body { -ms-overflow-style: scrollbar; overflow-y: scroll; overscroll-behavior-y: none; } .errorContainer { background-color: #FFF; color: #0F1419; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 10%; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; } .errorButton { margin: 3em 0; } .errorButton a { background: #1DA1F2; border-radius: 2.5em; color: white; padding: 1em 2em; text-decoration: none; } .errorButton a:hover, .errorButton a:focus { background: rgb(26, 145, 218); } .errorFooter { color: #657786; font-size: 80%; line-height: 1.5; padding: 1em 0; } .errorFooter a, .errorFooter a:visited { color: #657786; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 1em; } .errorFooter a:hover, .errorFooter a:active { text-decoration: underline; } #placeholder, #react-root { display: none !important; } body { background-color: #FFF !important; }

JavaScript is not available.

We’ve detected that JavaScript is disabled in this browser. Please enable JavaScript or switch to a supported browser to continue using twitter.com. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center.

Terms of Service Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Imprint Ads info © 2023 Twitter, Inc.

Follow

Steve Vladeck

@steve_vladeck

’s husband; father of daughters; Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts

; #SCOTUS nerd

; new book: tinyurl.com/shadowdocket; #LGM

Lawyer & Law FirmAustin, TXlaw.utexas.edu/faculty/stephe…Joined September 2011

3,364 Following

Steve Vladeck’s Tweets

Pinned Tweet

I'm really excited to introduce my new (free) weekly newsletter about the Supreme Court, "One First." I've wanted to do this for a long time, but Twitter's impending demise finally got me in gear. First installment drops Monday; sign-up link (with more details) in next tweet:

48

181

935

Show this thread

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

Updating my tracker of suits Ken Paxton has filed against Biden policies in Texas courts: Image 1 lists all 26 suits, including where they were filed, odds of drawing that judge, and subject matter. Image 2 breaks out *all* of Texas's divisions to show how Paxton exploits them.

8

79

177

Show this thread

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

The Biden administration tells a federal court that "there is no apparent reason other than judge shopping why" GOP states decided to file a lawsuit in a specific Texas court challenging a recent immigration policy. They even cite

in their filing.

11

195

668

Show this thread

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

On Tuesday, Ken Paxton filed his 25th suit against a Biden policy in Victoria — where it had a 100% chance of being assigned to Judge Drew Tipton. Now, DOJ is moving to transfer the case to Austin — or, at least, to a *different* Southern District judge: utexas.box.com/v/DOJ-Transfer

13

74

316

This is at least the second time I've been called a "Croatian Nazi" on this site. Leaving aside that I'm Jewish, do people somehow think that Vladeck is a Croatian name? (It isn't.)

Quote Tweet

Frankie Pentangeli

@ChrisGriffin669

Replying to @steve_vladeck

Typical that a Croatian nazi would simp for a case that upheld the milk lobby's crushing of a healthy, inexpensive nourishing food desperately needed by poor people.

28

13

174

On Tuesday, Ken Paxton filed his 25th suit against a Biden policy in Victoria — where it had a 100% chance of being assigned to Judge Drew Tipton. Now, DOJ is moving to transfer the case to Austin — or, at least, to a *different* Southern District judge: utexas.box.com/v/DOJ-Transfer

13

74

316

Two caveats to this data: First, it does not include suits Paxton filed in other jurisdictions, including district courts outside of Texas or directly in the Fifth Circuit. Second, it does not include suits filed by *other* Texas state actors (e.g., the General Land Office).

3

10

54

Show this thread

Updating my tracker of suits Ken Paxton has filed against Biden policies in Texas courts: Image 1 lists all 26 suits, including where they were filed, odds of drawing that judge, and subject matter. Image 2 breaks out *all* of Texas's divisions to show how Paxton exploits them.

8

79

177

Show this thread

Of the 26 total cases, this is the eighth different lawsuit that Texas has filed in *Amarillo* alone challenging a Biden administration policy, compared to zero in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, etc. And there’s little mystery as to why: txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/

12

48

Show this thread

Yesterday’s tweet about Texas’s judge-shopping is *already* out of date. Paxton filed suit number 26 today in Amarillo (which has a 100% chance of drawing Judge Kacsmaryk), challenging a new Labor Department rule about investment of pension trust assets: texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/

Quote Tweet

Updating my tracker of the suits Ken Paxton has filed against Biden policies in Texas courts: Image 1 is a list of all 25 suits, including where they were filed and their subject matter. Image 2 is a breakdown of *all* divisions in Texas, to illustrate how Paxton exploits them.

Show this thread

4

49

82

Show this thread

It says everything that needs to be said that Carolene Products — a case in which #SCOTUS articulated the appropriate limits on the role of unelected judges vis-a-vis the democratically accountable political branches — is on this list. Judicial power for me, but not for thee.

Quote Tweet

If I ran a vote of people I liked to come up with the top 20 list of worst Supreme Court decisions, and this is what the vote was, I simply wouldnt have published the results.

Show this thread

18

41

189

I’m really grateful to

for providing free CPR/AED training to staff and faculty. It’s a sobering way to spend a Thursday afternoon, but it’s vastly preferable to the alternative…

7

6

206

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

"'The Shadow Docket' is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how today's court really works.” — Linda Greenhouse If that includes you,

is offering a 25% discount if you pre-order the book today or tomorrow (use code "PREORDER25"): barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-d

8

36

"'The Shadow Docket' is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how today's court really works.” — Linda Greenhouse If that includes you,

is offering a 25% discount if you pre-order the book today or tomorrow (use code "PREORDER25"): barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-d

8

36

We had some technical difficulties posting it, but

and I really *did* record a new

episode for the second Tuesday in a row: nationalsecuritylawpodcast.com/episode-231-if You're welcome, America.

5

7

45

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

Updating my tracker of the suits Ken Paxton has filed against Biden policies in Texas courts: Image 1 is a list of all 25 suits, including where they were filed and their subject matter. Image 2 is a breakdown of *all* divisions in Texas, to illustrate how Paxton exploits them.

7

75

185

Show this thread

You may note an apparent discrepancy between the two charts. But the odds column in the first chart refers to the odds at the time that *that* lawsuit was filed. The second chart, because it's not case-specific, refers to the odds of drawing specific judges as they stand *today.*

6

48

Show this thread

Two caveats to this data: First, it does not include suits Paxton filed in other jurisdictions, including district courts outside of Texas or directly in the Fifth Circuit. Second, it does not include suits filed by *other* Texas state actors (e.g., the General Land Office).

1

11

61

Show this thread

Updating my tracker of the suits Ken Paxton has filed against Biden policies in Texas courts: Image 1 is a list of all 25 suits, including where they were filed and their subject matter. Image 2 is a breakdown of *all* divisions in Texas, to illustrate how Paxton exploits them.

7

75

185

Show this thread

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

Miranda Yaver, PhD

I can hardly wait to read this and assign it in my judicial politics class.

Quote Tweet

If you've been waiting to order my forthcoming book on #SCOTUS's "shadow docket" (due out from @BasicBooks on May 16), now's a *great* time. Today through Friday, Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off pre-orders with the code PREORDER25: barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-d Thanks, @BNBuzz!

4

22

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

If you've been waiting to order my forthcoming book on #SCOTUS's "shadow docket" (due out from

on May 16), now's a *great* time. Today through Friday, Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off pre-orders with the code PREORDER25: barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-d Thanks,

!

barnesandnoble.com

The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the...

An acclaimed legal scholar exposes the Supreme Court’s increasing use of unsigned, unexplained orders to change the law—all behind closed doors The Supreme Court has always had the authority to...

8

19

45

If you've been waiting to order my forthcoming book on #SCOTUS's "shadow docket" (due out from

on May 16), now's a *great* time. Today through Friday, Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off pre-orders with the code PREORDER25: barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-d Thanks,

!

barnesandnoble.com

The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the...

An acclaimed legal scholar exposes the Supreme Court’s increasing use of unsigned, unexplained orders to change the law—all behind closed doors The Supreme Court has always had the authority to...

8

19

45

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

All 25 of Ken Paxton's suits against Biden policies filed in Texas have been brought in the same six small or single-judge divisions: Victoria (Tipton): 7 Amarillo (Kacsmaryk): 6 Galveston (Brown): 4 Fort Worth (O'Connor/Pittman/Means): 4 Lubbock (Hendrix): 2 Tyler (Barker): 2

Quote Tweet

Another day, another Ken Paxton lawsuit challenging a Biden administration immigration policy (this one about parole). And no surprise: he filed it in the Eastern District’s Victoria Division — where it has a *100%* chance of being assigned to Trump-appointed Judge Drew Tipton.

Show this thread

16

129

197

Show this thread

Given this list, perhaps the purpose of the select subcommittee is to *pursue* its title…

Quote Tweet

Andrew Solender

@AndrewSolender

McCarthy names GOP members to the Judiciary select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government:

Show this thread

10

18

109

Note what’s missing: Austin (where the Attorney General sits); Houston; Dallas; El Paso; San Antonio; Laredo; Anywhere else along the border. Yes, the rules (unfortunately) allow if, but at some point, shouldn’t the judges be less-than thrilled by the message Paxton is sending?

8

16

106

Show this thread

All 25 of Ken Paxton's suits against Biden policies filed in Texas have been brought in the same six small or single-judge divisions: Victoria (Tipton): 7 Amarillo (Kacsmaryk): 6 Galveston (Brown): 4 Fort Worth (O'Connor/Pittman/Means): 4 Lubbock (Hendrix): 2 Tyler (Barker): 2

Quote Tweet

Another day, another Ken Paxton lawsuit challenging a Biden administration immigration policy (this one about parole). And no surprise: he filed it in the Eastern District’s Victoria Division — where it has a *100%* chance of being assigned to Trump-appointed Judge Drew Tipton.

Show this thread

16

129

197

Show this thread

Should have said *Southern District,* not Eastern District. (It’s all east from Austin.)

1

10

82

Show this thread

For those who are new to this … beat, Paxton keeps filing suit in single-judge divisions far from his Austin office (and with no meaningful geographic connection to the dispute) solely so that he can hand-pick the district judge who gets to hear it: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/2

6

80

191

Show this thread

Another day, another Ken Paxton lawsuit challenging a Biden administration immigration policy (this one about parole). And no surprise: he filed it in the Eastern District’s Victoria Division — where it has a *100%* chance of being assigned to Trump-appointed Judge Drew Tipton.

14

154

321

Show this thread

Eleanor Custis Wright — who, among other things, was the widow of Professor Charles Alan Wright — passed away this weekend at the age of 98. She was a remarkable woman who led a remarkable life: statesman.com/obituaries/pac זיכרונה לברכה

Obituaries in Austin, TX | Austin American-Statesman

Eleanor Custis Wright died peacefully at her home in Austin TX on January 21, 2023 surrounded by family. She was 98 years old. Custis, as she was...

1

36

(*and I)

3

2

19

Show this thread

.

watched Casablanca on our first date, and danced to “As Time Goes By” at our wedding. Happy birthday to a classic.

Quote Tweet

‘Here’s looking at you kid.’ CASABLANCA was released 80 years ago today. No scene in Hollywood history has produced as many iconic lines as this one.

Embedded video

2:00

170.5K views

7

8

156

Show this thread

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

This week’s issue of “One First” focuses on the Dobbs leak investigation report — asking both whether #SCOTUS *could* have done more to actually identify the leaker (quite obviously yes), and whether it *should* have pursued a full-throated outside inquiry (not nearly as clear).

5

31

115

Show this thread

11 years ago today…

6

3

151

Steve Vladeck Retweeted

📻Loved today's "One First," the new SCOTUS-themed newsletter from

that comes out every Monday? Learn more about big SCOTUS news from Prof. Vladeck's appearance this morning on

👇 (And more "One First" here: stevevladeck.substack.com)

Quote Tweet

Many questions are swirling around the U.S. Supreme Court this term. Why the delay in issuing opinions? What’s with the inconclusive results of the Dobbs leak probe? And what big cases will impact Texas? @UTexasLaw's @steve_vladeck has more. texasstandard.org/stories/today-

Show this thread

1

7

24

Only five Justices were on the bench for this morning's #SCOTUS session. Both 28 U.S.C. § 1 and S. Ct. R. 4.2 provide that a quorum is *six.* It turns out, as

has documented, that quorum-free sessions have become more common since 1994: greenbag.org/v23n2/v23n1_ar

10

67

192

Second (and last) decision is a "DIG" (dismissing as improvidently granted) in In re Grand Jury. The Court won't resolve the attorney-client privilege issues that it had originally agreed to hear. supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf And that's it for today.

4

7

38

(This is the first time Justice Barrett has ever read an opinion from the bench; the Court hasn't done this since February 2020, eight months before her confirmation.)

Quote Tweet

First (but not last) #SCOTUS ruling in an argued case is Arellano. Barrett for a unanimous Court in an equitable tolling dispute involving veterans' claims: supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf

3

20

59

First (but not last) #SCOTUS ruling in an argued case is Arellano. Barrett for a unanimous Court in an equitable tolling dispute involving veterans' claims: supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf

3

4

25

We're back to box watch (as a proxy for how many decisions #SCOTUS is handing down, and how long they are).

Quote Tweet

Ariane de Vogue

One box day today.

2

3

20