Welcome to the Blogosphere, Ex Tempore!

Paul MacMahon, a graduate of Harvard Law School and now a graduate student at New College, Oxford, has started a blog called Ex Tempore, which will cover the work of the Supreme Court of Ireland. More broadly, it will "explore[] the Court’s history, its place in the Irish system of government, and its relationships with other courts."

MacMahon chose the name "Ex Tempore" (in his words, "a lawyers’ latin term meaning, roughly, 'at the time'") because

Unusually for a Supreme Court, the Irish Supreme Court resolves a large proportion of its cases ex tempore, by issuing its decision orally at the conclusion of the argument, without issuing a written judgment. The name “Ex Tempore” also captures the strengths and limits of any blog that covers a working Court: the blog posts are timely and off-the-cuff.

As a personal aside (and a matter of full disclosure), Paul MacMahon clerked with me for Judge Calabresi on the second circuit, before moving on to clerk for Judge Gleeson in the Eastern District of New York. He has a broad and deep knowledge of law, and more than a passing interest in Irish history. I expect he'll offer insights into how the Irish Supreme Court has changed over time, as well as valuable comparisons to other judicial systems.

You can find the most recent posts here.