Cory Dodds

My article Legal Deserts Over Time was recently published in vol. 78 of the Maine L. Rev. In short, once a county becomes a legal desert, it is likely to remain a legal desert. It was a pleasure to work with the team & keynote their Rural Law Conf. digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr/vol78/is...

A KY attorney said the recent botched execution of Christa Pike, a TN death row inmate, undermines a KY judge's ruling that IV-related problems could be addressed as isolated events. He's filed a motion to re-add 2 claims to the longstanding litigation. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

A wonderful few days at USD Law for the Law & Rurality Workshop! Grateful for thoughtful feedback on my rural legal deserts research, engaging conversations with colleagues, and some South Dakota history—from Spirit Mound to the George McGovern Museum. 🌾 @rural-reconcile.bsky.social

"The way most students (future policy makers) learn about L&E is through its textbooks, and these textbooks continue to present Kaldor-Hicks efficiency as the goal of public policy. This presentation is not defensible on economic theory grounds because it is contradicted by modern welfare economics"

NEW: Remember when John Oliver opened a church to expose how easy it was to get tax exemptions? This year, ProPublica reporters set out to establish private schools to test if, truly, anyone could open one. We founded two. Here’s how.

I don't mean to make waves or anything, but as a journalist, I am definitely opposed to the president talking about arresting journalists.

Wake up, babe, the cryptos discovered Plato’s philosopher-kings.

As a slower (instead, I assert, thoughtful) writer, I am joining the protest against “efficiency.”

I’ve been called out.

Kentuckians have a good track record of becoming the Sole Survivor.

My recent research on rural attorney shortages was referenced in this @law360.bsky.social article. I am especially privileged to be included alongside firms and legal services organizations that are committed to closing the rural access-to-justice gap on the ground. www.law360.com/pulse/articl...

As a knower of First Amendment doctrine, I encourage this man to keep posting, it's going great so far

Before you say yes to a data center, listen to this advice from coal country kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/21/b...

Pleased to join family and children’s law scholars as amici in A.A. v. Mast. We urge SCOTUS to protect kin caregivers’ right to notice & hearing before adoption severs the family bond—a vital issue for the 2.65 mil. U.S. children being raised by kin. Full brief: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26...

John Cheves of the Herald-Leader on Comment on Ky: “It’s popular in some quarters to sneer and mock newspapers or to greet with apathy the demise of newspapers. But I can assure you—you’re gonna miss us when we are gone.”

The SEC filing its federal suit at the close of my subject matter jurisdiction unit is a wonderfully random happenstance. Lots to discuss in Civil Procedure on Monday.

Our latest digest explores research by Kirk J. Stark on how population density and electoral systems influence redistributive taxation at the state and national levels.

Warrants for Flock searches? Kentucky lawmakers may add more rules for public cameras From @mckennahorsley.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/03/w...

Breaking news: The Trump administration is threatening to cut off executive agencies’ cooperation with the Smithsonian. An Interior Dept. letter threatened the institution “under current leadership” with loss of support for sourcing artifacts and more.

A few weeks ago, I remarked there was a hint of fall on the air in Kentucky. I regret tempting fate.

A good use of eminent domain appears?

Wendell Berry championed small farms, agrarianism and conservation for decades.

“Young lovers see a vision of the world redeemed by love. That is the truest thing they ever see, for without it life is death.”

An officer with the Shively Police Department is suspended without pay and facing criminal charges for allegedly using the department’s Flock camera system to conduct more than 2,000 searches on the license plate of a woman he tracked and harassed in Kentucky and Indiana.

A federal judge has dismissed the bankruptcy case of an Eastern Kentucky coal operator, leaving a lawsuit by hundreds of workers seeking to recover 60 days of unpaid wages and benefits unresolved. From @tatecurtis.bsky.social at @weku.bsky.social

This thoughtful commentary is worth a read. I particularly liked: “Good stewardship means maximizing federal dollars, examining other appropriate funding sources and using community partnerships where they make sense. But sometimes, after doing all of that, we have to write the check.”

“A 1-year-old baby appeared in immigration court without legal representation in Arizona and received an instruction: File an asylum application before the next hearing or face deportation.”

A U.S. Appeals Court has ruled that Indiana doctors can have conversations about abortions with minors. That includes referrals to out-of-state abortion providers.

We may reasonably disagree on the ABA’s accreditation policies. However, the administration’s move reduces the independence of the judiciary and legal profession. State bars and judiciaries are self-regulating, in part, to insulate from partisan political influence.

How can I choose?

Dance like no one is watching; text like it will be read in a deposition.

BREAKING: It made the final cut. Congratulations, Michigan, you might have the best voting sticker of 2026.

My city experienced a tragic shooting over the weekend. A tragedy that may have been avoided with sensible gun control. The alleged shooter was born in 2008, the same year SCOTUS ignored the plain text of the 2nd Amend. to create an individual right to gun ownership for the first time. (DC v Heller)

Under discussed line in the vaccine EO: “States’ obligations to provide religious and medical exemptions from childhood & adolescent immunization requirement.” Religious exemptions put large #s of unvaxed kids in the same school. This led to the South Carolina measles outbreak. 1/2

I may not be a punk kid anymore but I certainly haven’t given up my pop punk playlist quite yet.

This is an important breaking story published through our collaboration with the Appalachian News Exchange, written by @justinhicks.lpm.org and Howard Berkes. Appalachia’s black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners’ protections stall kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/05/a...

#Legal Deserts Over Time This Article offers a national, longitudinal, and definition-sensitive analysis of legal deserts using county-level data. Author: Cory Dodds Read More: spkl.io/63326AhM9g @corydodds.bsky.social

Mayor Linda Gorton said she hopes it will be the biggest food drive in Lexington’s history.

Homeowners in rural McLean County in Kentucky are still recovering from April flooding. The government wants to buy them out. From WKU: