A Change in my Blogging Schedule
I signed a contract to write a book about the Bill of Rights for my favorite publisher (Abrams). It’s called Getting the Bill of Rights Right and it’s for young readers, basically ninth-grade level.
Want to see how the proposal opens? Here you go:
The Bill of Rights—which includes the guarantee that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law—was written by enslavers who themselves deprived others of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.
At the same time, the Bill of Rights presents a soaring and far-reaching vision of fundamental human rights. It solidifies a federalist system designed to create communal autonomy. In the words of constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar, the Bill of Rights “stands at the high temple of our constitutional order—America’s Parthenon.
Therein lies the central paradox of the Bill of Rights. The struggle to resolve this paradox continues to the present day.
I signed the contract a few months ago, which means I need to start writing. 😂 Also, yes, I know. Getting the Bill of Rights Right may be banned in Florida.
That means I’ll be changing my blogging schedule from weekly to whenever.
I’ll still be blogging, but not as regularly.
Upcoming Trials
When the trials begin, I may post more regularly.
The trial for New York AG Letitia James’ $250 million civil fraud case against Donald Trump, his family, and his company is scheduled to begin on October 2, 2023 and to end by December 22, 2023.
The Georgia trial for Trump’s co-conspirators Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro is scheduled to begin October 23, but much could change by then. The RICO case right now feels very fluid.
Trump’s pretrial motions are due in October for the DOJ J6 trial. I expect Trump’s pretrial motions to be tissues of nothing, so other than having fun pulling them apart, I doubt there will be much to talk about. On the other hand, we will know from the DOJ’s responses more about the government’s case.
The Place to Chat
Since last year when Musk took over Twitter and began driving it into the ground, I have been getting to know a few other social media platforms.
My preferred platform right now is Mastodon because it is now part of the fediverse and other platforms, such as Threads and Post, have indicated that they plan to join the fediverse by means of Activity Pub (or other bridges).
What the heck do you mean by the fediverse, Activity Pub, and other bridges?
For an answer, see this blog post.
To find me on Mastodon, click here.
On Mastodon, I often answer questions, like this.
I also write longer explainers on occasion, like this one (which I considered as a blog post topic for this week.)
Have you tried Threads yet? If so, you can find me here. I haven’t done much there yet, but I may if Threads picks up steam.
If you have questions about criminal law
I get a lot of questions and comments like these:
Teri, you just don’t understand how frustrated we are watching our farcical criminal justice system.
I am so sick of Trump and this never-ending nightmare.
Why hasn’t the DOJ done anything about all the Republican lawbreaking?
For responses to any of the above comments, or if you have questions about criminal law and why things take so long, start here.
In fact, if you never read my Criminal Law FAQ page (or you haven’t read it since I updated it) please take a look.
If you have questions about why the DOJ investigation took so long, start here.
Congratulations about your book. I love how it starts. The last 70 years would have been less confusing for many of us if this was what we had been taught from the get go. While I love your blogs, the books sounds very important.
I think I found you on Twitter right around the time Biden was elected. I look forward to your blogs, I have learned a great deal. Sometimes I feel as though I am in the classroom as you are teaching. Thank you so much for all the time you put into the information you give. Much respect.
Thank you for all you do. You may be writing your book to reach kids in high school but keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of adults probably lack most of your information too.
Here’s a secret: Most of the readers of my young-reader books are adults 🙂
I am definitely one of the adult readers who enjoy your young-reader books.
Looking forward to your book about the Bill of Rights. I read Guilty and think it is a good book for all ages.
I add my congratulations on your book project, important and much needed!
Dear Teri, while I will truly miss your weekly blog posts, I am ever so happy as a former educator (well, I guess always ad hoc educator) and always writer that you are writing this book! It will bless everyone who reads it with the truth. I look forward to whatever you post here, and I also follow you on Mastodon so I’ll stay tuned that way. Happy and productive writing to you!
I don’t always have time to read your blog when you 1st publish but I get to it sometime in the next few days. I always appreciate the information I get from you, here on your blog, Mastodon, and now on Threads (which I only check occasionally). Thank you for the time you give to educate us in the law. I think I might be past due for a re-read of the FAQ’s. But for any that are hesitant to read those – they are very educational and entertaining.
Thanks, Teri. Following you on Threads now, though I admit my Sunday morning routine may have some change coming. Best of luck with the new book!
Love the idea for your new book! Congratulations and happy to see you taking the time you need to put it together. I have no doubt it will be thorough, thought provoking and very educational…for 9th graders and all of us!
All the best on your new project! Young Americans will greatly benefit from it. I suspect many others will too. This Canadian eagerly waits for the whenever posts.
Americans have had the luxury of not having to care about politics since WWII. With the momentum of the war and its aftermath, everything just “worked,” and there were no fundamental disagreements to fight over, just nonsense about commies and juvenile delinquents. Civic engagement was for suckers and squares, and now there’s little memory of what “being a good citizen” would entail. We’re all going to find out just how many Americans understand, let alone care about, democracy.
That’s quite the teaser subject line Teri. For a minute there, I was worried that you were disillusioned with democracy, and in reaction were cutting back on blogging. I agree that US democracy is at considerable risk in the US 2024 election. To me, democracy faces an even greater current threat in Israel, but most of America is indifferent to that. I would point out that as a longer historical trend, US democracy has come a long way, notably enfranchising nonproperty owners, women and religous & ethnic minorities. For sure, SCOTUS has done serious damage to democracy with Citizens United, Dobbs & Shelby County, but we are still better off than we were in 1963. Thanks for all your writing, I’m sure Getting the Bill of Rights Right will be a great read.
Oh goodness. It never occurred to me that someone would read it that way !!
“Trump’s pretrial motions are due in October for the DOJ J6 trial. I expect Trump’s pretrial motions to be tissues of nothing, so other than having fun pulling them apart, I doubt there will be much to talk about. On the other hand, we will know from the DOJ’s responses more about the government’s case.”
Just reading the words “tissues of nothing” made my night! Thank you!
yes, yay for “tissues of nothing”!!! 🙂
I’ll hang in there and watch, read and listen instead of complaining as much as possible. Patience is not my strong suit so there’s more teeth grinding than my dentist likes to see. What I will do is volunteer and donate whenever I can, especially since the Republicans have outlined a plan to eradicate the administrative state.
I will miss the weekly posts but am grateful for “whenever”!! I learn so much from your blog – and you are funny as well as informative! The book is important. Following you on Mastodon.
I wish you the best on your new project, Teri. I will miss your guidance through a confusing and discouraging time. Be well and take good care of yourself.
No TJ today? I must admit I always scroll down to start with the TJ part of the post. His sweet, goofy, little face makes me smile.
Again I hope I didn’t give the impression that I am no longer blogging. I am just giving up the weekly schedule.
Thank you Teri. I’ve seen you trying to damp down the Debbie Downers about well just every thing on rule of law matters. The destroyers are showing their hand now. So let’s believe what they’re telling us. Best on your forth coming book.
Understood and thank you for all you have done to educate us.
Hi Teri,
I’ve been thinking about (a) two possible mistakes/omissions in the Trump cases; and (b) what’s going on with the Proud Boys/ Oath Keeper defendants and the “missing link” between Trump and the actual 1/6 attack. (as a retired lawyer, I’ve got time for such thoughts.)
1. In the Documents case: The documents were obtained through a subpoena issued by a Magistrate Judge in the SD FL. Then, Trump forum shopped by filing a case with Judge Cannon – who was not the Judge in the case that issued the subpoena. Did Trump check a “related case” box when he filed the Cannon case? Could the DOJ have moved at that point to have the case re-assigned to the Judge whose Magistrate issued the Subpoena? If they could have, why didn’t they?
Since Cannon has been and likely will continue to be at best a delaying Judge, and at worst . . . ., if the DOJ could have so moved, all of the bad consequences of Judge Cannon could have been avoided.
2. In the Carroll case, the verdict sheet indicated “yes” or “no” as to whether Trump raped her. The jury said “no.” Then, Judge Kaplan said (and just repeated it in the SJ Motion) that under most standards except for NY Penal Law, what Trump did would be considered rape. I think he did that as part of ruling against Trump’s motion to throw out Carroll II. But it seems weird to me, and maybe a violation of due process. And maybe not necessary to rule on the motion. (definitely not necessary for SJ in Carroll II?) I could not find Kaplan’s jury instructions in the first Carroll trial on the docket or elsewhere, but wouldn’t that be where he would have told the jury a definition of rape? Is he trying to make up for not giving this instruction by including what appears to be dictum (especially in the recent SJ decision) saying, yeah, he raped her under all these statutes.
3. Since the beginning, I’ve been thinking about whether and how the DOJ could establish a direct link between Trump and the 1/6 attackers, but they clearly don’t have it yet (at least publicly). The latest news is that they interviewed Tarrio and asked about this link and he said there was none. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/us/politics/tarrio-trump-jan-6.html.
“Mr. Tarrio recounted on Friday in a phone interview from jail, the prosecutors told him that they believed he had communicated in the run-up to the riot with President Donald J. Trump through at least three intermediaries.
The prosecutors, Mr. Tarrio said, offered him leniency if he could corroborate their theory.
Mr. Tarrio said he told them they were wrong.” and the plea negotiations broke down.
This occurred at about the same time the government made and Tarrio et al rejected plea deals.
I wasn’t a criminal lawyer, but even considering Tarrio’s account is obviously self-serving (or at least Trump-serving), something seems weird about this. Would it be prosecutorial misconduct to condition a plea deal on getting testimony the DOJ wants (especially if there’s no other evidence?).
Also — is it surprising that all the vanguard of the attack — the PBs and the OKs are still “Standing back and standing by,” even at the expense of their long prison sentences? Is it cult-like loyalty? the hope of a pardon? Or are we all missing something?
Thanks!
Peter
I will certainly miss your excellent take on the political scene. I looked forward to it weekly. But, I shant be selfish and beg.
New of luck on your book, both the writing of it and keeping it in libraries in all those Red States and Red areas in Blue States.
I’d like to reemphasize your last point: Peeps, let there be no doubt that next election or two or three, will dictate the fate of democracy at home and abroad, and therefore, they’ll dictate the fate of the world. So, now more than ever, vote, help and encourage others to vote, and do your part (even if you’re disillusioned) to facilitate free and fair elections. This isn’t a dress rehearsal.
Teri, your observation about disillusionment and despair reminds me of how much we need to keep in mind all the inspirational people who have fought for justice, equality, and democracy throughout our history and never gave up no matter how tired they were. Of course you remind us of them regularly, and you’ve written books about some of them. As I read your blog post tonight I was reminded of an excellent book: The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It: The Memoir of Jo Ann Gibson Robinson. It’s been years since I read it (and taught it in a team-taught course with a historian), but I recommend it highly to you (if you’re not familiar with it already) and to all your readers.
If whether democracy lives or dies depends upon the outcome of the next few elections, how do you view the CREW suit in Colorado to keep Trump off the ballot there in 2024, and by extension, similar suits in other states?
I don’t believe Trump is the problem, so I don’t think that solves the problem. I think the problem is a radicalized GOP. If not Trump, they will nominate someone like him who will continue his work. As long as Trump is alive, any Republican will be a disaster.
I’ve been on threads for awhile now. If you have an Instagram account, you can sign into Threads. It’s that easy. It’s relatively sane, so far, but lacks the news feeds available in X. I tried Mastodon early on, but got lost with what server to sign up for and pretty much gave up. Didn’t find it very user friendly.
I’ve appreciated your Saturday evening posts! Thanks. Best to you on the book!
I put together a Mastodon Step-by-step slide deck to make it easier (if not easy…) with folks like you in mind. Please take a look and see if it might work for you – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1czntx6cRqDzqBGa6fDhLvZZaQaQvDHXN9YxHsuLasyI/present?usp=sharing
Congratulations on the book!! While I’ll miss your smarts, snark, and clear explications about legal issues (not to mention the illuminating & informative posts you do on teevee lawyer/pundits), I’m exhilarated for the young people who get to read your book. Also, I hope there’s a book tour that brings you to my little village and I hope your publishers get you into video book talks in spaces like Politics & Prose–be sure and post any media events you do. Thanks for everything, will keep my eyes peeled for your occasional posts, and good luck with the writing.
I’ll still be blogging — just not like clockwork each weekend.
Your ‘schedule is changing’.
Same you
Same great reads.
I have no problem with that.
Your site is dynamic and so are you.
Keep up the good work.
I too will mis your weekly posts here. I know Mastodon is your primary social media platform. I hope you will still be Post News a well. Thanks for clarifying so much of what’s going on in a clear voice. Good luck with your new book.
I do have a Post account, but I don’t find it great for conversations. Eventually, though, Post and Mastodon should be able to connect, so we will be able to converse across platforms. Sounds ideal to me.
And what of JJ? How does he feel about your new responsibilities? Will he have to become ever more vigilant while you are tending your new (and I can only believe Must Read) book?
Yes, it’s time to start working on the upcoming general election. Saving democracy means defeating Trump in ’24. Since the election will be decided by the four swing states, WI, PA, GA and AZ, the only organizing that matters in that race is in those states.
I live in a solid blue state. For those of us in such a state, getting out the vote locally is not the best use of our time. Getting active in the swing states is. Start here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ads-gs-dd-bvfsearchgop-jun2023?refcode=om2023_ads_gs_230630_exmdonate_dd_us_all_actblue&gclid=CjwKCAjwt52mBhB5EiwA05YKozSPKUiT3ltGdvpYoiZ1e41-m54RsXBCIH4N6_pyokSBr_7ua-59whoCR5sQAvD_BwE.
I am donating monthly and plan to visit family close to the IL/WI border to canvass for Biden next summer. If you can’t travel to a swing state, donate. That will much more than getting out the vote in your solid blue or red state. Although it could be helpful in the states that lean blue or red: https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/presidential-race-ratings.
There are really important state judicial races in PA, legislative races in VA and hellacious school board elections in localities in red, purple and blue states this November. Helping with these is really important by themselves and helps set the stage for 2024, a double bonus, so to speak.
I work extensively with https://turnpablue.org/ here in PA. They do a great job on down ballot races that also benefits up ballot races.
I LOVE this book proposal! I enthusiastically look forward to reading it and purchasing copies of it for each of my grandchildren. ❤️
The Bill of Rights—which includes the guarantee that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law—was written by enslavers who themselves deprived others of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.
At the same time, the Bill of Rights presents a soaring and far-reaching vision of fundamental human rights. It solidifies a federalist system designed to create communal autonomy. In the words of constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar, the Bill of Rights “stands at the high temple of our constitutional order—America’s Parthenon.
Therein lies the central paradox of the Bill of Rights. The struggle to resolve this paradox continues to the present day.
I have been reading your YA history books (so far Thurgood Marshall and Susan B. Anthony) and I have a feeling you’ve already written some books that could end up being banned in Florida. I’ve been reading on Kindle, but I’m going to start buying physical books to share, for this very reason.
Thank you for the link to the Yarvin piece. It is really useful for talking to people about navigating the current political situation.
I had a professor a long time ago, who said “History is lumpy”. There are periods of time when nothing is happening, and then there are times when a society’s faultlines erupt into cataclysmic social and political earthquakes. During these earthquakes, it’s not surprising that people on both sides want to do away with a system that requires reflection (thank you Tim Snyder) and a dedication to due process. We simply have to educate these types (the ones who will listen) what they’re really asking for.
Best wishes for your book, I can tell it’s a labor of love for you, and who cares what the nitwits (Florida Man and his allies) think. Looking forward to your posts here, whenever you’re willing and able. How long do you think the book will take?
> Also, yes, I know. Getting the Bill of Rights Right may be banned in Florida.
So, you think it will slip past Greg Abbott? How about South Carolina, Missouri, and Utah?
It makes me very sad.
We need to drive home the Brooklyn NY Public Library open membership concept.
Anyone from anywhere can get a library card to check out ebooks.
I hear that a request to ban it in Florida has already been submitted by those Mothers… Of Liberty or some such.
I’ll miss your weekly blog posts. It’s nice to have a non-social-media based forum like this to engage and learn. I understand that there are only so many hours in the day though, and you certainly have other writing obligations that have to take priority. Your new book sounds like it’ll be a good one. I look forward to reading it.
I haven’t tried Threads and am not sure if I will. For social media, I like Mastodon best at the moment which I can access from both my computer and my iPad (though I prefer to access it on the computer). Without algorithms and advertising driving content, I can see the things I like to see – like bringing up your profile to see what’s new.
I gave up social media several years ago. When on social media I always seemed to go to the dark side and my inner Darth Vader took command of my brain. Now, I only post on WoPo, NY Times, and this blog. I like myself much more now.
I tried Mastadon but couldn’t get into it. I go there sometimes. My first choice is Spoutible. I’ve actually been posting there a lot more.
Ditto. Mastodon isn’t everything Twitter once was, but it provides quite a lot of value in return for a bit of effort to find the “right” accounts to follow.
As I noted in a comment above, I put together a Mastodon Step-by-step slide deck to make it easy for people to get set up and going on Mastodon. Please feel free to share it widely.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1czntx6cRqDzqBGa6fDhLvZZaQaQvDHXN9YxHsuLasyI/present?usp=sharing