Latest Posts:
Film Review: Conclave (2024)
There is a remarkable moment in Edward Berger’s film Conclave in which Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, the Dean of the Conclave of Cardinals assembled to elect a new Pope, sits on
Fish At Work: b.Sanhedrin 59
If you like nerding out on legal interpretation principles, today’s your day and b.Sanhedrin 59 is your page! In a nice, self-contained argument, the sages debate two important legal principles.
Other People’s Families: b.Sanhedrin 58
Today’s page continues the peculiar conversation about the legal obligations that the Torah places on people who presumably have nothing to do with the Torah: gentiles, who according to the
Noah’s Well-Behaved Sons: b.Sanhedrin 57
In the previous page, the sages started discussing whether death sentences for various transgressions apply to non-Jews as well, leading them to reexamine and carefully delineate the scope of the
What Fresh Heaven Is This?
We’re already on Page 56 and I realized that I haven’t provided a sufficient introduction to what I’m doing with this project, so here’s a belated introduction. One of the
Freedom of No Speech
You’ve probably heard about Ilya Shapiro’s fateful visit to my home institution last year, when my students shouted him off the stage because of his ill-conceived public posts about diversity
Covid-19 in Prisons
Euthanize the Death Penalty Already: Scenes from Capital Punishment’s Chronic Deathbed
(published: The Green Bag 27(3), Spring 2024) INTRODUCTION J.R.R. Tolkien’s immortal Lord of the Rings tells of the crossing of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, during which members of the Fellowship
Damages Lawsuits for Prison COVID-19 Neglect Proceed
If you’ve followed this blog during COVID-19, when we were litigating Eighth Amendment cases at Quentin and beyond, or read FESTER (you should!), then you know an unpleasant truth about
Race and Justice
Children’s Books About Prisons
Friend, are you heading to a birthday or baby shower? If you like bringing books as gifts, and want the books to be meaningful, I’d steer away from tiresome sloganeering
Left Realism Matters More than Ever in Criminology
Houston, we have a bit of a problem. Having just finished writing my term papers at the GTU, I’ve turned to grading exams (will be done soon! I promise!) and