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Graphic design of a red, fractured United States on a yellow background

There Is Absolutely Nothing to Support the ‘Independent State Legislature’ Theory

Such a doctrine would be antithetical to the Framers’ intent, and to the text, fundamental design, and architecture of the Constitution.
by J. Michael Luttig via The Atlantic on October 3, 2022
Photo of former African American woman, Bernette Johnson, wearing judicial robes

The Dissenter

The rise of the first Black woman on the Louisiana Supreme Court was characterized by one battle after another with the Deep South’s white power structure.
by Elon Green via The Appeal on March 2, 2021
Cartoon image of Florida Supreme Court Justices with money, beer cans, and alligators

Judges Gone Wild

Bribery! Impeachment! Drug smuggling! Gambling! Justices getting drunk in the chambers!
by Dylan Taylor-Lehman, Justin Klanke, Brendan Spiegel via Narratively on January 30, 2020

When King was Dangerous

He's remembered as a person of conscience who carefully broke unjust laws. But his challenges to state authority place him in a much different tradition: radical labor activism.
by Alex Gourevitch via Jacobin on January 21, 2019
The Ku Klux Klan parading near the Capitol Building in 1925, holding American flags.

What Felt Impossible Became Possible

George Dale's crusade against the Ku Klux Klan.
by Dan Sinker via Dan Sinker Blog on February 23, 2025
Photo of Donald Trump at a podium and pointing.

The Supreme Court Must Unanimously Strike Down Trump’s Ballot Removal

Excluding him, wrongfully, by a close vote of the Supreme Court could well trigger the next Civil War.
by Lawrence Lessig via Slate on December 20, 2023
Gen. Robt. E. Lee, 1886.

After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee Couldn't Run for President, but Trump Can?

Despite Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, a Colorado state judge stretches the word “officer,” permitting him to remain on the state’s ballot.
by Garrett Epps via Washington Monthly on November 20, 2023
A father and son stand in front of an illustration of a circular target, while the son holds a small gun.

American as Apple Pie

How marketing made guns a fundamental element of contemporary boyhood.
by Rachael Kay Albers via JSTOR Daily on October 19, 2022
Photograph of people admiring the statue dedicated to Bett Freeman.

Statue Honors Once-Enslaved Woman Who Won Freedom in Court

Bett Freeman's story and the legal precedent her case established are now forever remembered in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
by Mark Pratt via AP News on August 20, 2022
Photo collage in green and pink patterns, with a photo of Barbara Ann Richards in the center.

In the 1940s, a Trans Pioneer Fought California for Legal Recognition. This Is How She Won.

Barbara Ann Richards designed—and then demanded—the life she deserved.
by Michael Waters via Slate on March 20, 2022
White police officers arresting Black children, 1963

Rescuing MLK and His Children's Crusade

A new book traces the tactics of groundbreaking lawyer Constance Baker Motley amid pivotal protests in Birmingham.
by Tomiko Brown-Nagin via Harvard Gazette on January 13, 2022
Pro-abortion protests
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Before Roe v. Wade, U.S. Residents Sought Safer Abortions in Mexico

Transnational networks have long helped pregnant people navigate treatment options.
by Lina-Maria Murillo via Made By History on September 3, 2021
The Fuller Court

Whose Side Is the Supreme Court On?

The Supreme Court and the pursuit of racial equality.
by Randall Kennedy via The Nation on August 9, 2021
Picture of the outdoor proceedings of the Scopes Trial in 1925.

Was David Domer Canceled?

A look in on the first evolution trial.
by Adam R. Shapiro via Contingent on July 6, 2021
Julie and Hillary Goodridge talking to reporters

Why the Marriage-Equality Movement Succeeded

The author of “The Engagement" discusses the activists, politicians, and judicial figures who were at the forefront of the battle over same-sex marriage.
by Isaac Chotiner, Sasha Issenberg via The New Yorker on June 10, 2021
The Hawaii Supreme Court

The Surprising Honolulu Origins of the National Fight Over Same-Sex Marriage

A local gay rights activist launched a publicity stunt that became so much more. Congress couldn’t help but notice.
by Sasha Issenberg via Politico Magazine on May 31, 2021
A group of people at a protest holding signs in support of the Black Panthers.

Revolution Is Illegal

Orisanmi Burton reflects on the legacy of the Panther 21 on the 50th anniversary (to the day) of their acquittal.
by Orisanmi Burton via Spectre on April 21, 2021
A sign that reads "We Want White Tenants in Our White Community." Two American flags are on top of the sign.

Highway Robbery

How Detroit cops and courts steer segregation and drive incarceration.
by Jade Chowning, Erin Keith, Geoff Leonard via ArcGIS StoryMaps on June 8, 2020

A Personal Act of Reparation

The long aftermath of a North Carolina man’s decision to deed a plot of land to his former slaves.
by Kirk Savage via Lapham’s Quarterly on December 15, 2019

“A Most Damnable Fraud?” Public (Mis)conceptions and the Insanity Defense

An upcoming Supreme Court case will test the "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea.
by Steph Chevalier-Crockett via Nursing Clio on September 19, 2019
Black schoolchildren and teacher in classroom, some seated at desks, and others gathered around a model log cabin.

Who Was the First Black Child to Go to an Integrated School?

She was a high-schooler in Iowa more than 150 years ago.
by Russell Ellsworth Lovell II via The Conversation on September 10, 2019
Demonstrators protesting Trump's immigration policy toward Muslims outside the Supreme Court.
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How To Resist Bad Supreme Court Rulings

What Dred Scott teaches us about thwarting bad law.
by Martha S. Jones via Made By History on July 6, 2018
Lady Justice statue.

The Untold Story of Ordinary Black Southerners’ Litigation During the Jim Crow Era

Between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, about a thousand black southerners sued whites who had wronged them.
by Melissa Milewski via OUPblog on March 27, 2018

A Vestige of Bigotry

The Supreme Court and non-unanimous juries.
by Andrew Cohen via The Marshall Project on September 25, 2017
Welcome to Delaware sign.

Rogue State

The case against Delaware.
by Jonathan Chait via The New Republic on August 19, 2002
Broadside about the Fugitive Slave law.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: Annotated

The Fugitive Slave Act erased the most basic of constitutional rights for enslaved people and incentivized US Commissioners to support kidnappers.
by Liz Tracey via JSTOR Daily on May 19, 2025
Three Black men having a conversation.

Recovering the Forgotten Past of Black Legal Lives

Dylan C. Penningroth challenges nearly every aspect of our traditional understanding of civil rights history.
by Ajay K. Mehrotra via Los Angeles Review of Books on April 3, 2025
Strom Thurmond speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of Ed Carnes' confirmation to the bench.

The Fight for Justice Starts with Blocking Judges Who Are “Tough on Crime”

The story of how Ed Carnes became a judge offers crucial lessons for those who hope to unwind the policies of mass incarceration.
by Robert L. Tsai via Public Books on November 13, 2024
A monkey listening to a radio with headphones.

The Scopes Trial and the Two Visions of US Democracy

A new history revisits “the Trial of the Century” and its legacy in contemporary politics.
by Michael Kazin via The Nation on September 30, 2024
John Roberts, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and a statue of Lady Justice between them.

There’s a New Lewis Powell Memo, and It’s Wildly Racist

One young conservative lawyer would lead a determined fight to maintain Lewis Powell’s blindfolded race neutrality.
by David Daley via Slate on August 6, 2024
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