The Tenacious Power of Constitutional Torts

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of giving the Paul M. Van Arsdell Jr. Memorial Lecture at the University of Illinois College of Law. The lecture is intended to "promote thoughtful discussion on litigation and dispute resolution systems and the highest ethical ideals of the legal profession."

I decided to use the opportunity to articulate what suing the government can accomplish, both because I've recently written a book dedicated to explaining just how difficult it is to bring such suits (which might leave readers with the false impression that attempting to do so is a fool's errand), and also because suing the government seems such a critical necessity in this moment, even as it is no silver bullet to cure what ails our democracy.

If you're interested in learning more, the talk is here, the draft paper is here, and a shorter version of the paper, written for the State Court Report, is here.