UC Davis Law professor Vikram David Amar examines the legal challenges facing President Donald Trump’s March 31, 2026 executive order directing federal agencies and states to cross-check voter lists against a federal citizenship registry to prevent non-citizen mail-in voting. Professor Amar argues the order rests on shaky constitutional footing because the Constitution assigns voter qualification authority to states rather than the President, the executive order’s primary statutory basis (18 U.S.C. § 611) has never been closely scrutinized and may not survive it, and several provisions exceed federal power even under the most favorable reading of existing law.

Amherst professor Austin Sarat examines the Trump administration’s legal battle against several prominent law firms targeted by executive orders, following the administration’s erratic appellate strategy through the D.C. Circuit. Professor Sarat argues that the executive orders constitute clear First Amendment retaliation, that the administration’s legal claims are meritless, and that its portrayal of the president as a free-speech victim is both legally untenable and absurd.

Amherst professor Austin Sarat discusses President Trump’s efforts to unilaterally alter federal election rules through executive orders, including mandates on voter ID and restrictions on mail-in voting, despite constitutional limits on presidential authority. Professor Sarat argues that these actions not only violate the Constitution’s allocation of election oversight to Congress and the states but also reflect a partisan attempt by Trump to influence the outcome of the 2026 congressional elections.

UC Davis Law professor Vikram David Amar and Illinois Law professor Jason Mazzone examine President Trump’s executive order instructing the Department of Justice to prioritize prosecuting flag burning under existing content-neutral laws and considers the constitutional implications under First Amendment jurisprudence. Professors Amar and Mazzone argue that while the executive order nominally adheres to constitutional constraints, it potentially raises serious free speech concerns by targeting specific expressive conduct—flag desecration—for prosecution based on its political message, and exposes the lack of clarity and consistency in the Supreme Court’s First Amendment doctrine.

Guest columnist Gary J. Simson—Macon Chair in Law at Mercer Law School and Professor Emeritus at Cornell Law School—critiques executive orders issued by President Donald Trump that punish specific law firms for their clients or past actions, arguing that these orders resemble historically condemned legislative punishments known as bills of attainder. Professor Simson contends that these orders are fundamentally unconstitutional assaults on the legal system and should be challenged under the Constitution’s Bill of Attainder Clause, which was designed to prevent exactly such abuses of power.

NYU Law professor Samuel Estreicher critiques President Trump’s Executive Order 14,215, which mandates that all administrative agencies adopt the legal interpretations of the President or Attorney General as the official position of the U.S. government. Professor Estreicher argues that this directive dangerously undermines the independence of federal agencies and the constitutional separation of powers, and should therefore be rescinded or struck down by the courts.

UC Davis Law professor Vikram David Amar examines the legal and constitutional issues surrounding President Donald Trump’s Executive Order aimed at denying birthright citizenship to certain U.S.-born children of non-citizen parents, with a particular focus on upcoming Supreme Court arguments about the legitimacy of nationwide injunctions blocking the Order. Professor Amar argues that the Order is flagrantly unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s clear text and historical context and expresses concern that resolving procedural questions about injunctions in this unusual and highly politicized case may lead to inadequate judicial guidance on an important issue.

UC Davis Law professor Vikram David Amar and Illinois Law professor Jason Mazzone examine the legal and ethical implications of recent executive orders from the White House targeting law firms for their past work opposing the administration, and they discuss the resulting fragmentation within the legal profession over how to respond. Professors Amar and Mazzone argue that while individual law firms may face practical incentives to capitulate, coordinated resistance would be both more effective and legally protected under the First Amendment based on analogous Supreme Court precedents on collective political action and petitioning the government.

Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent Executive Order issued by President Trump calling for the creation of a “National Garden of American Heroes.” Dorf argues that we should recognize the Executive Order for the distraction that it mostly is and points out some of the Order’s fallacies, ambiguities, and inconsistencies.

Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar and UC Davis Law emeritus professor Alan E. Brownstein explain the complexities behind analyzing the motive underlying legislation and executive orders. Specifically, Amar and Brownstein highlight the difficulty in courts’ using perceived motive to strike down President Trump’s executive order regarding entry to the United States.

Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf considers whether President Trump’s new executive order on immigration, anticipated to be issued this week, will fare better than Executive Order 13769, which temporarily banned nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries and all refugees from entering the United States. Dorf discusses Trump’s past public statements advocating for a Muslim ban during his presidential campaign and applies the factors courts may use in evaluating whether those statements can be considered evidence of Trump’s motives for his actions as president, should the constitutionality of his executive order be challenged in court again.