July 29th, 2026
By Corinna Lain
On Wednesday morning from 9-12, Tom Metzloff and Howard Wasserman gathered an incredible group of constitutional law scholars to talk about the current assaults on the federal judiciary. I was only able to catch the first 45 minutes of it, but I wish I could have stayed for more—the session started with works in progress that addressed the Supreme Court’s role in shutting down the federal judiciary—or, as our esteemed moderators put it, “the call is coming from inside the house” (bonus points for naming the movie that made that line famous!). Lively discussions of the shadow docket and civil procedure moves that I don’t really understand ensued. I’m a death penalty scholar and had a sense of impending doom that not even my work leaves me with—that and pending appointments forced my early departure but once again I was impressed and grateful for the amazing group of thoughtful and collegial scholars that convene at SEALS every year, taking on tough topics with wisdom, wit, and grace.