...a group of agents from the FBI and ATF came to my house Thursday evening. This was my second interview of the day. They were utterly professional and polite. They did their jobs incredibly well. But the first words out of their mouths threw me for a loop.

"Professor, we'd like to ask you about some of your writings....."

For a second, just for a second, I thought: "Oh my God, John Ashcroft has finally sent them to round me up for all those anti-Bush op-eds I've written."

And sure enough, one of the agents put a folder on the table in front of me containing a copy of all my recent op-eds, downloaded from the Internet and neatly printed out.

It quickly became clear what was going on. They wanted to know if anything I had written might have enraged someone enough that the person might consider taking his or her frustrations out on the Law School. They asked me which of my recent op-eds had gotten the most virulent responses. They didn't seem to know about my blog, or indeed, about blogs in general (although perhaps they were just playing possum). I explained what a blog is and how it changes the audience for political writing, how the Internet changes the group of people who can react to what you are saying. They asked for an example, and I mentioned how one of my op-eds criticizing Bush had been picked up by the conservative site NewsMax and distributed to their readers by e-mail and on the Web as part of a special "Insider's Report." The idea, apparently, was to stoke up some resentment at what NewsMax called the "most demonic form" of the liberal academy, an "Elitist Yale Law Professor." That NewsMax story ends, by the way, with the following lovely quote:

Balkin's commentary reveals what we at NewsMax believe, that the real enemy is not from without. These evil folks have always been and always will be. The real enemy is within. Welcome to American academia.

I told the FBI and ATF agents that although I'd received plenty of hate mail, I had never gotten any death threats or threats against the school. Just a lot of letters and e-mails from people who really, really didn't like what I had to say. They showed me a couple of composite sketches and asked if I recognized them. (I didn't). Then we talked about possible theories of who would want to bomb the school and why. After about thirty or forty minutes, we shook hands, I wished them good luck, and they left.

They were just checking out possible leads, possible theories of the case. That's their job. And for that reason the agents had to ask me about what I'd written, and what people might have thought about it. But I came away from the interview very depressed. I very much didn't want to believe in this particular theory of the case-- the idea that some nut job attacked the school and endangered its students because he or she didn't like the political beliefs of some of its professors. There are a hundred other reasons, I've told myself, why that bomb could have been set off. It will turn out to be one of them, I know.

Above all, I don't want to believe it because it would just be too depressing if it were true.

Weather permitting, the Yale Law School Commencement Exercises will be held in our Courtyard on Monday, following the University Commencement ceremony. (In the case of rain, we will relocate to the Lanman Center in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium.) There are some limited areas of the Law School that will remain inaccessible for a brief time. But our graduates and their families will be able to enjoy nearly all of our majestic building and to celebrate together this culminating moment in their lives at the Yale Law School.

I am now a proud owner of a dossier at the FBI, as I voluntarily submitted to an FBI interview so that I could get permission to enter the law school and get my laptop and my accompanying life back. Looks like my days of flying under the radar as a subversive foreign communist element in the U.S. are over. Although it took more time than I would have liked, I have to admit I found the process interesting--there was something highly aesthetic about the way in which they turned a neo-gothic reading room in Sterling Memorial Library into their data collection/interview center. I bet the agents got a big kick out of doing their interviews in high-backed padded chairs; must have figured that if they were at an ivy college, they might as well do it right. My interviewer was an affable and very relaxed guy. Would have fit right in with Mulder & Scully et al. And I learned a bit about what constitutes "suspicious" behaviour--if you want to get away with doing something evil like setting off a small bomb in the nation's best law school, you should stop and stare a bit so as to blend in with the rest of the bewildered crowd before making your escape (not that you should think about doing anything like that, you sick puppy!).

The investigation of the explosion at the Law School, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon, May 21, is proceeding. The incident occurred in a first floor classroom with considerable damage to that classroom and an adjacent lounge. The FBI, the State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, as well as the New Haven and Yale Police, are working collaboratively on this investigation.

There was understandable concern initially that this might relate to the national "Orange Alert" status that had been announced the day before. Law enforcement authorities have informed us that there is nothing indicating that this incident relates to any international terrorism. Nevertheless, this remains a very serious matter and we have increased our security and vigilance. The University is doing everything it can to support the collective efforts of the federal, state, city and university law enforcement agencies who are aggressively investigating this crime.

Although the Law School building remains closed as the investigation proceeds, the rest of the University has been open for regular business today. All Commencement-related activities will proceed as scheduled, and we are very hopeful that the Law School festivities can be held at their traditional site.

There are always extra security precautions taken for Commencement. In light of the recent incident, we will be taking additional security measures for the weekend. In addition to the University's Police, there will be added law enforcement officers from both the State Police and the New Haven Police Department.

This is obviously a very unsettling incident for the entire community; our support extends particularly to the students, faculty and staff of the Law School. As a community we continue to support one another, and we are all working to give our graduates the full salute they deserve.

recorded video

It is looking more and more likely that the explosion was caused by a bomb. The FBI, Homeland Security, ATF, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies are coordinating investigations, interviewing everyone who was in the building that day.

The damage to Room 120 and the Alumni Reading Room was extensive. Debris fell down the staircase from the Alumni Reading Room leading down to the International Law Library and Rare Book Collection. A pipe burst, pouring water on many of the rare books. Some of them can be restored, others may not be.

The law school community is a bit shaken but still in good spirits, because all of us know that we were very very lucky-- there were no injuries. If someone had been killed in this explosion, the mood here would be very different. Graduation will go on as scheduled, and we will not move over to the gymnasium. The graduation will take place in the courtyard, in the very heart of the Law School.

One amusing anecdote in an otherwise somber day: The wall between Room 120 and the Alumni Reading Room collapsed. Several portraits hanging in the Alumni Reading Room fell off that wall. My sources tell me that Bob Bork's, Pat Wald's,and former Dean Abe Goldstein's portraits were damaged, but Eleanor Holmes Norton is still up on what remains of the wall. The portrait of Guido Calabresi, former dean and now a judge on the Second Circuit, was also on that wall. Dean Tony Kronman reported that when he came in to inspect the damage, the portrait had somehow done a 270 degree flip and landed on its back, face up, completely undamaged.

That's Guido for you.

And that's the Yale Law School too. You can try to bomb us, but we will just do a backflip and come up good as new.

Still no access to the law school; looks like it'll be a day or two before we can get back in. What I know so far: there was some sort of explosive device in room 120 (not the mailroom, as some people reported early on). It knocked down the wall between that room and the alumni reading room (which I saw), knocked all the plaster off the ceiling, shattered windows, and basically caused a big mess-- stuff all over the staircase down to the Upper East Side (from the computer lab)... and unfortunately a water line broke, flooding part of the rare books room downstairs (they're taking all 50,000 volumes over to Beinecke to freeze the damaged ones).

The FBI/ATF/New Haven police/state police/Yale police have set up a command center in Sterling library, where I am now. I went in to be interviewed by the FBI earlier; they want to talk to every student, supposedly. The media has been all over the place, too... I talked to someone from the Yale Daily News right afterwards yesterday, but I've pretty much been blowing the others off since then. Seeing lots of other students on tv, quoted in the NY Times, etc.

Not sure how many people actually stayed in Ezra Stiles college last night; I got a room there, but ended up staying at Suzie's place, across the hall from Jeff.... I really didn't get much sleep, though... until it started getting light out, I'd just start drifting off when I'd suddenly get jolted wide awake again. Kept seeing the explosion, too.

Not sure what's up for tonight, but everyone's been great in helping out all us poor dorm residents. The administration has been really on the ball, too-- various Deans handing out cash to students that needed it, giving us updates, making special arrangements, granting exam and paper extensions (until the fall, if need be!)....

Overall, though, I'm still a bit out of it... I keep thinking how I could have been in the alumni reading room working, instead of on the other side of the divider... not a cheery thought.

At 8:30 a.m. today, Dean Kronman met with members of the YLS community to discuss the explosion in the Law School building on Wednesday, May 21, and its aftereffects.

The Dean reported that there had been substantial damage to Room 120, and that the wall between Room 120 and the Alumni Reading Room had also sustained damage, along with some of the portraits that hung on that wall. Despite the damage to the building, the Dean expressed his joy and relief that no one appears to have been injured in this incident. He noted that although our building is beautiful, it is not the essence of Yale Law School, and that the essence remains intact, even if the building does not.

The Dean also noted that the books and papers in the Rare Book Room, directly below Room 120, may also have been damaged due to the activation of the sprinkler system following the explosion. As soon as possible, staff from the book preservation department of the Yale University Library will be working to assess and repair any damage that might have occurred.

There are many items of concern to the community at this unsettled time. Below is information addressing some of these questions. More information will be emailed and posted as it becomes available.

Exams and Deadlines

Academic schedules and deadlines will be adjusted to accommodate individual students as outlined in the Dean's May 22 update to the Community, which can be found at www.yale.edu/law and on the Yale Law School information bulletin board in the common room of Ezra Stiles College and at the temporary Registrar's Office in SSS.

Temporary Registrar’s Office

The Registrar’s Office has temporarily moved to Room 114 SSS (Sheffield Sterling Strathcona Hall, on the corner of College/Prospect and Grove Streets). On Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23 the Registrar’s Office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For URGENT Registrarial matters, please contact Judith Calvert on her cell phone: 494-1290. There may be extended Registrar’s Office hours on the weekend; more information about that is forthcoming.

Commencement

Discussions are ongoing about the location of YLS Commencement and associated activities. If at all possible, our Commencement activities will be held in the Yale Law School building, as originally scheduled. In the event that the decision is made to move the ceremony, we will alert the Community via posting to www.yale.edu/law and via email.

Building/Dormitory Access
There is currently no access to the building, as it is still the site of an ongoing investigation. The YLS administration is working with law enforcement officials to determine whether and when it will be possible for students, faculty, and staff to gain access to collect essential items that may have been left behind when the building was evacuated.

9. Supports the formation, by the people of Iraq with the help of the Authority and working with the special representative, of an Iraqi interim administration as a transitional administration run by Iraqis, until an internationally recognised, representative government is established by the people of Iraq and assumes the responsibilities of the Authority;

10. Decides that, with the exception of prohibitions related to the sale or supply to Iraq of arms and related materiel other than those arms and related materiel required by the Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions, all prohibitions related to trade with Iraq and the provision of financial or economic resources to Iraq established by resolution 661 (1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions, including resolution 778 (1992) of 2 October 1992, shall no longer apply;

11. Reaffirms that Iraq must meet its disarmament obligations, encourages the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America to keep the Council informed of their activities in this regard, and underlines the intention of the Council to revisit the mandates of the United Nations Monitoring and Verification Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency as set forth in resolutions 687 (1991) of 3 April 1991, 1284 (1999) of 17 December 1999, and 1441 (2002) of 8 November 2002;

12. Notes the establishment of a Development Fund for Iraq to be held by the Central Bank of Iraq and to be audited by independent public accountants approved by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq and looks forward to the early meeting of that International Advisory and Monitoring Board, whose members shall include duly qualified representatives of the secretary general, of the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, of the director-general of the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, and of the president of the World Bank;

13. Notes further that the funds in the Development Fund for Iraq shall be disbursed at the direction of the Authority, in consultation with the Iraqi interim administration, for the purposes set out in paragraph 14 below;

14. Underlines that the Development Fund for Iraq shall be used in a transparent manner to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, for the economic reconstruction and repair of Iraq's infrastructure, for the continued disarmament of Iraq, and for the costs of Iraqi civilian administration, and for other purposes benefiting the people of Iraq;...

20. Decides that all export sales of petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas from Iraq following the date of the adoption of this resolution shall be made consistent with prevailing international market best practices, to be audited by independent public accountants reporting to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board referred to in paragraph 12 above in order to ensure transparency, and decides further that, except as provided in paragraph 21 below, all proceeds from such sales shall be deposited into the Development Fund for Iraq, until such time as an internationally recognised, representative government of Iraq is properly constituted;...

22. Noting the relevance of the establishment of an internationally recognised, representative government of Iraq and the desirability of prompt completion of the restructuring of Iraq's debt as referred to in paragraph 15 above, further decides that, until December 31 2007, unless the Council decides otherwise, petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas originating in Iraq shall be immune, until title passes to the initial purchaser from legal proceedings against them and not be subject to any form of attachment, garnishment, or execution, and that all states shall take any steps that may be necessary under their respective domestic legal systems to assure this protection, and that proceeds and obligations arising from sales thereof, as well as the Development Fund for Iraq, shall enjoy privileges and immunities equivalent to those enjoyed by the United Nations except that the above-mentioned privileges and immunities will not apply with respect to any legal proceeding in which recourse to such proceeds or obligations is necessary to satisfy liability for damages assessed in connection with an ecological accident, including an oil spill, that occurs after the date of adoption of this resolution;....

Security Council meeting

Secretary-General

Germany

United Kingdom

France

United States

Syria

Our building has suffered a wound, but not our community. In the last 18 hours, I have been impressed by the resilience and imagination of the students, staff and faculty of the Yale Law School, and by the support we've received from everyone in the University. We have a mess to clean up. But we will repair all the damage that’s been done. And as we do, we will be grateful that no one was hurt and mindful of the hours we’ve spent in Room 120 and in the Alumni Reading Room, doing the things we’re accustomed to do freely and without fear in our beautiful building.

Examination and paper deadlines will be extended to enable students to complete their work on a schedule that is comfortable for them. And all graduating students who are unable to complete their work by the deadline for submitting grades will receive a grade of provisional pass, to be converted to a final grade at some later time, so that they can receive their diplomas on schedule.

The Law School has always been a place that operates case-by-case and person-by-person and so it shall be now. Any student who has particular needs regarding his or her examination schedule will be fully accommodated. Everyone in the Registrar’s Office and everyone on my staff is there for just one purpose—to help you and to provide support.

Many students have asked me about access to the building for the purpose of retrieving their personal belongings. I know this is a matter of great concern and I am working with the University and law enforcement officials to expedite the process. But the Law School building remains the scene of an ongoing investigation and I can’t yet say with any certainty just when access to the building will be granted. Please watch this web page for further information, which I will post as soon as I have it. In the meantime, keep your spirits up. You are the finest people in the world and it is a privilege to be your dean.

I was walking out of the Law School building a little before five o'clock in the afternoon with Jim Ryan to get some coffee when we both heard a big explosion from the Yale Law School buliding. A few minutes later, the entire Yale Law School community was walking down York street. Apparently an explosion occured in Room 120 on the first floor. Several students reported seeing a fireball in the main hallway that connects the various classrooms. Others reported that the wall in the Alumni reading room next to room 120 was destroyed. The Law School has been cordoned off, and police have surrounded the area. I'm told the FBI has been called in. It's still not clear if this is an accident (an exploding pipe) or a crime scene (a bomb). As of yet, there are no reports of injuries, but we don't know if anyone was in Room 120 when the explosion occured. This week is parrt of exam period and I don't know if students were working there. I'm very worried about my students.

There was an explosion in an auditorium at the Yale Law School today, at around 4:40 PM. It doesn't look like it was that big, since I've spoken to people who saw the doors of the auditorium blown out. A couple students I spoke to said they saw debris, blown out doors, and debris and smoke. Other students said that the explosion was loud and that the building shook when it occurred. I was in the law school at the time, but I didn't hear anything as I wasn't that close to the auditorium; the alarms didn't even go off where I was, so I didn't leave until my friend saw people across the street waving at us to get out. No word on injuries, but I didn't see any ambulances. They sent lots of firetrucks and police, including a bomb disposal unit. They've cordoned off around 4 square blocks around the law school. Some students speculated that it was a gas leak, because a similar, small explosion occurred as a result of such a leak last year--there's lots of other rumours floating around as well, of course. This should be up on the AP wire very soon, as there was a reporter who got onto the scene pretty quickly.

Our early reaction to the bombing is that the news coverage, and the mayor's comments, seemed very uninformed. The NBC TV station here was showing a shot of the city skyline, with "smoke" supposedly rising out of the law school -- but anybody who knows anything about New Haven would know that wasn't even the law school building. They were showing a shot of steam coming off of the power plant across the street! It sounds like the explosion took place in room 120, a classroom off the main hallway that seats about 90 people. Next door is the alumni lounge, and on the other side of the alumni lounge is the student lounge. Part of the mailroom is located above room 120, so it's possible that the explosion actually was in the mailroom, and collapsed the floor of the mailroom into room 120. While the undergraduates are done for the semester, our finals period lasts till this Friday at 4:30. No word yet on how that's been affected. Kate and I are both supposed to take finals tomorrow.

I am fine, and so are my friends, in the extremely limited sense of "fine" that matters at moments like this. A few hours ago, a lot of us were sick with stress from exams. A few hours from now, we'll be sick with stress from having our school nearly blow up. But for now, we are unharmed, safe, and in contact with our families and with each other. We are fine.

There's been an explosion inside the Yale Law School. I was in the dining hall at the time and heard a big boom, before the fire alarm sirens went off. A friend of mine in the student lounge saw a wall in the adjoining alumni reading room collapse in front of a fireball; the wall had lots of portraits of famous YLS graduates, including Guido Calabresi and Robert Bork. Because of my friends' reports, I'm doubtful that this came from the mailroom: the explosion would have had to be pretty damned powerful to collapse a wall one floor below and be felt in the basement computer room. Most likely it came from Room 120, which is right next to the alumni reading room.
They're saying it's a bomb on tv now. Thank goodness the law school was pretty empty: if this had occurred at some earlier point (e.g., during the teaching awards ceremony in the alumni reading room a few weeks earlier), a lot more people would have been hurt. Nobody seems to have been injured today though. My God. More mundane matters: I don't know what the law school is going to do about finals and papers from now on. At some level I guess I don't really care at the moment.

recorded video of a news conference

I was in the student lounge this afternoon working on my last exam when I heard a large boom, very close by. I looked over into the alumni reading room and saw the wall collapsing inwards, the portraits falling down. Dust was flying everywhere, and I could see a large fireball in room 120. Fortunately, it appears no one was in either 120 or the reading room, and only one other person was in the student lounge with me. I'm at Jeff's now with a bunch of other dorm refugees... I'm a bit shaken up. The building is closed, and apparently won't be opened up tomorrow at all. Thankfully, lots of people have offered accomodations overnight (and they're opening up undergrad housing), but I only have my laptop with me (not even my cell phone). Do I still have to turn in my exam at 11 tomorrow morning? I can't really get back into the train of thought that was disrupted by the explosion...

So far there are no reports of injuries, thank goodness. The building is closed off at least through Friday. (Graduation is Monday, but I assume we will move over to the gymnasium, as we have in the past when there's rain). Speculation is running rampant as to the cause of the explosion. We still don't know if it was a bomb or an exploding pipe. At the 6:30pm news conference Mayor DeStefano said he thought it was an "explosive device" (which, I assume, is a fancy name for a bomb). But we really won't know for some time.

As you may have heard, there was an explosion at the Law School this afternoon at approximately 4:40 p.m. in a first floor classroom. There are no known injuries, but there is considerable damage to the classroom and an adjacent lounge. The Law School will be closed tomorrow and Friday. The rest of the University will be open and operating normally. All Commencement related events will proceed as scheduled. As always, there are extra security personnel and precautions for the Commencement. Students housed in the Law School will be staying in Stiles College. Law School exams scheduled for tomorrow and Friday will be distributed at 9:00 a.m. at 114 Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona (SSS) at the corner of Grove and College. Self-scheduled and rescheduled Law School exams will be available between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. both Thursday and Friday at the entrance to 114 SSS. The Law School community should consult a special website at www.yale.edu/law for regular updates. There will be a press conference at 9:30pm this evening at the corner of College and Grove Streets. As more information becomes available, we will report it on this website.

The Yale Law School building will be closed on Thursday, May 22. Faculty, staff and students should NOT report to the building, as no one except authorized personnel will be able to enter the building. (Please note that Registrar’s Office staff should await further instruction by telephone.) For those who may have left personal effects in the building when it was evacuated, please be assured that the building is secure. The YLS administration is working on alternate arrangements for student taking exams ­ more information will be emailed and posted at a special YLS website (http://www.yale.edu/law) as it becomes available throughout the evening. Interim housing for dormitory students will be available in undergraduate housing at Ezra Stiles College beginning at 9.00 p.m. tonight. Students should meet at the Ezra Stiles entrance gate near the entrance to the YLS Bookstore at 9:00 p.m. to receive their room assignments. In addition, YLS staff and University counselors will be available in the Common Room at Ezra Stiles College at 9:00 for any member of the YLS Community who would like to come together at this time.

Folks:

As part of some extensive (and ongoing) renovation of our Supreme Court collection, we've added RSS feeds that offer summaries of recent decisions. There are two:

http://supct.law.cornell.edu:8080/supct/rss/0.91/supct_today.rss

Actually the less-useful of the two feeds, this one takes in decisions handed down "today" (that is, in the midnight-to-midnight period we're currently in). It's empty much of the time, but is intended as the basis for a notification system.

http://supct.law.cornell.edu:8080/supct/rss/0.91/supct_recent.rss

This offers recent decisions of the Court. "Recent" is defined somewhat differently depending on whether the Court is in session or not; this may sound a little complex, but it amounts to what most people would expect anyway. During the period from July 1 (when the Court goes away for the summer) until the first decision is handed down in the new fall term (after October 1), the feed shows the decisions from the previous June. At all other times -- that is, when the Court is sitting -- it shows any decisions from the 30 days just past. Given past patterns of behavior by the Court, I am guessing that this may result in a few spots during the late Fall and in early January when the feed is empty, but perhaps not.

Both feeds are updated within minutes of decisions being handed down by the Court.

If somebody would be so good as to cross-post this to LawLib and anywhere else you can think of, I'd be grateful.

Best,

Tb.