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The Corpus Linguistics Bug: New Cases in the Sixth, Fourth Circuits.

In a previous post, we discussed corpus linguistics, an emerging tool in statutory and constitutional interpretation.  It appears that the corpus linguistics bug is spreading, both in this Circuit and to other circuits as well.  Two recent cases serve as a reminder that the Sixth Circuit is both a thought leader in analyzing and utilizing … Continue Reading

The Learned Sixth: New Paper Reexamines Judge Florence Allen, Sixth Circuit Trailblazer

This post arrives (along with many more) thanks to Zach Young, a Cincinnati native and rising 2L at Stanford Law School, where he studies as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will be contributing to the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog regularly this summer. An old clerk’s tale refers to the arrival of Florence Allen (1884-1996) to her … Continue Reading

Opioid Update: Judge Kethledge Reclaims Solitude—and Civil Procedure

Perhaps the most notable Sixth Circuit opinion of April—and almost certainly the most quotable—was Judge Kethledge’s opinion granting mandamus and reversing leave to amend in the opioid MDL. For a unanimous panel (Siler & Griffin, JJ.), the opinion followed the Circuit’s stay of Judge Polster’s discovery order back in February. That order would’ve required pharmacies … Continue Reading

Ben Beaton on the Learned Sixth

Are you a Sixth Circuit (or SCOTUS) aficionado who has been working from home? Maybe all of the social distancing that you’ve appropriately been practicing has you itching to engage in discussion with fellow court watchers? If that description sounds on target for you, let me suggest season 4, episode 17 of the SCOTUS101 podcast—the … Continue Reading

The Learned Sixth: “Run, Fun & Gun”

And now for something completely different. If you’re traveling for the New Year’s holiday (or perhaps resting or exercising after the last one?), consider a Learned Sixth podcast for the road: SCOTUS 101’s  interview with Sixth Circuit Judge Amul Thapar. The episode, appropriately titled Guns and Gifts, covers both the recent Supreme Court Second Amendment/mootness … Continue Reading

The Learned Sixth: Kethledge, Hayek, and “executive activism”

Perhaps no Circuit has featured as robust and sustained a debate about administrative deference as the “Learned Sixth.” This month Judge Raymond Kethledge added his voice to that conversation—though not in a judicial opinion. Instead, Professor Kethledge donned his University of Michigan hat (helmet?) and delivered the 15th Annual Hayek Lecture at the NYU Classical Liberal Institute. Past … Continue Reading

Tenn. Billboard Act Violates First Amendment, Says Sixth Circuit

In a big win for noncommercial outdoor speakers and a loss for LBJ enthusiasts, the Sixth Circuit issued a major First Amendment decision striking down Tennessee’s Billboard Regulation and Control Act. Judge Batchelder’s unanimous opinion (Donald and Cole joining) in Thomas v. Bright held that the law’s on/off-premises distinction represents an unconstitutional content-based abridgment of speech … Continue Reading

“Lexis on Steroids”: Corpus Linguistics receives mixed reception at the Sixth Circuit

By Zak Lutz (HLS ’20; Squire Patton Boggs summer associate) and Benjamin Beaton Sixth Circuit judges have taken an interest in “corpus linguistics.” At a recent gathering in northern Kentucky, three Sixth Circuit judges engaged in an impromptu discussion of the interpretive tool. And last week, in Wilson v. Safelite Group, two other Sixth Circuit … Continue Reading

The Learned Sixth: “Another Giant Tortoise”

And now for something completely different. If you’re traveling for the Fourth of July, consider a law-related podcast for the road: Malcolm Gladwell’s two-part treatment of the LSAT. Puzzle Rush and The Tortoise and the Hare kick off season 4 of Revisionist History. A decidedly non-lawyer friend recommended these episodes, which contain some great nuggets … Continue Reading

“The Learned Sixth” – Sixth Circuit Judges Busy Speaking and Writing

When welcoming his (many) new colleagues, Judge Sutton has sometimes mentioned his court’s long-lost nickname: “The Learned Sixth.” Many of its earliest judges—Taft, Day, Lurton, Howell Jackson—served as diplomats or law school deans, cooled their heels at the Sixth Circuit, and proceeded to the Supreme Court. Is the Sixth Circuit recovering its name and reputation? … Continue Reading
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