The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on two First Amendment cases that ask whether the REAL victims of government coercion today are… conservatives with fringe views! Leah, Melissa, and Kate preview those cases, along with the mifepristone case the Court will hear next week. Plus, they do a deep dive on how SCOTUS uses the shadow docket to clear the way for executions.
- Strict Scrutiny is headed back to DC for another live show! Presale starts 3/18 @ 12pm ET with the code SCRUTINY. Head to crooked.com/events for more info! --> Washington DC Tickets
- Here's the full episode in which we called pretty much the entire outcome of the Title X family planning program case in the Fifth Circuit
- ICYMI, Melissa's book with Andrew Weissmann, The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary, hit #1 on the New York Times' Bestseller List! If you haven't gotten your own copy, code STRICT10 will get you 10% off at Bookshop.org
Our very own Melissa Murray has a new book out with co-author Andrew Weissmann-- The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary-- and it was an instant New York Times bestseller. Melissa and Andrew talk with Kate and Leah about the book and what they hope readers take from it. Plus, for a special court culture segment, Leah talks with Barb McQuade about her book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America.
- Buy The Trump Indictments and Attack from Within from Bookshop.org-- code STRICT10 at checkout gets you 10% off!
The Supreme Court released its opinion in Trump v. Anderson, saying Colorado and other states can't disqualify Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the (expected) outcome, the (heinous) reasoning and what it means going forward. One guess as to which justice has BDUE (big Dolores Umbridge energy).
- Listen to our recap of the oral arguments in the episode "SCOTUS Has Their Own Theories About Trump's Eligibility"
Leah and Kate analyze the ramifications of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear Trump's immunity case... seven whole weeks from now. They also recap the arguments in a case about whether the federal government can ban bump stocks, a device that turns a semi-automatic rifle into, essentially, a machine gun. Plus, evelyn douek joins the pod to recap arguments in a case about whether social media content moderation is censorship and therefore violates the First Amendment.
- Listen to evelyn's podcast, Moderated Content
Looks like we have to add a new segment to the show: Fetal Personhood Watch. Leah, Melissa, and Kate break down the decision from the Alabama Supreme Court that ruled frozen embryos used in IVF treatment are "extrauterine children." They also recap the oral arguments the US Supreme Court heard last week, including a bonkers case about EPA regulations. And then, for a special Court Culture segment, Sherrilyn Ifill joins the pod to talk about launching a new center about the Fourteenth Amendment at Howard University School of Law.
- Listen to our episode with Michele Goodwin from August 2022, "What the Fight After Roe Actually Looks Like"
- Listen to our episode with Jessica Valenti from February 2023, "The Originalist Case for Terrorizing Women"
- Watch Melissa and Kate on The Daily Show!
- Order Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann's new book, The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary
- Code STRICT10 at checkout gets you 10% off!
Kate, Melissa, and Leah preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week, explain the latest news in the Trump criminal cases, and survey the significant decisions happening in lower courts.
- Read Melissa and Kate's article in the Harvard Law Review, "Dobbs & Democracy"
- Read Melissa's article from the Houston Law Review, "Children of Men: The Roberts Court’s Jurisprudence of Masculinity"
- Pre-order The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary, by Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann (code STRICT10 gets you 10% off at check-out!)
The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case about whether Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment disqualifies Donald Trump from appearing on the presidential ballot or holding the office of the presidency because of his role in January 6th. Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the arguments and what it will mean if the Supreme Court reverses the Colorado Supreme Court's decision.
This morning, the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit ruled that Donald Trump doesn't have immunity in the D.C. election interference case. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the D.C. Circuit's decision, Trump's arguments and whether or not it was all worth the wait.
This week the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case about whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president, or whether he's disqualified from doing so by a provision of the 14th Amendment that prevents individuals from holding public office if they've engaged in insurrection. As part of the preview of the arguments, Kate, Melissa, and Leah welcome Rick Hasen, author of A Real Right To Vote: How A Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard Democracy.
E. Jean Carroll and attorney Robbie Kaplan join us to share the process and aftermath of Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump-- in which a jury just awarded her $83.3 million. What was Trump's vibe in the courtroom? Will he actually pay up? And what does E. Jean plan to do with all that money? Melissa, Kate, and Leah get all these answers and more.
- Read the NYT's piece on Robbie Kaplan: "In Trump’s Bitter, Yearslong Brawl With Roberta Kaplan, He Keeps Losing"
- Read E. Jean Carroll's 2019 book in which she tells her story: What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal
Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the legal fight in Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the Supreme Court's take on it all. Plus, Melissa and Kate do a deep dive on another outlandish era in the Supreme Court's history with Cliff Sloan, author of The Court At War: FDR, His Justices, & The World They Made.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of cases that threaten to topple four decades of precedent about federal agencies' authority to interpret statutes. Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the arguments and outline the Koch-funded basis for the Supreme Court's latest power grab.
- Read the NYT's reporting on the funding behind the conservative quest to overrule Chevron
Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap oral arguments in cases about the No Fly List, the confrontation clause, and what qualifies as a government taking. They also preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week about Chevron, the doctrine that gives federal agencies the authority to interpret statues. Plus, they recap the arguments in the DC Circuit in which Trump argues he's immune from criminal prosecution (and in which his lawyer suggests he could freely use SEAL team 6 to assassinate a political opponent).
- Read Leah's article with Dan Deacon, "The New Major Questions Doctrine"
We're only one week into 2024, and there's so much news to catch up on! Melissa, Leah, and Kate discuss ProPublica's reporting about rich guys giving Justice Thomas money when he hinted at retiring because his salary as a justice was too low. Then, they look to the latest in state courts, which are deciding issues such as Donald Trump's presidential eligibility, women's access to emergency abortion care, and fairly drawn electoral maps. After some quick previews of the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week, they welcome special guest Ross Rayburn, Peloton instructor and author of Turning Inward: The Practice of Introversion for a Calm, Joyful, Authentic Life. Ross shares advice for staying sane in this election year, and insights on how listening to Strict Scrutiny is actually a form of meditation.
- Read ProPublica's reporting: "A 'Delicate Matter': Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign"
- Read Punish Treason, Reward Loyalty: The Forgotten Goals of Constitutional Reform After the Civil War, by Mark A. Graber
- Read the Fifth Circuit's opinion in the EMTALA case we covered last November
- Get a copy of Ross Rayburn's book, Turning Inward: The Practice of Introversion for a Calm, Joyful, Authentic Life
- Code STRICT10 gets you 10% off at bookshop.org!
To start the new year off right, Jonathan Van Ness joins Kate, Leah, and Melissa to suggest some resolutions for the justices of the Supreme Court.
- Listen to us on Getting Curious: "What's Happening with the Supreme Court?"
Before we settle in for a long winter's nap, we have a LOT to catch up on. First, Jodi Kantor joins the pod to talk about her reporting, with Adam Liptak, on what went down behind the scenes at SCOTUS as the conservative majority sought to overturn Roe. Then we go over some new grants of cases the Supreme Court will hear in the near future-- including the mifepristone case, and a case about January 6th convictions. We also recap some bananas arguments in Wisconsin over a gerrymandering case. And then finally, we share our 2023 edition of our favorite things! Whether you're still holiday shopping for loved ones or need ideas on how to spend your gift cards and cash, we've got you.
- Read Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak's NYT piece, "Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v. Wade"
- We're taking a break on 12/25, but check back in on New Year's Day for a very special edition of Strict Scrutiny!
Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap arguments in a big tax case, Moore v. United States, and a bankruptcy case involving Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Plus, we have a breaking (and heart-breaking) update on an abortion-related case out of Texas.
- Read Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddin's stunning concurrence excoriating originalism
- Listen to our recent episode on another abortion-related case out of Texas
Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the arguments in the hugely important administrative law case, SEC v. Jarkesy. Plus, they welcome Oona Hathaway and Sam Sankar-- two former clerks to the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor-- to discuss her life and legacy.
- Read Kate's NYT op ed on Jarkesy: "This Quiet Blockbuster at the Supreme Court Could Affect All Americans"
- Read Oona Hathaway's NYT op ed on Justice O'Connor, "I Clerked for Justice O’Connor. She Was My Hero, but I Worry About Her Legacy."
- Read The 19th's reporting on how conservative groups are using the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling to shut down the Abundant Birth Project: "Backlash to affirmative action hits pioneering maternal health program for Black women"
For its final sitting of 2023, the Supreme Court will hear cases on the Armed Career Criminal Act, double jeopardy, and whether the government is, well, constitutional. Leah, Melissa, and Kate preview those cases, and look into a hot mess of a voting rights case in the Eighth Circuit. Plus, US Representative Ro Khanna stops by to chat about SCOTUS ethics reform.
- Watch the Strict Scrutiny hosts on The Problem With Jon Stewart, previewing the horrors that await in Jarkesy v. SEC
- Read Justice Jackson's powerful dissent from denial in the case of Michael Johnson, an Illinois inmate who was held in essentially complete isolation in a tiny, windowless cell, caked with human waste, for three years.
After months of public pressure, the Supreme Court has released its newly adopted code of ethics. But it leaves a lot to be desired! Melissa, Kate, and Leah analyze the code and find all the possible loopholes. We also talk to Molly Duane, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers in the Zurawski case out of Texas, where women suffered serious health and emotional consequences after being denied abortions. And then we welcome Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, to update us on reproductive justice in the region after abortion bans and an extremist attack on one of their clinics.
- Listen to our episode from August, "The Dobbs Decision Hasn't Aged Well"
- Listen to our episode from the day Dobbs came out: “Roe is dead. Now what?"
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the arguments in United States v. Rahimi, the case about the constitutionality of gun regulations, featuring diss tracks by KBJ.
- Listen to "How SCOTUS gutted our gun laws," our episode on the 2022 decision that started this madness
Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap cases the Supreme Court heard last week about whether government officials can block people on social media platforms. Do the justices actually understand how social media, or even the Internet, works? Unclear! Plus, a recap of the case over whether the phrase "Trump Too Small" can be trademarked. They also preview the upcoming second amendment case, United States v. Rahimi, which challenges a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.
- Read Melissa and Kate's op-ed in the New York Times, "One of the Most Brazen Republican Schemes Around Abortion Is Happening in Ohio."
- Check out our new shirts, dropping just in time for holiday shopping!
- Bluesky: leahlitman.bsky.social, profmmurray.bsky.social, Kateshaw.bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social
- Threads: @profleahlitman, @profmmurray, @kateashaw, @strictscrutinypodcast
For a transcript of this episode, go to crooked.com/strictscrutiny
Leah, Melissa, and Kate get up to date on the various cases against former President Trump and analyze the arguments being brought in his defense. Plus, they preview the First Amendment cases the Supreme Court will hear this week-- including one about the legality of trademarking the phrase "Trump Too Small."
- Read about the guilty pleas from Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis
- Read the NYT on Amy Coney Barrett's remarks at the University of Minnesota and Clarence Thomas's RV loan
- Read The Washington Post on Judge James Ho's speech to The Heritage Foundation
Find us on the internet!
- Bluesky: leahlitman.bsky.social, profmmurray.bsky.social, Kateshaw.bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social
- Threads: @profleahlitman, @profmmurray, @kateashaw, @strictscrutinypodcast
ProPublica's Andrea Bernstein joins Kate and Leah to talk about the new investigative podcast, "We Don't Talk About Leonard." Then, Melissa, Kate, and Leah are live from the University of Texas to talk about all the special things the state brings to the federal judiciary.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap the oral arguments the Supreme Court heard last week, including a big one about voting rights and redistricting (Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP). Plus, an update on the shenanigans around the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the tomfoolery in the Fifth Circuit.
- Read ProPublica's reporting on how U.S. Representative James Clyburn was involved in the South Carolina redistricting plan that's now before the Supreme Court
- Please consider donating the memorial fund for Maggie Rossman, a college classmate of Leah's who recently died from complications in childbirth
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in the cases the Supreme Court heard last week, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer (a case about civil rights enforcement) and CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association (a case about the constitutionality of funding structures for financial agencies). Plus, more Voting Rights Act shenanigans.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
It's the start of a new Supreme Court term... and the start of Strict Scrutiny's fifth season! While the cases ahead may seem technical and boring, they're actually quite significant. Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the first oral arguments the Court will hear in October Term 2023.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Do you feel that chill in the air? It’s almost the first Monday of October and that means a new SCOTUS term! You may still be recovering from the last one (don’t worry, we are too) but Melissa, Kate and Leah talk about some themes that we can expect this term like the crazy cases coming out of the Fifth Circuit and whether government (as we know it) is constitutional. They also go through the justices’ latest questionable, and in some cases egregious (Justice Thomas, we’re looking at you) ethical lapses. So pour yourself a Ginni Tonic or Hot Ginni Toddy now that it’s fall, and settle in for this week’s live show from the Texas Tribune Festival.
Cases we’re watching:
-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited
-Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo
-Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy
-Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer
-Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P.
-Pulsifer v. United States
-United States v. Rahimi
On September 22, Showtime and Paramount+ will release the first episode of Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court. And if you tune in, you might recognize a few faces and voices. Documentarian Dawn Porter joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to talk about how the series came to be, and what she learned about the Supreme Court's evolution in the process.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Being a Supreme Court podcast means we spend much of the year in dystopia. So just this once, let's look at the silver lining that is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Amir Ali, executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to look back on Justice Jackson's first year on the Supreme Court.
- Listen back to our episodes on Justice Jackson's historic nomination and hellacious confirmation hearings
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Juvaria Khan, founder of The Appellate Project, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to catch up on the fallout of the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision in June. Then, Melissa talks with Justice Goodwin Liu of Supreme Court of California and Mary Hoopes of Pepperdine's Caruso School of Law about their research on how judges consider diversity when hiring clerks.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Melissa, Leah, and Kate invite two guests to zoom out and analyze how the current Supreme Court got to be the way that it is... and what progressives are doing to push back. Michael Waldman, author of The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America, provides historical context for other times the Supreme Court has challenged the country. And Brian Fallon, co-founder of Demand Justice, reflects on his tenure as Executive Director as the group challenged Democrats to get on board with judicial reform.
- Order The Supermajority by Michael Waldman at Bookshop.org. Code STRICT10 gets you 10% off!
- Read about Demand Justice's current campaigns for reform
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Easha Anand of Stanford's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to lay out what SCOTUS has been up to in the world of criminal law. But first, Kate and Leah analyze the Fifth Circuit's opinion in the mifepristone case, and what it means for people seeking abortions across the country.
- Listen to "What's next in a post-Roe world," our episode with Diana Greene Foster, author of The Turnaway Study
- Get more background on the mifepristone case in our episodes from earlier this year: "Mifepristone, Mega Yachts, and Maskgate," and "What's next for mifepristone?"
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
It's been 10 years since the Supreme Court started to dismantle the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, joins Leah and Kate to track the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the challenges against it over the decades, and the fallout from Shelby County and other voting rights cases.
- Order Give Us the Ballot from Bookshop.org. Code STRICT10 gets you 10% off!
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
It's been over a year since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The majority opinion, concurrences, and joint dissent all made a lot of predictions about life without Roe-- but how accurate were they? Leah, Kate, and Melissa assemble a star-studded cast to do dramatic readings of the opinions and reflect on how they've panned out.
Featuring Jon Lovett as Sam Alito, Elie Mystal as Clarence Thomas, Jon Favreau as Brett Kavanaugh, and the hosts of Betches Sup (Amanda Duberman, Alise Morales, and Milly Tamarez) as the joint dissenters.
- Listen to our episode from the day Dobbs came out: "Roe is dead. Now what?"
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for a third time-- this time in a Washington, DC, case about attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Kate, Melissa, and Leah huddle to break down the charges, the people involved, and what happens next.
First things first, Melissa and Leah break down Sam Alito's latest airing of grievances in the Wall Street Journal. Then, Kate joins them for a lesson in actual history from an actual historian. Kate Masur, author of Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, joins the trio for a conversation about her Pulitzer Prize-nominated book.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Leah, Kate, and Melissa join MSNBC's Chris Hayes (aka Mr. Kate Shaw) to fully process the drama of the last Supreme Court term. It's our second annual crossover with Why Is This Happening?!
Another year, another pretty consequential Supreme Court term. SCOTUS recently ended its term with a number of big decisions including striking down affirmative action and issuing opinions in the 303 Creative case, in which the majority created a “constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,” as noted in Justice Sotomayor’s dissent. It also invalidated the Biden administration’s student debt relief program. Meanwhile, there’s increasing concern about recent allegations of ethical improprieties of SCOTUS justices, like the luxury fishing trip, reported by ProPublica, that Justice Alito took back in 2008 with GOP billionaire Paul Singer, who later had at least 10 cases before the high court. There’s a lot to unpack and we’re excited to share our second crossover episode with the hosts of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Chris’ wife Kate Shaw, and her co-hosts Melissa Murray and Leah Litman. They join to discuss some of the most egregious actions from the super conservative majority of the Court, what’s at stake for American democracy and cases to look out for in the next term.
Leah, Kate, and Melissa talk to Steve Vladeck about his new book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. From abortion bans to immigration restrictions, COVID orders and death penalty cases, the Supreme Court has taken to changing the law in quiet.
- Order The Shadow Docket from Bookshop.org. Code STRICT10 gets you 10% off!
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Joel Anderson, host of Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas, joins Melissa and Kate to analyze the justice's trajectory from his childhood in Georgia to his contentious confirmation hearings. Plus, Joel spills behind-the-scenes tea about reporting the series-- including how he found himself in the living room of Justice Thomas's mother.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
We're kicking off the Strict Scrutiny Summer Reading List with a wild ride through the history of the Federalist Society. Amanda Hollis-Brusky, author of Ideas with Consequences: The Federalist Society and the Conservative Counterrevolution and Separate But Faithful: The Christian Right's Radical Struggle to Transform Law & Legal Culture, joins Melissa and Leah to guide the journey.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
- Order Ideas with Consequences and Separate But Faithful at Bookshop.org. Promo code STRICT10 gets you 10% off!
Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap the last Supreme Court term, as the justices speed off on their summer vacations (in a luxury yacht? on a private jet? in an RV in Walmart parking lot? Who's to say!). They highlight recurring themes throughout the justices' opinions, relive some of the best moments in oral arguments, recap the Court's scandals, and preview the cases that scare them next term.US term.
- Watch/listen to this episode of The Problem with Jon Stewart where the Strict Scrutiny Hosts breakdown Jarkesy v. SEC, a case SCOTUS will hear next term.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
The Supreme Court ended its term today with a double whammy, issuing opinions in the 303 Creative case and the student debt relief cases. In the former, the majority creates "a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class." And in the latter, the majority invalidate's the Biden administration's student debt relief program because, well, they had feelings about it.
- Listen to our episode recapping the 303 Creative arguments: "How the 303 Creative case threatens to roll back the 21st century"
- Listen to our episode recapping the arguments in the student debt relief cases: "Ascertaining the Majorness of Student Debt Relief"
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Today the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, declaring admissions programs that consider race to be in violation of the 14th Amendment. Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the Chief Justice's opinion, Justice Thomas's galling concurrence, and the brilliant dissents by Justice Jackson and Justice Sotomayor.
- Listen to our recap of the hours and hours of oral arguments in these cases: "Affirmative Action Reaction"
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
The Supreme Court handed down its decision in Moore v. Harper today, saying that state legislatures can’t actually make up whatever rules they want around federal elections, without oversight from anyone. But is this a victory for our democracy, or should we still be freaked out? Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down the opinion and the questions it leaves open.
We'll be around all week pushing out emergency episodes as the Supreme Court continues to do... whatever it does. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast app of choice so you don't miss it!
Listen to our previous episodes on the independent state legislature theory/fan fiction/thingamajig: "Debunking the Independent State Legislature Fantasy" with Carolyn Shapiro and Jamelle Bouie, and "Turning Fan Fiction Into Reality."
Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Leah and Kate delve in to the latest chapter of Supreme Court justices going on secret fancy vacations with billionaires, this time starring Samuel Alito. And then it's opinion-palooza, recapping the opinions we got last week while we wait with bated breath for the horrors the last week of the term will bring.
Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Last week the Supreme Court made an historic ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act. Rebecca Nagle, host of Crooked Media’s This Land podcast, takes us inside the courtroom in this special bonus episode to break down the decision, how we got here, and what it all means.
The Supreme Court released its opinion in Haaland vs. Brackeen, a case that challenged the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act. In a surprising 7-2 vote, the Court upheld ICWA. Rebecca Nagle, host of This Land, joins Leah, Kate, and Melissa to unpack the opinion and what it means for indigenous families.
- Listen to two previous episodes with Rebecca Nagle: "Go Down Clutching the Constitution" from March 2022 when the case was granted, and "The Uncertain Future of the Indian Child Welfare Act" from November 2022, right after oral arguments.
- Listen to season two of This Land, which tells the backstory of Haaland vs. Brackeen
- Donate to Barry Jones' release fund and listen to the episode we did with Liliana Seguara on his case: "Innocence Isn't Enough"
- We’re going to be hosting Strict Scrutiny Office Hours! It’ll be a special video on YouTube in about a week where we’ll answer your questions about the SCOTUS decisions out so far, the big ones yet to drop, Trump’s indictment, who should win Drag Race All Stars 8. Send a voice memo to us with your question to strictscrutiny@crooked.com. Please keep them to 20 seconds or less, and if you’re okay with it, include your name. We need these by this Wednesday, June 21st.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Former President Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts in the case against him for allegedly mishandling classified documents. He was arraigned on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Miami, and then he spoke to supporters from his golf club in New Jersey. In this bonus episode, Leah and Kate talk about what to expect for the timeline of the case, reenact part of the indictment by the Department of Justice and more.
Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Finally, some good news! The Supreme Court's ruling in Allen v. Milligan preserves section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to break down the opinion for a live show at Howard University School of Law.
- Listen to this past episode where the hosts recap the oral arguments for Allen v. Milligan
- Read Melissa Murray's op ed with Steve Vladeck in The Washington Post
- Listen to argument recaps for Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC in this episode
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Melissa, Leah, and Kate talk to Jenny Hunter, a labor lawyer and union consultant, about the recent SCOTUS opinion in Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters which has implications for union labor laws and the right to strike. They also discuss Justice Alito’s ignoring the Court's newly self-imposed sort-of-not-really enforced ethics rules, and a PBS Frontline documentary about Clarence and Ginni Thomas (that even Kate couldn’t turn off).
- Sign up to see the Strict Scrutiny live show in Washington, DC on June 9th! Or register for the live stream here: go.crooked.com/streamstrict
- Listen to these past episodes about Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters.
- Here is where you can find out more about Eyvin Hernandez, an LA County Public Defender who is being held in Venezuala after being detained while on vacation in Colombia last year.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Sam Sankar of Earthjustice joins Leah and guest host Steven Mazie of The Economist to cover the Supreme Court's opinion in Sackett v. EPA. Millions of acres of wetlands risk losing federal environmental protections-- threatening the future of the nation's clean water. And of course, Leah and Steve catch up on the latest Harlan Crow news.
Plus, Jessica Valenti gives an update on life after Dobbs.
- Sign up to see the Strict Scrutiny live show in Washington, DC on June 9th!
- Listen to this past episode about Sackett v. EPA with Sam Sankar
- In this episode, the hosts discussed the arguments for Tyler v. Hennepin County, another one of the opinions discussed.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap the Supreme Court's recent opinions about the Internet and intellectual property. As we predicted, the Internet isn't going to end with a bang-- and not even a whimper. Plus, we give you the "highlights" of the oral arguments in the Texas mifepristone case... which are even wilder (and more terrifying) than we could have imagined.
- Sign up to see the Strict Scrutiny live show in Washington, DC on June 9th!
- The hosts covered the arguments of the opinions for Gonzales v. Google LLC and Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh in this episode.
- In this episode, the hosts discussed the arguments for Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, another one of the opinions discussed.
- This past episode discusses the arguments for Ohio Adjutant General’s Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, an opinion the hosts talk about this week
Melissa, Kate, and Leah cover the gift that keeps on giving-- a.k.a. billionaire Harlan Crow, who can't seem to stop giving undisclosed gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas. They continue the discussion on the deluge of stories about questionable ethics at the Supreme Court following a report that said Leonard Leo arranged for Ginni Thomas to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for "consulting work". The cherry on top? Two recent Supreme Court opinions about political corruption and fraud. Finally, they are joined by John Mills, an attorney for Richard Glossip, who was sentenced to death for a crime for which there is powerful evidence he did not commit.
- Listen to an interview with Justin Elliott, one of the ProPublica reporters who broke the news about Harlan Crow and Justice Thomas.
- The hosts covered the arguments of the opinions for Percoco v. US and Ciminelli v. US in this episode.
- In this episode, the hosts discussed the arguments for Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, another one of the opinions discussed.
- This past episode discusses the arguments for National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, an opinion the hosts talk about this week.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
It's our first ever listener mailbag episode of Strict Scrutiny! You asked, we answered-- is court expansion possible? Is law school worth it? Who are our fancy billionaire friends? Can we stop being such hysterical harpies? Which Taylor Swift song is the best? Plus, we recap Justice Alito's "interview" with the Wall Street Journal so you don't have to read it.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
The stories about federal judges doing shady things just keep coming. Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to discuss proposals for making the judiciary more transparent and accountable. Plus, the hosts recap oral arguments-- including one on whether the government can take your money and keep the change.
• Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Kate and Leah explain the Supreme Court's decision to stay the ban on mifepristone-- meaning the medication remains available on the same terms it has been. Then, they recap oral arguments in cases about religious accommodations at work, obstruction of justice in immigration cases, and whether threats are protected by the First Amendment. (Spoiler alert: it's a real race to the top for Villain of the Week at SCOTUS.) Plus! One rare piece of good news that comes in the form of an opinion that paves the way for a death-row inmate to obtain DNA testing that could prove his innocence.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Kate and Leah talk to ProPublica's Justin Elliott about the latest findings in Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow's friendship. First luxury vacations, then undisclosed real estate deals. Then, if you're wondering about the latest in the mifepristone cases, the hosts breakdown the latest news and what it all means for abortion care nationwide. Kate and Leah also preview two court cases that will be argued at the Supreme Court next week, recap an opinion, and highlight a concerning grant.
- We want to hear from you! Submit your questions to strictscrutiny@crooked.com (If sending a voice memo, please keep it to 20 seconds or less)
- Read ProPublica's reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas's home sale to billionaire republican Harlan Crow.
- Here's a twitter thread from Leah on the consequences of the Mifepristone ruling
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah explain the ruling out of Texas that could strip mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, of its FDA approval. Plus, they react to the explosive ProPublica reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas's luxury vacations sponsored by a billionaire Republican donor, and chat with CNN's Joan Biskupic about her new book, Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences. They discuss the lasting effects of the Trump presidency on the Court and the working relationships between Justices, giving listeners a glimpse behind the curtain on some of the most iconic scandals at the Court.
- Order Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences at Bookshop.org. Use code STRICT10 at checkout to get 10% off your order.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
It’s a Strict Scrutiny and Pod Save America crossover! Jon, Jon, and Tommy get together with Leah and Kate to talk about Donald Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan criminal court, and the legal jeopardy he faces now that he’s been charged with 34 felony counts.
Kate and Leah host Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky in a live show at the University of Wisconsin Law School. On April 4th, Wisconsin voters will decide who will fill an open state Supreme Court seat, which could give liberals a majority on the high court for the first time since 2008. What issues are on the table? Abortion and voter rights, to name a few. The hosts also recap recent Supreme Court arguments.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Strict Scrutiny takes Hawaii! Senator Mazie Hirono joins Kate, Leah, and Melissa for a live show at the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law. We catch up on the latest in anti-abortion legislation, recap the Supreme Court's arguments from last week (including the Jack Daniels'/poop jokes case), and discuss a first-of-its-kind opinion out of the Hawaii Supreme Court.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
Melissa, Leah, and Kate preview three Supreme Court cases up for argument this week. The cases focus on water rights on Indian reservations, the constitutionality of a federal law that prohibits people from encouraging unlawful immigration, and Jack Daniels (yes, the alcohol company) suing a dog toy company over a poop-related joke. Plus, a new venture from Leonard Leo provides some insight into what conservatives think liberals sit around doing all day.
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
For a transcript of this episode, go to crooked.com/strictscrutiny
First things first: WE WON AN AMBIE! Leah, Kate, and Melissa gather to raise a glass and celebrate this huge honor. Then, Kate and Melissa talk with Joanna Schwartz about her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. Plus, a quick overview of what we expect from the Supreme Court before it ends its term in late June.
- Order Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable at Bookshop.org. Use code STRICT10 at checkout to get 10% off your order!
- Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.
What’s going to happen to the federal student debt relief plan? Melissa, Leah and Kate give listeners some answers as they break down last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments on the cases blocking 20 million borrowers from seeing between $10,000 and $20,000 of forgiveness on their federal student loans. They also discuss how those arguments could affect a pending federal court ruling that could force the FDA to reverse its approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion.
- Listen to last week’s episode previewing the student debt relief cases
- Listen to this episode on the federal court case regarding the FDA approval of mifepristone.
- Follow Strict Scrutiny on Instagram and Twitter.
- Follow Crooked Media on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers, and other community events.
Leah and Kate recap the arguments in the big Internet cases the Supreme Court heard last week. Plus, they look ahead to the upcoming arguments in the student debt cancellation cases-- and to an election in Wisconsin that you should all be watching.
Danielle Citron, author of The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age, joins Leah and Melissa to preview two Supreme Court cases that ask whether online platforms should be held liable for user-uploaded content. Plus, more drip-drip-drip from the investigation of the Dobbs leak.
- Read The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age (use promo code STRICT10 for 10% off!)
- Read The Onion's incredible amicus brief
Leah and Kate talk to Jessica Valenti, writer of the Substack newsletter “Abortion, Every Day,” which documents the rapidly changing landscape of abortion rights in the U.S. after Dobbs. Plus, they highlight a federal court opinion that would allow people facing domestic violence orders to possess guns, and President Biden’s (brief) State of the Union comment about vetoing any national abortion ban legislation.
- Listen to "How SCOTUS gutted our gun laws," about the Supreme Court's recent ruling that the constitutional right to carry a gun extends beyond the home
- Listen to "What the Fight After Roe Actually Looks Like," which recapped the first two months of a post-Dobbs world
- Listen to "Roe is dead. Now what?," which captured our immediate reaction to the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Melissa and Kate talk with Sasha Issenberg, journalist and political science professor at UCLA, about his book The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage. Issenberg offers a glimmer of hope about the lasting legality of same-sex marriage, even in light of Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion in Dobbs. But he warns about the dangerous exemptions that could be carved out through 303 Creative, which the Supreme Court has yet to issue an opinion on, but foreshadowed in its Hobby Lobby opinion.
- Buy your own copy of The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage (use STRICT10 for 10% off!)
- Read an excerpt of The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage
- Listen to our episode recapping arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis
Melissa interviews Dahlia Lithwick about her best-selling book Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America. They discuss overlooked women who shaped the legal system, complicity in judicial culture, the problem with clerkships, and what it means to actually participate in rebuilding a broken system. The conversation was originally a virtual New York University Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network Book Talk in October 2022.
- Order Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America here (use STRICT10 at checkout for 10% off!)
- Read more about Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
- Watch this documentary about lawyer and activist Pauli Murray, an often under-credited legal pioneer of civil rights, racial justice and gender justice, and listen to Strict Scrutiny's interview with the film makers
- Learn more about the International Refugee Assistance Project
Kate and Leah were live from the University of Pennsylvania in Strict Scrutiny's first live show of 2023! Penn Law Professor Jasmine E. Harris joined the hosts to recap arguments in a case that could impact disability rights. Kate and Leah recap two other arguments, in a case about immigration law and another about the ability to criminally prosecute corporations owned by foreign states. Plus, a major update about the Supreme Court's "investigation" into who leaked the draft opinion of Dobbs last spring. And Temple University Law School Dean Rachel Rebouche joined the hosts to talk about some concerning updates in abortion access-- an unfortunately commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
- Here’s the report summarizing the Supreme Court's investigation into who leaked the Dobbs opinion. (TLDR: they still don't know who did it, but they tried their best? Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said so.)
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the Supreme Court's the first oral arguments of 2023, which includes cases about union labor laws, attorney-client privilege, and Puerto Rico's sovereign immunity. Plus-- some theories about why the Court hasn't issued any opinions this term, and some breaking news in the investigation over the leaked Dobbs opinion.
- Listen to our past episode on the 303 Creative v. Elenis case that's mentioned this week.
- Listen to this episode of America Dissected which features Melissa. She discusses the COVID-19 vaccine mandate cases argument that's discussed in this week's episode.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah reconvene to preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear in its January sitting. Manny Pastreich, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 32BJ, joins us to lay out the stakes in a pair of cases involving labor unions.
Tomiko Brown-Nagin joins Melissa and Kate to discuss her book Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. You may recognize the name Constance Baker Motley from Ketanji Brown Jackson's speech upon receiving her nomination to SCOTUS. Motley was the first black woman to be appointed to the federal bench-- and she and Justice Jackson share a birthday. Judge Motley's story illustrates the fights for equality, across race and gender lines, in the mid-20th century.
Order Civil Rights Queen at Bookshop.org and use code STRICT10 at check-out for 10% off.
Before we can really get into the holiday spirit, we have to deal with the lump of coal the Supreme Court heard on December 7th: Moore v. Harper. The case is about a fringe legal theory that says that when it comes to regulating elections, state legislatures can do anything they want-- even violate the state constitution-- and state courts can’t intervene to stop them. It's bad, scary, foreboding, toxic, etc. Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap the arguments-- and then take a refreshing walk in a winter wonderland with this year's list of Our Favorite Things! If you're still doing your holiday shopping, we've got lots of recs.
The Supreme Court recently heard 2.5 hours of oral arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis-- the case about a Colorado website designer who doesn't want to create wedding websites for gay couples. The arguments were absolutely bonkers, with justices invoking kids in KKK uniforms, Black mall Santas, dating sites for people seeking affairs, and re-education camps. Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap the arguments and what they may portend for the future of LGBTQ rights.
Melissa and Kate recap oral arguments in a couple of cases that could limit the reach of federal fraud statutes, plus an immigration case out of Texas. And of course, there's the latest story out of the New York Times, spilling the tea on a years-long effort by conservative activists to ingratiate themselves with Supreme Court justices.
On December 6th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, a case about the independent state legislature idea/thingamajig/fantasy. We've covered it extensively, so catch up on previous episodes before the chaos is unleashed on Wednesday.
- "Debunking the Independent State Legislature Fantasy" with Jamelle Bouie and Carolyn Shapiro
- "Turning Fan Fiction Into Reality"
HUGE reminder that it’s run-off time in Georgia. Early voting started Monday, November 28th for the December 6th election. That’s TOMORROW. If you're a Georgia voter, head over to votesaveamerica.com to make your plan.And if you want to help out no matter where you live, you can donate and find remote and in-person volunteer opportunities to make sure the Warnock campaign has the resources it needs.51 senators means the difference between a true majority, or being faced with another 2 years of roadblocks like problem children Kyrsten Sinema & Joe Manchin. Make sure that every Georgia voter can make their voice heard again at votesaveamerica.com.
On Saturday, the New York Times published a piece about a former anti-abortion leader's claim that he was told the outcome of a 2014 Supreme Court case before it was public. The story offers a glimpse at a years-long campaign by conservative activists to obtain access to and ingratiate themselves with Supreme Court justices. It's really wild and really disturbing-- so Leah, Kate, and Melissa convene for an emergency episode to discuss.
Rebecca Nagle, host of Crooked Media's This Land, joins Melissa, Leah, and Kate to recap the arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen. The case revolves around the Indian Child Welfare Act, which lays out a set of preferences for where Native American children can be placed for foster care and adoption. The challengers, white foster parents trying to adopt Native American children, are claiming a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. But as Rebecca explains, tribal sovereignty isn't racial-- it's political.
Plus, we take a look at the midterm outcomes and what they mean for the courts.
- Listen to Season 2 of This Land, all about the back story of Haaland v. Brackeen.
- Read Rebecca Nagle's piece in The Atlantic, "The Supreme Court Case That Could Break Native Sovereignty."
On Halloween, the Supreme Court will hear pair of cases challenging affirmative action in university admissions. Spooky! Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to preview the cases.
- Listen to an episode on race conscious remedies from our spin-off show, Irrational Basis Review
Kate talks with Deborah Tuerkheimer about her recent book, Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers. A former prosecutor and leading authority on sexual violence, Deb's book examines why we are primed to disbelieve allegations of sexual abuse--and how we can transform a culture and a legal system structured to dismiss accusers.
This episode contains discussions of sexual violence. Please use discretion and take care of yourselves.
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap some of the cases argued at the Supreme Court last week: Reed v. Goertz, National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith. Plus, there's a lot to catch up on in court culture, including judges trying to cancel cancel culture, and another round of Ginni Tonics.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah welcome Sam Sankar of Earthjustice and Deuel Ross of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to recap arguments the Supreme Court heard this week in two big cases. Sackett v. EPA is a challenge to the EPA’s authority to regulate wetlands, and Merrill v. Milligan is a Voting Rights Act case out of Alabama that’s really about whether Congress may ensure the representation and political power of voters of color.
For the University of Michigan's Homecoming weekend, we held a special live recording for our season finale. Michelle Adams joins Kate and Leah to wrap up the justices' summer shenanigans and provide a look forward at the collegiate affirmative action cases coming before the Supreme Court this term. Plus, Sommer Foster, co-Executive Director at Michigan Voices, joins to talk to us about Reproductive Freedom For All, the ballot initiative campaign to protect reproductive freedom in Michigan.
Leah talks with Wilfred Codrington III about his article, "Purcell in Pandemic," which appeared in the NYU Law Review. The Purcell Principle comes from a 2006 Supreme Court case about what makes an appropriate timeline for changing election laws. The principle wasn't clear to begin with, and has only gotten more confusing in litigation surrounding the 2020 election. Will we see it continue to play out in this year's midterms?
Kate, Leah, and Melissa convene a panel to persuade you that the fight for progressive causes has to include state courts and state constitutions. To get the lay of the land and identify the challenges ahead, they welcome four guests: Miriam Seifter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jessica Bulman-Pozen of Columbia Law School, Daniel Nichanian of Bolts, and Alicia Bannon of the Brennan Center.
With guests Jamelle Bouie and Carolyn Shapiro, Kate and Leah analyze the fan fiction that is the Independent State Legislature "Theory" (emphasis on the quotation marks), which threatens to take the main stage in an upcoming case about the power of state legislatures to set rules for federal elections.
Somehow, it's only been less than two months since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade with their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. But A LOT has happened since then. To further examine the fall-out, we assembled a stellar crew to help us get the lay of the post-Roe land: journalist Rebecca Traister, health law expert Michele Goodwin, and U.S. Congressman Mondaire Jones.
Even though it's summer, there's a lot to catch up on in the legal world! Leah and Melissa talk with Grace Panetta, who co-wrote a piece for Business Insider on the GOP's plans for state constitutional conventions. And then they turn toward Kansas, where voters dramatically turned out to declare that reproductive freedom is an essential part of the state constitution. They're joined by several of the activists behind the victory.
Leah talks with Lee Kovarsky of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas about the Supreme Court's treatment of death penalty cases. Before 2020, there hadn't been a federal execution since 2003. In the last six months of the Trump presidency, there were 13. Lee tells us how that came to be, and what the justices' writings signal for future death penalty cases.
- Read Lee's article, "The Trump Executions," in the University of Texas Law Review
It's a deep dive into law and religion in this conservative supermajority iteration of the Supreme Court. Kate talks with Micah Schwartzman of UVA and Nelson Tebbe of Cornell about some of the major religious liberty cases that have come before the Court in recent years, and what the Court may be signaling for the future.
Melissa interviews journalist Joshua Prager about his book, The Family Roe: An American Story. Prager spent hours interviewing Norma McCorvey (aka Jane Roe), her daughters, and other key figures throughout the decades-long debate over abortion rights in America.
While the Supreme Court gets all the focus, lower federal courts are just as much in need of reform. Unfortunately, rigging the courts is a game the GOP knows how to play. In this episode, Leah talks with Rakim Brooks of Alliance for Justice, and Brandon Hasbrouck* of Washington & Lee Law School, about how federal judges get picked, how Mitch McConnell has played the long game, and how the Democrats need to move forward in the judicial selection process.
*Brandon also wrote an article called "Movement Judges," which just came out in the NYU Law Review. Check it out for more on this subject!
The Supreme Court finally finished the OT2021 term-- and it was a doozy. Kate and Leah recap the last few opinions, including Oklahoma v. Castro Huerta, with special guest Greg Ablavsky of Stanford Law [3:55], and the "praying coach" case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District [34:22]. Then, a lighting round of four more opinions and other Court-related news [53:06].
You’re angry. We’re angry. Let’s do something about it. From directly supporting patients who need abortions right now, to electing pro-choice candidates in 2022 and building a progressive majority over the long term, you can find everything you need to fight back in our Fuck Bans Action Plan hub at votesaveamerica.com/roe.
The pace of opinion releases has accelerated considerably as we speed toward the end of June and the justices' vacations. Even though last week brought us blockbuster cases about guns and abortions, there are still lots of consequential opinions getting overlooked. Leah, Kate, and Melissa break them down-- after a few more thoughts about Dobbs [5:32]. Plus, Melissa gets to finally flex her British Royals Brain in the court culture segment [1:05:28].
Opinions discussed:
Marietta Memorial Hospital v. Davita [20:23]
- A case about a Medicare statute and end-stage renal disease
US v. Taylor [25:24]
- A habeas with a positive outcome!
Carson v. Makin [43:41]
- In which the Supreme Court embiggens free exercise rights
Shoop v. Twyford [1:00:28]
- If you’re seeking relief, the answer is “no” & the only question is "why"
Berger v. NC State Conference of NAACP [1:01:56]
- Involves a challenge to North Carolina's voter ID law
Becerra v. Empire Health [1:02:52]
- Related to Medicare reimbursement rates, with a really weird 5-4 line-up
Two more things:
Today the Supreme Court issued their opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. It overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, meaning there is no longer constitutional protection for the right to an abortion. Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap the horrific opinion by Justice Alito and the somehow-worse concurrence by Justice Thomas, and also read some passages straight from the dissent.
You’re angry. We’re angry. Let’s do something about it. From directly supporting patients who need abortions right now, to electing pro-choice candidates in 2022 and building a progressive majority over the long term, you can find everything you need to fight back in our Fuck Bans Action Plan hub at votesaveamerica.com/roe.
Today the Supreme Court released its opinion in NYSRPA v. Bruen, saying that the constitutional right to carry a gun extends beyond the home. Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down the opinion and what it means for the future of gun regulations and states' rights.
It's a special Pride episode of Strict Scrutiny! Special guests Joshua Matz and Chase Strangio join Melissa, Kate, and Leah to highlight developments and ongoing litigation around LGBTQ rights.
This year, Crooked Media’s Pride fund is supporting three incredible organizations that provide community building, gender affirming, and life saving resources to the queer and transgender community. Visit crooked.com/pridefund to donate and learn more.
The Supreme Court released four opinions last week (still 20-something to go before the end of the term), so Leah, Kate, and Melissa break them all down. Plus, they address the need for increased security for all federal judges, and offer a recipe for a new, refreshing cocktail to sip while you take in all the news.
Recapped opinions include the bankruptcy case Siegel v. Fitzgerald [8:26], the Medicaid case Gallardo v. Marstiller [10:34], the pro-arbitration-plaintiff-win-after-a-kick-ass-argument-by-lady-lawyer case Southwest Airlines v. Saxon [21:07], and the Bivens case, Egbert v. Boule [26:19].
Melissa interviews Elie Mystal about his new book, Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution.
P.S. Melissa, Kate, and Leah will be on The Problem with Jon Stewart this Thursday, June 9th! Don't miss it.
Investigative journalist Liliana Segura joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to tell the story of Barry Jones, who was the center of one of the cases in Shinn v. Martinez Ramirez [3:30]. The Supreme Court released an opinion in the case last week, and it's bad. There is a miniscule moment of joy, though, in the recap of the opinion in Morgan v. Sundance, which is about arbitration and also Taco Bell [51:58]. Finally, we do a quick round-up of other court-adjacent news, including the fever dream that is Ginni Thomas's email signature, and theories as to why the Court is being so unusually quiet for this late in the term [59:28].
Ellen Weintraub, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission since 2002, joins Kate and Leah to break down the Supreme Court's opinion in FEC v. Ted Cruz, an important campaign finance case [2:07]. (Commissioner Weintraub also joined us to preview the case before oral arguments-- go back and listen to that episode if you haven't!) Kate and Leah also debrief the opinion Patel v. Garland, a major immigration case with a pretty devastating result [32:45]. They also flag a grant of a habeas-related case the Court will hear next term, Jones v. Hendrix [47:23], and then try to bring their blood pressure down by catching up on various statements and speeches Justices Thomas and Alito have given recently [52:01].
Kate and Leah spend some additional time on possible fallout from a Dobbs opinion overruling or eviscerating Roe. They interview two people with insight on what we can expect in a post-Roe world. Diana Greene Foster is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and a researcher on reproductive health at UCSF. She's also the author of The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having--Or Being Denied--An Abortion [3:14]. And Greer Donley is an assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh Law, and one of the three authors of the extremely topical and important article, "The New Abortion Battleground," which is forthcoming in the Columbia Law Review. The paper is written together with Professor David Cohen at Drexel Kline School of Law and Professor Rachel Rebouche, Interim Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law. The paper analyzes the inter-jurisdictional issues that will emerge if and when the Supreme Court overrules Roe [32:04]. We'll also catch up on some of the additional news and hot takes people have had since the leak happened [57:52].
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the remaining arguments from the April session: Nance v. Ward [1:38] and Biden v. Texas [18:04]. They also get into a unanimous opinion about religious speech [43:28], and of course, break down some court culture before continuing their investigation into the leaked draft opinion [52:30].
Protect Abortion Access. Donate to Abortion Funds. VoteSaveAmerica.com/roe
Kate, Leah and Melissa get together for an emergency episode to discuss a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that indicates the justices are prepared to overrule the decisions protecting and reaffirming the constitutional right to an abortion.
Protect Abortion Access. Donate to Abortion Funds: http://votesaveamerica.com/roe
Leah, Kate, and Melissa bring you a jam-packed show recapping news, arguments, and opinions from the Supreme Court in the past couple weeks. Recaps include "the praying coach case," aka Kennedy v. Bremerton School District [10:26], Shoop v. Twyford [45:27], and Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta [50:05]. We also do some math trying to figure out who might-- or might not-- have the still-to-come opinion in Dobbs [57:21], and get out the kleenex for the Chief Justice's teary tribute to Justice Breyer [1:06:44].
Leah, Kate, and Melissa catch up on SCOTUS news (including more shadow docket activity and shady Thomas behavior) [1:04] and preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear in their last sitting of the term [35:54]. The justices will be going out with a bang, hearing cases about veteran benefits, Miranda warnings, immigration, and of course, religious liberty.
Melissa interviews Linda Greenhouse about her new book, Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court. This conversation was originally a live, virtual event from the Brennen Center for Justice, produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center.
Rebecca Nagle, host of This Land, joins Leah and Kate to discuss the issues at stake in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act that the Supreme Court will hear next term.
Plus, Kate and Leah catch you up on the latest in SB8 news, an opinion written by Justice Kagan, and the cases the Supreme Court will hear in the next two weeks [20:54]. There's also more drama with Ginni Thomas [51:50], a judge trying to cancel student protestors [56:18], and a House hearing on workplace protections in the federal judiciary [1:01:53].
Kate and Leah talk with Cary Franklin, the McDonald/Wright Chair of Law and Faculty Director of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, about her article "Living Textualism." The article is a broad critique of textualism, using the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County as a foundation.
Rachel Rothschild, legal fellow at the Institute for Policy Integrity, joins Kate and Melissa to recap oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. They also recap cases about prescription drugs, tribal casinos, outpatient dialysis, and what happens when a state wants to enforce a law that's no longer in effect. Plus, there's more on KBJ's pending confirmation, Ginni Thomas's doings, and Sam Alito's... laugh?
Leah recaps Denezpi v. United States, an important case about tribal sovereignty, with Matthew Fletcher (Michigan State University & Chief Justice of the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Indians Court of Appeals) & April Youpee-Roll (Munger Tolles & Olson), which may involve … Neil Gorsuch’s heel turn in Indian law?!?
Melissa, Kate, & Leah discuss the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson – KBJ, Yay! – to the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Lisa Fairfax (University of Pennsylvania, Carey School of Law) joins us to share some personal perspective on Judge Jackson after decades of friendship.
Leah discusses the upcoming climate change case, West Virginia v. EPA, with Lisa Heinzerling and Kirti Datla (1:06). Slate's Mark Joseph Stern joins later to tee up a case the Court has granted for argument next term, 303 Creative v. Elenis, a case involving a graphic designer who doesn’t want to create websites for same-sex couples (49:48).
Leah, Kate, & Melissa run through a bunch of Court adjacent news-- including this Jane Mayer piece about Ginni Thomas-- before highlighting the big cases to watch in the February sitting.
Kate, Melissa, and Leah interview Professors Julian Davis Mortenson and Nick Bagley about the nondelegation doctrine.
Deuel Ross, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Leah and Kate to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision allowing an election in Alabama to proceed under a legislative map that dilutes the voting power of Black Alabamians.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah sit down with Ruth Marcus, the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover.
Kate, Melissa, & Leah are joined by Dean Risa Goluboff & Tejas Narechania for a retrospective on Justice Breyer. Then FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub joins for a discussion of FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate.
Nina Totenberg joins the podcast to discuss her story that broke the Internet and sent the Court into a statement frenzy. Kate, Leah, and Melissa then break down some of the January arguments and what is happening with S.B. 8.
The ladies of Strict Scrutiny join forces with Why Is This Happening?, hosted by Chris Hayes (aka Mr. Kate Shaw).
Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “it’s hard not to have a big year at the Supreme Court.” With that in mind, we thought it would be good to do a gut check as 2022 promises to be one of the most important years in the Court’s history. We like doing new things here at WITHpod, so we’re excited to share our first crossover episode with the hosts of The Strict Scrutiny podcast, Chris’ wife Kate Shaw, and her co-hosts Melissa Murray, and Leah Litman. Between the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned, historic potential rulings on voting and gun rights, and more contentious political battles, the year ahead will certainly be one for the books.
Payvand Ahdout, Assistant Professor of Law at University of Virginia School of Law and federal courts and post-conviction review expert, joins Leah to debrief the first week of the Court's January arguments, an important resentencing case to be argued the second week (attn: Kim Kardashian), and a bunch of court culture that ... isn't particularly upbeat for lady lawyers.
Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap the Supreme Court’s opinions invalidating the Biden administration’s test-or-vaccinate policy for employers with more than 100 employees, and the Court’s grudging acceptance that employees at federally funded healthcare facilities should not be able to kill their patients.
Leah is joined by Wilfred Codrington III to discuss his co-authored book The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union.
Leah, Melissa, and Kate round out 2021 with a discussion of their favorite things.
To wear
Washable silk pajamas from Lunya
The Lady Doth Etsy shop
To read
My Monticello, by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker
The Women of Troy, by Pat Barker
Born on the Water, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson
How to be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings, by Sarah Cooper
To eat
Levain Bakery cookie assortment
To support women journalists
Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Plus
Alexandra Petri - Washington Post
Rebecca Traister and Irin Carmon - New York Magazine and The Cut
Erinn Haynes and Shefali Luthra - The 19th
To smell
Parks Project-- like this Yosemite Lodgepole Pine Candle
To spoil your dog
And of course, to rep your favorite podcast
We recap the second week of the December sitting, which is (more than) enough to justify a break for the New Year!
Resources:
- Michele Goodwin's powerful op-ed in the New York Times: "I Was Raped by My Father. An Abortion Saved My Life."
- Liliana Segura's reporting on Barry Jones, whose case was consolidated with Shinn v. Ramirez
- Nelson Tebbe's 2008 article in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, "Excluding Religion"
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Tiffany Wright joins the show to recap last week’s oral arguments and to preview the second week of the December sitting... hijinks ensue.
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Resources:
- "Texas Abortion Law Complicates Care for Risky Pregnancies," by Roni Caryn Rabin. New York Times, November 26, 2021.
- "The Judge Who Told the Truth About the Mississippi Abortion Ban," by Reynolds Holding. The Atlantic, November 30, 2021.
- Amicus brief by the Howard University School of Law Human and Civil Rights Clinic
It’s sad girl autumn at the Supreme Court -- Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the upcoming cases, including the frontal challenge to Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and discuss the Court’s lack of action on the S.B. 8 cases.
In October, Melissa joined the ACLU's podcast At Liberty to discuss the state of abortion rights in Texas and the rest of the nation. We're thrilled to bring the conversation to Strict Scrutiny listeners as well.
The Supreme Court is gearing up to hear challenges to some state laws restricting abortion, including a case from Mississippi that directly challenges the 1973 precedent set in Roe v. Wade. Given the court’s conservative super majority, many legal experts are warning that access to abortion may hang on Congressional action. The Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that could legally enshrine the right to abortion care, passed the House on September 24th but faces a battle in the Senate.
Melissa's co-panelists are Imani Gandy, senior editor at the Rewire News Group and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered, and Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. Molly Kaplan hosts.
Kate speaks with Juan Perla and Neil Weare about United States v. Vaello-Madero, which will be argued before the Supreme Court on November 9th. US citizens who are otherwise eligible for SSI benefits are denied solely because they live in Puerto Rico-- a US territory. Does this denial violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment?
Melissa talks with Carol Anderson about her book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. This event originally aired as a program by the Commonwealth Club of California back in July, and we're excited to bring it to Strict Scrutiny listeners ahead of Supreme Court arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen on November 3rd.
Dahlia Lithwick joins us for a preview of this monster term, and a breakdown of … that Alito speech.
Kate and Leah are joined by Elizabeth Wydra and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick to discuss more of the Supreme Court's orders coming out of the shadow docket. First up is the Migrant Protection Protocol, also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program from the Trump Administration. Then it's a look at the Court's decision to vacate the CDC's latest eviction moratorium, which allows evictions to resume. Both orders ruled against the Biden administration and were divided along ideological lines.
It’s law school advice time, Strict Scrutiny style! Melissa and Leah chat with Mark Moran, graduate of UVA Law and contestant on FBoy Island, for the first ever Strict Scrutiny x FBoy Island Crossover. What can law school teach you about reality TV, and reality TV teach you about law school? A lot, it turns out….
Commander Professor Steve Vladeck joins us for an emergency episode about SB8, the most restrictive abortion law that has been allowed to go into effect since Roe v. Wade.
Kate and Leah talk with Alexandra Brodsky, founding co-director of Know Your IX and author of Sexual Justice: Supporting Victims, Ensuring Due Process, and Resisting the Conservative Backlash.
Kate and Leah talk with Jamal Greene about his new book, How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart.
Melissa talks reparations with Katherine Franke, Columbia Law Professor and author of Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition.
In collaboration with The Appellate Project, Leah, Kate, and Melissa talk to Debo Adegbile and Bruce Spiva about voting rights and diversity in the appellate bar.
It’s Supreme Court reform summer! On this episode, Leah talks to Professor Nikolas Bowie about his testimony to the Presidential commission on the Supreme Court and whether we have or should have a democracy.
Melissa interviews Berkeley Law Professor Amanda Tyler about the book she co-wrote with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue. The book includes Justice Ginsburg's favorite opinions she authored, along with stories of her life, family, and career. Professor Tyler shares some of those stories as well as reflections on her working relationship and friendship with the justice. This conversation was originally an event put on by The Beverly Hills Bar Association and Writers Bloc Presents.
For a further break down of the opinion that is definitely not necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act (Brnovich v. DNC), Leah is joined by two voting rights experts, Professors Nick Stephanopoulos and Franita Tolson, who offer their thoughts on (among other things) what music Justice Alito was listening to while writing Brnovich and who he was talking to as well.
Leah and Melissa do a quick dash through Monday’s opinions in Arthrex, NCAA v. Alston, and Goldman v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement Systems and a quick note on Nestle v. Doe before allowing Leah time to work out some feelings on Justice Alito’s dissent in the ACA case.
Kate and Melissa recap two opinions, California v. Texas (the ACA case) and Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (Masterpiece Cakeshop redux). For the latter, Katherine Franke joins with historical context and insights.
Kate, Melissa, and Leah get together to discuss Justice Kagan’s approach to statutory interpretation. We got two opinions this week, Sanchez v. Mayorkas, another unanimous immigration case, and the big ACCA (Armed Career Criminal Act, not Affordable Care Act) opinion we’ve been waiting for-- Borden v. US. They identify an important parallel between Justice Kagan and Taylor Swift and lay out the evidence that the Justices are reading their tweets (and everyone else’s too). Finally, they are joined by three former law clerks to Judge Katzmann (Professors Rachel Bayefsky, Bernie Meyler, and Lindsay Nash) to remember the late judge.
Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the last week of opinions (Van Buren v. United States, Garland v. Dai, and Cooley v. United States). They also discuss some developments on the shadow docket, whether Neil Gorsuch is getting some cold feet about the whole textualism thing, and the newest teacher in town -- Justice Breyer, who clearly needs some Zoom advice.
Melissa interviews Ian Millhiser about his new book, The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America. This conversation was originally an event with the Commonwealth Club in April.
Kate, Melissa, and Leah notice the siren song of purposivism in some of the Court’s recent statutory interpretation cases. They also talk about developments on the Court’s death penalty docket before going through one of their binders of women advocates & advocates of color.
Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the recent cert grants, the oral argument in Terry v. United States, and the opinions in Edwards v. Vannoy, CIC v. IRS, Caniglia v. Strom, & BP v. Baltimore. They then workshop their reviews of Justice Breyer’s forthcoming book before highlighting some exciting Supreme Court-related book reviews.
In March, the NYU School of Law hosted the the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network's symposium on Politics, Power, and Women’s Leadership. As a part of the event, Melissa interviewed Congresswoman Katie Porter about her experience running for office, child care as infrastructure, and, of course, her big whiteboard energy.
Kate & Melissa host Heather McGhee to discuss her new book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
Leah and Kate recap the textualist bonanza in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, and the recent arguments in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (during which Justice Alito signaled that he’s a fan of the pod) and Mahanoy School District. They also preview the final case of the term, Terry v. United States.
Leah and Kate are joined by Sen. Sheldon “Whiteboard” Whitehouse to discuss the courts subcommittee hearing on dark money and how the topic of the hearing relates to the Court’s upcoming case in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra/Thomas More Law Foundation v. Becerra.
Leah and Kate recap some February arguments (Brnovich v. DNC and United States v. Arthrex) before pleading with the Biden administration to give them some court culture material. Oh, and, Justice Breyer they have a request for you -- with respect, of course.
Leah is joined by Josie Duffy Rice, President of the Appeal, and Jay Willis, senior contributor at the Appeal, to discuss some Court related news, preview the upcoming Voting Rights Act case, and chat about some emerging Fourth Amendment issues on the Court’s docket.
Leah and Kate are joined by David Schleicher and Sam Moyn, cohosts and creators of “Digging A Hole,” a legal theory podcast. They discuss Supreme Court reform and why none of them were invited to join the court reform commission.
Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Julie Cohen, Betsy West and Talleah Bridges McMahon, the team behind the new documentary, My Name Is Pauli Murray. The film premieres at the Sundance Film Festival this week.
Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Rutgers Law Dean Kim Mutcherson, host of “The Power of Attorney” podcast, to break down (FOR NOW) the Court’s recent grants, the decision in FDA v. ACOG, and to recap and preview some January cases.
Leah and Melissa are joined by Alexandra Petri, author of Nothing Is Wrong And Here Is Why, and Washington Post columnist. They discuss how to cover news by laughing rather than crying, and how to satirize reality when reality is surreal.
Leah and Melissa are joined by the first repeat guest on Strict Scrutiny, Elie Mystal, to discuss his recent column about Democratic leadership on the Senate Judiciary Committee. They also provide some dramatic readings and reenactments of some of the hearings and filings from the (poorly run) coup attempt.
It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for – our breakdown of Justice Alito’s keynote speech at the Federalist Society convention. And as our guest, we have the Senator living rent free in Justice Alito’s head – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who gets his own Strict Scrutiny nickname in this episode!
Leah and Melissa and Kate are joined by Meera Deo, Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law at the American Bar Foundation, and author of Unequal Profession: Race and Gender in Legal Academia (Stanford U Press 2019).
Kate and Melissa talk with Julie Suk, author of We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Leah and Melissa interview Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson about their book Shortlisted: Women In The Shadows Of The Supreme Court.
Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined by Josie Duffy Rice, the President of The Appeal, to discuss the partnership with The Appeal. They also discuss breaking news, some criminal justice issues on the Court’s docket last term and this upcoming term, before closing with some recent advances on #brorights.
Melissa joins the ACLU's Emerson Sykes for an episode of their podcast, At Liberty. The Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia, the landmark ACLU case decided in 1967. But the government‘s regulation of marriage and sex didn’t start with anti-miscegenation laws or end with Loving.
Leah is joined by Amir Ali and Devi Rao from the Supreme Court & Appellate Program of the MacArthur Justice Center and Tiffany Wright of Orrick to discuss (the lack of) diversity in the appellate bar and its consequences. They also discuss two new organizations, The Appellate Project and Law Clerks for Diversity, that are trying to increase diversity in the appellate bar.
Leah and Kate are joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of NAACP LDF. They further break down the “shadow docket” cases from last term, highlight an underappreciated theme of the last term, and identify some things to watch in the next few months.
Melissa talks with CNN's Joan Biskupic, author of The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts.
Leah Melissa, Jaime, and Kate recap the last term -- high points (flushgate), low points (you’ve heard some of these before), and everything in between. They also discuss the psychology behind how to train our country’s new median #SCOTUS killer whale, John Roberts. Oh, and there are LOTS of announcements and breaking news on this episode too.
Leah is joined by Dr. Pilar Escontrias, one of the founders of United for Diploma Privilege. United for Diploma Privilege is seeking to address the calamity of bar examinations (and admissions) in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Listen, learn, and take action!
Leah and Kate discuss four big Supreme Court cases that came down last week (June Medical with special guest Julie Rikelman, Seila Law, Espinoza, and Alliance for an Open Society). Somehow, in three of those cases, Chief Justice Roberts defied his liberal instincts and voted to join 5-4 opinions with his fellow conservatives. They also discuss some recent news and rumors involving the Court and give Justice Alito a new nickname.
Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Anil Kalhan to break down the Supreme Court’s important immigration habeas case, Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, as well as some DOJ developments.
Check out our new anniversary merch on our website!
Because constitutional law makes everything more fun, Leah and Melissa decided to spot constitutional law issues in Netflix’s quarantine hit, Joe Exotic. They are joined by Delci Winders, Assistant Clinical Professor & Director of Animal Rights Clinic, Lewis & Clark Law School, who shares some of the important animal rights and animal welfare issues the show left out. This one goes out to you, Carole Baskin!
Kate and Jaime discuss contributors to injustice--doctrines that encourage (or at least immunize) racial profiling and police misconduct-- with Fred Smith Jr, associate professor at Emory University School of Law. They also discuss some recent court news and recap a few opinions.
Kate and Leah recap the other big argument from the May sitting they didn’t get a chance to last time -- the faithless (or is it Hamiltonian? Or defecting? Or mavericky?) electors cases. They also discuss some findings about the Court’s telephonic arguments and the BIG (aka not so big) opinions the Court has recently released.
Leah and Kate break down the major arguments in the presidential immunity and subpoena cases as well as the major (?) social media and supporter updates for the podcast! They also discuss McGirt v. Oklahoma and the ministerial exemption cases. And enforcing the Voting Rights Act too (of course).
In this jam-packed episode, Jaime and Melissa recap the Supreme Court’s first-ever telephonic arguments, delve into how three men advocated for or against contraceptive coverage for women, preview next week’s high-profile arguments, and recap some recent opinions. Whoa, it’s exhausting even just typing that.
Kate and Melissa are joined by special guest Emily Bazelon to talk about her New York Times Magazine article, “How Will Trump’s Supreme Court Remake America?” Plus, we've got opinions that offer some hints to what future cases might me on the justices' minds.
On this special episode, prepared for PODAPALOOZA, Leah, Melissa, Jaime, and Kate discuss some COVID-related Court issues. That includes the Court’s upcoming telephonic arguments; its order in the Wisconsin election case; and some other COVID-related cases that might make their way to the Court soon.
Back in February, when crowds were still a thing, Melissa interviewed Adam Cohen about his new book, Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America.
Adam examines the conservative tilt of the Supreme Court since the Nixon administration and forward through the last 50 years. The Supreme Court after Justice Earl Warren no longer protected the rights of the poor, the disadvantaged, equally and instead moved forward to deprioritize such issues as school desegregation, voting rights and the protection of workers and instead, prioritize decisions that favored wealthy and corporate interests.
Thanks to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law for letting us share this riveting conversation with Strict Scrutiny listeners.
Kate and Melissa join forces with Lauren Moxley, creator of The Ginsburg Tapes, for an exploration of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Boston University School of Law put together an amazing live show! Leah, Melissa, and Jaime are joined by two fabulous BU law professors, Sarah Sherman-Stokes and Danielle Citron (MacArthur genius and Strict Scrutiny ninja). The group proclaims victory for gender parity and previews two cases (US v. Sineneng-Smith and Seila v. CFPB) before discussing Danielle's work on deep fakes and taking a question from the wonderful audience. This event was recorded live at WBUR CitySpace in Boston. Thanks to WBUR and BU for the very warm welcome!
Jaime Santos joins John Roberti and Christima Ma from Our Curious Amalgam to talk antitrust and the Supreme Court!
While Kate and Jaime recover from the live show, Leah and Melissa bring some exciting impeachment updates … including the Chief Justice caught on camera in Strict Scrutiny SWAG (?!?). They also recap two of the January arguments, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue and Shular v. United States, and offer some “I told you so” s about the Court’s recent cert grants.
In the very first live show, Strict Scrutiny goes blue at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor! The full crew recaps two arguments from the January sitting (Kelly v. United States and Thole v. US Bank) and notes some uncomfortable interactions inside and outside of One First Street. They also discuss upcoming student conventions for the American Constitution Society and People’s Parity Project after Leah and Melissa explain to Kate and Jaime what GTL means. Thanks to our hosts, the ACS student chapter at the University of Michigan!
It's a mash-up! Kate Shaw joins Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes to talk all things impeachment.
Leah and Kate discuss a case that isn’t even a real case involving a real law, as well as the very real and very important Affordable Care Act case on the Court’s December calendar. They also recap some Federalist Society Gala happenings and developments in the cases involving subpoenas for the President’s financial records.
In this special bonus episode, Melissa and Kate are joined by co-editor Reva Siegel to discuss their book "Reproductive Rights & Justice Stories," in a conversation moderated by Rebecca Traister and hosted by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
Leah and Jaime recap a lot of the big November cases, including Kansas v. Glover, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Hernandez v. Mesa, and IBM v. Jander. They deduce that Justice Breyer was on fleek and that Justice Ginsburg’s clerks need to take a lesson about herd immunity.
The Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia, the landmark ACLU case decided in 1967. But the government‘s regulation of marriage and sex didn’t start with anti-miscegenation laws or end with Loving. Melissa Murray — an expert in family law, constitutional law, and reproductive rights and justice at the New York University School of Law — discusses why the institution looms so large in America's past and present. This episode was recorded live at the Brooklyn Public Library, as part of “‘Til Victory is Won,” an evening commemorating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to America’s shores.
Leah and Jaime recap some of the Supreme Court’s October cases, including Ramos v. Louisiana, Mathena v. Malvo, and Aurelius Investment v. Puerto Rico. Then they pretend the Supreme Court had no additional cert grants before leaving listeners with a deep thought … slash question.
On this special Title VII episode, Leah, Jaime, and Kate are joined by a special guest – Jay Austin, Senior Associate Dean of Enrollment and Financial Aid at Rutgers Law School. Together they recap the Title VII arguments (which means a lot of bathroom talk).
On this episode, Melissa and Kate break down the Harvard affirmative action case just decided by a Massachusetts district court; go deep on some of our favorite classic and recent books on the Supreme Court; preview the first two weeks of the Supreme Court’s 2019 Term; and dish about clerking. (This last is a conversation to be continued -- we got tons of questions we didn't have time to discuss, so stay tuned for more on clerkships down the road!)
After a fun game of “how I spent my summer--Supreme Court edition,” Leah, Melissa, Jaime, and Kate preview some of the cases they are watching for the upcoming term. They also discuss other issues that might make their way to the Court soon, including significant executive power disputes that might allow the Chief Justice to make some fashion waves.
In our final summer episode, it’s a reproductive rights and justice block party (or wake, depending on your perspective). Leah, Melissa, and Kate discuss the reproductive rights and justice cases that made their way to the Supreme Court, the cases that almost made their way to the Court, and the cases that might make their way to the Court soon. They also point out how many of the Court’s cases have implications for reproductive justice before walking through some recent reproductive justice litigation involving the Supreme Court bar.
In the second summer episode, Leah, Melissa and Jaime keep things light with a discussion of the Court's death penalty docket, the Armed Career Criminal Act cases from this past term, and Justice Kavanaugh's opinion in Flowers v. Mississippi. Kate also joins them to reflect on her time clerking for Justice John Paul Stevens. Last episode was our testing pancake, and this one is B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
In the inaugural episode of Strict Scrutiny, Leah, Melissa, Jaime, and Kate recap two of this term's biggest opinions--partisan gerrymandering and the census. They also walk through a theme of this term (stare decisis) before talking about the podcast's role in Supreme Court legal culture. It's Strict Scrutiny's test pancake, so enjoy the show!
Strict Scrutiny is hosted by three women, Leah Litman, Kate Shaw and Melissa Murray, who are three law professors, but they’re also swimmers, mothers (of humans and dogs), and celebrity gossip enthusiasts. They’re women who’ve practiced before and write about the Court in their professional lives. They have a different voice–- one that celebrates the contributions and opinions of women and people of color. They provide intelligent and in-depth legal analysis alongside their unvarnished, respectfully irreverent takes. And they want to do it in a way that is accessible to a variety of listeners, including Supreme Court regulars, lawyers, law students, and members of the public who are looking for a window into the Court’s decisions, as well as its culture, personalities, and folkways.
The hosts think SCOTUS is serious business—but they don’t take ourselves or the Court too seriously. They’ve got hot takes, jokes, and a lot to say.
