Lawrence Solum

Lawrence Solum

@lsolum.bsky.social

Law professor at the Texas A&M. Legal theory, originalism, textualism, virtue jurisprudence, artificial intelligence, philosophy of language, moral and political philosophy.

9.4K followers105 following5.1K posts

Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Smith on Criminal Reform and Originalism’s Limits Michael L. Smith (University of Oklahoma - College of Law) has posted Criminal Reform and Originalism’s Limits…...

legaltheoryblog.comSmith on Criminal Reform and Originalism’s LimitsMichael L. Smith (University of Oklahoma - College of Law) has posted Criminal Reform and Originalism’s Limits (Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the face of a harsh criminal legal system and unforgiving doctrine, some proponents of reform suggest that a turn to originalism may be warranted. Historical practices and founding-era understandings of the Constitution’s text, they argue, are inconsistent with modern treatment of those investigated, charged, and convicted.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Reiblich et al. on Protecting California’s Surf Breaks Jesse Reiblich (University of Rhode Island) et al. have posted Protecting California’s Surf Breaks Using the Coastal Act’s Local Coastal Programs…...

legaltheoryblog.comReiblich et al. on Protecting California’s Surf BreaksJesse Reiblich (University of Rhode Island) et al. have posted Protecting California’s Surf Breaks Using the Coastal Act’s Local Coastal Programs on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Surf breaks are important resources for many reasons, including their recreational value for surfing and many related wellbeing and societal benefits. Protecting these resources is a relatively nascent endeavor. Furthermore, surf breaks are typically overlooked or undervalued in coastal planning processes.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Odhiambo on the Automaton as Intervening Cause Kelly-Brown Ochieng Odhiambo (Umma University) has posted The Automaton as Intervening Cause: Algorithmic Amplification, Causal Attribution and the Quantum Conundrum in Kenyan Digital Defamation…...

legaltheoryblog.comOdhiambo on the Automaton as Intervening CauseKelly-Brown Ochieng Odhiambo (Umma University) has posted The Automaton as Intervening Cause: Algorithmic Amplification, Causal Attribution and the Quantum Conundrum in Kenyan Digital Defamation on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Digital publication has fractured an assumption upon which much of defamation law has historically operated: that the person responsible for communicating defamatory matter is also substantially responsible for determining the audience to which it travels.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Aziz on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Pakistan Ahmed Aziz (Licensed Lawyer at Sindh Bar Council) has posted Beyond Judicial Backlog: A Rights-Based Triage Framework for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Pakistan…...

legaltheoryblog.comAziz on Alternative Dispute Resolution in PakistanAhmed Aziz (Licensed Lawyer at Sindh Bar Council) has posted Beyond Judicial Backlog: A Rights-Based Triage Framework for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Pakistan on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Pakistan’s debate on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is frequently framed as a response to judicial backlog. This article argues that backlog alone is an inadequate basis for deciding whether a dispute should leave ordinary adjudication.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Brown on Agentic AI and Pro Se Federal Litigation Matthew Brown (Matthew Brown Companies) has posted Agentic Artificial Intelligence and Pro Se Federal Litigation: A Participant Observer Case Study of SEC v Brown…...

legaltheoryblog.comBrown on Agentic AI and Pro Se Federal LitigationMatthew Brown (Matthew Brown Companies) has posted Agentic Artificial Intelligence and Pro Se Federal Litigation: A Participant Observer Case Study of SEC v Brown on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article presents a participant-observer case study of artificial intelligence used across the lifecycle of an active federal securities-enforcement action. In SEC v. Matthew Brown and Matthew Brown Companies, LLC, the individual defendant proceeded largely pro se while using a network of commercial language models, retrieval systems, application programming interfaces, document repositories, and specialized agents to support research, drafting, discovery, deposition preparation, record analysis, adversarial testing, and remedies briefing.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Cox on Reclaiming Homeowner Wealth Prentiss Cox (University of Minnesota Law School) has posted Reclaiming Homeowner Wealth: A Conversation with Barry, Fried, and Hatfield…...

legaltheoryblog.comCox on Reclaiming Homeowner WealthPrentiss Cox (University of Minnesota Law School) has posted Reclaiming Homeowner Wealth: A Conversation with Barry, Fried, and Hatfield (Iowa Law Review Online) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Homeowners in the United States pay residential real estate brokers commission rates that are about twice as high as the commission charges by brokers in comparable countries. Given the enormous size of the residential home sale market—both in aggregate terms and as a percentage of wealth owned by the average homeowner—this cost discrepancy results in U.S.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Bayefsky on Tradition and the Federal Judicial Power Rachel Bayefsky (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Tradition and the Federal Judicial Power…...

legaltheoryblog.comBayefsky on Tradition and the Federal Judicial PowerRachel Bayefsky (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted Tradition and the Federal Judicial Power (Stanford Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Tradition is most well known today for starring in blockbuster Supreme Court cases about controversial social issues, notably abortion and firearms. But tradition also plays a role, less visible but highly significant, in cases shaping the federal judicial power.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Owley on Radically Reimagining Expropriation Jessica Owley (University of Miami - School of Law; University of Groningen - Faculty of Law) has posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comOwley on Radically Reimagining ExpropriationJessica Owley (University of Miami - School of Law; University of Groningen - Faculty of Law) has posted Radically Reimagining Expropriation: A Nature-Centered Approach to Just Compensation in the United States on SSRN. Here is the abstract: American property law places human title holders at its center, treating nature as the backdrop to human ownership rather than an interest deserving legal recognition.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Clarke & Glogower on the Indirect Taxes Conor Clarke (Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law) and Ari Glogower (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law) have posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comClarke & Glogower on the Indirect TaxesConor Clarke (Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law) and Ari Glogower (Northwestern Pritzker School of Law) have posted The Indirect Taxes (Notre Dame Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Article I of the Constitution empowers Congress to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” It is arguably Congress’s most important power. A government’s first task is to fund itself, and the absence of an enforceable funding mechanism under the Articles of Confederation was a primary reason for the Constitution in the first place.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Ito on Permitted Risk in the Age of Autonomous Driving Keiichi Ito (Government of the United States of America - U.S. Attorney’s Office) has posted Reconstructing the Doctrine of Permitted Risk in the Age of Autonomous Driving: A Case for Shifting Liability to Public Authorities…...

legaltheoryblog.comIto on Permitted Risk in the Age of Autonomous DrivingKeiichi Ito (Government of the United States of America - U.S. Attorney’s Office) has posted Reconstructing the Doctrine of Permitted Risk in the Age of Autonomous Driving: A Case for Shifting Liability to Public Authorities on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper argues that the German-originated doctrine of permitted risk (erlaubtes Risiko)—historically the theoretical basis for individualizing negligence liability in traffic accidents—contains a structural asymmetry: society has tolerated the existence of risk from motor vehicle use for the sake of its own benefit, while the burden of that risk’s realization has been assigned almost exclusively to individual drivers.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Agiri on Lien, Language, and the Limits of Title Peter Agiri (University of Lagos) has posted LIEN, Language, and the Limits of Title: A Critical Analysis of Afrotec Technical Services (Nig) Ltd v MIA & Sons Ltd vis-à-vis Property-Passing Under the Sale of Goods Act…...

legaltheoryblog.comAgiri on Lien, Language, and the Limits of TitlePeter Agiri (University of Lagos) has posted LIEN, Language, and the Limits of Title: A Critical Analysis of Afrotec Technical Services (Nig) Ltd v MIA & Sons Ltd vis-à-vis Property-Passing Under the Sale of Goods Act on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Few decisions in Nigerian sale of goods law reveal the difficulty of determining when property passes as clearly as Afrotec Technical Services (Nig) Ltd v MIA & Sons Ltd.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Legal Theory Lexicon: Virtue Ethics Introduction The Legal Theory Lexicon already includes entries on Deontology and Utilitarianism—representing two important families of ethical theory....

legaltheoryblog.comLegal Theory Lexicon: Virtue EthicsIntroduction The Legal Theory Lexicon already includes entries on Deontology and Utilitarianism—representing two important families of ethical theory. This entry provides an introduction to virtue ethics. As always, the Lexicon provides a quick and dirty summary with an eye to law students (especially first-year law students) with an interest in legal theory. Together, these three entries provide a rough and ready introduction to the three most prominent approaches to normative ethics.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Legal Theory Bookworm: “Truth About Natural Law” by Tamanaha The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Truth About Natural Law: History, Theory, Consequences by Brian Z. Tamanaha. Here is a description:...

legaltheoryblog.comLegal Theory Bookworm: “Truth About Natural Law” by TamanahaThe Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Truth About Natural Law: History, Theory, Consequences by Brian Z. Tamanaha. Here is a description: Long sidelined in legal discourse, natural law is undergoing a major resurgence in the United States, with dozens of books and articles on the topic, and several sitting judges referring to it in judicial decisions or legal writings. Yet its century-long dormancy has left many jurists and laypeople with a limited and superficial understanding of what natural law is about.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Download of the Week: “Sanctuary and the Data State” by Marouf & Pham The Download of the Week is Sanctuary and the Data State by Fatma E. Marouf and Huyen Pham....

legaltheoryblog.comDownload of the Week: “Sanctuary and the Data State” by Marouf & PhamThe Download of the Week is Sanctuary and the Data State by Fatma E. Marouf and Huyen Pham. Here is the abstract: Historically, sanctuary policies focused on protected physical space and limits on police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—rejecting detainer requests, restricting jail access, and declining formal collaboration agreements. But as immigration enforcement has become increasingly mediated by integrated data systems, these visible forms of noncooperation have lost much of their practical force.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Santaolalla on Party Autonomy and the Passage of Time in Long-Term State Contracts Cayetana Santaolalla (Public University of Navarra (UPNA); European Law Institute (ELI); European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL)) has posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comSantaolalla on Party Autonomy and the Passage of Time in Long-Term State ContractsCayetana Santaolalla (Public University of Navarra (UPNA); European Law Institute (ELI); European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL)) has posted A Choice Made Once: Party Autonomy and the Passage of Time in Long-Term State Contracts on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A choice-of-law clause is an instantaneous act. It is made once and is then asked to govern a relationship that may run for twenty-five years or more.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Okafor on Social Networks as a Mechanism for Discrimination Chika Okafor (Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law) has posted Seeing Through Color Blindness: Social Networks as a Mechanism for Discrimination…...

legaltheoryblog.comOkafor on Social Networks as a Mechanism for DiscriminationChika Okafor (Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law) has posted Seeing Through Color Blindness: Social Networks as a Mechanism for Discrimination (The Journal of Law and Economics) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: I study labor markets in which firms both hire via referrals and are race blind or colorblind. I develop an employment model showing that despite initial equality in ability, employment, wages, and network structure, minorities receive disproportionately fewer jobs through referrals and lower expected wages, simply because their social group is smaller.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Gilly on Consent to Clinical Artificial Intelligence Travis Gilly (Real Safety AI Foundation) has posted Except for a Physician: How Illinois Wrote the Standard for Consent to Clinical Artificial Intelligence and Exempted the Profession Most Patients See…...

legaltheoryblog.comGilly on Consent to Clinical Artificial IntelligenceTravis Gilly (Real Safety AI Foundation) has posted Except for a Physician: How Illinois Wrote the Standard for Consent to Clinical Artificial Intelligence and Exempted the Profession Most Patients See on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In August 2025 Illinois became the first state to regulate artificial intelligence in therapy. The statute defined consent, named the precise defect that a general intake form containing a line about artificial intelligence amid unrelated material represents, required that the specific tool and its specific purpose be disclosed, and then removed physicians from the definition that triggers all of it.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Sunstein on History and Tribalism in Constitutional Law Cass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) has posted History and Tribalism in Constitutional Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract:...

legaltheoryblog.comSunstein on History and Tribalism in Constitutional LawCass R. Sunstein (Harvard Law School) has posted History and Tribalism in Constitutional Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: When and why do judges sort themselves into competing “tribes”? What do judges know, or think they know? What do judges not know, and not know that they do not know? The answer is that like everyone else, judges are part of epistemic communities.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Silva Urdaneta on Effective Human Oversight and Fault-Based Civil Liability Marnie Morella Silva Urdaneta (Universidad Central Del Este) has posted When Humans Retain the Signature but Lose Control: Effective Human Oversight and Fault-Based Civil Liability in AI-Assisted Decision-Making…...

legaltheoryblog.comSilva Urdaneta on Effective Human Oversight and Fault-Based Civil LiabilityMarnie Morella Silva Urdaneta (Universidad Central Del Este) has posted When Humans Retain the Signature but Lose Control: Effective Human Oversight and Fault-Based Civil Liability in AI-Assisted Decision-Making on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The growing use of artificial intelligence in decision-making has reinforced an apparently reassuring formula: a decision remains human because a person can review, confirm, or sign it.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Moran on Latinx Immigrant Students in America’s Schools Rachel F. Moran (Texas A&M University School of Law) has posted Blind Spots: Choice, Colorblindness, and the Contemporary Experience of Latinx Immigrant Students in America’s Schools…...

legaltheoryblog.comMoran on Latinx Immigrant Students in America’s SchoolsRachel F. Moran (Texas A&M University School of Law) has posted Blind Spots: Choice, Colorblindness, and the Contemporary Experience of Latinx Immigrant Students in America’s Schools (Arizona State Law Journal, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Our nation’s understanding of educational opportunity for Latinx immigrant students in the United States is shaped by two prominent narratives about the public school system.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Ajakaiye on Bankability by Design Tosin Ajakaiye (Independent researcher) has posted Bankability by Design: Illusory Risk Transfer, Structural Renegotiation, and a Resilient Framework for Public-Private Partnerships in Emerging Infrastructure Markets…...

legaltheoryblog.comAjakaiye on Bankability by DesignTosin Ajakaiye (Independent researcher) has posted Bankability by Design: Illusory Risk Transfer, Structural Renegotiation, and a Resilient Framework for Public-Private Partnerships in Emerging Infrastructure Markets on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Public-Private Partnership contracts across emerging infrastructure markets are structurally optimised for financial close rather than lifecycle delivery. This paper argues that the risk allocation architecture underlying most PPP concession agreements examined here through clause-level analysis of Nigeria’s April 2026 ICRC Model PPP Agreement produces illusory rather than genuine risk transfer: contractual risk allocation that does not survive contact with the private party’s actual absorptive capacity over a twenty-to-thirty-year concession term.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Ali on Mega-Constellations and Orbital Data Centres Muhammad Rabeet Ali (University of London) has posted The Cloud Above the Clouds: Mega-Constellations, Transboundary Re-entry Risk and the Law of Orbital Data Centres…...

legaltheoryblog.comAli on Mega-Constellations and Orbital Data CentresMuhammad Rabeet Ali (University of London) has posted The Cloud Above the Clouds: Mega-Constellations, Transboundary Re-entry Risk and the Law of Orbital Data Centres on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Outer space law was drafted for a handful of states launching a handful of objects for public purposes. It now governs more than fourteen thousand active satellites, most of them owned by a single private company, launched from one country, serving customers in many others, and increasingly designed not to observe or connect the Earth but to sell computing power to it.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Kuewumi on Informal Commercial Agreements among University Students in Nigeria Ayomikun Kuewumi (Adekunle Ajasin University) has posted Messages, Receipts and Handshakes: The Formation, Proof and Enforceability of Informal Commercial Agreements among University Students in Nigeria…...

legaltheoryblog.comKuewumi on Informal Commercial Agreements among University Students in NigeriaAyomikun Kuewumi (Adekunle Ajasin University) has posted Messages, Receipts and Handshakes: The Formation, Proof and Enforceability of Informal Commercial Agreements among University Students in Nigeria on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Nigerian university campuses host a vibrant informal commercial economy in which students buy and sell clothes, phones and other goods, and render services such as photography, catering, event planning, logistics, agency, tailoring and short-let accommodation to one another, frequently for substantial sums of money.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Liivoja on Predictability in the Governance of Autonomous Weapon Systems Rain Liivoja (The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law; Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security) has posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comLiivoja on Predictability in the Governance of Autonomous Weapon SystemsRain Liivoja (The University of Queensland - T.C. Beirne School of Law; Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security) has posted Predictability in the Governance of Autonomous Weapon Systems (Australian Army Journal, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: ‘Predictability’ has become a central concept in multilateral efforts to regulate autonomous weapon systems (AWS). The Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (GGE LAWS) has repeatedly considered language requiring AWS to be ‘adequately predictable’ but has failed to agree on it.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Fatade on Mental Contingencies Babafemi Fatade (Stetson University - Stetson University College of Law) has posted Mental Contingencies: Can Supervening Mental Illness Excuse Contractual Performance Obligations?...

legaltheoryblog.comFatade on Mental ContingenciesBabafemi Fatade (Stetson University - Stetson University College of Law) has posted Mental Contingencies: Can Supervening Mental Illness Excuse Contractual Performance Obligations? (Kansas Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: When a party has a mental illness at the time of contracting, contract law provides a clear framework for allowing that party to get out of their contract. But what if a party develops a mental illness only after contract formation?
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Dagan & Davis on Interpreting Intergovernmental Contracts Hanoch Dagan (University of California, Berkeley - School of Law) and Seth Davis (University of California, Berkeley School of Law) have posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comDagan & Davis on Interpreting Intergovernmental ContractsHanoch Dagan (University of California, Berkeley - School of Law) and Seth Davis (University of California, Berkeley School of Law) have posted Interpreting Intergovernmental Contracts (Liberally) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Intergovernmental contracts are vital to public governance and administration in the United States. Yet contract law theorists have largely ignored intergovernmental contracts, and constitutional and administrative law scholars have only begun to incorporate them into theories of the separation of powers and federalism.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Tavera on Forum Shopping After Purdue Pharma Daniel Tavera (Mississippi College - School of Law) has posted Forum Shopping After Purdue Pharma (Baylor Law Review) on SSRN....

legaltheoryblog.comTavera on Forum Shopping After Purdue PharmaDaniel Tavera (Mississippi College - School of Law) has posted Forum Shopping After Purdue Pharma (Baylor Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In recent years, bankruptcy courts have been willing to entertain expansive definitions of their own power in providing releases to non-debtors linked to chapter 11 cases or bargains. In Purdue Pharma, the Supreme Court signaled that consent is a crucial factor in evaluating whether releases are valid.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Lunney on the Use and Misuse of Economic Analysis in Copyright Glynn S. Lunney, Jr. (Texas A&M University School of Law) has posted Reflections on the Use and Misuse of Economic Analysis in Copyright…...

legaltheoryblog.comLunney on the Use and Misuse of Economic Analysis in CopyrightGlynn S. Lunney, Jr. (Texas A&M University School of Law) has posted Reflections on the Use and Misuse of Economic Analysis in Copyright (73 J. Copyright Soc’y 183 (2026)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Economic analysis has long been used to justify copyright regulation. Long before the Statute of Anne, the Stationer’s Guild told the story of the copying competitor, who in the absence of regulation, would copy every original book and offer it for less.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Kilborn on Personal Insolvency in Bulgaria and (Not) Malta Jason J. Kilborn (University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) has posted A Tale of Two Holdouts: Personal Insolvency in Bulgaria and (Not) Malta…...

legaltheoryblog.comKilborn on Personal Insolvency in Bulgaria and (Not) MaltaJason J. Kilborn (University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) has posted A Tale of Two Holdouts: Personal Insolvency in Bulgaria and (Not) Malta on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Bulgaria just became the most recent European Union Member State to implement a comprehensive personal insolvency regime, leaving Malta as the sole remaining holdout. This article examines the parallel but ultimately divergent paths of the two countries toward individual debt relief.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Alsughayyir on When Step-In Becomes Substitution Jubran Alsughayyir (Legal solution) has posted When Step-In Becomes Substitution: The Hidden Contract-Assignment Effects of Saudi PPP Direct Agreements…...

legaltheoryblog.comAlsughayyir on When Step-In Becomes SubstitutionJubran Alsughayyir (Legal solution) has posted When Step-In Becomes Substitution: The Hidden Contract-Assignment Effects of Saudi PPP Direct Agreements on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Direct agreements are intended to keep a project alive when the project company cannot. In Saudi public-private partnerships, that commercial logic now sits beside an express statutory regime for assignment of contractual status. The Civil Transactions Law (CTL), particularly Articles 255–258, links contractual substitution to advance consent, discharge of the outgoing party, defenses, and the survival of security.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

McCullagh on Silicon Agents Adrian McCullagh (University of Queensland Brisbane) has posted Silicon Agents: Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Boundaries of Agency, Fiduciary Positions and Tortious Liability…...

legaltheoryblog.comMcCullagh on Silicon AgentsAdrian McCullagh (University of Queensland Brisbane) has posted Silicon Agents: Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Boundaries of Agency, Fiduciary Positions and Tortious Liability on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article addresses two related questions arising from the commercial deployment of so-called “AI agents”. First, it examines whether artificial intelligence systems can properly be regarded as agents, fiduciaries, or trustees in the legal sense recognised by the common law.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Olaniyan on AI-Generated Evidence in Nigerian Courts Muhammad Olaniyan (University of Ilorin) has posted Algorithmic Justice: Examining the Admissibility and Evidential Weight of AI-Generated Evidence in Nigerian Courts…...

legaltheoryblog.comOlaniyan on AI-Generated Evidence in Nigerian CourtsMuhammad Olaniyan (University of Ilorin) has posted Algorithmic Justice: Examining the Admissibility and Evidential Weight of AI-Generated Evidence in Nigerian Courts on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way information is created, stored, analysed and presented. In litigation, parties may increasingly seek to rely on AI-generated text, images, audio, video, summaries, translations, predictive outputs and other forms of synthetic or AI-assisted material.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Wu & Liu on Reimagining Companion Animal Rights Jason Jia-Xi Wu (Harvard University, Harvard Law School) and Valentina Liu (Harvard Law School) have posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comWu & Liu on Reimagining Companion Animal RightsJason Jia-Xi Wu (Harvard University, Harvard Law School) and Valentina Liu (Harvard Law School) have posted Reimagining Companion Animal Rights: A Theory of Contractualized Property Ownership (Washington University Global Studies Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Companion animals present a conundrum. Across legal systems, animals are classified as personal property and thus subject to human ownership. Yet they offer invaluable love, affection, and friendship—things that ordinary chattels simply cannot provide.
Lawrence Solum
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Engstrom, Marcus & Setzer on Managerial Courts David Freeman Engstrom (Stanford Law School), David Marcus (UCLA School of Law), and Elliot Setzer (Yale University) have posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comEngstrom, Marcus & Setzer on Managerial CourtsDavid Freeman Engstrom (Stanford Law School), David Marcus (UCLA School of Law), and Elliot Setzer (Yale University) have posted Managerial Courts (Yale Law Journal) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In recent decades, American courts have undergone a quiet but far-reaching revolution in their function and role. Particularly in state courts facing a crush of cases in high-volume dockets for debt, eviction, and family-law matters, case-by-case judging has gradually given way to court-devised systems that govern adjudication through centralized, routinized, and often digital and data-driven practices.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Gans on Liability and Pricing of Dual-Use AI Joshua S. Gans (University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management; NBER) has posted Liability and Pricing of Dual-Use AI…...

legaltheoryblog.comGans on Liability and Pricing of Dual-Use AIJoshua S. Gans (University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management; NBER) has posted Liability and Pricing of Dual-Use AI on SSRN. Here is the abstract: How much liability should AI providers bear when their services enable both attack and defence? Liability can improve welfare while increasing harm. Providers sell a common input to productive users, attackers and defenders. Within a defended contest, a higher common price reduces effort without changing attack success or attacker profits, saving resources and improving the target’s security payoff.

Lawrence Solum reposted

Mathias Hong
@hongmathias.bsky.social

Beisbart, Claus, "Epistemology of Artificial Intelligence" "This article surveys and systematizes existing epistemological work on AI, covering symbolic and connectionist AI, and comparing machine learning with pre-programmed AI."

Lawrence Solum@lsolum.bsky.social

Epistemology of Artificial Intelligence (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

buff.lyEpistemology of Artificial Intelligence (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to obtain knowledge and understanding. For example, it is employed to detect objects in images, make predictions, examine mathematical…

Lawrence Solum reposted

Mathias Hong
@hongmathias.bsky.social

Capps on Legislative Intention, highly recommended by Solum

Lawrence Solum@lsolum.bsky.social

Capps on Legislative Intention Charles F. Capps (Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) has posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comCapps on Legislative IntentionCharles F. Capps (Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) has posted Legislative Intention on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The communicative intention of the legislature is the lodestar of statutory interpretation. But despite the large, interdisciplinary literature on the topic, courts and scholars still struggle to make sense of it. On the one hand, ascribing an intention to the legislature that is distinct from the intentions of the legislators seems metaphysically extravagant and incompatible with the legislators’ authority.

Lawrence Solum reposted

Jeff Bellin
@bellinj.bsky.social

Thanks @lsolum.bsky.social for the "Highly Recommended"!

Lawrence Solum@lsolum.bsky.social

Bellin on Evidence Law’s AI Problem Jeffrey Bellin (Vanderbilt University - Vanderbilt Law School) has posted Evidence Law’s AI Problem and the Hearsay Solution…...

legaltheoryblog.comBellin on Evidence Law’s AI ProblemJeffrey Bellin (Vanderbilt University - Vanderbilt Law School) has posted Evidence Law’s AI Problem and the Hearsay Solution (Harvard Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: As artificial intelligence (A.I.) seeps into our daily lives, A.I. generated evidence will increasingly appear in court. For the most part, American evidence rules are up to the task. The rules require testifying experts to demonstrate the reliability of any A.I.
Lawrence Solum
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Marouf & Pham on Data Sanctuaries Fatma E. Marouf (Texas A&M University School of Law) and Huyen Pham (Texas A&M University School of Law) have posted…...

legaltheoryblog.comMarouf & Pham on Data SanctuariesFatma E. Marouf (Texas A&M University School of Law) and Huyen Pham (Texas A&M University School of Law) have posted Sanctuary and the Data State (Columbia Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Historically, sanctuary policies focused on protected physical space and limits on police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—rejecting detainer requests, restricting jail access, and declining formal collaboration agreements.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Sidney on Who Can Stop the Machine? Arthur Sidney (The Sidney Group PLLC) has posted Who Can Stop the Machine? Institutional Authority and Meaningful Human Control in AI Governance…...

legaltheoryblog.comSidney on Who Can Stop the Machine?Arthur Sidney (The Sidney Group PLLC) has posted Who Can Stop the Machine? Institutional Authority and Meaningful Human Control in AI Governance on SSRN. Here is the abstract: AI governance often asks whether a human remains “in the loop,” but human presence does not establish meaningful control. This paper argues that meaningful human control is an institutional condition: a responsible person or body must receive relevant information, possess function-specific authority, have practical and technical means to intervene, and retain that capacity as systems, vendors, and dependencies change.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Gratacós i Camós on Legal Certainty for B2B Tokenised Collateral Laura Gratacós i Camós has posted Legal Certainty for B2B Tokenised Collateral: A Functional and Layered Analysis of Private Law, Smart Contracts and Private International Law…...

legaltheoryblog.comGratacós i Camós on Legal Certainty for B2B Tokenised CollateralLaura Gratacós i Camós has posted Legal Certainty for B2B Tokenised Collateral: A Functional and Layered Analysis of Private Law, Smart Contracts and Private International Law on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This study examines the use of financial tokens as collateral in cross-border B2B transactions and the legal uncertainty associated with cryptographic control, the localisation of digital assets and automated enforcement.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Yamazaki on Receipt of Manifestations of Intention in Asynchronous Messaging Norio Yamazaki (Yamazaki Administrative Scrivener Office) has posted Receipt of Manifestations of Intention in Asynchronous Messaging: Attribution of Receiving Functions and Notification Risk in Failures After Technical…

legaltheoryblog.comYamazaki on Receipt of Manifestations of Intention in Asynchronous MessagingNorio Yamazaki (Yamazaki Administrative Scrivener Office) has posted Receipt of Manifestations of Intention in Asynchronous Messaging: Attribution of Receiving Functions and Notification Risk in Failures After Technical Acceptance but Before Retrieval Becomes Possible on SSRN. Here is the abstract: When a recipient-side service provider has technically accepted a notice, but a failure occurs before its contents become retrievable by the recipient, who should bear the risk of delay or non-receipt?
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Huang & Liu on the First AI-Saturated Election Feilian Huang and Yujia Liu have posted The First AI-Saturated Election: Disclosure, Detection, and the Regulatory Limits of Generative Political Persuasion…...

legaltheoryblog.comHuang & Liu on the First AI-Saturated ElectionFeilian Huang and Yujia Liu have posted The First AI-Saturated Election: Disclosure, Detection, and the Regulatory Limits of Generative Political Persuasion on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The campaign cycle preceding the November 3, 2026 United States midterm elections is the first in which generative artificial intelligence has functioned as a routine instrument of political persuasion: party committees have aired synthetic videos of opposing candidates, manipulated campaign mailers have reached voters’ mailboxes, and foreign actors have seeded AI-generated disinformation through fabricated broadcast footage.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Korol on Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion in Video Games Kyrylo Korol (J.D. Stanford Law School) has posted Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion in Video Games…...

legaltheoryblog.comKorol on Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion in Video GamesKyrylo Korol (J.D. Stanford Law School) has posted Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion in Video Games (UCLA Journal of Law and Technology) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In video game economies, players spend real money on digital assets, such as in-game items like clothes and weapons, or virtual “money” like “gold” and “coins.” These economies are comparable in size to other large-scale digital economies, such as cryptocurrency.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Shiffrin on Free Speech and Imputed Speech Seana Shiffrin (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law) has posted Jumping to Conclusions: Free Speech and Imputed Speech…...

legaltheoryblog.comShiffrin on Free Speech and Imputed SpeechSeana Shiffrin (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law) has posted Jumping to Conclusions: Free Speech and Imputed Speech (Arizona Law Review) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: It is well understood that a free speech regime needs principles of speech regulation that delineate what speech is protected from sanctions and what speech may be subject to sanctions.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Koenig-Winter on Regulating Locomotive Engineers Avi Koenig-Winter (Columbia Law School; Columbia University; City University of New York (CUNY)) has posted All Aboard!...

legaltheoryblog.comKoenig-Winter on Regulating Locomotive EngineersAvi Koenig-Winter (Columbia Law School; Columbia University; City University of New York (CUNY)) has posted All Aboard! Regulating Locomotive Engineers on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Academic treatment of locomotive engineer training and certification under 49 C.F.R. Part 240 has remained surprisingly sparse, focusing predominantly on decertification procedures rather than core qualification standards. This article fills this scholarly gap by introducing a “Brandeisian” approach to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulation, reimagining the agency not merely as an enforcer of minimum standards but as an active repository and disseminator of industry best practices.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Michaels on the Bowsher Presidency Joel Michaels (Columbia University - Law School) has posted The Bowsher Presidency (Harvard Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN....

legaltheoryblog.comMichaels on the Bowsher PresidencyJoel Michaels (Columbia University - Law School) has posted The Bowsher Presidency (Harvard Law Review, forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The power of the purse is the principal source of Congress’s political leverage over the executive branch. Yet in recent years, presidents have repeatedly violated appropriations law and taken dramatic spending actions grounded in broad statutory delegations. Legal scholars attribute these developments to partisan polarization, decaying interbranch norms, and judicial marginalization of appropriations.
Lawrence Solum
@lsolum.bsky.social

Lopez on Conservation by Resurrection Jaclyn Lopez (Stetson University - College of Law) has posted Conservation by Resurrection: The Endangered Species Act in an Era of Ecological Loss…...

legaltheoryblog.comLopez on Conservation by ResurrectionJaclyn Lopez (Stetson University - College of Law) has posted Conservation by Resurrection: The Endangered Species Act in an Era of Ecological Loss on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Endling. The word describes the last surviving member of a species before it goes extinct. It is a word Congress hoped would become obsolete with the passage of the Endangered Species Act.