Use of incendiary weapons to target military objectives in civilian populated areas is prohibited given their indiscriminate effects and causing unnecessary suffering even if Israeli hasn't signed up to CCW Protocol III
I gave the commencement speech at Meghan Markle’s college graduation.
Now on SSRN, the draft I've been teasing forever on here: Law and Petro-Masculinity. I would be so grateful for feedback on this piece from the brilliant law and climate communities on Bluesky!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
So well deserved! Congrats!
Snow dog snow days
I wrote on the shameful situation re: the recession of a deanship to Emily Suski at the University of Arkansas Law. What was the reason? Prof. Suski signed an amicus brief supporting trans rights. The Arkansas legislators admitted that was it! Horrible outcome. ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
“Divided Loyalties,” forthcoming in Vol. 83 of the Washington & Lee Law Review @wlulaw.bsky.social. It examines conflicts-of-interest that arise between defense counsel and the accused based on counsel’s personal interests. Draft on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... Feedback welcome 🙏🏾
Another new article of mine is officially out: “(Re)Individualizing Criminal Law,” (67 B.C L. Rev. 255 (2026): lnkd.in/eR9eF7Fv Abstract 👇 & v. short 🧵
1/6
Silhouette of four people sitting on the ground looking up towards a sunset.
Restoring Justice
This Article advances a comprehensive doctrinal case for recognizing restorative justice as a #humanright.
Authors: Rachel López, Meredith Elizalde, Kempis Songster
Read More: spkl.io/63321AQUB1
@rlopez.bsky.social
Working on Restoring Justice kept me grounded this past year, so I share it w/ excitement & some nervousness.
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
I’m sure this is quite powerful and will take me some time to read through while reflecting and annotating.
Please consider reading and sharing
Time for an old-school #legalwriting thread crowdsourcing all of the lawyers on here. I'm interested in what you think about law student use of generative AI in writing samples. If you are hiring students, do you think about this? Do you care? 1/2
That's so cool that you were part of an RJ clinic! I would love to know what you think if you do have the chance to read it. It has been a really meaningful experience to be a part of it.
This is still very much draft and we welcome your feedback. You can download it here for free: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
We argue that just as those condemned to die in prison retain the right to hope for redemption, victims, too, retain the right to hope that those who caused profound harm can transform. This right would require states to facilitate restorative justice just as they facilitate criminal punishment.
We were often asked: What about victims’ rights? Here we address that question. Meredith describes her pursuit of RJ w/ those responsible & the barriers she faced. From there, we develop a critique of punitive victimhood, which recognizes victims’ rights only when they seek criminal punishment.
That article helped catalyze Participatory Law Scholarship—legal scholarship co-authored with people whose expertise comes from lived experience of law’s injustice—and contributed to advocacy that resulted in death by incarceration being recognized as a human rights violation.
By way of background, it is a companion piece to Redeeming Justice, which was co-authored with Kempis Songster and Terrell Woolfolk, who were sentenced to die in prison, and argued for a right to redemption linked to the existing human right to hope.
Working on Restoring Justice kept me grounded this past year, so I share it w/ excitement & some nervousness.
Written w/ Meredith Elizalde, whose son Nick was killed in a shooting at his high school, we argue for a right to restorative justice.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Awesome! Congratulations!
Congratulations! You have so much to celebrate already this year! 😀
My latest, "Free Exercise and the Redistribution of Liberty," is now posted (and forthcoming in @yalelawjournal.bsky.social). It argues that free exercise doctrine uses selective market logic to redistribute both public resources and liberty itself.
Comments welcome: papers.ssrn.com/abstract=618...
Just wait for Bruce.
Legal history people: the ASLH conference will be in the Canadian Rockies in Nov.2026! Panel proposals are due March 24, 2026. The Call links to google sheets where you can find co-panelists & chair-commentators 👇 You can @ me if you're looking for fellow panelists, too.
Hope it was a great show! I feel like I’m in hibernation mode so really impressed that you made it out!
🤤
On the streets of Philadelphia
despite The Horrors™ I have a regular ass job to do so on that note are there any kind academics out there that would be willing to share grant applications with me
