oxford law essay

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• Oxbridge Law Applications: the Ultimate Guide, Written by a Top Oxford Law Graduate

About the Author Samantha Love read Law at Merton College, Oxford, and is currently following the BCL course.

Oxford and Cambridge are well known for requiring a perpetual balancing act between spending time in the library and dressing up for dinners and balls. Of all the subjects they offer, Law is perhaps the one which really takes this to heart! It’s a fantastic degree to study anywhere, and Oxford and Cambridge are still considered two of the best places to do a law degree in the UK.

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It is however a big step to decide to apply for a new(ish) subject to you at university, especially one which is so obviously linked to a vocation . This guide will help you think about whether Law at Oxford or Cambridge is really for you, and then give you some key advice about navigating the parts of the application process that are specific to this subject. There’s a lot of misinformation about Oxford and Cambridge, and about law in particular; if you can sort the fact from the fiction, you’ll be well-prepared to embark on this challenging but exciting path.

How do I know if I want to be a law student? Do I need a law degree if I want to be a lawyer?

It can be quite daunting to decide to study a brand new subject, but studying law appeals to a lot of people because it has relevance for everyone and is such a central part of society. You can’t do much better than to get a primer out on something ‘exciting’ like criminal law and something ‘less exciting’ like land law and check you find both interesting on some level. It’s important that you enjoy thinking about the detail of the law as much as the political motivations behind it or the historical treatment of an area of society, so think about what is keeping your attention as you read. Law students have to cover certain core topics in detail as part of the degree so be aware that even if your heart lies with discussing overall policy aims and ideological struggles you will still have to learn the finer points of contract law! On the other end of the spectrum, it’s important to know that a law degree is considered very different to practice (especially an Oxbridge degree compared to working in a corporate firm) so there is no need to do an undergraduate law degree in order to work as a lawyer. A large proportion of qualified lawyers do their undergraduate degree in another discipline – you take a one-year conversion course and then have caught up to your peers . A law degree can be very philosophical (especially at Oxbridge, where many of your tutorial discussions will be about what the law should be) – it’s not just about learning the content of the law, but about thinking seriously about how we organise our society from property law to control of the state. So if your heart is set on corporate law then the decision isn’t too important – they can bring you up to speed fairly quickly.

Oxford and Cambridge – essentially the same place, yes? Not quite…

If we’re honest, Oxford and Cambridge are overall very similar, and on the careers front it’s still the case that around 30% of barristers went to Oxford or Cambridge ( Barristers’ Working Lives, 2011 ). They’re also both very different to other universities in learning style , with small tutorials or supervisions being the main focus of the academic week and around three essays to submit a fortnight. But there are a few key differences between the two for law which are worth thinking about: – The number of compulsory modules: Oxford has 12 and only 2 options, in your final year. Cambridge has a more flexible structure. Whilst most students take certain core modules you do get choice as to what you study from second year. – The big one: assessment structure. Oxford has a few exams midway through first year which don’t count towards your final mark, an extended essay between second and third year which does, and a marathon of 9 exams in about 12 days at the end of third/fourth year upon which almost your entire degree classification is based. Cambridge has exams every year, so the pressure’s less intense at the end of third year but you have to keep completely on top of your notes as you go through the years. Think hard about which style would play to your strengths, but if it doesn’t make a difference then consider other factors. – Applying for a year abroad. Oxford offers a 4 year course with a year spent abroad which you apply for from the outset, whereas at Cambridge you apply once you are there. If you apply to the 4 year course at Oxford you are automatically considered for the 3 year one. If you are absolutely dead-set on a 4 year course and want to know straight away then apply to Oxford, though personally I would recommend taking an offer for the 3 year course if given one (that’s what I did!). Places do become available during the first year because you have to maintain a certain level of academic results to stay on the course, and invariably someone drops out. – The clothing: at Oxford you wear academic dress to examinations, whereas at Cambridge you don’t. Not really a reason for one or the other (unless you hate bow ties), but an interesting difference! However, don’t worry too much about this decision. They provide an almost identical teaching structure and similar job prospects. Go to a couple of open days and see which you prefer. The two cities are quite different although the Colleges are almost identical – Cambridge is smaller and the Colleges are slightly more secluded, whereas Oxford is bigger and the Colleges are mostly right in the middle of town.

I’ve decided – Oxford/Cambridge law is the one for me!

Be sure to read the universities’ websites’ information and our Oxbridge applications guide for the general information you need to know about your application form. This extra information should be helpful specifically for Law applications:

– Work experience is not necessary but nor is it a bad idea. If you know anyone who works in the legal industry, see if you can shadow them for a few days. If you can’t, e-mail round some local firms or chambers politely asking if you could come in for a day or so during the holidays (don’t try criminal sets, they tend to say no for safety reasons). If that doesn’t work, go sit in your local open court. Tribunal justice is perhaps even more fascinating than watching barristers float around in wigs and gowns, and it’s a good way of showing that you know there is more to settling legal disputes than what you see in films. – You need no legal knowledge whatsoever (see below on the interview). However it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the papers and understand what’s going on in the world and its legal implications. As you’re thinking about studying Law in the UK, keep an eye on the UK newspapers and especially the current legal aid/system reforms . – Your personal statement is a large part of the application process and the advice in our Oxbridge interview guide is as good as you can get. You want to show that you’re interested and interesting – these tutors are thinking about spending three years supervising your learning and sitting next to you at the odd dinner and they want to know that you’ll put some effort in. Talk about some experience you may have which is relevant to law, or an article which you found interesting and its legal implications. Try to avoid (1) quotes by any Greek philosopher; (2) in fact, any quote you found on the Internet under the heading ‘law quotes’; (3) saying how enthusiastic you are about law, and especially how ‘passionate’ you are about it. Very few people are passionate about the Land Registration Act! You may find particular areas fascinating, you may find the way society interacts with law and how it shapes morals and behaviour really interesting, but I promise you that you are not passionate about ‘Law’ in the abstract! (4) Commenting on how ‘law is all around us’ . This is, unfortunately, so common in personal statements as to sound as though you’ve copied it from someone else on The Student Room. – The LNAT can be quite daunting but just think of it this way – it tests your ability to (a) pick out fine details and understand arguments (b) consider an issue with a legal mindset even if not from a legal perspective – consider all the relevant parts, including the impact on others from picking one side or another, the practicalities and the principles at stake. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? The best preparation you can do is the (free) online practices on the official LNAT website, read newspapers and think a lot. Talk to a family member and ask them to try pick apart an argument you make on (say) elected judges, or if they’re not keen talk to a pet. The way they stare back always makes me notice flaws in my own argument! Make sure you book the LNAT in plenty of time; it had to be booked by October 5 for Oxbridge students this year but local centres can book out well in advance. Do lots of typing preparation too, both for speed and for knowing what an essay within the 750 maximum word limit looks like. – Your UCAS application will be to 5 universities . Don’t discount the others! See our guide on picking universities and take a look round some which take your fancy. Lots of universities put the core 7 areas of study required for Qualifying status into as few modules as possible so you get more options, and that suits a lot of people. Be aware though, your chances of going to a prestigious firm or becoming a barrister are higher if you go to a Russell Group university ( Bar Council Report, Barristers’ Working Lives 2011 ) so this is a good start from which to focus your search.

Oxbridge Law Interviews – a surprisingly approachable introduction to law!

Before you start watching the doormat for that crucial letter, be aware that not everyone is invited to interview because the LNAT acts as a filter. If you’re not interviewed don’t be disheartened, there are plenty more universities, but if you are then this is the part where it starts becoming quite real! Whether you come to Oxford and interview or (usually for visa reasons) do a telephone or Skype interview, the format of the actual interview will be the same so the same advice applies. Above all, let the tutors know what you’re thinking when you are trying to answer a question. The point of Oxbridge interviews in general and law interviews in particular is to keep giving you some brand new information and see how quickly you can get to grips with it and apply it to something you already know. Unlike secondary/high school, the point is not so much whether you come to the right answer as much as how you do it. So keep talking! You may want to say ‘I’m just thinking aloud here, but I’ll give you a concrete answer in a second’ and that is absolutely fine. Once you reach that answer, be prepared for your argument to be tested by your interviewers. Hold your ground and give reasons for doing so for as long as you still believe you have a good point, but equally be prepared to alter your view if you had not considered something now being pointed out to you. Just make it clear why you think the interviewer’s point makes your argument problematic. There are two main types of academic interview, assuming you don’t have a personal one (i.e. about yourself). In one type, you may be given some text to read for half an hour before the interview and sometimes questions to think about before you go in. Read everything slowly, and preferably twice. Underline, star or highlight anything you find interesting or don’t understand (you are allowed to ask!), and write a two-line summary of the reading for your own benefit because you may well be asked for one. It also helps ensure you understand the information! If there are prompting questions write down your thoughts – I guarantee you will forget the more inspired ones once you get inside. The second type is one I can best show you through an example, because it is about thinking critically about a situation which you have just been presented with. Please be aware that this is not an actual example from an Oxbridge interview, and nor is it a proper definition of the offence of theft. It is simply a way of getting you to understand the thinking processes that are valued in legal study. Imagine you are given this piece of paper in the interview. “The offence of theft is defined as ‘taking another’s property without that person’s permission or consent and with the intent permanently to deprive the owner of it”. You can refer to it as much as you like. Now, you are given scenarios to consider and have to say whether they fall within the definition or not.

1. Alan owns a cat. Bert sees the cat on the street and takes it home. He knows the cat belongs to Alan and plans to keep it locked in his house because he has always wanted a cat and wants to keep it forever. 2. Catherine sees Alan’s cat wandering the street after it escaped from Bert’s house. She thinks it is a stray (Bert took its collar off) and takes it in. She locks it in the house so she doesn’t escape. 3. Derek takes Alan’s ticket for this week’s LocalTeam FC match and uses it to go to the game for free. He plans to put the ticket back in Alan’s house afterwards so that Alan just thinks he missed the ticket when looking for it before the game. 4. Eva sneaks into Alan’s garden at night and takes a plant pot she really likes. Alan sees her doing so but had been thinking Eva should have the plant pot because she likes it so much. He therefore says nothing. Have a think about these examples before you read on – apply the definition to the facts and see if each element is satisfied. Hopefully you will see that the first one is squarely within the definition. For the second, the question is whether Catherine intended permanently to deprive the owner of the cat. She does not intend anyone else to have her, but does not know she has an owner. For the third, Derek intended to return the physical ticket but that isn’t the real value of the ticket – the value is in using it to watch a football match. Does depriving Alan of the benefit of the ticket, i.e. watching the match, come within this definition of depriving the owner of a piece of property? What is the ‘property’ here – a piece of paper or a right to enter a match? Is a right ‘property’? For the fourth example, Alan has not given explicit consent or permission for Eva to have the plant pot but is quite happy for her to take it. Is this consent? In the interview you would need to go through these examples in a similar fashion but make a case for either side of the argument and explain why you think it is correct. It can actually be quite fun! Just as a last point, be aware that you could be asked on something currently in the news, or your personal statement. The latter is quite rare because the tutors have so much to find out about your suitability for legal study but it takes ten minutes to check your personal statement so it would be an error not to look it over before you go in. As for current news stories, it is always a good idea to watch the papers in the couple of weeks before you go to interview. However, the discussion in my interview was about a fairly minor story and anybody who hadn’t seen it was given a brief summary. This reinforces the point I made earlier – these interviews really are about adapting to new information, not knowing it already , so if you don’t know a phrase or concept then explain that you’d like a brief explanation so you can really get to grips with the material. It just shows you’re interested.

The big day – letter/e-mail arrives

If you’ve got in, well done! There’s nothing to do except meet your offer grades and wait for the reading list to arrive in September. If you haven’t then it doesn’t mean you are not as smart as the other candidates, just that the tutors didn’t think you would benefit the most from the Oxbridge system. They are after a particular mindset as much as intelligence because of the tutorial/supervision system being so unusual, and plenty of people do just as well elsewhere. If you’re absolutely dead-set on Oxbridge you could e-mail asking if it would be possible to have some feedback and advice as to whether re-application might be a good idea, and that might help make up your mind. Good luck! Image credits: banner ; library ; subfusc ; moot ; Cambridge ; cat ; letterbox . 

Studying Law at Oxford: Everything About Oxford Law Faculty

Law (Jurisprudence) at Oxford gives students the chance to develop a diverse set of skills. It also challenges you to form constructive arguments orally and further analyse critical information. Another key selling point of Law at Oxford is that many acclaimed academics teach the course. There are also a plethora of resources at your disposal.

What are the Oxford Law Entry Requirements?

How to get into oxford law – a look at the oxford law entry requirements: the grades .

The standard grade requirement for law admission to the University of Oxford is AAA at A-Level (for international qualifications and alternative credentials may be found on the Oxford law applications page). Although there are no topic prerequisites, it may be beneficial to attend an essay course to build essay-writing abilities that will be valuable when applying to Oxford and studying there.

Oxford is an academically driven university with a pool of applicants with the highest grades. Although the grade criteria are not the most stringent, it is apparent that Oxford is an exceptionally academically successful university, and a set of anticipated grades that exceed AAA will aid you in the application process. However, the admission procedure is also diverse and allows people who excel in certain areas but struggle in others, although your grades will almost certainly need to be excellent. As part of the admissions process, your  law personal statement  will also allow you to strengthen your application, so make sure you spend time preparing and writing this, as admissions tutors also consider this when deciding on who to invite to interview.

How to get into Oxford Law – A look into the Oxford Law entry requirements: The Assessment Stage

Oxford University uses the LNAT. This test comprises two sections: a multiple-choice and skills-based portion, and an essay writing section. The LNAT is also difficult and time-consuming. Although Oxford is not the only university that requires it, it does expect a very high score and any potential successful applicant should expect to devote a substantial amount of time and effort to their LNAT preparations.

1. More than just an essay 

There is a difference in the testing requirements between Oxford law and Cambridge law. Unlike Cambridge, the Oxford LNAT admissions test entails more than writing an essay. This might work in your favour because the LNAT allows you to display analytical, inferential, and reading speed abilities. Don’t give up too soon though, if you’re having trouble getting acclimated to the LNAT; nonetheless, keep in mind the variations between Oxford and Cambridge while deciding where to apply.

2. Taken before the interview 

Admissions tutors rejected many applications before the interview stage at Oxford. Because you take the LNAT before the interview, your score will be one of the factors that instructors consider when determining who to invite to the interview. As a result, passing the LNAT test is quite vital.

How to get into Oxford Law – The Interview Stage

The Oxford law interview will differ from year to year and college to college. You should expect to be pushed and challenged by your interview. The interviewers will also encourage to stretch and develop your ideas and arguments as well as respond to new information and questions. The interview process is about testing your skills and suitability to be a law student at Oxford. It is not so much about what you know but what your skills are. You might try and demonstrate …

• Cogency of argument
• Responsiveness to new questions and lines of thought
• Ability to sustain an argument
• Logic and analysis
• Your ability to structure your thoughts in an organised manner
• Awareness of counter arguments and different angles

There are numerous ways to prepare. Here are some top tips to prepare using:

• Obtaining permission from your teachers or peers to conduct a mock interview. Have them ask you multiple questions you can expect and also ask them to offer an opinion about how they think you responded
• Watching law interviews from Oxford and Cambridge on the internet. Try to react aloud and also compare your answers to those of the model ones
• Having your friends and family question you about your personal statement is a good idea.
• Conducting research on the issues you mentioned in your personal statement
• Keeping up with current events and news
• Read over your personal statement and make a list of three questions you don’t not want the interviewers to ask you. Then allow yourself 30 seconds to respond.

A Summary of all the Requirements

The most important thing to understand about the Oxford law admissions process is that it is made up of several elements; no single portion is the be-all and end-all, and the procedure accommodates applicants who excel in other areas. That said, the application is quite competitive, and you should give it your all to succeed at every stage. Remember that whether you are accepted or not, the application

→What is the law programme at Oxford?

The law programme at Oxford is a rigorous and highly respected course of study that covers a wide range of legal topics, including public law, contract law, criminal law, and more. Moreover, the programme is offered as an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, and as part of the Joint Honours programme.

→What are the admission requirements for studying law at Oxford?

The admission requirements for studying law at Oxford vary depending on the level of study. Generally, applicants are required to have a strong academic record, including top grades in relevant subjects, such as English, History, and Politics. Additionally, applicants must submit a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and may be required to sit an admissions test and/or attend an interview.

→What is the community like for law students?

Law students at Oxford are part of a diverse and supportive community of scholars. The university also has a range of social and cultural activities, including student-run clubs and societies, that offer opportunities for students to engage with each other and the wider community.

→What resources are available?

Law students at Oxford have access to a range of resources, including state-of-the-art libraries, research centers, and support services such as academic advising and career services.

→What opportunities are available?

Law students at Oxford have access to a wide range of opportunities, including internships, moot court competitions, and study abroad programs. Additionally, the university has a strong network of alumni working in the legal profession who can provide mentorship and career guidance.

→What is the job outlook for law graduates?

Law graduates from Oxford are highly sought after by employers in a range of fields, including law firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Many graduates go on to pursue further study or work in international legal settings.

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Successful Personal Statement For Law At Oxford

Last Updated: 6th April 2022

Author: Chloe Hewitt

Table of Contents

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it. 

Today, we are looking through a Law applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Oxford University. The Law Course at Oxford offers a world-class opportunity to develop a diverse set of skills which you will be able to apply in many different situations.

Read on to see how this candidate managed to secure an offer from a world-class department.  

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement (the applicant uses most of the 4,000 characters available):

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

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Law Personal Statement

Law is a set of rules and guidelines imposed upon a society which reflect its moral consciousness, guided and guarded by the judiciary. I believe everyone has the right to be judged objectively by their own laws. I am fascinated by the process of examining legal arguments, by how the outcome of a case hinges on presentation of the evidence and by the law’s status as the ultimate arbiter of ‘justice.’ It is this desire to study the analytical process and underlying principles of jurisprudence that motivates me to study law academically.

Preparing for my extended project, I studied Plato’s Republic and how his analyses of different societies are relevant to modern Britain. Examining the common flaws between our own society and those depicted in Republic made me appreciate the subtlety of the law in its present-day form: many of Plato’s proposed solutions to these flaws undermined what are viewed today as personal rights. This led me to reflect on how laws protect us, and also how their intricacies create a doctrine to which people adhere, both complying and incorporating it in their own morality.

Investigating Plato’s ideal political system, I considered the contrast between how his laws were devised and their status in our own society. Plato’s ‘Guardians’ (not unlike our own judiciary) were relied on both to codify and interpret the law. While their decisions were considered to be benevolent, society was expected to conform to laws dictated by a separate class. The situation in the UK is quite different: statute law, as well as case law, often reflects current popular opinion. Sarah’s law (the parents’ right to check the criminal record of any carer for their child) was the direct result of a popular campaign. Whether it is better to have a system of laws that evolve with society or one that is dictated by a separate body is just one example of the ethical questions behind the law that intrigue me.

Seeking experience in the area of law that first attracted me, I assisted a criminal barrister in a Bristol chambers, including client interviews for petty offences and note taking in Crown Court, where we were prosecuting an alleged serial attempted rapist. The defendant’s decision to dismiss his lawyers to defend himself brought home the need for a professional intermediary to ensure fair interaction of the individual with the protocol of the law. Examining case files while shadowing a Queen’s Counsel specialising in public and taxation law, I was struck by how even the most powerful individual or company is still bound to observe the law. I sought exposure to corporate and commercial law with a local solicitor, where I worked through a practical example of employment law to determine whether a client had a case. This close reading of legal documents was a rewarding and stimulating experience, confirming my commitment to study law.

Captaining rugby teams at school (now 1st XV), club and county level, I have learned how to listen and how to lead; understanding and incorporating others’ opinions or feelings in my interaction was key to encouraging progress for the individual or group, to motivate them and help them achieve their own potential. I developed these skills further mentoring in French and as a Sports Ambassador for local primary schools.

Rugby is like society: there are fixed laws that define the game and how it is played, but they are constantly tested by the flair of the players. As a result, the referee must both interpret and enforce the application of those laws; in Plato’s terms, he is both guardian and auxiliary. The application of the law to dynamic situations and how different outcomes might be achieved depending upon points of interpretation has fascinated me for years.

I am strongly motivated to study the law’s mechanics and with this passion, combined with the necessary determination and underlying skills, I will relish the task of appreciating and mastering law as an intellectual discipline in its own right.

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

This is an impressive personal statement in many regards and was clearly well received. The student opens with a definition of law, but then goes on to interpret what they understand it to mean, and by doing so has given some insight into their personality and understanding. It is clear from the outset that the student’s interest is an academic one, and this will gain them favour from top academic institutions if sustained. The discussion of the student’s extended project is given a clear legal dimension, and the student competently makes cross-links, which display their strong grasp of sources of UK law- having a current example to underline this point. In this instance, the discussion of work experience complements the academic interests well because of the way the statement is structured – by saving work experience till later, the student made clear that their primary focus is academic and intellectual, but they do have a commitment to engaging with the subject at a practical level.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

Having two paragraphs about rugby probably gives the sport more attention than is necessary. Moreover, while the student has endeavoured to present all their skills as relevant to law, the links can read as somewhat tenuous, particularly in the sporting examples. Replacing one of these paragraphs with one about some wider reading in a purely legal area of interest (as opposed to reading as part of the extended project) would have been a more beneficial addition.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This is an extremely strong personal statement. The student clearly gets across their interest in studying law, but more than this it is unquestionable that their interest is in studying law as an academic discipline rather than practicing law as a career once they have graduated. Structurally the statement flows well, and covers sufficient facets of the student’s activities and interests to explain why they want to study law and why they would be successful in doing so. The only real improvement to be made would be to add discussion of a time the student engaged in academic reading or research into a legal topic beyond what is required of them in their studies.

This Personal Statement for Law is a good example of demonstrating motivation and development which is vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years, so you need to appeal directly to them.

There are plenty more successful personal statements and expert guides on our Free Personal Statement Resources page.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accuses former President Donald Trump of multiple felonies by joining a state misdemeanor business records charge with a potential other crime dealing with both federal and state election laws. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig

This guest essay reflects the views of John J. Faso, a member of the New York bar and a Republican who served as a member of Congress.

Josef Stalin’s secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria was notorious for hunting down real and imagined enemies of his patron. Beria once said, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”

While Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a far cry from Beria, his prosecution of Donald Trump has all the makings of a political rather than legal initiative.

Bragg accuses Trump of multiple felonies by joining a state misdemeanor business records charge with a potential other crime dealing with both federal and state election laws. Our country has two parallel systems of governance — state and federal — and therefore two parallel justice systems run by separate sovereigns, each with their own laws and prosecutors.

The New York State case of People v. Trump oversteps the boundaries of those systems by premising a state criminal prosecution on a purported federal criminal violation. Neither state nor federal law supports that concept, and if upheld it would undermine both legal systems with harsh and unpredictable consequences.

Trump is accused in state court of falsifying business records in the first degree. The crime consists of making false entries in the written records of a business with intent to defraud. It is upgraded to a felony if done to commit or conceal “another crime.”

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Setting aside the significant definitional issues, this prosecution founders legally on the conflation of the two legal systems. The indictment itself never identifies the underlying “another crime,” although standard practice, and standard due process notice requirements demand prosecutors expressly inform the defendant of the crimes charged. Here, the prosecutors simply suggested several possible crimes to fill that gap.

Federal authorities chose to take no action on this issue, not even a civil regulatory violation. In legal briefs, prosecutors suggest this lack of federal action is no bar to a state prosecution since they need only prove the intent to violate federal law.

This is an even more disturbing proposition, since it would mean that any business record that might show an intent to violate any federal law, including federal misdemeanors, could be prosecuted as a New York felony.

In Bragg’s version of the law, he could prosecute federal income tax violations or federal national security laws. Strikingly, and contrary to arguments the Biden administration has made in U.S. Supreme Court, under Bragg’s interpretation local district attorneys could prosecute federal immigration law violations.

The illogic of Bragg’s position goes even further since his team asserts that literally any crime could serve as “another crime” to enhance the falsifying business records misdemeanor. Because this theory has no principle that would limit the definition of “another crime” to any specific set of crimes, other states’ crimes or even those of other countries would suffice.

Justice Juan Merchan denied the defense’s motion to dismiss but these issues will surely be ripe for appeal if Trump is convicted, though that would come after the November election.

As the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in another context, legislatures do not “hide elephants in mouseholes.” If New York prosecutors had such sweeping powers to import the whole of federal criminal enforcement powers into state criminal law, that would have been clearly stated by the State Legislature.

To the contrary, New York’s laws make no claims to federal criminal enforcement authority.

Bragg’s prosecution is a gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Somewhere, Lavrentiy Beria is smiling.

This guest essay reflects the views of John J. Faso, a member of the New York bar and a Republican who served as a member of Congress.

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Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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Daniel joyce, review of carolyn n. biltoft. a violent peace: media, truth, and power at the league of nations.

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Daniel Joyce, Daniel Joyce, Review of Carolyn N. Biltoft. A Violent Peace: Media, Truth, and Power at the League of Nations , European Journal of International Law , 2024;, chae022, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chae022

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Carolyn Biltoft has written a creative history of the League of Nations period with insights for international law scholarship at the intersection of media, truth and power. Biltoft is a historian whose approach draws on ‘intellectual history, cultural studies, and critical theory’ to help analyse the League of Nations and to understand what it reflected about a period of crisis and globalization that in some sense mirrors our own (at 3). This is not a comprehensive or especially detailed history, but, rather, it makes fascinating, sometimes unexpected and often critical connections between themes including language, finance, false news and image. The text is full of generative insights – Biltoft aims to look ‘ through rather that at the League’ and is ‘more interested in the organization’s meaning-making functions than its policy-making ones’ (at 13; emphasis in original).

Utopian thinking (especially when encountered as post-Cold War hubris or optimism) is often seen by international lawyers as a fault, even while it pervades so much international institutional discourse. Biltoft’s deft and subtle reading of the utopian projects of the interwar years confirms our contemporary critical suspicion of the dangerous optimism of power. Indeed, she explicitly analyses the League’s rhetoric alongside fascism, characterizing each as ‘universalist paradigms … vying over the same informational mediums to secure a specific world picture’ (at 39).

This is an important study of internationalism at a juncture between the old world of the 19th century and a modern era of technological innovation and violence. This book is clearly the product of many years of careful reflection and archival study. The book’s own origins can be traced to the uncertain period of the global financial crisis of 2008 and efforts to understand its implications. In this way, the book echoes several contemporary turns within international legal scholarship – to history, to infrastructure and to political economy. All, I would argue, are vital to analysing the prospects of international law as it grapples with our own contemporary mix of truth, lies and violence.

Biltoft’s interdisciplinary and connective methods offer a way of understanding the international role and significance of information in terms of politics, finance and war. She is not attempting to offer a neat historical analogy between our time and then, but it is clear that international lawyers can learn much from this exploration of the interwar years and the League’s efforts to rebuild the world after crisis in order to channel and constrain the new. As the preface suggests, the League of Nations experiment represented a shift in efforts to conceive of a world functioning as a whole. This involved a commitment to world public opinion – a concept that remains central to popular engagement with, and participation in, international law but that has lost its credibility as more is understood about great power hypocrisy and the significance of domestic politics in shaping universal normative frameworks.

International law is clearly needed to address collective problems but is increasingly viewed with scepticism. This is particularly so in the field of information governance, which is dominated by a tired transatlantic debate pitching libertarianism against data protection, with state control in Russia and China presented as the only other alternatives. A more nuanced and multifaceted analysis is required, and Biltoft’s powerful book is instructive here. Within the interwar years can be found both a rigid desire for complete global fixes as well as creative and experimental forms that can inspire us in navigating our own dangerous times.

Biltoft characterizes the League of Nations as ‘an information-driven political, cultural, and economic project meant to encompass the “whole world” (even if it did not)’, and she argues that we can learn from its debates about the connections between ‘mass media and mass violence anew’ (at x). The book is neither for nor against international governance. It highlights the connective role that media has played in both the formation of ‘cosmopolitan conversations’ and ‘military mobilizations and ethnic cleansings’ (at xi). Totalizing systems proved to be ‘impossible’, with information acting both to empower and undermine ‘totalitarian fantasies and projects’ (at xi). This is a profound insight as, collectively, we begin to comprehend the role of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence for international law and ordering.

After the Cold War, international law was a more optimistic discipline than it is today, yet also generally blind to its own implication in suffering, violence and experimental failure. There was genuine belief in international law’s generality, its universal application, even its moral force. I have come to understand this version of international law as a product of its time with its own fantasies of control and global problem-solving. Our contemporary moment is one that is characterized by uncertainty and fear over the future. It is useful then to take stock of international legal ambitions by thinking about how they might also relate to their own political and cultural contexts. What kind of international law does our own time of pandemic, violence, misinformation, political instability, climate catastrophe and inequality require?

It is in this context that thinking critically about the interwar years and the dangers of totalitarian political projects may be instructive. Biltoft considers the period’s debates over a global public sphere or international society, where ‘ words might replace weapons as the primary tool of international relations’ (at 5; emphasis in original). The monograph offers a distinctive contribution to the extensive literature with which it engages, and the author has the confidence to paint a bigger picture through her selective focus on key areas of activity within the League. In an extended and thought-provoking first chapter, setting out the key argument in its context and explaining the methodological approach taken, the author states that, ‘from its start, the League was tasked with “manufacturing consent” for the post-World War I capitalist and imperial geopolitical order of things ’ (at 10; emphasis in original).

Biltoft first explores ‘the extent to which the organization itself functioned as a truth and symbolic capital production center’ (at 14). This draws into view early instances of the mediatization of international institutions. She reflects that, ‘at its heart, the League was something of a production company, or an information factory, continually producing words, images, charts, and sound bites’ (at 18). Biltoft then explores in subsequent substantive chapters how the League of Nations approached key questions regarding language, money and the press. The chapter on language considers how it could both connect and exclude, how it was a tool of power and control. It also examines efforts to develop alternative international languages such as Esperanto. The following chapter then considers the transformation of banking and finance that telecommunications infrastructure enabled and the discussions over the gold standard, counterfeit currency and the de-materialization of money within the League. Currencies became a site for contestation over trust, equality, truth and identity. Again, Biltoft explores these developments at the League alongside the backdrop of Nazi economic policy and its connections to violence and propaganda.

The final substantive chapter offers fascinating insights regarding the League’s innovative approach to media. Biltoft considers the League’s law-making in relation to broadcasting and debates over false news or propaganda and again tracks these themes in Nazi Germany at the same time. Much of the chapter focuses on the suicide of Czech journalist, poet and filmmaker Stefan Lux at the League following the passage of the Nuremberg laws in Germany. It is a chilling and revealing episode highlighting both Lux’s effort to draw attention to the threat of fascism and the notable absence of attention it received at the time and in the archives that remain. Biltoft reminds the reader that Lux took this action in the belief that the whole world was watching and would act upon his warning (at 89). The chapter also engages with Walter Benjamin’s critique of information and its influence upon critical theory: ‘[W]herever life and especially death appeared as mere information, violence had become all the more possible and on a greater scale’ (at 95).

Biltoft concludes by reflecting on the legacy of the League and its impact on the creation of the post-war United Nations (UN) system. Many felt that words had failed in keeping the peace and that the focus of the new organization should be collective action. Biltoft notes that ‘the interwar crisis was born in part of the ways in which information networks linked up both quests for power and wealth as well as existential quests for certainty’ (at 116). This short and thought-provoking book is richer for the fact that it is open to the mixed picture that emerges regarding the League. Violence and information systems clearly remained central organizing principles within international ordering after the interwar years, and the UN’s genesis aligned with the ‘birth of the information era proper’ (at 115).

The stakes of these formative debates over media, truth and power could not be clearer. Biltoft helps to unearth the significance of information as a lens through which to understand internationalism. She adds alternative readings of the period to supplement the now rather tired realist critique of the League and to show that ‘immaterial signs and material reality had become coconstitutive in new ways through the intermingling of media, markets, and power politics’ (at 9). This is useful and also reorientates attention to the material and infrastructural settings through which information helped to shape the nascent international system.

In my own work, I have found this research and its creative, curious spirit to be helpful in thinking further about the relationship between international law and media, including infrastructural and material aspects. 1 Imaginative international legal scholarship is emerging at this intersection of information and international law, exploring both the ideological, technological and material dimensions. 2 More research is needed as information will continue to be a defining theme in the times ahead. As Biltoft concludes, ‘the story lines that escape the prison house of binary code (signal/noise, true/false, local/global, us/them) are not only meaningless to the radar; they are also destablilizing for the despots, the censors, and the book burners’ (at 120). Violence, media and misinformation are clearly connected, but their imbrication can cut and shape the world in all manner of ways. It is our challenge to begin to understand how and why, and, as Biltoft shows, we will need more than positive law or technological solutions to do so.

D. Joyce, Informed Publics, Media and International Law (2020); Joyce, ‘Communications Infrastructure, Technological Solutionism and the International Legal Imagination’, 34 Law and Critique (2023) 363.

See further Cong, ‘Contesting Freedom of Information: Capitalism, Development, and the Third World’, 13(1) Asian Journal of International Law (2023) 46; Mansouri, ‘Money, Magic, and Machines: International Telecommunication Union and Liberalisation of Telecommunications Networks and Services (1970s–1990s)’, 11(2) London Review of International Law (2023) 231.

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District Can Deny Opt-Outs on LGBTQ+ Books, Court Rules

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A federal appeals court on May 15 refused to block a Maryland school district’s policy preventing parents from opting their children out of LGBTQ+ inclusive “storybooks” used in the English language arts curriculum in its elementary schools.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond, Va., voted 2-1 to deny a preliminary injunction to block the policy of the 160,000-student Montgomery County school district outside the nation’s capital.

The school system in 2022 approved books such as Pride Puppy! , which encourages readers to look for terms such as drag queen and king, lip ring, and leather, My Rainbow , and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding to help teach reading to students as young as pre-kindergarten. An associate superintendent said in court papers that the books were not meant to explicitly teach about gender identity and sexual orientation in elementary school, but to be a classroom option for students to discover and for teachers to recommend to some students.

Some Christian and Muslim parents, among others, objected to the books as age-inappropriate and infringing on their rights to raise their children. During the 2022-23 school year, parents were given notice and the chance to opt their children out of exposure to the books.

But beginning with the current school year, the Montgomery County board ended the opt-out option. School officials said in court papers that there were a high number of opt-out requests and a burden on school staff members to remember which students could have access to the books and which could not, among other concerns. The district believes that “representation in the curriculum creates and normalizes a fully inclusive environment for all students,” it said in a brief.

Besides helping with language skills, “the Storybooks support students’ ability to empathize, connect, and collaborate with diverse peers and encourage respect for all,” the district said.

A group of Roman Catholic, Muslim, and Ukrainian Orthodox parents sued the district last year , arguing that the policy against opt-outs violates their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion and their 14th Amendment due-process right to direct the upbringing of their children. They argued that their religious beliefs required them to raise their children with traditional views about gender, marriage, and family life.

The conflict is one of many around the country between parents and school districts over curriculum and library books, gender identity, and other issues. The Montgomery County district has also been sued over its guidelines for creating a welcoming school environment for transgender students and has faced criticism of its handling of alleged antisemitic incidents.

A federal district judge in Greenbelt, Md., last year denied the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the rule. The 4th Circuit’s May 15 decision in Mahmoud v. McKnight upholds the district court.

“We conclude that the parents have not come forward at this stage with sufficient evidence of a cognizable burden on their free exercise rights to satisfy the requirements of a free exercise claim,” says the majority opinion by Judge G. Steven Agee. “What is missing here is the evidentiary link showing that the storybooks are being implemented in a way that directly or indirectly coerces the parents or their children to believe or act contrary to their religious faith.”

Agee said there was little evidence in the record at this point about how the storybooks are actually being used in classrooms or “what conversations have ensued about their themes.”

“Without such evidence, this case presents only an objection to their children’s public school curriculum,” Agee added. “Granting a preliminary injunction here would reset the standard, permitting plaintiffs to obtain a preliminary injunction upon a mere showing that they have a religious objection to their children’s curriculum. The case law does not support that outcome.”

The majority said the parents may be able to present more evidence as their lawsuit proceeds to prove that their rights are being infringed, but at this stage, they have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims.

Dissent points to opt-out requirement for family life and human sexuality classes

Writing in dissent, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. said, “The parents have shown the [district’s] decision to deny religious opt-outs burdened these parents’ right to exercise their religion and direct the religious upbringing of their children by putting them to the choice of either compromising their religious beliefs or foregoing a public education for their children.”

He pointed to school district materials to be used by teachers and administrators to respond to objections about the storybooks. For example, if a student says being gay is “wrong and not allowed in my religion,” a school official can respond with, “I understand that is what you believe, but not everyone believes that. We don’t have to understand or support a person’s identity to treat them with respect and kindness.”

Such materials likely burden the rights of the objecting parents, he said. Montgomery County permits opt-outs for family life and human sexuality instruction, as required by state law.

“Courts rightly defer to schools, as a general matter, for curriculum decisions,” Quattlebaum said. “But not for decisions that burden the free exercise of religion in a way that is not both neutral and generally applicable.”

The parents are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which indicated they intend to appeal the ruling.

“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement. “That runs contrary to the First Amendment, Maryland law, the school board’s own policies, and basic human decency. Parents should have the right to receive notice and opt their children out of classroom material that violates their faith.”

The Montgomery County district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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