The case of Umphress v. Hall is ripe with teachable moments, and Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone gladly took the bait in a recent two-part series of articles published at Justia Verdict. The case involves a judge in Texas who is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the Fifth Circuit because he refuses to perform same-sex […]
Executive orders from the White House targeting law firms have disrupted Big Law firms; however, many firms have negotiated deals with the administration so as to be removed from its blacklist. Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar write at Justia Verdict that there is not “much doubt that the executive orders are blatant violations of […]
Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone describe the Fourteenth Amendment as perhaps the most important piece of law enacted anywhere in the world over the last two centuries. In their defense of the birthright citizenship clause, the authors suggest that criticisms of the clause in support of President Trump’s executive order […]
Are state executive officials in Pennsylvania are allowed, under the state constitution, to decline to enforce a statutory provision if the executive officials conclude that the provision violates the state’s highest law, the state constitution? That’s the primary concern of a new article by Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone. Writing at Justia Verdict, the pair […]
Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone take aim at the perception that the Supreme Court has taken a hard-right turn in their latest article written for Justia Verdict. “In the current term, at least, the Court has not been consistently conservative in a partisan way. Nor has the Court been particularly aggressive in taking up […]
After a North Carolina high school student was suspended for using the term “illegal alien” in an assignment, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone look closely at the First Amendment issues arising from the situation. In a two-part series on Justia Verdict, the authors break down the case as if it were being presented before […]
By a 6-3 decision in the case of SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court ruled defendants are entitled to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment in cases of federal agencies seeking civil penalties for alleged fraud. The decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, places new limits on the ability of federal agencies to […]
In early 2024, a federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Disney Corporation against Florida officials for alleged retaliation against Disney’s opposition to certain Florida laws and policies by altering the board that regulates the land where Disney World is located. Professors Vikram Amar, Jason Mazzone, and Lena Shapiro collaborated in an […]
A recent lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee and other plaintiffs challenges Mississippi’s practice of counting mail-in ballots received within five business days after “Election Day.” This practice, similar to elections in other states, could face major disruption if the lawsuit succeeds, affecting the upcoming congressional and presidential elections. Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Vikram […]
Writing in the New York Times, columnist Jamelle Bouie writes that former President Donald Trump’s actions make him an insurrectionist by any reasonable definition and that the Supreme Court should uphold Colorado’s decision to bar him from the ballot. To support his case, he cites extensively from an amicus brief submitted the Supreme Court by […]