Olatunde Johnson

Olatunde Johnson

@olatij.bsky.social

Ruth Bader Ginsburg ‘59 Professor, Columbia Law School; scholar of democracy and democratic futures, pluralism, race, gender, economic justice, and housing. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=443245

424 followers241 following31 posts

Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Exactly. The regs are here: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-18127.pdf Note the dramatic extension of Bob Jones, purposefully vague on what is “discrimination”, and purports to apply to remedial programs too (ie that correct past and ongoing discrimination).

public-inspection.federalregister.govpublic-inspection.federalregister.gov
Melissa Murray@profmmurray.bsky.social

The article focuses on the new IRS regs' impact on higher ed, but their terms would also apply to private schools that receive tax-exempt status. Even if the regs are challenged, many schools will end their integration measures to avoid scrutiny. This is a permission structure. tinyurl.com/4s28jsau

tinyurl.comTrump Moves to Strip Tax Exemption From Schools That Aid Minority Students (Gift Article)The Treasury Department released rules that would prevent schools with race-based programs from qualifying for tax-exempt status, a threat to both higher education and other private schools.
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Adding that Suzanne Goldberg and I wrote about the misuse of Title VI (and what schools can do instead to be inclusive and protect speech). Here: scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scho... Read the Ruling Dismissing an Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

nytimes.comRead the Ruling Dismissing an Antisemitism Lawsuit Against HarvardThe decision from a federal judge in Boston dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to force the university into a settlement.
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

This might seem like a dismissal on “technical” grounds but it actually vindicates procedural due process (need to inform the school of non-compliance) and that T6 is about remedy not punishment. Read the Ruling Dismissing an Antisemitism Lawsuit Against Harvard www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

nytimes.comRead the Ruling Dismissing an Antisemitism Lawsuit Against HarvardThe decision from a federal judge in Boston dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to force the university into a settlement.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Alex Hertel-Fernandez
@awhf.bsky.social

Excited to moderate this joint @columbiaigp.bsky.social + Workshop webinar with a great panel of folks to understand what Americans are thinking about AI policy amidst all of the debates about AI's impact on our economy and communities. Tune in live here August 5th at noon!

youtube.comWhat Do American Workers Want from AI Policy?YouTube video by Columbia SIPA
Columbia Institute of Global Politics@columbiaigp.bsky.social

How are American workers thinking about AI, & what do they want from AI policy? Tune in to this Columbia IGP webinar on August 5 @ 12pm ET: youtube.com/live/xcuyP9z... Speakers: Mary Beech, @alexsjacquez.bsky.social, @michelleimiller.bsky.social, @aijenpoo.bsky.social, @awhf.bsky.social, Jen Klein

youtube.comWhat Do American Workers Want from AI Policy?YouTube video by Columbia SIPA
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

KBJ’s concurrence —ode to 14th amendment purpose as anti-caste and equal citizenship—is really good reading pre-July 4th.

Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social

Final #SCOTUS ruling is birthright citizenship. For a 6-3 majority (Thomas, Alito & Gorsuch, dissenting), Chief Justice Roberts *strikes down* President Trump's executive order purporting to limit which individuals born in the United States would automatically be US citizens; preserves status quo:

supremecourt.govsupremecourt.gov
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Despite Callais, this conversation made me hopeful about Court reform and legislative strategies to strengthen voting rights.

Brennan Center@brennancenter.org

The Supreme Court has made itself a political topic, and many Americans support reforming it. Listen to this week’s episode of The Briefing with Michael Waldman to hear experts discuss how to reshape the Court to improve U.S. democracy: bit.ly/3PaNq3E

open.spotify.comHow to Fix the Supreme Court (with Miriam Rosenbaum and Olatunde Johnson)Listen to this episode from The Briefing with Michael Waldman on Spotify. In the wake of the Louisiana v. Callais ruling, calls for Supreme Court reform have grown louder. What would a reform agenda look like? And how would it strengthen the Court as an institution?The Brennan Center recently published the second installment in its series on Solutions for a Stronger Democracy: “Six Solutions to Fix the Supreme Court.” Listen as experts discuss the Court’s major issues and the proposals that would make a meaningful difference.Speakers:Olatunde Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg ‘59 Professor of Law, Columbia Law SchoolMiriam Rosenbaum, Senior Fellow, Brennan CenterHost: Michael Waldman, President, Brennan CenterRecorded on May 4, 2026The Brennan Center is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to repair, revitalize, and defend our systems of democracy and justice so that they work for all Americans. The Brennan Center cannot support or oppose any candidate for office.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Katy Glenn Bass
@katygb.bsky.social

We've launched a new @knightcolumbia.org podcast about lawyering and authoritarianism, and how law can function both as a safeguard for democratic governance and as a tool of its erosion. First episode is out 👇 and more to come, exploring the legal profession's duty to the rule of law itself.

Knight First Amendment Institute@knightcolumbia.org

“We’re very far into autocratic capture of our legal system.” That’s how @kimlanelaw.bsky.social describes the current moment—and what she breaks down in the first episode of Lawyering Without Law. Hosted by @katygb.bsky.social and Madhav Khosla. Listen: buzzsprout.com/2609059/episodes/19105365

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Jaweed Kaleem
@jaweedkaleem.bsky.social

UPDATE: Following court order, UC has posted the UCLA settlement proposal on its website: ucop.edu/communicatio...

ucop.eduucop.edu
Jaweed Kaleem@jaweedkaleem.bsky.social

BREAKING: The California Supreme Court has DENIED the University of California's request that it block the release of a 28-page, $1.2-billion fine Trump administration UCLA settlement offer. UC is required to give a faculty group the document today. www.latimes.com/california/s...

latimes.comUC must publicly release Trump administration's $1.2-billion settlement proposalThe California Supreme Court on Friday declined a request from the University of California to block the release of a roughly $1.2-billion Trump UCLA settlement. UCLA is required to share the document...
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

👇🏾

Italian Academy, Columbia University@italianacademy.bsky.social

"Universal Rights in Practice: Int'l Frameworks & Domestic Legal Systems" Tue, Nov 18, 5PM Giuliano Amato, John Bessler, Marian Da Silva, Spyridon Flogaitis, Olatunde Johnson, Sarah Maree Knuckey, & Miguel Ángel Moratinos Register: tinyurl.com/mvhfvsvh @olatij.bsky.social, @sarahknuckey.bsky.social

Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Now👇🏾

KQED Forum@kqedforum.bsky.social

🎙️ ON AIR: We're talking to Columbia Law's @olatij.bsky.social, @slate.com's @mjsdc.bsky.social and @NYULaw's @profmmurray.bsky.social about what role the Supreme Court will play in supporting or stopping Trump's efforts to shape the country. ❓What are your Qs about the new Court term? 📻 Listen:

buff.lySupreme Court Term Will Test the Scope of Presidential Power | KQEDWe talk about how the conservative-leaning Roberts court might rule, and what role the Court will play in supporting or stopping Trump’s efforts to shape the country.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie
@audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app

I read an interesting, related law review article once, coauthored by @olatij.bsky.social, that really got into the fraudulence of Dobbs' language about democracy & women's electoral power, and the deficiencies in the Court's view of political equality scholarship.law.columbia.edu/cgi/viewcont...

scholarship.law.columbia.eduscholarship.law.columbia.edu
Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social

So Alito and Thomas' position appears to be: Women have no constitutional right to reproductive autonomy. But PARENTS may have a constitutional right to restrict their kids' reproductive autonomy. This is not law and it's barely pretending to be. Dobbs' "democracy" language was just a total lie.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Jameel Jaffer
@jameeljaffer.bsky.social

This is a great essay by @olatij.bsky.social, and worth reading alongside Trump's "proclamation" restricting foreign visas at Harvard, which cites (among other things) the university's purported non-compliance with the Supreme Court's decision in the SFFA case.

Jameel Jaffer@jameeljaffer.bsky.social

And now @olatij.bsky.social on the Trump admin’s distortion of SFFA v Harvard. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-str...

knightcolumbia.orgThe Strange Use of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard to Control Teaching and Learning

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Katy Glenn Bass
@katygb.bsky.social

The great @olatij.bsky.social writes for our @knightcolumbia.org series on federal funding & the First Am, about how SFFA and Title VI are being stretched far beyond their intended reach in service of Trump’s attacks on universities.

Knight First Amendment Institute@knightcolumbia.org

For our blog series on Federal Funding and the First Amendment, @olatij.bsky.social writes about how the Trump administration is distorting the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in its efforts to assert control over universities. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-str...

knightcolumbia.orgThe Strange Use of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard to Control Teaching and Learning

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Michael C. Dorf
@dorfonlaw.bsky.social

Last week I promoted my essay about conditional funding, the First Amendment, and academic freedom on the Knight Institute website. I've posted the same essay on my blog, now with a link to some of the other essays that have come in. I'm looking forward to a day discussing these issues tomorrow.

dorfonlaw.orgConditional Funding Can Raise Difficult Legal Questions. Trump’s Freezes Don’t[Note: Tomorrow I'll be attending an all-day gathering of constitutional scholars and lawyers hosted by the Knight Institute at Columbia to ...
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Remember the 15 years of investigation, hearings, administrative guidance it took to revoke the tax exemption of schools with written policies prohibiting admission of black students and forbidding interracial dating? I wrote about Goldsboro and Bob Jones here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.....

papers.ssrn.comThe Story of Bob Jones University v. United States: Race, Religion, and Congress’ Extraordinary AcquiescenceOn May 25, 1983, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had authority to deny tax-exempt status to Bob Jones Universi

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Ariela Gross
@arielagross.bsky.social

RSVP deadline tomorrow, Wed Apr 2, to hold your spot! Livestream link on day of to those who register.

Ariela Gross@arielagross.bsky.social

This will be amazing!! RSVP now to hold your spot- 6 brilliant constitutional law and history scholars discussing how the stories we tell about the past shape our future. MCLE credit available. @acslaw.bsky.social @marthasjones.bsky.social @olatij.bsky.social @fpeterson.bsky.social

Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?r...

uscode.house.govuscode.house.gov
Sam Bagenstos@sbagen.bsky.social

This "immediate cancellation" violates the law. If the Admin thinks Columbia has violated Title VI by being deliberately indifferent to antisemitic harassment, it has to give Columbia a chance for a hearing first, make findings on the record, & wait 30 days. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...

nytimes.comThe Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Eleonora Bottini
@eleonorabottini.bsky.social

PUBLICATION - Dans @liberation.fr, j'ai publié aujourd'hui une tribune sur la crise constitutionnelle aux Etats-Unis : existe-t-elle ? Quelles affaires faut-il suivre pour s'en apercevoir ? Peut-on dire comme certains que c'est du "business as usual" ? (spoiler:non) www.liberation.fr/idees-et-deb...

liberation.frCrise constitutionnelle : Donald Trump piétine la séparation des pouvoirs, jusqu’à quand ?Face à la quantité inouïe et la nature inédite des décisions du président des Etats-Unis, dans un climat de régression démocratique, les juges comme le Congrès peinent à jouer leur rôle de contrepoids...
Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

I appreciate this re-amplification by @ilrreview.bsky.social though I understand the political climate at the state level is harder for labor and civil rights than when I wrote this several years ago

ILR Review@ilrreview.bsky.social

Are worker protective legislations viable in the face of current legal and political challenges? @olatij.bsky.social @columbialawschool.bsky.social argues that because of state preemption laws, civil rights and labor advocates have to engage politics at the state level. doi.org/10.1177/0019...

Olatunde Johnson
@olatij.bsky.social

Timely!

Miriam Seifter @miriamseifter.bsky.social

New casebook! State Constitutional Law: Cases and Principles, by Jessica Bulman-Pozen and me, will be published by Foundation Press this spring and ready for fall classes! We’re happy to chat with anyone who’s thinking of teaching the class.

Olatunde Johnson reposted

Mark Joseph Stern
@mjsdc.bsky.social

LISTEN: Judge Coughenour condemns Trump’s assault on birthright citizenship. It is “apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore…for political or personal gain.” Part 1: