Pinned
Lynda Dodd
@ldodd.bsky.social
· Dec 5
The Case Against Despair in Trump’s Second Term
David Cole, the former legal director of the ACLU, believes that civil society helped protect the Constitution before and will do so again.
www.theatlantic.com
David Cole on the role of civil society as the "ultimate protector" defending democracy and the Constitution:
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
"I have faith in [civil society's] power and resilience."
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
This is a really rich, insightful article ⤵️ + a nice pairing with the Tanner Lectures this week at Princeton. Looking forward to @davidcole-gtown.bsky.social's lectures, with responses by Catharine MacKinnon and others. uchv.princeton.edu/events/tanne...
Over the last 10 months, the federal government has cracked down on political expression with a persistence and viciousness reminiscent of some of the darkest periods of U.S. history. Welcome to the Third Red Scare.
The First Amendment Won’t Go Quietly
Welcome to the third Red Scare.
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:31 PM
This is a really rich, insightful article ⤵️ + a nice pairing with the Tanner Lectures this week at Princeton. Looking forward to @davidcole-gtown.bsky.social's lectures, with responses by Catharine MacKinnon and others. uchv.princeton.edu/events/tanne...
Great explainer about the need for a Bivens fix!
For the one and only @legaleagle.tv, I had the pleasure of writing and hosting an explainer on why we’re not seeing a deluge of lawsuits against ICE agents over clearly unconstitutional behavior.
And how that can be fixed.
youtu.be/fktQUIkf6o0?...
And how that can be fixed.
youtu.be/fktQUIkf6o0?...
5 Words to Fix ICE
YouTube video by LegalEagle
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Great explainer about the need for a Bivens fix!
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Gifting this article from The Atlantic by a judge appointed by Reagan, who is resigning so he can speak out about how Trump is destroying the rule of law. Must read.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Resigning
A federal judge explains his reasoning for leaving the bench.
www.theatlantic.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Gifting this article from The Atlantic by a judge appointed by Reagan, who is resigning so he can speak out about how Trump is destroying the rule of law. Must read.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Excellent review of Jill Lepore’s We the People by @garrettepps.bsky.social in @washingtonmonthly.com. The closing lines are especially powerful:
November 10, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Excellent review of Jill Lepore’s We the People by @garrettepps.bsky.social in @washingtonmonthly.com. The closing lines are especially powerful:
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Thanks for reposting this article @ldodd.bsky.social! Section 2 of the 19th authorizes Congress to enforce the 19th. While legislation was introduced in 1920, it was never enacted. It’s time for Dems to introduce such legislation as a defensive move. @alsobrooks.senate.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov
Important and very troubling overview about moves within the conservative movement that should be taken seriously. ⤵️
Some on the far right want to repeal the 19th amendment. Many more share a coercive, patriarchal view of women.
I wrote about this and how the far right sees subjugating women as key to building the sort of electorate they need to win. @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
I wrote about this and how the far right sees subjugating women as key to building the sort of electorate they need to win. @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
November 9, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Thanks for reposting this article @ldodd.bsky.social! Section 2 of the 19th authorizes Congress to enforce the 19th. While legislation was introduced in 1920, it was never enacted. It’s time for Dems to introduce such legislation as a defensive move. @alsobrooks.senate.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
A new report released by @aaup.org and @mesa1966.bsky.social offers the first systematic empirical study of government investigations and private lawsuits against US colleges and universities alleging antisemitism under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Middle East Studies Association
New report from MESA and AAUP: “Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine,” which is the first systematic empirical study of governmen...
mesana.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
A new report released by @aaup.org and @mesa1966.bsky.social offers the first systematic empirical study of government investigations and private lawsuits against US colleges and universities alleging antisemitism under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
ICYMI: The Nov. 2025 Harvard Law Rev. Forum includes a thoughtful & timely analysis of Title VI by leading antidiscrimination law scholars, @beidelson.bsky.social & @hellmandeborah.bsky.social, "Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, & Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed." harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-13...
Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed - Harvard Law Review
The past eighteen months have seen an unprecedented wave of claims by public officials and private plaintiffs that universities are violating their legal obligations...
harvardlawreview.org
November 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM
ICYMI: The Nov. 2025 Harvard Law Rev. Forum includes a thoughtful & timely analysis of Title VI by leading antidiscrimination law scholars, @beidelson.bsky.social & @hellmandeborah.bsky.social, "Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, & Title VI: A Guide for the Perplexed." harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-13...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Young women voters under the age of 29 logged soaring support for Democrats in races across the country, cementing them as the most Democratic voting group in the country by age and gender. https://bit.ly/3LAHNcN
November 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Young women voters under the age of 29 logged soaring support for Democrats in races across the country, cementing them as the most Democratic voting group in the country by age and gender. https://bit.ly/3LAHNcN
Important and very troubling overview about moves within the conservative movement that should be taken seriously. ⤵️
Some on the far right want to repeal the 19th amendment. Many more share a coercive, patriarchal view of women.
I wrote about this and how the far right sees subjugating women as key to building the sort of electorate they need to win. @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
I wrote about this and how the far right sees subjugating women as key to building the sort of electorate they need to win. @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
Women Should Make Babies, Not Vote: Why Some on the Far Right Want to Repeal the 19th Amendment
The far right takes losses at the ballot box as evidence that women do not deserve their rights.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Important and very troubling overview about moves within the conservative movement that should be taken seriously. ⤵️
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
As federal immigration enforcement agents carry out widespread immigration raids throughout the country, their actions are increasingly facing scrutiny. @bgodar.bsky.social evaluates whether federal officials who violate state criminal law are immune from state prosecution.
Are Federal Officials Immune From State Prosecution?
Contrary to recent assertions, federal officers do not have blanket immunity from criminal prosecutions brought by states.
www.lawfaremedia.org
November 6, 2025 at 3:40 PM
As federal immigration enforcement agents carry out widespread immigration raids throughout the country, their actions are increasingly facing scrutiny. @bgodar.bsky.social evaluates whether federal officials who violate state criminal law are immune from state prosecution.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature.
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
November 5, 2025 at 6:46 AM
The Illinois legislature had passed the “Illinois Bivens Act,” allowing people to sue ICE agents in state court. Just waiting for Pritzker’s signature.
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/11/03/c...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
October 24, 2025 at 2:56 PM
#NoKings Day in Princeton! ❌👑 Enormous, peaceful crowd. Great signs and energy. And I loved that George Washington was looking down over us.
bsky.app/profile/mg-m...
bsky.app/profile/mg-m...
October 19, 2025 at 10:46 AM
#NoKings Day in Princeton! ❌👑 Enormous, peaceful crowd. Great signs and energy. And I loved that George Washington was looking down over us.
bsky.app/profile/mg-m...
bsky.app/profile/mg-m...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
SCOTUS spent Wednesday morning trying to figure out a way to legalize racial gerrymandering. trib.al/7sBZKUS
The justices appeared to single out Section 2, which (if gutted) would largely wipe out Black congressional representation in the South—at a scale unseen since the end of Reconstruction.
The justices appeared to single out Section 2, which (if gutted) would largely wipe out Black congressional representation in the South—at a scale unseen since the end of Reconstruction.
October 17, 2025 at 12:36 AM
SCOTUS spent Wednesday morning trying to figure out a way to legalize racial gerrymandering. trib.al/7sBZKUS
The justices appeared to single out Section 2, which (if gutted) would largely wipe out Black congressional representation in the South—at a scale unseen since the end of Reconstruction.
The justices appeared to single out Section 2, which (if gutted) would largely wipe out Black congressional representation in the South—at a scale unseen since the end of Reconstruction.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Early Signs from Oral Argument in Callais Suggest that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in Real Trouble electionlawblog.org?p=152536
Early Signs from Oral Argument in Callais Suggest that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in Real Trouble #ELB
As I explained back in August, the Supreme Court reached and and in the most opaque way on a late Friday afternoon in mid-summer, the Court turned a ho-hum racial gerrymandering case where the court h...
electionlawblog.org
October 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Early Signs from Oral Argument in Callais Suggest that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is in Real Trouble electionlawblog.org?p=152536
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
In this morning’s oral argument in Callais, #SCOTUS ’s conservative Justices turned a blind eye to a core part of the Fifteenth Amendment’s text and history. Read more from @davidhgans.bsky.social: www.theusconstitution.org/news/cac-rel...
CAC Release: The Continuing Assault on the Voting Rights Act Is Back at the Supreme Court | Constitutional Accountability Center
WASHINGTON, DC – Following oral argument at the Supreme Court this morning in Louisiana v. Callais on whether to reverse a district court decision that held unconstitutional the map the Louisiana legi...
www.theusconstitution.org
October 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
In this morning’s oral argument in Callais, #SCOTUS ’s conservative Justices turned a blind eye to a core part of the Fifteenth Amendment’s text and history. Read more from @davidhgans.bsky.social: www.theusconstitution.org/news/cac-rel...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
How W. E. B. Du Bois responded to government policing of "anti-American" sentiment during the 1910s:
"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”
"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”
October 13, 2025 at 6:37 PM
How W. E. B. Du Bois responded to government policing of "anti-American" sentiment during the 1910s:
"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”
"I took great satisfaction in being able to sit back in my chair and answer blandly, 'We are seeking to have the Constitution of the United States thoroughly and completely enforced.' ”
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
My SCOTUS term preview for the Guardian - it focuses on the case challenging what remains of the Voting Rights Act (Callais), how that's part of a centuries-old campaign against Reconstruction, & how that's representative of several issues on the Court's docket.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
A 160-year-old campaign against civil rights heads to the supreme court
Louisiana v Callais could roll back what remains of the Voting Rights Act, putting the future of America’s multiracial democracy at stake
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:11 PM
My SCOTUS term preview for the Guardian - it focuses on the case challenging what remains of the Voting Rights Act (Callais), how that's part of a centuries-old campaign against Reconstruction, & how that's representative of several issues on the Court's docket.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
So heartwarming and encouraging to see Amanda's conversation with Justice Sotomayor! These chances for connection, gratitude, and inspiration are what it's *all* about. 🧡🖤
"We always seek to improve ourselves, and that's what Sonia stands for."
Amanda Hugas '27 joined Jenna & Friends to surprise Supreme Court Justice and Princeton alumna Sonia Sotomayor '76.
Watch the full exchange 👇
Amanda Hugas '27 joined Jenna & Friends to surprise Supreme Court Justice and Princeton alumna Sonia Sotomayor '76.
Watch the full exchange 👇
Justice Sonia Sotomayor Meets Student Following in Her Footsteps
While joining Jenna Bush Hager and guest co-host Anthony Ramos on TODAY, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gets a message from Princeton University student named Amanda who expresses her thanks for the path that Justice Sotomayor paved for her and m...
bit.ly
September 16, 2025 at 9:19 AM
So heartwarming and encouraging to see Amanda's conversation with Justice Sotomayor! These chances for connection, gratitude, and inspiration are what it's *all* about. 🧡🖤
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
"There are cases that aren't being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they've been in modern times ... Even if there's a big case and we feel really confident about it, we'll just have to pass on it."
Trump’s chilling effect on Big Law firms taking on pro bono work has “been a nightmare,” said the president of a small nonprofit that investigates civil rights violations.
“People don’t want to stand up, and because of that, people are suffering.”
“People don’t want to stand up, and because of that, people are suffering.”
Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration
Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and...
www.propublica.org
August 24, 2025 at 1:12 AM
"There are cases that aren't being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they've been in modern times ... Even if there's a big case and we feel really confident about it, we'll just have to pass on it."
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
I've covered race for two decades. I knew the 2nd Trump Admin would be dangerous for civil rights. Yet the collapse of the federal civil rights architecture and national will to address racial inequality and work on integration is stunning. Here's my latest. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/m...
How Trump Upended 60 Years of Civil Rights in Two Months
www.nytimes.com
June 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I've covered race for two decades. I knew the 2nd Trump Admin would be dangerous for civil rights. Yet the collapse of the federal civil rights architecture and national will to address racial inequality and work on integration is stunning. Here's my latest. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/m...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
One of our earliest civil rights statutes was designed to protect us against masked gangs who violate our constitutional rights. This particular history makes the masked ICE gangs uniquely repugnant. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Masked Terror
At this point, we have all seen the videos.
open.substack.com
June 24, 2025 at 9:11 PM
One of our earliest civil rights statutes was designed to protect us against masked gangs who violate our constitutional rights. This particular history makes the masked ICE gangs uniquely repugnant. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
NEWS: Senate Parliamentarian says GOP scheme to limit federal court preliminary injunctions by requiring plaintiffs challenging government actions to post large bonds cannot be part of reconciliation bill.
A victory for Democrats, rule of law and the courts and a defeat for Trump and the GOP.
A victory for Democrats, rule of law and the courts and a defeat for Trump and the GOP.
June 22, 2025 at 4:27 PM
NEWS: Senate Parliamentarian says GOP scheme to limit federal court preliminary injunctions by requiring plaintiffs challenging government actions to post large bonds cannot be part of reconciliation bill.
A victory for Democrats, rule of law and the courts and a defeat for Trump and the GOP.
A victory for Democrats, rule of law and the courts and a defeat for Trump and the GOP.
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
Reposted by Lynda Dodd
“So far, the most energetic opposition has come not from civic leaders but from everyday citizens, showing up at Congressional town hall meetings or participating in Hands Off rallies across the country.
“Our leaders must follow their example.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...
“Our leaders must follow their example.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...
Opinion | How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?
www.nytimes.com
May 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“So far, the most energetic opposition has come not from civic leaders but from everyday citizens, showing up at Congressional town hall meetings or participating in Hands Off rallies across the country.
“Our leaders must follow their example.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...
“Our leaders must follow their example.”
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/o...