joshuaaengel.com
Civil Rights & Appellate Attorney | Fmr Prosecutor | Father & Husband | Friend of Collies | Long-Suffering Cornhuskers Fan
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One of the problems I encounter with journalists is that they are often so well-meaning and trusting of their “process” that they never engage in reflection about how mistakes were made and how they can be avoided in the future — such as “after action” meetings to identify failures and make changes
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I work with many journalists in my legal job, and two seemingly contradictory things are true:
1) they are willing to openly acknowledge errors in reporting;
2) they rarely engage in self-analysis about why errors were made or take steps to assure that the errors don’t repeat
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Thomas dissent Pt I is unhinged
Starts by claiming states may decide whether state courts may hear 1983 claims; cites his own dissent in Haywood, a case where the opinion literally begins "In our federal system of gov't, state as well as federal courts have jurisdiction over suits" under §1983
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Small but important point: you cannot appeal a TRO in federal courts
I feel like Hans Gruber whenever I have to say that: "I could talk about men's fashion and federal jurisdiction all day but I'm afraid work must intrude..."
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Cancer, like other disease, is perceived by some in the health/fitness community as preventable if you just eat right, live healthy, and work out enough
Crazy? Yes. But I have hung out with many folks who think getting sick is a sign of weakness because you did something wrong with your lifestyle
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Most state prosecutors would have simply said, "fuck off, clown"
Federal Prosecutors much too gentlemanly, sometimes
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When I worked as a state prosecutor, I threatened to resign a few times when I had concerns about politics entering into prosecuting decisions - but I never actually did
Usually resignation demands lead to full and frank conversations and resolution - actual resignations are an epic system failure
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You will not be disappointed in Murderbot - a strong recommendation I received from Lit Professor @lauracstruve.com
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At some level, any prosecutors asked to sign dismissal motion has to be asking themselves whether they risk disciplinary sanctions if there is no good faith basis for dismissal or as US Attorney suggested in her letter, an improper quid pro quo
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Extreme version of Unitary Executive is both a total misreading of 250 years of const. law and an endorsement of the Nixonian view
Easy to imagine Chief Justice, like in immunity decision, invoking need for energetic and vigorous executive whose actions cannot be restrained by other branches
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Guidance from the Department of Education is just that -- "guidance"
It does not have the force of law and schools will have to make an independent judgment on compliance
Expect to see female athletes filing lawsuits alleging the Title IX requires pay equality, and nothing DOE can do to stop that
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Easy to imagine Chief Justice, like in immunity decision, again invoking the need for an energetic and vigorous executive whose actions cannot be restrained by other branches
This version of Unitary Executive is a total misreading of 250 years of constitutional law and theory, but here we are...
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This should not be a surprise to anyone following Unitary Excutive theory pushed by conservative legal scholars
While UE usually focuses on the relationship between Congress and President, expansive view of UE also limits ability of the Judicial Branch to infringe on the executive’s prerogatives
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There is a fine line between letting your experiences inform your commentary and self-indulgently just talking about yourself — feels like Brady crossed that line in 4th quarter
Plus: seems like the history of Patriots cheating in Super Bowls is getting whitewashed
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“Anybody with a worried mind
can never forgive the sight of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified”
That lyric seems appropriate
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I was a prosecutor in Southwest Ohio, and can say with confidence that I would have immediately dismissed any assault charges brought against someone for punching these Nazis
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The attack on birthright citizenship should be seen as a real and substantial long-term threat to the Jewish-Americans community, as without the protections in the 14th Amendment, a president could declare that Jews are a separate 'nationality' and not American citizens
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Whether this is just a one-off, or the Moses/Ten Commandments parallels deepen, depends on where Irving's character arc goes, of course
Interesting: while show presents founder as a religious figure, there is little mention of religion otherwise (I don't recall seeing Christmas trees, for example)
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What do you make of the parallels between Milchick’s statement that Irving’s entire existence will be wiped as he is cast into the wilderness and the banishment of Moses in the Ten Commandments (Sethi: “Let the name of Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time”)??
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The REAL challenge will be if the administration will follow judicial orders
The Unitary Executive theory usually focuses on the relationship between Congress and President
Expansive view of UE would also limit the ability of the Judicial Branch to infringe on the executive’s prerogatives
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Man, those Uncommitted folks really got played
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Hard to tell who were the bigger fools: the Uncommitted folks who refused to vote for Harris because of Gaza, or the folks who eat at Waffle House who voted for Trump thinking he would lower prices
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/b...
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The VoId responds:
"I FIND YOUR LACK OF FAITH IN THE UNITARY EXECUTIVE DOCTRINE DISTURBING"
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Irony is truly dead
This letter is from the same US Attorney who fired fired dozens of prosecutors who worked on criminal cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021 - an event that certainly included "threats, confrontations, or other actions in any way that impact[ed]" government actions
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Belief in the unitary executive theory is not limited to "much of the federal judiciary"
UE had a lot of support within DOJ, as well - which goes a long way in explaining delays and reluctance to pursue criminal cases against prior administration officials and POTUS
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Decline in individual company stocks (as opposed to broader market) may be tempered by ability of CEOs to leverage “donations” to appropriate Trump related foundations, PACs, entities, etc… in exchange for a special exemption from tariffs
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Leaders' concern about "their own supporters lashing out at them" is further complicated by the fact thay they will soon have to navigate a 'special pleadings' era where factions threaten to bring down the whole Democratic coalition unless certain policy demands are met
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"Legal Niceties" is simply treating lawyers, parties, witnesses, and the courts with common courtesy
Treating the law as a “game” in which the party with the most
overtly aggressive action and lawyers will prevail regardless of the merits of the claim is disrespectful to the entire legal system
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May also take occasional breaks to both laugh and cry at the 'uncommitted' movement and others on the left who thought undermining Biden administration's approach to Israel would lead to a Gaza policy that would be more to their liking
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Curious what a deal could even look like -- if administration is taking a maximalist position on Unitary Executive Theory that "faithfully execute the laws" gives President complete, unfettered, discretion, then any deal that purports to constrain the Executive is, by definition, unenforceable
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We now apparently have moved from the Buffy "Wishverse" into what in Community would be called the "Stupidest Timeline"
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Judge Piper (Ohio Court of Appeals) once said to me during oral arguments: "Josh, we both know we disagree about this issue. This is your chance to change my mind, I guess."
I did not change the Judge's mind.
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While the Ohio State/Day story contains multitudes, one thing is clear to many of us in Ohio: the "Ohio Against the World" thing is not a great look for such a wealthy program
At best does not age well and at worst is dismissive of the concerns by those with *legitimate* criticisms
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Tiffany Dome in Chicago?
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Attack on birthright citizenship has implications far beyond immigration
14th Amend prevents government from excluding from citizenship people who were born here based on race or religion - basically, this is a check on the US ever enacting something like the the Nuremberg Race Laws
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More important question will be: when is Trump Citizenship EO extended to exclude other distinct and insular minority groups from the definition of “Americans”?
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Really sad that ADL seems to have been captured by the small minority of Orthodox Jews and, as a result, no longer is able to speak for the overwhelming majority of American Jews
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Elimination of birthright citizenship guarantees in constitution threatens more than just the children of people of who lack legal status
The 14th Amendment prevents the government from declaring that some classes of people (Jews? Muslims?) are a separate nationality and not Americans
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Sure, we would all give the Devil benefit of law, for our own safety's sake!
Reality is, the last laws are already about to come down and the Devil is about to turn 'round on us anyway — there is no place to hide because thanks to Supreme Court the laws are already all flat
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We have been here before
The poet writes:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;…
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
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So did @lauracstruve.com
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More like this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUXp...
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Home games are important because it helps level the playing field between teams that have to account for cold weather at end of season and teams that don’t
If there was a desire to eliminate campus games — and why would you? they were fun — at least schedule cold weather neutral sites