ONLY ONE GROUP OF FOUNDERS. The Reconstruction Founders led a massive, important constitutional change, and we don’t need to look at English common law to understand what equality, citizenship, and freedom meant. WE WERE OUR OWN NATION.
January 28, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
ilhanmn.bsky.social
I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work.

I don’t let bullies win.

Grateful to my incredible constituents who rallied behind me. Minnesota strong.
January 28, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
Ilhan Omar is an American hero. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Ms. Omar, visibly shaken after the assault, insisted to her staff and security that she would continue. She asked for a napkin and told them: "Just give me 10 minutes. I beg you. Please don't let them have the show." Ms. Omar then turned the crowd. "Here's the reality that people like this ugly man don't understand," she said. "We are Minnesota strong, and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us." Someone in the crowd later thanked Ms. Omar for staying and continuing after the assault, which had shaken not only her but the entire room. "I learned at a young age you don't give in to threats," Ms. Omar said.
January 28, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
adamserwer.bsky.social
Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.
January 24, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
clintsmithiii.bsky.social
They kill. They lie. They repeat.
January 24, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
annabower.bsky.social
A magistrate judge found no probable cause to support arrest warrants for 5 people involved in the St. Paul church protest.

DOJ appealed to the 8th Cir.

That appeal led to this remarkable letter from the Chief Judge of the Minnesota district court…

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Re: In Re: United States of America No. 26-1135 Dear Chief Judge Colloton, I apologize for addressing this letter to you, but, for reasons I will describe, I do not have any other option. I am working from home today, as the program that my mentally disabled adult son attends each day is closed because of the extreme cold At 11:34 am, I received an email regarding Case No. 26-1135, entitled "In re: United States of America." The order in its entirety read: The motion of the United States to seal is granted. The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is invited to file a response, at his discretion, to the petition for writ of mandamus. Any response is due by 2:00 p.m. Friday, January 23. This is the first that I have heard of any petition for a writ of mandamus. The United States did not have the courtesy to tell me that they would be filing such a petition, nor did the United States serve the petition on me. I am unable to access any documents in Case No. 26-1135 because, at the request of the United States, the case is sealed-apparently even from me. So I have been given about two-and-one-half hours to respond to a mandamus petition that I have not read and cannot read. Apparently I am supposed to guess what the petition is about and guess what the mandamus petition says and then respond. I will do so. The Honorable Steven M. Colloton January 23, 2026 Page 2 On the evening of Tuesday, January 20, the United States presented an application for eight arrest warrants to Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko in connection with the disruption of a religious service at Cities Church on Sunday, January 18. Judge Micko was the magistrate judge who was on duty at the time. Judge Micko found there was probable cause to issue warrants with respect to three of the suspects but not with respect to the other five. Minutes after Judge Micko signed three arrest warrants, the U.S. Attorney notified me that his office wanted a district judge to review Judge Micko's decision -either by hearing an appeal of that decision or by considering the application de novo. The first thing I did is ask our Clerk's Office to randomly assign a district judge to consider the government's request. I was the judge who was randomly assigned. It is important to emphasize that what the U.S. Attorney requested is unheard of in our district or, as best as I can tell, any other district in the Eighth Circuit. I have surveyed all of our judges — some of whom have been judges in our District for over 40 years —and no one can remember the government asking a district judge to review a magistrate judge's denial of an arrest warrant. I have also surveyed the chief judges of all of the districts in the Eighth Circuit. I have heard back from almost all of them, and all of those responding have said that, to their knowledge, no district judge has ever reviewed the decision of a magistrate judge to deny an arrest warrant. The reason why this never happens is likely that, if the government does not like the magistrate judge's decision, it can either improve the affidavit and present it again to the same magistrate judge or it can present its case to a grand jury and seek an indictment. On Wednesday, January 21, I informed the U.S. Attorney that because he was asking me to do something that was unprecedented, and because m…
January 24, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
jkarsh.bsky.social
How do you reform an agency that is currently kidnapping children?
marlownyc.bsky.social Marlow Stern @marlownyc.bsky.social · 23d
ICE detained a 2-year-old girl in Minneapolis and put the child on a flight to a detention center in Texas, despite a court ordering her release: www.startribune.com/agents-detai...
January 24, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
nathankhensley.bsky.social
This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.
January 23, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
karnythia.bsky.social
I understand the impulse to distance yourself from American history. I do. But the atrocities are the actual normal for many communities. And until we confront them as part of a baseline societal flaw and address why they keep happening, they will not stop. They will just continue to shift targets
beyerstein.bsky.social Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 25d
Those atrocities were un-American, too. Why do the evil-doers get to decide what the fundamental American values are? Let's define them ourselves.
karnythia.bsky.social Mikki Kendall @karnythia.bsky.social · 25d
I fear my tipping point into madness is "Thus is un-American" posts in response to ICE terrorizing immigrants. I beg you to open Wikipedia (I would say a book but let's start small) and read up on The Trail of Tears, Fugitive Slave Catchers, Japanese internment, Indian Boarding schools & Jim Crow
January 22, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!

ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
The Gravamen of the Disclosure 4. The gravamen of the disclosure is as follows: a. By memorandum dated May 12, 2025 (“the May 12 Memo”), Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons authorizes ICE agents to forcibly enter into certain people’s homes without a judicial warrant, consent, or an emergency. b. Specifically, in the May 12 Memo, the Acting ICE Director authorized ICE Agents to rely on Form I-205 (which is not a judicial warrant) to enter the residence of an alien subject to a final order of deportation, without consent, including by “a necessary and reasonable amount of force.”2c. While addressed to “All ICE Personnel,” in practice the May 12 Memo has not been formally distributed to all personnel. Instead, the May 12 Memo has been provided to select DHS officials who are then directed to verbally brief the new policy for action. Those supervisors then show the Memo to some employees, like our clients, and direct them to read the Memo and return it to the supervisor.
January 21, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
lpeblog.bsky.social
Today, @jocelynsimonson.bsky.social and @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social challenge the idea that law review articles should conclude with a set of actionable prescriptions.

This convention, they argue, constrains ambition, sidelines critique, and conflates near-term feasibility with rigor.
Beyond Feasibility in Legal Scholarship
Law review articles are expected to conclude with a short section, often “Part IV,” that translates analysis into actionable prescriptions. Though well-intentioned, this convention constrains ambition...
lpeproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Adam Davidson
burness.bsky.social
Pay for prison labor—labor that is in many cases mandatory or coerced, hence the popular argument that this is modern slavery—are so incredibly low that they’d be illegal in any other setting.

Read @prisonjournalism.bsky.social on Tennessee’s 1st tiny (literal pennies) prison wage hike in 33 years:
Tennessee’s First Prison Pay Raise in at Least 33 Years Isn’t Enough
The new salaries are still not enough for us to afford items from the prison commissary.
prisonjournalismproject.org
January 18, 2026 at 6:38 PM