Ilya Somin (George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School) has posted Immigration is Not Invasion on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In recent years, state governments and the second Trump Administration have increasingly advanced the argument that illegal migration and cross-border drug-smuggling qualify as “invasion” under the Constitution, and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA). If these arguments are accepted by courts, or if they rule the issue is committed to the unreviewable discretion of the executive, the consequences will be dire.

Eduardo Luis Espinal De Aza (Espinal, Almonte & Rich, Consultores Legales) has posted Legal Automation and Multijurisdictional Normative Verification: A Proposal Based on Artificial Intelligence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper presents an innovative proposal for the automation of legal processes through artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on normative verification and the automatic adaptation of legal documents in multijurisdictional environments.

Roger Cotterrell (Queen Mary University of London, School of Law) has posted New Meanings for an Old Debate (Journal of Law and Society, volume 52, issue S1, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper is part of a symposium revisiting the Cotterrell-Nelken debate published in 1998 in the Journal of Law and Society. Cotterrell's paper 'Why Must Legal Ideas Be Interpreted Sociologically?' presented an argument about methods of juristic inquiry, rather than about the nature of sociology of law.

Nicholas Godfrey (Queensland University of Technology) & Ted M. Sichelman (University of San Diego School of Law) have posted Legal Entanglement on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which two physical systems are correlated in such a way that they appear to instantaneously affect one another, regardless of the distance between them. As commonly understood, Bell's Theorem famously demonstrates that any causal explanation of entanglement must discard either locality (the principle that nothing, including information, travels faster than light) or classical notions of realism (or both).

Brian Z. Tamanaha (Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law) has posted Lessons Learned from the Trump Rule of Law Stress Test: Beware Bad Faith Actors on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The second Trump Administration has engaged in a vast swath of actions that press against the outer boundaries of legality. These actions provide a unique opportunity to identify potential vulnerabilities and expose how the rule of law can be undermined.

Stephen J. Choi (New York University School of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)) & Mitu Gulati (University of Virginia School of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)) have posted Trump v. Biden Judges on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Curious about the merits of judges Donald Trump appointed in his first term as president, we looked in an earlier study at the performance during 2020 to mid-2023 of the judges Trump appointed as compared to those appointed by other presidents.

The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law

Manoj Mate (University at Buffalo Law School) has posted Voids of Constitutional Law (forthcoming, 59 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES LAW REVIEW _ (2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Although the U.S. Constitution has long been held out as a model for a particular type of constitutionalism, recent developments have drawn attention to those aspects of the U.S. legal order that are marked by the absence or avoidance of application of substantive law.

Madhav Khosla (Columbia University - Law School) & Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Center for Policy Research (India); Princeton University) have posted Caste Formalism: The Law and Politics of Equality in India on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article studies the evolution of “reservations” in India—one of the most extensive affirmative action programs globally. It argues that the reservations scheme has, over time, come to embody a distinct kind of formalism, namely caste formalism.

Sangeeta Desarda has posted Judicial Control Over Administrative Action on SSRN. Here is the abstract:: The concept of judicial control over administrative action lies at the heart of a constitutional democracy. It serves as a safeguard against arbitrary, unjust, or unconstitutional exercise of power by administrative authorities. In India, the growth of administrative law in the mid-twentieth century was driven by the expanding role of the State in governance, social welfare, and regulation.

In his Youngstown opinion and his unpublished book on FDR, Robert Jackson reflected on how public opinion shaped and constrained executive authority. One of his points was that presidents could act…

The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law

Introduction Law students quickly learn that the interpretation of legal texts is an important component of legal practice.  Legal disputes frequently turn on the meaning of a contract, will, rule, regulation, statute, or constitutional provision.  How do we determine the meaning of legal texts?  One possibility is that judges could consult their linguistic intuitions.  Another possibility is the use of dictionaries. 

The Blog of the Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism at the University of San Diego School of Law

The Legal Thoery Bookworm recommends Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy by Judith Resnik. Here is a description: An original transatlantic history of the invention of the corrections profession and of ensuing debates about punishment’s purposes and prisoners’ rights. Impermissible Punishments explores the history of punishment inside prisons and how governments grappled with obligations to justify the punishments they impose.

The Download of the Week is Utopian Constitutionalism by Rosalind Dixon  & David Landau. Here is the abstract: An extensive literature examines transformative constitutionalism: the growing tendency of constitutions around the world, especially in the global south, to seek to transform politics and society to reduce poverty, increase inequality, and achieve other goals. Transformative constitutionalists emphasize the creation of newer rights, including economic and social rights, environmental rights, digital rights, and beyond, as key instruments.

Bernardo Cortese (Università di Padova, Dipartimento di Diritto Pubblico, Internazionale e Comunitario) has posted Transformative power of (EU) law... tema con variazioni (J.J. Piernas López (Ed.), The transformative power of EU Law, Aranzadi La Ley, 2025, pp. 181-197) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The contribution, part of the TEULP research project at the University of Murcia, addresses the issue of the transformative power of European Union law by examining it through two different theoretical perspectives: the formal one proposed by Poul Kjaer and the substantive or “transformative instrumentalist” one by Ioannis Kampourakis.

That’s Thucydides on the cover! Readers will know some of the distinguished scholars kindly endorsing the book, but may not know the first two: Michel Troper is the preeminent French legal re…

V. Krishna Saraswat has posted The Citational Cartography of Power: A Post-Colonial Semiotics of the Indian Supreme Court on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper examines a fundamental tension in Indian constitutional practice: the Supreme Court’s continued reliance on Western legal frameworks despite India’s rich and distinct juridical heritage. Through detailed analysis of fifty landmark judgments delivered between 1950 and 2020, this study identifies a persistent "citational asymmetry"—a systematic judicial preference for Anglo-American jurists that marginalizes Indian legal thought, from classical dharmaśāstra to contemporary theorists.

Michael W. McConnell (Stanford Law School) has posted Against Bad Originalism on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Jonathan Gienapp's book, Against Constitutional Originalism, provides excellent critiques of some features of academic originalist theory, but the title is a misnomer. Highly recommended.

Madhav Khosla (Columbia University - Law School) & Pratap Bhanu Mehta (Center for Policy Research (India); Princeton University) have posted Caste Formalism: The Law and Politics of Equality in India on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article studies the evolution of “reservations” in India—one of the most extensive affirmative action programs globally. It argues that the reservations scheme has, over time, come to embody a distinct kind of formalism, namely caste formalism.

Christine Kexel Chabot (Marquette University - Law School) has posted The Interstitial Executive: A View from the Founding on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court appears poised to recognize a unitary executive President with power to override statutory removal restrictions for almost all principal officers in the executive branch. The core unitary claim is that Article II vests “the executive power in a President of the United States,” and that the President therefore has exclusive control over all exercises of executive power by subordinate officers.

Andrzej Porębski (Jagiellonian University) & Jakub Figura (Jagiellonian University in Krakow - Faculty of Law and Administration) have posted There Is No Such Thing As Conscious Artificial Intelligence (Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, volume 12, issue 1, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The claim that so-called artificial intelligence (AI) can gain consciousness is on the verge of becoming mainstream.