Michigan Law

@umichlaw.bsky.social

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The University of Michigan Law School

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 2:43 AM

Michigan Law #EveningRead

How Licensing Compromised the Library

by Professor Aaron Perzanowski

digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjteil/vol16...

How Licensing Compromised the Library
Aaron Perzanowski*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 459
I. WHAT LIBRARIES DO ................................................................... 461
II. LIBRARIES UNDER SIEGE ............................................................ 466
A. Acquisition .................................................................................. 466
B. Preservation ................................................................................ 468
C. Lending & Use ............................................................................ 470
D. Book Removals ........................................................................... 471
E. Privatization ................................................................................ 476
F. Privacy ........................................................................................ 478
G. Artificial Intelligence .................................................................. 479
III. WHAT LICENSES DO .................................................................. 480
A. First Sale & Autonomy ................................................................ 480
B. The Original Sin of Licensing ..................................................... 481
CONCLUSION.................................................................................... 484
INTRODUCTION
Libraries are under attack on multiple fronts. Fueled by right-wing
talking points, social-media misinformation, and conspiratorial fantasy,
efforts to remove or restrict access to books in public and school libraries
have exploded across the United States.1
At the same time, libraries have
confronted a disturbing rise in threats of violence and harassment directed
at staff and patrons.2
State and federal actors have targeted library

@barbmcquade.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 1:53 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

Donald Trump’s demolition of the rule of law makes a mockery of our Constitution and endangers our country. My thoughts in the Philadelphia @Inquirer.com.
www.inquirer.com/opinion/edit...

@barbmcquade.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 2:06 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

In new episode of #SistersInLaw, we discuss the ongoing impact of the Dobbs decision on abortion laws, apparent violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, and reported criminal investigation of Cassidy Hutchinson, just in time for the midterms.

You can listen here 👇
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 2:31 PM

Michigan Law #MorningRead

From Relic to Relevance, The Resurgence of Tariffs

by Professor Reuven S. Avi-Yonah et al.

repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law...

@mdefenders.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 1:05 AMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

Last week, >30 public defender offices participated in @umichlaw.bsky.social's Public Defender Interviewing Week. We had >150 interviews & two mixer events where students got to meet public defenders from around the nation. Thanks to all who participated. We hope to see you again next year!

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 2:12 PM

Michigan Law #MorningRead

“Rethinking the Fund Termination Sanction.”

by Professor @sbagen.bsky.social

scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcont...

INTRODUCTION
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 19641
is often referred to as the
“sleeping giant” of civil rights law.2 It is a “giant” because it prohibits
any form of race discrimination engaged in by any recipient of federal
financial assistance,3 and because the remedy set forth in the statute
for a violation is the termination of federal funds.4 And it is “sleeping”
because, except for a brief moment during the desegregation era, the
federal government had never seriously attempted to terminate a
recipient’s federal grants for a violation of the statute.5 Nor had the

@richardprimus.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 12:49 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

Delighted to say that the American Society of Legal Writers has named *The Oldest Constitutional Question* one of the best works of legal scholarship published in 2025.

I’ll talk about writing the book & accept an award today at noon in Hutchins Hall 120 (lunch provided!).

@umichlaw.bsky.social

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 7:36 PM

During the recent commemoration of Constitution Day, Harvard Law School Professor Guy-Uriel Charles, ’97, returned to Michigan Law to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais earlier this year.

michigan.law.umich.edu/news/guy-uri...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:34 PM

Zakaria Daboné received the Henry Dunant Field Prize, which recognizes “those who embody a spiritual commitment in fighting for human dignity with their research, their ideas, and their gift for communication.”

michigan.law.umich.edu/news/zakaria...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:31 PM

Michigan Law #MorningRead

Noneconomic Tort Damages and Biased Beliefs About Vulnerability to Harm

by Professor @rosesomm.bsky.social

via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/v...

Abstract
The American tort system aspires to provide fair compensation to injured plaintiffs, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, religion, or gender. Recent experimental evidence from psychology suggests, however, that factfinders consistently judge identical harms as less severe when experienced by individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES). People presume, for instance, that a paper cut hurts a wealthy person more than a less well-off person, that domestic violence inflicts greater suffering on a high-SES woman than a lower-SES woman, and that bullying harms a fiveyear- old from a high-SES family more severely than one from a low- SES family. This Essay examines how this “thick skin bias” threatens to undermine the compensatory function of tort law, particularly for plaintiffs who are already socioeconomically disadvantaged. While scholars have long lamented that pecuniary damages can perpetuate existing economic inequality by compensating highearning and high-asset plaintiffs more generously than their less well-off peers, comparatively little attention has been paid to how nonpecuniary damages might be distorted by psychological biases affecting perceptions of suffering experienced by people of different socioeconomic strata. The psychological phenomena explored here are particularly troubling because they operate in direct opposition to both legal principles and empirical reality. Tort law requires that noneconomic damages be assessed based on the individual circumstances of each plaintiff. Meanwhile, research suggests that, if anything, economic disadvantage exacerbates rather than diminishes the suffering caused by identical injuries, as low-income individuals often lack resources that facilitate recovery. This Essay identifies avenues for future research that might eventually inform legal reforms designed to combat the thick skin bias.

@barbmcquade.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 12:16 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

Another court has rejected Trump’s efforts to evade Senate confirmation and override court appointments of US Attorneys. My thoughts in @opinion.bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

@profrrothschild.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 2:56 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

In case you haven't had your fill of Suncor commentary, I've responded to Justice Kavanaugh's statements at oral arguments in this post, published in the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice and Comment blog: www.yalejreg.com/nc/the-four-...

@barbmcquade.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 10:06 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

With elections ahead, what legal challenges can we expect at the Supreme Court? I talked with Julie Mason today on POTUS Channel on Sirius XM. You can listen here
sxm-publish-clips.content-ingest.siriusxm.com/clip/ad4dc8d...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 10:10 PM

Michigan Law #EveningRead

Abundance and the Supreme Court

by Professor @nbagley.bsky.social

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 12:05 PM

Michigan Law #MorningRead

The Collision of State Climate Tort Suits with Federal Deregulation

by Professor @profrrothschild.bsky.social in @yalelawjournal.bsky.social

yalelawjournal.org/essay/the-co...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 2:21 AM

Timely essay from Professor Rachel Rothschild @profrrothschild.bsky.social

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 3, 2026, 3:43 PM

Michigan Law #WeekendRead

Strategies For Dealing with Students Who Ignore Feedback

By Professors @mchannon.bsky.social and Ted Becker

www.lwionline.org/article/stra...

@leahlitman.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 5:02 PMReposted by @umichlaw.bsky.social

Check out my piece in the @contrariannews.org talking about what’s going on at SCOTUS - and what’s on tap… www.contrariannews.org/p/next-on-th...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 1:38 PM

“My fear is that this is going to be another notch in a long list of decisions that are threatening to our broader country and democracy, leaving states without the ability to do much on very flimsy and poorly reasoned legal grounds.”

—Prof. @profrrothschild.bsky.social

grist.org/accountabili...

@umichlaw.bsky.social Oct 2, 2026, 1:35 PM

Happening now at Michigan Law:

The Environmental & Energy Law Program Conference: "Responding to Federal Retreat: Reimagining Environmental and Energy Law in the Great Lakes Region"

Panel I: AI and the Great Lakes Region: Energy, Innovation, Development

More info: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Panel of Moderator: Oday Salim, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Director, Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic, Co-director, Environmental and Energy Law Program, University of Michigan Law School
Helena Voltzer, Senior Source Water Policy Manager, Alliance for the Great Lakes
Michael P. Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law; Director, Climate Change Research Network; Co-Director, Energy, Environment and Land Use Program; Vanderbilt University Law School
Sue Shink, Michigan State Senator, District 14
Dan Scripps, Commissioner and Chair, Michigan Public Service Commission

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