From 91 professors at Harvard Law School: a letter to our students. tinyurl.com/letter-to-ou... - ThreadSky

nikobowie.bsky.social • 67 days ago

From 91 professors at Harvard Law School: a letter to our students.

https://tinyurl.com/letter-to-our-students

Comments

mrbuick.bsky.social•67 days ago

bark-a-lounger.bsky.social•67 days ago

The authoritarian targeting demands collective action. “At first they came for . . .”’ only works when people sit on their hands.

tuckshoptalk.bsky.social•67 days ago

I’m clearly missing something. What is he point of this letter?

planetabsurdia.bsky.social•67 days ago

DOJ is starting to come after the law school legal clinics, esp., those that help immigrants.

l-lefauxpas.bsky.social•67 days ago

This sounds like a crock of nothing? These professors, of which many, must practice law or are licensed to do so, are not in any way saying they will protect students of any kind if needed. So yes, we all agree we were a country built on the rule of law but the administration is not adhering to it.

cdpositive.bsky.social•67 days ago

After @timothysnyder.bsky.social (& wife) announce they are moving to Taronto....

parkerhardison.bsky.social•67 days ago

Toronto*

cdpositive.bsky.social•66 days ago

🙏

scottrome.bsky.social•67 days ago

Thank you.

minjime.bsky.social•67 days ago

madamehardy.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well done, all of you.

onabelle.bsky.social•67 days ago

Geez-o-Pete. Who could have predicted a time when this letter would be necessary? The country is in a complete free-fall.

harborberries.bsky.social•64 days ago

Did any of these profs condemn democrats who sued & indicted Trump on novel, never-before-used legal theories as a tool of election interference? Did they condemn Colorado for unconstitutionally removing Trump from the ballot? Alan Dershowitz did. But the rest of Harvard Law has gone to the dogs.

ruth-and.bsky.social•67 days ago

I hope we get this figured out

brklynmind.bsky.social•67 days ago

Isn't this the institution (and professors) that produced an extraordinary number of the neo-fascists that are destroying the rule of law??

lendres.bsky.social•66 days ago

Yes! A letter is a letter, but what curriculum changes are being put in place to stop graduating extreme right-wing/libertarian lawyers? I wonder if they even take ethics.

lawfulkimpasse.bsky.social•66 days ago

yes, every law student has to take ethics. the fascists are doing this because they are greedy and morally empty, not because law professors forgot to tell them it’s bad

lendres.bsky.social•63 days ago

Well then, I suppose they should adjust their admissions process.

glocks4interns.bsky.social•67 days ago

Maybe you should write a letter to your administration asking them to protect your students

adambirnbaum.bsky.social•67 days ago

How many Harvard-educated lawyers are helping to perpetrate these crimes? I suspect more than a few.

tjhawk07.bsky.social•67 days ago

I can name one easily, John Roberts.

ademsspeakslikegop.bsky.social•67 days ago

Chief Madam of the Supreme Court

dan1100.bsky.social•66 days ago

Not as many as there are from Yale.

secretoriginz.bsky.social•66 days ago

Talk about getting a "real world education".

miriamcolleran2.bsky.social•67 days ago

European universities need to support US higher ed colleagues that are trying to defend freedom of thought & independent speech IMO

#thoughtcrime #Orwellian

olliemcclellan.bsky.social•67 days ago

Please mercilessly bully your colleagues who didn't sign this.

wandaallard.bsky.social•67 days ago

Hoping those whose job it is to uphold the law stay strong & do not bend the knee in this horrific time. The sound of the invader’s boots is getting louder and it is coming from your own government. They are taking away rights, freedoms, and lives. Your vote will be useless if they are not stopped

signonleon.bsky.social•67 days ago

The fuck is that? Absolutely worthless legalese. They’re “concerned”, huh?

signonleon.bsky.social•67 days ago

Ooh, “acutely” concerned!!!

rednecklefty.bsky.social•67 days ago

Where's the dean here? As well as the professor there earlier this year who denied there was a constitutional crisis here?

v827.bsky.social•66 days ago

Thank you!

jmeiseles.bsky.social•67 days ago

No Goldberg? Does the Interim Dean not agree with the faculty?

justinlawguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

It's pretty clear the university disagrees.

tee64.bsky.social•67 days ago

Why is this not signed?

ocasapiens.bsky.social•67 days ago

It is.

gordonvincent.bsky.social•67 days ago

It sounds very nice. I can't but help hear "You're on your own" at the end, however.

justinlawguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

geraldlombardi.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well, that's a nice bunch of sentiments, but what exactly will they DO when the masked men come for students on campus? Write another letter?

russinnormandy.bsky.social•67 days ago

“We share a conviction that our Constitution, including its First Amendment, was designed to make dissent and debate possible without fear of government punishment. Neither a law school nor a society can properly function amidst such fear.”
@harvard.edu Law School professors

swede1961.bsky.social•67 days ago

It is not going to be enough when only the faculty is carrying the weight of this. The university needs to step up--all of them to create a powerful block against this regime. Staying under the radar is not protecting anyone. An example Harvard: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/29/harvard-middle-eastern-studies-departures

dodgeintercept1.bsky.social•67 days ago

All this because students are protesting Israel's genocide.

pyoter.bsky.social•67 days ago

From small sparks, a conflagration will arise...
🔥

coachvb3.bsky.social•66 days ago

This letter would be a lot more impactful if it expressly referenced key components of the rule of law: Equal Justice, Due Process, Independent Judiciary, Education and such.

seahawkslover.bsky.social•67 days ago

The General Strike!
Read about it, sign the strike card, pass it on (on all your socials, word-of-mouth, everywhere!).

Follow @generalstrikeus.bsky.social for updates!

https://generalstrikeus.com

bboucek.bsky.social•66 days ago

Thank you.

jay-baller-reborn.bsky.social•67 days ago

Actions matter not words

bark-a-lounger.bsky.social•67 days ago

Words can be action.

ocasapiens.bsky.social•67 days ago

Action:
https://bsky.app/profile/nikobowie.bsky.social/post/3lllqrgmerc2j

forhanforohio.bsky.social•67 days ago

Is criticizing Israel antisemitic, professor?

johnnyfalstaff.bsky.social•67 days ago

Thank you to the signatories - I just wish Harvard would get on board instead of hiding behind their bs “institutional voice” policy.

clemesq.bsky.social•66 days ago

Thank you, Harvard Law, for shining light on a deplorable environment. Perhaps the good will be that law students will feel inspired by ideas about freedom, camaraderie and the 'good fight' for society.

twobordercollies.bsky.social•67 days ago

That’s good, but not enough. There are over 200 full time law school professors at Harvard.

missmj.bsky.social•67 days ago

Where did you get that number? Google AI (lol) says over 100.

twobordercollies.bsky.social•67 days ago

I did a ChatGPT query: How many Harvard Law School Professors are there? Answer: “As of the 2024 academic year, Harvard Law School (HLS) employs approximately 377 faculty members, comprising 203 full-time and 174 part-time professors.

brooklynkid53bskys.bsky.social•67 days ago

according to the harvard crimson there are 118 professors

but I will take your 200 number if you have a good source

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/3/30/hls-faculty-letter/

twobordercollies.bsky.social•66 days ago

The Crimson’s 118 matches a faculty search result at https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/?page=1&faculty_type=HLS%20Professors%2CEmeritus%20Professors

bluememe.bsky.social•67 days ago

And the letter they refused to sign is remarkably timid and watered down.

joborgs.bsky.social•67 days ago

141 voting faculty, to be precise.
https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/?page=1&faculty_type=HLS%20Professors%2CEmeritus%20Professors

jamesbenton.bsky.social•67 days ago

The rest want to protect their chances of working at one of the corporate firms that caved to Trump.

twobordercollies.bsky.social•67 days ago

Spot on

silkyweineck.bsky.social•67 days ago

that’s a pretty impressive ratio

selfification.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well.. at least slightly less than half of them will publicly state that they believe in the rule of law and the constitution.

Honestly, that's about all I can hope for at this point. Who even knows how long PACER is going to be up or if the courts are going to be full of bird lawyers.

dartmouthderek.bsky.social•67 days ago

This was an interesting way of finding out that neither of the Harvard law profs I have been working on projects with have signed on.

writenrun.bsky.social•67 days ago

Oooof!

selfification.bsky.social•67 days ago

Ooooooofffffff :(

twobordercollies.bsky.social•67 days ago

That’s bad right? Johnson did just claimed that “we” Congress, does have authority over the federal courts, and can eliminate an entire district court.

salbr29891.bsky.social•64 days ago

Parents who are thinking to send their children to Harvard, should call Harvard and tell them that they are crossed off of the list. They should also tell them why.

mister-sterling.bsky.social•67 days ago

Pretty succinct compared to the word salads coming out of Columbia. It all boils down to standing up to the rule of law, which has been under attack by the GOP since 2017.

gordonvincent.bsky.social•67 days ago

I want to believe you meant "for."

waltermulder.bsky.social•67 days ago

All law professors should sign this

joshdsw.bsky.social•67 days ago

Almost like a mini-lecture. Glad to read their august opinion. But, and speaking as someone who taught law school for over 15 years and lectured for more, at times you need to act and these are such. They could start by offering representation to the students if impacted.

l-lefauxpas.bsky.social•67 days ago

Exactly - otherwise they are just talking the talk so to speak.

brooklynkid53bskys.bsky.social•67 days ago

I would wager that a lot of the are earning enormous fees as experts working for, god alone knows, Elon Musk, Bezos, etc etc

it still bothers me that way back in the day then Prof E Warren, now US senator, charged a labor Union iirc $400,000 dollars for consulting work - not iirc, courtroom time

dinestars.bsky.social•66 days ago

And immigrants, students with Visas!

justinlawguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

This is a great letter but, what are you going to do about the fact that Harvard disagrees?

gonzojim.bsky.social•67 days ago

And it’s the corporation that signs their checks.

joborgs.bsky.social•67 days ago

Surely one of the first steps is telling them that you are united in disagreement with their policy?

julietebo.bsky.social•66 days ago

More law school professors and universities must state their explicit support for the constitution.

leslieehrlich.bsky.social•66 days ago

So, words good. But what actions are they taking? Otherwise, thoughts and prayers under another guise.

mrslibrt.bsky.social•67 days ago

What exactly does this mean in concrete terms?

Lawyers 🙄

sagastar.bsky.social•67 days ago

sounds like the institution itself is going to say nothing :(

justinlawguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

Feel like the institution said something when it fired the leadership of the Middle Eastern department.

barnett-matt.bsky.social•67 days ago

Did Dershowitz sign?

pommefemme.bsky.social•66 days ago

🥁 waiting for a parallel statement to be issued by the American Bar Association.

tonysomo.bsky.social•62 days ago

Oh f*** the letter after the fact.
Get out front on the media and tell folks (ordinary folks) what’s at stake.

uaeeconomist.bsky.social•67 days ago

Fine. But navel gazing of the law profession since they neglect to take a position on physical threats to judges, talk of impeachment of judges, abuse of the DOJ, the FBI, ICE, the separation of powers and blatant violations of court orders.

delnicki.bsky.social•67 days ago

Nice words.

sfineville.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yes.

greysky209.bsky.social•67 days ago

91 out of how many?

fing.bsky.social•67 days ago

It is wild that the president of the United States just extorted pro bono work from a law firm he was mad at for representing his enemies and this is just shrugged off by his entire party.

nikobowie.bsky.social•67 days ago

“It felt important to level with our students about how alarmed we are”

pinktweets.bsky.social•67 days ago

Except Dersh, I am sure.

algoresmilkymams.bsky.social•66 days ago

don't forget about adrian vermeule!

elienyc.bsky.social•67 days ago

I’ve been telling concerned students in my orbit “the revolution was never gonna come from Biglaw no way.”

gordonvincent.bsky.social•67 days ago

They don't need to know you're "alarmed." They need to know you have their back. JFC, guys.

jarratt.bsky.social•66 days ago

The groveling of some big law elites shouldn't be surprising. We could have hoped that profession wouldn't have been as craven as most of:
• tech;
• the media;
• S&P CEOs;
• the 1%.

It's nice to know some corners of the bar have honor. My hope is with the young.

jb3po.bsky.social•67 days ago

I love how the bar is set at "literally don't be a little bitch right now," yet some of the most powerful law firms can't hang.

bbmjcandy.bsky.social•67 days ago

Awesome! Stand up!

nikobowie.bsky.social•67 days ago

Also this week:

The AAUP - Harvard Faculty Chapter joined other AAUP chapters in suing the Trump administration: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/3/28/jasanoff-weld-harvard-aaup-lawsuit-trump/

nikobowie.bsky.social•67 days ago

Over 740 faculty from across Harvard (as of Friday) urged university leadership to publicly contest the ongoing, antidemocratic attacks on universities

arnau-de-torroja.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well said, but Trump as an executive power threat to democracy and rule of law, became only possible AFTER the judiciary power was long assaulted and eventually compromised, of which SCOTUS is a blatant example since Gore's presidency went to Bush. Harvard and others are too late.

geraldlombardi.bsky.social•67 days ago

Not only that, Harvard Law needs to take a look at its ethical and curricular blind spots, given how many of its own grads are actively or passively complicit in destroying our government.

ephman86.bsky.social•66 days ago

$h!t'$ getting real

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