Joseph Blocher | Scholars@Duke

Joseph Blocher
Lanty L. Smith Distinguished Professor of Law

Joseph Blocher's principal academic interests include federal and state constitutional law, the First and Second Amendments, legal history, and property. His current scholarship addresses issues of gun rights and regulation, free speech, sovereignty, and refugee law.

He has published articles on those and other topics in the Harvard Law Review (forthcoming), Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Yale Journal of International Law, and other leading journals. He is co-author of Free Speech Beyond Words (NYU Press, 2017) and The Positive Second Amendment: Rights, Regulation, and the Future of Heller (Cambridge University Press, 2018). He has also written for the New York Times, Vox, Quartz, The News & Observer and other public outlets, and serves as Co-Director of the Center for Firearms Law.

He returned to his hometown of Durham to join the Duke Law faculty in 2009, and received the law school's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012. Before coming to Duke, he clerked for Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Rosemary Barkett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also practiced law at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, where he assisted the merits briefing for the District of Columbia in District of Columbia v. Heller.

Blocher received his B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Rice University, and studied law and economic development as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana and as a Gates Scholar at Cambridge University, where he received an M.Phil in Land Economy. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as comments editor of the Yale Law Journal, symposium editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review, notes editor of the Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal, participated in or directed several clinics, and was co-chair of the Legal Services Organization.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Lanty L. Smith Distinguished Professor of Law, Duke Law School, Duke University 2018
Professor of Law, Duke Law School, Duke University 2014

Contact Information

Duke Law School 210 Science Dr, Duke Box 90362, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Law School Room 3174, Duke Box 90362, Durham, NC 27708-0360
blocher@law.duke.edu (919) 613-7018
See the Duke Law bibliography
See the Duke Law profile page
View this faculty member's publications on the Duke Law web site

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- J.D., Yale University 2006
- M.Phil., University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) 2003
- B.A., Rice University 2001
Duke Appointment History
- Associate Professor of Law, Duke Law School, Duke University 2012 - 2014
- Assistant Professor of Law, Duke Law School, Duke University 2009 - 2012
Recognition
In the News
- DEC 2, 2019 MSNBC
  
  Supreme Court takes up first 2nd Amendment case in a decade
- FEB 12, 2019 Duke Law
  
  New Law Center to Promote Teaching & Scholarship on Second Amendment
- OCT 5, 2018 School of Law
  
  The Past, Present and Future of the Second Amendment
- MAR 8, 2017 Duke Law
  
  Does the First Amendment Apply When The Words Have No Clear Meaning?
- JUN 14, 2016 CBC News
  
  Joseph Blocher comments: Orlando shooter's AR-15 rifle at center of U.S. gun-control debate
- JUN 13, 2016 NPR’s “All Things Considered"
  
  Joseph Blocher discusses appellate ruling on carrying concealed weapons
- MAR 17, 2016 The Trace
  
  Is Merrick Garland anti-gun? Joseph Blocher: 'It's impossible to tell.'
- FEB 15, 2016 The Trace
  
  Joseph Blocher: Scalia’s gun rights legacy is likely to stand, no matter who replaces him
- DEC 10, 2015 The New York Times
  
  Joseph Blocher: We can regulate guns at the local level, too
- DEC 10, 2015 the New York Times
  
  We Can Regulate Guns at the Local Level, Too
- MAR 26, 2015 Financial Times
  
  Joseph Blocher, Mitu Gulati analyze impact of Crimean annexation on Ukraine's debt to Russia
- FEB 6, 2015 Financial Times
  
  Joseph Blocher, Mitu Gulati examine the market for selling sovereignty
- AUG 20, 2014 NBC News
  
  Joseph Blocher comments: Evolving public-carry laws expand gun rights
- APR 7, 2014 Financial Times
  
  Joseph Blocher, Mitu Gulati: What if Putin had bought Crimea?
- APR 7, 2014 the Financial Times
  
  What If Putin Had Bought Crimea?
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - Ghana (Country)
  - United States of America (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Duke Center For Firearms Law awarded by Joyce Foundation 2018 - 2021
- Privatizing the Gun Debate awarded by New Venture Fund 2021
- Duke Center for Firearms Law awarded by Harold Simmons Foundation 2019 - 2020
External Relationships
- Clark University
- Quinnipiac University
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. The Positive Second Amendment: Rights, Regulation, and the Future of Heller. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
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  - Blocher, J., M. Tushnet, and A. Chen. Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment. New York University Press, 2017.
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- Academic Articles
  - Blocher, J. “Two Concepts of Gun Liberty (Accepted).” Quinnipiac Law Review, 2021.
  - Blocher, J., S. Buell, J. Charles, and D. Miller. “Pointing Guns (Accepted).” Texas Law Review 99, no. 6 (2021).
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  - Blocher, J., and R. Siegel. “When Guns Threaten the Public Sphere: Recovering the Common Law Approach to Public Safety (Accepted).” Northwestern University Law Review 115 (2021).
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  - Blocher, J. “Disuniformity of Federal Constitutional Rights.” University of Illinois Law Review 2020, no. 5 (2020): 1479–99.
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  - Blocher, J. “Domestic Violence and the Home-Centric Second Amendment.” Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 2020.
  - Blocher, J. ““The Road I Can’t Help Travelling”: Holmes on Truth and Persuadability.” Seton Hall Law Review 51, no. 1 (2020): 105–33.
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  - Blocher, J. “Cities, Preemption, and the Statutory Second Amendment (Accepted).” University of Chicago Law Review 87 (2020).
  - Blocher, J., J. Charles, and D. Miller. “The Geography of a Constitutional Right: Gun Rights Outside the Home.” Law and Contemporary Problems 83, no. 3 (2020): i–vii.
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  - Blocher, J., K. Oosterlinck, and M. Gulati. “Why Did Belgium Pay Leopold’s Bonds?” Law and Contemporary Problems 83, no. 2 (2020): 49–70.
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  - Blocher, J., M. Gulati, and K. Oosterlinck. “King Leopold's Bonds and the Odious Debts Mystery.” Virginia Journal of International Law 60, no. 3 (2020): 487–530.
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  - Blocher, J., and B. Vaseghi. “True Threats, Self-Defense, and the Second Amendment.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 48, no. 4 (2020): 112–18.
  - Blocher, J., and C. Carberry. “Historical Gun Laws Targeting 'Dangerous' Groups and Outsiders (In preparation),” 2020.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Transferable Sovereignty: Lessons from the History of the Congo Free State.” Duke Law Journal 69, no. 6 (2020): 1219–73.
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  - Blocher, J., and R. Siegel. “Why Regulate Guns?” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 48, no. 4 (2020): 11–16.
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  - Blocher, J. “Free Speech and Justified True Belief.” Harvard Law Review 133, no. 2 (2019): 439–96.
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  - Blocher, J. “Bans.” Yale Law Journal 129, no. 2 (2019): 308–76.
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  - Blocher, J. “Rights as Trumps of What?” Harvard Law Review Forum 132, no. 6 (2019): 120–33.
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  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. “Stevens, J., Dissenting: The Legacy of Heller.” Judicature 103, no. 3 (2019): 9–13.
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  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben. “‘The Second Amendment is Not a Second-Class Right’: A Case Study in Constitutional Rhetoric (In preparation),” 2019.
  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben. “Judicial Ideology and Second Amendment Doctrine (In preparation),” 2019.
  - Blocher, J., and L. Morgan. “Doctrinal Dynamism, Borrowing, and the Relationship Between Rules and Rights.” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 28, no. 2 (2019): 319–46.
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  - Blocher, J. “Constitutional Implications of Firearm Restrictions for Veterans with Fiduciaries.” Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 45, no. 4 (2018): 684–86.
  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. “The Second Amendment as Positive Law.” Charleston Law Review 13, no. 2 (2018): 103–23.
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  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben. “From Theory to Doctrine: An Empirical Analysis of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms After Heller.” Duke Law Journal 67 (2018): 1433–1509.
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  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben. “You Can Lead a Horse to Water: Heller and The Future of Second Amendment Scholarship.” Duke Law Journal Online 68 (2018): 1–7.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Puerto Rico and the Right of Accession.” Yale Journal of International Law 43, no. 2 (2018): 229–71.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Puerto Rico and the Right of Accession (Accepted).” Yale Journal of International Law, 2018.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “What Does Puerto Rican Citizenship Mean for Puerto Rico's Legal Status?” Duke Law Journal Online 67 (2018): 122–32.
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  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben). “An Empirical Study of Second Amendment Doctrine after Heller (In preparation),” 2017.
  - Blocher, J., and K. Krawiec. “Foreword: How to Think About Law and Markets.” Law & Contemporary Problems 80 (2017): 1–9.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “A Market for Sovereign Control.” Duke Law Journal 66 (2017): 797–843.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Markets and Sovereignty.” Osgoode Hall Law Journal 54 (2017): 465–90.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Forced Secessions.” Law & Contemporary Problems 80 (2017): 215–47.
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  - Blocher, J. “The Death Penalty and the Fifth Amendment.” Northwestern University Law Review 111 (2016): 275–93.
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  - Blocher, J. “Scalia's Gun Rights Legacy is Likely to Stand, No Matter Who Replaces Him.” The Trace, 2016.
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  - Blocher, J., M. Gulati, and L. Helfer. “Can Greece be Expelled from the Eurozone? Toward a Default Rule on Expulsion from International Organizations,” 2016, 127–50.
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  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. “What is Gun Control? Direct Burdens, Incidental Burdens, and the Boundaries of the Second Amendment.” University of Chicago Law Review 83 (2016): 295–355.
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  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. “Lethality, Public Carry, and Adequate Alternatives.” Harvard Journal on Legislation 53 (2016): 279–301.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Competing for Refugees: A Market-Based Solution to a Humanitarian Crisis.” Columbia Human Rights Law Review 48 (2016): 54–111.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Lemos. “Practice and Precedent in Historical Gloss Games.” Georgetown Law Journal Online 106 (2016): 1–15.
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  - Blocher, J. “New Problems for Subsidized Speech.” William & Mary Law Review 56, no. 4 (2015): 1083–1118.
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  - Blocher, J. “Hunting and the Second Amendment.” Notre Dame Law Review 91 (2015): 133–76.
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  - Blocher, J. “Good Cause Requirements for Carrying Guns in Public.” Harvard Law Review Forum 127 (2014): 218–22.
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  - Blocher, J. “Selling State Borders.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 162 (2014): 241–305.
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  - Blocher, J. “Gun Rights Talk.” Boston University Law Review 94 (2014): 813–33.
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  - Blocher, J. “New Approaches to Old Questions in Gun Scholarship.” Tulsa Law Review 50, no. 2 (2014): 477–88.
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  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Ukraine and Russia: "You Break It, You Bought It".” Financial History 111 (2014): 28–32.
  - “Nonsense and the Freedom of Speech: What Meaning Means for the First Amendment.” Duke Law Journal 63 (2014): 1423–81.
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  - Blocher, J. “Firearm Localism.” Yale Law Journal 123 (2013): 82–146.
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  - Blocher, J. “Implementing First Amendment Institutionalism.” New England Law Review on Remand 47 (2013): 43–51.
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  - Blocher, J. “The Right Not to Keep or Bear Arms.” Stanford Law Review 64 (2012): 1–54.
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  - Blocher, J. “Rights To and Not To.” California Law Review 99 (2012): 761–816.
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  - Blocher, J. “What We Fret About When We Fret About Bootstrapping.” Law & Contemporary Problems 75 (2012): 145–55.
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  - Blocher, J. “Public Discourse, Expert Knowledge, and the Press.” Washington Law Review 87 (2012): 409–43.
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  - Blocher, J. “Order Without Judges: Customary Adjudication.” Duke Law Journal 62 (2012): 579–605.
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  - Blocher, J. “Second Things First: What Free Speech Can and Can't Say About Guns.” Texas Law Review 91 (2012): 37–47.
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  - Blocher, J. “Reverse Incorporation of State Constitutional Law.” Southern California Law Review 84 (2011): 323–86.
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  - Blocher, J. “Viewpoint Neutrality and Government Speech.” Boston College Law Review 52 (2011): 695–767.
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  - Blocher, J. “Popular Constitutionalism and the State Attorneys General.” Harvard Law Review Forum 122 (2011): 108.
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  - Blocher, J. “What State Constitutional Law Can Tell Us About the Federal Constitution.” Penn State Law Review 115 (2011): 1035–50.
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  - Blocher, J. “Roberts' Rules: The Assertiveness of Rules-Based Jurisprudence.” Tulsa Law Review 46 (2011): 431–48.
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  - Blocher, J. “Transforming Property Into Speech.” Legal Workshop 2011 (2011).
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  - Blocher, J., and I. Graff. “Constitutionalizing Local Politics.” Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review Amicus 46 (2011).
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  - “Government Property and Government Speech.” William & Mary Law Review 52 (2011): 1413–81.
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  - Blocher, J. “Schrödinger’s Cross: The Quantum Mechanics of the Establishment Clause.” Virginia Law Review in Brief 56 (2010): 51–59.
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  - Blocher, J., and F. Nyame. “Influence of Land Tenure Practices on Artisanal Mining Activity in Ghana.” Resources Policy 35 (2010): 47.
  - Blocher, J. “Reputation as Property in Virtual Economies.” Yale Law Journal Pocket Part 119 (2009): 120–25.
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  - Blocher, J. “Categoricalism and Balancing in First and Second Amendment Analysis.” New York University Law Review 84 (2009): 375–434.
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  - Blocher, J. “Property and Speech in 'Summum'.” Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy 104 (2009): 83–94.
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  - Blocher, J. “Heller's Problematic Second Amendment Categoricalism.” The Legal Workshop 2009 (2009).
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  - Blocher, J. “Amending the Exceptions Clause.” Minnesota Law Review 92 (2008): 971–1030.
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  - Blocher, J. “Institutions in the Marketplace of Ideas.” Duke Law Journal 57 (2008): 821–89.
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  - Blocher, J., and J. Morgan. “Questions About Tax Increment Financing in North Carolina.” Community & Economic Development Bulletin 5 (2008): 1–15.
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  - Blocher, J. “School Naming Rights and the First Amendment's Perfect Storm.” Georgetown Law Journal 96 (2007): 1–57.
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  - Blocher, J. “The Guantanamo Three Step.” Yale Law Journal Pocket Part 117 (2007): 1–7.
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  - Blocher, J. “Combatant Status Review Tribunals: Flawed Answers to the Wrong Question.” Green Bag 116 (2006): 667–74.
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  - Blocher, J. “Private Business as Public Good: Hotel Development and Kelo.” Yale Law & Policy Review 24 (2006): 363–97.
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  - Blocher, J. “Building on Custom: Land Tenure Policy and Economic Development in Ghana.” Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal 9 (2006): 166–202.
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  - Blocher, J. “Selling the Name on the Schoolhouse Gate: The First Amendment and the Sale of Public School Naming Rights.” School Law Bulletin 37 (2006): 1–12.
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  - Blocher, J. “Book Note.” Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal 7 (2003): 202–6.
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- Book Sections
  - Blocher, J. “Should Applicants Provide Reasons for Wanting a Concealed Weapon?” In Guns: Conceal and Carry, 81–86. Greenhaven Publishing, 2018.
  - Blocher, J. “District of Columbia v. Heller.” In Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History, 219–20, 2012.
- Other Articles
  - Blocher, J. “American Cities Have Always Regulated Guns. Now, Most Can’t.” Washington Post, 2021.
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  - Blocher, J., and A. Chen. “Why Do States Ban “Electioneering” but Allow Guns at Polling Places?” Slate, 2021.
  - Blocher, J., and R. Siegel. “Guns Are a Threat to the Body Politic:.” The Atlantic, 2021.
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  - Blocher, J. “The “Handgun Article” in Justice Powell’s Papers.” Second Thoughts, 2019.
  - Blocher, J., and E. Ruben. “Symposium: Disrupting the Consensus on Second Amendment Doctrine Would be a Mistake.” Scotusblog, 2019.
  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Sure, Trump Can Buy Greenland. But Why Does He Think It’s up to Denmark?” Politico Magazine, 2019.
  - Blocher, J., and D. Miller. “What Firearms Law and Regulatory Scholarship Can Learn from Each Other.” The Regulatory Review, 2018.
  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “If Countries Won’t Take Refugees for Moral Reasons, Let’s Give Them Financial Incentives.” Quartz, 2018.
  - Blocher, J. “The Fourth Circuit's "Assault Weapons" Ruling: Alternative Holdings and Alternative Weapons.” Acsblog, 2017.
  - Blocher, J. “Speech, Guns and Docs v. Glocks.” Acsblog, 2017.
  - Blocher, J., and N. Seigel. “Court-hacking Comes to North Carolina.” News & Observer, 2016.
  - Blocher, J. “We Can Regulate Guns at the Local Level, Too.” New York Times, 2015.
  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Guest Post: Ukraine and Russia-You Break It, You Bought It.” Ericposner.Com, 2015.
  - Blocher, J., and M. Gulati. “Ukraine and Russia: "You Break It, You Bought It".” Financial History, 2014.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
- LAW 120: Constitutional Law 2021
- LAW 640: Independent Research 2021
- LAW 545: Urban Legal History 2020
- LAW 556: Second Amendment: History, Theory and Practice 2020
- LAW 611: Readings 2020
- LAW 640: Independent Research 2020
- LAW 120: Constitutional Law 2019
- LAW 556: Second Amendment: History, Theory and Practice 2019
- LAW 640: Independent Research 2019

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Duke Appointment History

In the News

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Selected Grants

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Other Articles

Recent Courses