Chad Oldfather
@oldfatherc.bsky.social
Marquette lawprof / State & fed con law, judicial process / Deeply Minnesotan / Out now: Judges, Judging, & Judgment (Cambridge U Press 2025) / Next: Glacial Morainebilly Elegy (placeholder title / about growing up rural in Tim Walz’s neck of the woods)
Pinned
Chad Oldfather
@oldfatherc.bsky.social
· Dec 15
Just a heads up that I plan to be annoying as hell when my book is published. At least if you’re following along closely.
(Have I mentioned that it’s available for preorder?)
(Have I mentioned that it’s available for preorder?)
There's lots of uncertainty in the world these days, but I can report that one thing remains constant:
No matter which variation of decisionmaking/decision making/decision-making one has used in a draft, one's publisher will, as a matter of inflexible policy, insist on a different variation.
No matter which variation of decisionmaking/decision making/decision-making one has used in a draft, one's publisher will, as a matter of inflexible policy, insist on a different variation.
October 11, 2025 at 5:08 PM
There's lots of uncertainty in the world these days, but I can report that one thing remains constant:
No matter which variation of decisionmaking/decision making/decision-making one has used in a draft, one's publisher will, as a matter of inflexible policy, insist on a different variation.
No matter which variation of decisionmaking/decision making/decision-making one has used in a draft, one's publisher will, as a matter of inflexible policy, insist on a different variation.
Reposted by Chad Oldfather
Liberals say the Supreme Court had destroyed our democracy. They're wrong—it has destroyed our Republic.
September 10, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Liberals say the Supreme Court had destroyed our democracy. They're wrong—it has destroyed our Republic.
Prince used to do impromptu shows at Paisley Park. Total word of mouth affairs, but you knew it was gonna be a late night. One night I had good info that a show was gonna happen. But some work thing the next day seemed more important. Bad call.
Also, missing Tom Waits.
Also, missing Tom Waits.
What is your biggest concert... miss?
I missed seeing Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine in Birmingham, Alabama by a day as I was visiting my dad on spring break in high school, and the day they played - the day I found out about it - was the day I went home. Wanna say there was a good opener too.
I missed seeing Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine in Birmingham, Alabama by a day as I was visiting my dad on spring break in high school, and the day they played - the day I found out about it - was the day I went home. Wanna say there was a good opener too.
August 28, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Prince used to do impromptu shows at Paisley Park. Total word of mouth affairs, but you knew it was gonna be a late night. One night I had good info that a show was gonna happen. But some work thing the next day seemed more important. Bad call.
Also, missing Tom Waits.
Also, missing Tom Waits.
"My main job this morning is to point out to you that it is not yet too late to withdraw."
I gave my section of 1Ls their first taste of the law-school classroom this morning. Doing that always reminds me of Karl Llewellyn's 1957 introductory lecture, which is worth a listen:
I gave my section of 1Ls their first taste of the law-school classroom this morning. Doing that always reminds me of Karl Llewellyn's 1957 introductory lecture, which is worth a listen:
Karl Llewellyn, "Elements of the Law - Introductory Lecture" | University of Chicago Law School
www.law.uchicago.edu
August 22, 2025 at 7:48 PM
"My main job this morning is to point out to you that it is not yet too late to withdraw."
I gave my section of 1Ls their first taste of the law-school classroom this morning. Doing that always reminds me of Karl Llewellyn's 1957 introductory lecture, which is worth a listen:
I gave my section of 1Ls their first taste of the law-school classroom this morning. Doing that always reminds me of Karl Llewellyn's 1957 introductory lecture, which is worth a listen:
If you’re looking for rules to live by, allow me to suggest “Stop at every lemonade stand.”
(Photo at a distance to respect the privacy of the grandmother helping her two young granddaughters sell lemonade to raise money for Milwaukee public schools.)
(Photo at a distance to respect the privacy of the grandmother helping her two young granddaughters sell lemonade to raise money for Milwaukee public schools.)
August 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If you’re looking for rules to live by, allow me to suggest “Stop at every lemonade stand.”
(Photo at a distance to respect the privacy of the grandmother helping her two young granddaughters sell lemonade to raise money for Milwaukee public schools.)
(Photo at a distance to respect the privacy of the grandmother helping her two young granddaughters sell lemonade to raise money for Milwaukee public schools.)
The landscape of my youth, under a Canadian-wildfire-created haze.
August 1, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The landscape of my youth, under a Canadian-wildfire-created haze.
"There may be no city with more urbanist strengths on offer but less attention than Milwaukee."
"Might be the most underrated urbanist gem in America."
A pretty fair overview of the situation here, I'd say. There's plenty of work still to be done, but this town's got some really good bones.
"Might be the most underrated urbanist gem in America."
A pretty fair overview of the situation here, I'd say. There's plenty of work still to be done, but this town's got some really good bones.
Milwaukee: America's Most Underrated Urbanist City?
YouTube video by Heartland Urbanist
www.youtube.com
July 21, 2025 at 6:09 PM
"There may be no city with more urbanist strengths on offer but less attention than Milwaukee."
"Might be the most underrated urbanist gem in America."
A pretty fair overview of the situation here, I'd say. There's plenty of work still to be done, but this town's got some really good bones.
"Might be the most underrated urbanist gem in America."
A pretty fair overview of the situation here, I'd say. There's plenty of work still to be done, but this town's got some really good bones.
I'm talking to Milwaukee Public TV this morning about Chief Justice William Rehnquist. His boyhood home is just a few blocks from where I live, and I often walk the dogs down that street.
This is from a yard across the street and a few houses down. Definite vibe shift on Prospect Ave since the 40s.
This is from a yard across the street and a few houses down. Definite vibe shift on Prospect Ave since the 40s.
July 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I'm talking to Milwaukee Public TV this morning about Chief Justice William Rehnquist. His boyhood home is just a few blocks from where I live, and I often walk the dogs down that street.
This is from a yard across the street and a few houses down. Definite vibe shift on Prospect Ave since the 40s.
This is from a yard across the street and a few houses down. Definite vibe shift on Prospect Ave since the 40s.
Fun fact:
The phrase "torch wielding mob" yields 71 hits in Google Scholar.
And only two* in Westlaw's Law Reviews & Journals database.
*By the close of 2025 it'll be (at least) three.
The phrase "torch wielding mob" yields 71 hits in Google Scholar.
And only two* in Westlaw's Law Reviews & Journals database.
*By the close of 2025 it'll be (at least) three.
June 16, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Fun fact:
The phrase "torch wielding mob" yields 71 hits in Google Scholar.
And only two* in Westlaw's Law Reviews & Journals database.
*By the close of 2025 it'll be (at least) three.
The phrase "torch wielding mob" yields 71 hits in Google Scholar.
And only two* in Westlaw's Law Reviews & Journals database.
*By the close of 2025 it'll be (at least) three.
Reposted by Chad Oldfather
"This is a song about feudalism and 18th-century European primogeniture and their combined effects on modern American redneck culture."
It's also a pretty good song.
It's also a pretty good song.
James McMurtry and Betty Soo-Sons of the Second Sons-Ironhorse Northampton MA 20240911
YouTube video by nnmvt videos
youtu.be
June 12, 2025 at 12:46 PM
"This is a song about feudalism and 18th-century European primogeniture and their combined effects on modern American redneck culture."
It's also a pretty good song.
It's also a pretty good song.
Recently reminded of just how strongly positive an impression the brick sidewalks of Cambridge made on my young Midwestern soul several decades ago.
Glad I don’t have to shovel them, though.
Glad I don’t have to shovel them, though.
June 11, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Recently reminded of just how strongly positive an impression the brick sidewalks of Cambridge made on my young Midwestern soul several decades ago.
Glad I don’t have to shovel them, though.
Glad I don’t have to shovel them, though.
Reposted by Chad Oldfather
We need to build some real social stigma around being afraid of cities. You don't have to like them or live there, but a politics built this strongly around watching TV and going "ewww" is embarrassing, and people should be embarrassed by it. It's like "fear of werewolves" being your top issue.
June 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
We need to build some real social stigma around being afraid of cities. You don't have to like them or live there, but a politics built this strongly around watching TV and going "ewww" is embarrassing, and people should be embarrassed by it. It's like "fear of werewolves" being your top issue.
Reposted by Chad Oldfather
Lots of talk today about the demise of BlueSky. For whatever it's worth, it's been a boon to indie publishers like us. Twitter and Facebook have pretty much silenced us, so the engagement here has, and continues to be, wonderful.
June 8, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Lots of talk today about the demise of BlueSky. For whatever it's worth, it's been a boon to indie publishers like us. Twitter and Facebook have pretty much silenced us, so the engagement here has, and continues to be, wonderful.
Now that I’m all the way through it:
(1) This is one of the best articles on con law/theory (or anti-theory) I have ever read,
(2) could this be where Justice Douglas got the “penumbra” idea?, and
(3) damn you, Karl Llewellyn, for anticipating every single thought I have ever had.
(1) This is one of the best articles on con law/theory (or anti-theory) I have ever read,
(2) could this be where Justice Douglas got the “penumbra” idea?, and
(3) damn you, Karl Llewellyn, for anticipating every single thought I have ever had.
A colleague once shared with me that the author of one of the letters supporting my promotion to full prof invoked Karl Llewellyn in describing my work.
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
June 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Now that I’m all the way through it:
(1) This is one of the best articles on con law/theory (or anti-theory) I have ever read,
(2) could this be where Justice Douglas got the “penumbra” idea?, and
(3) damn you, Karl Llewellyn, for anticipating every single thought I have ever had.
(1) This is one of the best articles on con law/theory (or anti-theory) I have ever read,
(2) could this be where Justice Douglas got the “penumbra” idea?, and
(3) damn you, Karl Llewellyn, for anticipating every single thought I have ever had.
Imagine Google’s surprise when I finished the query with “a Delta Sky Club member.”
June 5, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Imagine Google’s surprise when I finished the query with “a Delta Sky Club member.”
I share a great many of Warner’s criticisms of elite educational institutions in general and Harvard in particular, even as I’m about to attend my [inconceivably large number]th reunion at the place that transformed my life in a way that few others could.
But yup—None of that justifies any of this.
But yup—None of that justifies any of this.
June 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I share a great many of Warner’s criticisms of elite educational institutions in general and Harvard in particular, even as I’m about to attend my [inconceivably large number]th reunion at the place that transformed my life in a way that few others could.
But yup—None of that justifies any of this.
But yup—None of that justifies any of this.
“A man’s ethics are modeled on the conditions of his grandfather’s time.”
Llewellyn attributes this to Veblen, and it must be a paraphrase because I can find no other reference to it.
But I’m intrigued…
Llewellyn attributes this to Veblen, and it must be a paraphrase because I can find no other reference to it.
But I’m intrigued…
June 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“A man’s ethics are modeled on the conditions of his grandfather’s time.”
Llewellyn attributes this to Veblen, and it must be a paraphrase because I can find no other reference to it.
But I’m intrigued…
Llewellyn attributes this to Veblen, and it must be a paraphrase because I can find no other reference to it.
But I’m intrigued…
Reposting because see my pinned post about being annoying as hell.
All I’m saying is:
(1) Yesterday at a conference two esteemed academics referred unprompted to the concept of “Chad Oldfather judges.”
(2) The preferred nomenclature is actually “Oldfatherian jurists.”
(3) You can still get your copy of my book for 20 percent off by using JJJ2024 here:
(1) Yesterday at a conference two esteemed academics referred unprompted to the concept of “Chad Oldfather judges.”
(2) The preferred nomenclature is actually “Oldfatherian jurists.”
(3) You can still get your copy of my book for 20 percent off by using JJJ2024 here:
Judges, Judging, and Judgment | Cambridge University Press & Assessment
www.cambridge.org
June 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposting because see my pinned post about being annoying as hell.
A colleague once shared with me that the author of one of the letters supporting my promotion to full prof invoked Karl Llewellyn in describing my work.
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
June 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A colleague once shared with me that the author of one of the letters supporting my promotion to full prof invoked Karl Llewellyn in describing my work.
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
I’m a dollar-store version at best, for sure, but one page into this piece (which I’d somehow missed) the shoe still seems to fit:
Finally, some unqualifiedly good news:
“those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven eight-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy aging that were 13 percent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day)”
“those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven eight-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy aging that were 13 percent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day)”
That Cup of Coffee May Have a Longer-Term Perk
www.nytimes.com
June 3, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Finally, some unqualifiedly good news:
“those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven eight-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy aging that were 13 percent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day)”
“those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven eight-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy aging that were 13 percent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day)”
As a hiring chair, I will be very happy if this works. There may be some schools that start earlier, but this seems early enough in the semester for that not to matter much. And with luck it will force candidates who aren’t serious about living in a highly underrated city to decline our invitation.
AALS announces it is recreating the Marriott Wardman Park, but on Zoom. A great decision: benefits of coordinating market timeline without hassle/expense of travel!
June 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
As a hiring chair, I will be very happy if this works. There may be some schools that start earlier, but this seems early enough in the semester for that not to matter much. And with luck it will force candidates who aren’t serious about living in a highly underrated city to decline our invitation.
Update: I am apparently the sort of person who gets a little choked up at the end of a biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
June 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Update: I am apparently the sort of person who gets a little choked up at the end of a biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Amen to this.
The true crisis of our age is the absence of citations. In takes, in chatbots, on social media. Random unsubstantiated assertions should be limited to diners and bars. All hail the bibliographic trail.
June 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Amen to this.
Area professor stumbles on new metaphor for teaching law.
June 1, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Area professor stumbles on new metaphor for teaching law.