Alejo Leal Martín - alejolm.com

August 18, 2026August 8, 2026

Ripeness and Mootness: Timing Rules in Federal Court

Diagram of federal court timing doctrines: cards for ripeness as too early, mootness as too late, the bar on advisory opinions, and declaratory judgments as permitted forward-looking relief, with panels on the Abbott Laboratories fitness and hardship test and the four exceptions that save a case from mootness, plus cards on personal recurrence and voluntary cessation.

Ripeness and mootness explained: the fitness and hardship test, the four exceptions to mootness, and the line between advisory opinions and declaratory judgments.

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August 17, 2026August 8, 2026

Marbury v. Madison and the Power of Judicial Review

Diagram of Marbury v. Madison: three holding cards on fixed original jurisdiction, the power of judicial review and constitutional supremacy, a card on the right-without-a-remedy paradox, panels on the textual basis in Article III and the Supremacy Clause and on the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction, and cards on Cooper v. Aaron and City of Boerne v. Flores.

Marbury v. Madison explained: the three holdings, the textual basis for judicial review, and why Congress may limit appellate but not original jurisdiction.

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August 17, 2026August 8, 2026

The Youngstown Framework: Presidential Power in 3 Zones

Diagram of the Youngstown framework for presidential power: three zone cards for maximum authority with congressional authorisation, the zone of twilight when Congress is silent and the lowest ebb when the President acts against Congress, plus panels distinguishing congressional silence from disapproval, explaining historical gloss and acquiescence, and cards on individual rights limits and Justice Jackson's concurrence.

The Youngstown framework explained: the three zones of presidential power, who bears the burden in each, and how to tell silence from disapproval.

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August 16, 2026August 8, 2026

Piercing the Corporate Veil: A Two-Prong Alter Ego Test

Diagram of the two-prong alter ego test for piercing the corporate veil: unity of interest, inequitable result, which shareholders become liable and what is recovered, with panels on the factors courts weigh such as undercapitalisation, commingling and failure to observe formalities, and on the difference between tort and contract creditors, plus cards on insolvency, capitalisation timing, the equitable nature of the remedy and LLCs.

Piercing the corporate veil explained: the alter ego and inequitable result prongs, undercapitalisation, and tort versus contract creditors.

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August 15, 2026August 8, 2026

Recording Acts: Race, Notice and Race-Notice Explained

Diagram of the three race-notice recording act requirements: purchaser for value, without actual constructive or inquiry notice, and records first, with panels on the three kinds of notice and the pure race, pure notice and race-notice statutory models, plus cards on the shelter rule, forged deeds, estoppel by deed and mortgages as purchasers for value.

Recording acts decide who wins when two deeds conflict. Learn bona fide purchaser status, the three statutory models, notice types and the shelter rule.

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August 15, 2026August 8, 2026

Partner Liability and Authority Under RUPA Explained

Diagram of partner authority and liability under RUPA showing the ordinary course test, actual and apparent authority, joint and several liability, the exhaustion rule and three common traps

Partner liability explained: the ordinary course test, apparent authority, joint and several liability, the exhaustion rule and partnership by estoppel.

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August 14, 2026August 8, 2026

Will Execution Requirements: Formalities and Rescue

Diagram of will execution requirements showing the writing, signature and two-witness pillars, what witnesses must do, the rescue doctrines available when execution fails, and three common traps

Will execution requirements explained: writing, signature and two witnesses, holographic wills, the harmless-error rule and the interested-witness problem.

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August 13, 2026August 8, 2026

Easements Explained: Creation, Scope and Termination

Diagram of easements showing the five routes to creation, the appurtenant versus in gross distinction, the scope and repair rules, and the nine methods of termination

Easements explained: the five creation routes, appurtenant versus in gross, scope and repair duties, and the nine ways an easement can be terminated.

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August 13, 2026August 8, 2026

Miranda Rights: Custody, Interrogation and Invocation

Diagram of the Miranda analysis showing the custody and interrogation thresholds, the waiver standard, the invocation rules, situations requiring no warnings, and the asymmetry between invoking silence and invoking counsel

Miranda rights explained: when custody and interrogation coincide, what makes a waiver valid, how silence and counsel differ, and what a violation really costs.

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August 12, 2026August 8, 2026

The Character Evidence Rules: Propensity Bar and Doorways

Diagram of the character evidence rules showing the propensity bar, the criminal doorways, the MIMIC non-propensity uses under Rule 404(b), the methods of proof under Rule 405, and three common traps

Character evidence explained: the propensity bar, the criminal doorways, the MIMIC uses under Rule 404(b), methods of proof, and habit under Rule 406.

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