Category: 3-LawSometimeCommentary

Liz and Andrew break down the developments in the Trump documents case, including a deep dive into the relationship between Trump's co-defendant Walt Nauta and Nauta's lead counsel -- who's being paid by Trump's PAC.

In the (LONG!) Patreon bonus, Liz recaps Alina Habba's greatest hits before bidding her a fond farewell.

Notes OA 771 https://openargs.com/oa771-trump-judge-burns-down-first-amendment-to-save-free-speech/

OA 772 https://openargs.com/oa772-classified-documents-in-court-beyond-the-feing-socks-case-feat-kel-mcclanahan/

CIPA https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2021/title-18/appendix-18/

Missouri v. Biden motion to stay https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.301.0.pdf

Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14885642386066449353

US v. Trump docket  https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67490071/united-states-v-trump/

Mar-a-lago less-redacted affidavit https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23867738/trump-search-affidavit-highlghted-2023-07-05-192253.pdf

Trump/Nauta indictment SDFL https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump-Nauta_23-80101.pdf

Cassidy Hutchinson Jan. 6th testimony https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23506946/cassidy-hutchinson-jan-6-committee-transcript.pdf

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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.

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• 6/12 – NYC
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Liz and Andrew break down two stories in the news. First, Republicans are taking aim at Target for its Pride line of products for the dumbest reasons. Second, the Sixth Circuit's has entered a stay of a district court order, effectively allowing Tennessee SB 1 -- prohibiting gender-affirming care -- to go into effect.

Notes L.W. v. Skrmetti https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/23a0146p-06.pdf

Miller v. California (1973) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=287180442152313659

Indiana AG Rokita letter to Target https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/INAG/2023/07/06/file_attachments/2546257/Target%20Letter%20Final.pdf

Erin in the Morning  https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/republican-ags-declare-lgbtq-merchandise?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email 

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This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. 

In our final Opinionpalooza episode of 2023, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern host the Amicus annual “breakfast table” round-up at the end of the Supreme Court term, and they’re joined by:  

Jamelle Bouie, former chief political correspondent at Slate and current New York Times Opinion columnist and political analyst for CBS News. 

Sherrilyn Ifill, former President and Director Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and newly appointed head of Howard University’s inaugural Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights. 

Professor Stephen Vladeck, the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, author of the New York Times bestselling book, "The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic."

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In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia and Mark loosen their ties, pour a snifter of brandy and hit the cigar bar of jurisprudence for a final discussion of the term that was; why progressives are still struggling to find an answer to the court’s torque to the right, and resisting the media’s urge to put a moderate bow on each extreme term.

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While Donald Trump rants incoherently about "vital caselaw, of which there is much," Liz and Andrew welcome back actual national security law expert and friend of the show Kel McClanahan to discuss what will actually happen under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) in the Trump documents trial.

Notes Trump Less Redacted Search Warrant https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23867738/trump-search-affidavit-highlghted-2023-07-05-192253.pdf

DOJ Synopsis of Classified Information Procedures Act https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-2054-synopsis-classified-information-procedures-act-cipa

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Liz and Andrew break down the absolutely bonkers ruling by Judge Terry Doughty enjoining the Biden Administration from talking to social media. Yes, it's even worse than you think!

Notes Missouri v. Biden docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63290154/missouri-v-biden/

Doughty opinion in Louisiana v. Becerra (COVID vaccine mandate injunction) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.185837/gov.uscourts.lawd.185837.28.0_1.pdf

OA 551 https://openargs.com/oa551-trump-may-out-of-office-but-his-federal-judges-are-not/

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The Supreme Court has ruled in the Independent State Legislature case, Moore v. Harper.  As we have from the beginning, we look at the case from the point of view of the precedents, of the history, the constitutional issues and implications, and the inner dynamics of the Court and beyond.  As an author in a key amicus brief, Professor Amar is on the inside, and now so are you, as we take the opinion apart and explain the sometimes confusing matter of why the case was not rendered moot by later developments - and we look at the strange split among the various advocates on this question.  We compare Chief Justice Roberts’ reasoning with our own from our brief, and look at the importance of a concurrence.  At the end of the day, and of this podcast, you will come away with a thorough understanding of what could have been a disaster for the country but instead is a fine hour for the Court.

Liz and Andrew break down the Supreme Court's gutting of what little remained of affirmative action in the just-released decision of SFFA v. Harvard.

Notes SFFA v. Harvard https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf

SFFA complaint http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Harvard-lawsuit-11-17-14.pdf

OA 93 https://openargs.com/oa93-affirmative-action-best-legal-brief-ever-written/

OA 219 - you may be surprised just how minor affirmative action was https://openargs.com/oa219-harvard-and-affirmative-action/

Henry Etkowitz et al, “The Paradox of Critical Mass for Women in Science” https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/uzzi/ftp/paradox.pdf

African American wealth https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/19/why-racial-wealth-gap-persists-more-than-years-after-emancipation/

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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.
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Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

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Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

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This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox.

As the Supreme Court’s June term wraps up with a slew of awful decisions, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s own Mark Joseph Stern to analyze 303 Creative LLC v Elenis, a case with startling implications for the dignity and equal treatment of LGBTQ couples and families. They also discuss the new reporting that shines light on the hall of mirrors that brought the case to court. Then, Dahlia and Mark are joined by Dalié Jiménez, Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and Director of the Student Loan Law Initiative at UCI Law to discuss the court’s decision to strike down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program.

Finally, Dahlia turns to Michaele Turnage Young of the NAACP LDF to take a closer look at Thursday’s affirmative action decision, which outlawed race-conscious admissions in most higher education contexts. 

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to answer a listener question about something that has us all scratching our heads in the wake of Moore v Harper, and look ahead to some gun safety litigation that’s winding its way up to the High Court.

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