On December 10, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson and dismissed the federal government's suit against Texas in United States v. Texas. The Court held 8-1 in Jackson that plaintiff abortion providers can pursue claims against licensing officials.
A pair of distinguished federal-courts scholars join to discuss the cases, the legal issues involved, and the implications going forward.
Featuring:
Prof. Stephen Sachs, Antonin Scalia Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Prof. Howard Wasserman, Professor of Law, Florida International University College of Law
Amarica's Constitution - The Year and The Questions, Part 2
As year 2 of “Amarica’s Constitution” begins, we complete our year 1 recap with remarkable clips, some from outstanding guests: Neal Katyal on preparing and executing Supreme Court advocacy (including the specifics of a recent case he argued); Nadine Strossen (on how this ACLU leader has some surprisingly nuanced positions that the ACLU might not love); and Linda Greenhouse (on sources - who has them, and who doesn’t). We also hear from the SCOTUS Justices in oral argument clips from one of our most popular episodes, on abortion, unsurprisingly. We update our thoughts on the Biden commission. Finally, your questions are getting better, prompting Akhil to give respectful (!) and nuanced answers.
SCOTUScast - Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Fazaga – Post-Argument SCOTUScast
On November 8th, 2021 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Fazaga, a case which concerned whether Section 1806(f) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 displaces the state-secrets privilege and authorizes a district court to resolve, in camera and ex parte, the merits of a lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of government surveillance by considering the privileged evidence.
Joining today to discuss this case in great detail is Dr. Riddhi Sohan Dasgupta, Counsel at Schaerr | Jaffe LLP. Dr. Dasgupta has served as the Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Special Counsel of the United States Department of Education (ED), and adjunct faculty at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Joining today to discuss this case in great detail is Dr. Riddhi Sohan Dasgupta, Counsel at Schaerr | Jaffe LLP. Dr. Dasgupta has served as the Deputy General Counsel of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Special Counsel of the United States Department of Education (ED), and adjunct faculty at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
SCOTUScast - Carson v. Makin – Post-Argument SCOTUScast
On December 8th, the Court heard arguments in Carson v. Makin, a case which concerned whether a state violates the religion clauses or equal protection clause by prohibiting students participating in an otherwise generally available student aid program from choosing their aid to attend schools that provide religious, or sectarian, instruction. Joining today to discuss this decision in two parts is Professor Nicole Garnett, The John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School. This episode begins with coverage of the question and background, and proceeds in second part to focused analysis of oral argument.
Opening Arguments - OA559: Nirvana Baby Lawsuit Dismissed… Or Was It?
It's another instance of media coverage of the law not quite getting it right! The lawsuit actually will be back, and Andrew is here to explain why and what really happened! But first, meat's back on the menu, boys! The Biden Administration has been finding creative ways to help people, this time with a Meat EO. Andrew takes the opportunity to explain how Federal Rulemaking works and how Democrats are constantly working to improve things in ways that aren't always obvious.
Links: The Biden-Harris Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, Lawsuit Accusing Nirvana of Sexually Exploitive Imagery Is Dismissed, nirvana-lawsuit.pdf, MTD filed 12/22, granted for failure to respond, local rules
Strict Scrutiny - Justice for Snowflake
Leah, Melissa, & Kate preview the cases to be argued in the January sitting (other than the test-and-vax cases), and also cover all of the Court-adjacent news that has happened over the last month.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
- 6/12 – NYC
- 10/4 – Chicago
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Strict Scrutiny - No Laws, Just Vibes
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in two emergency applications related to Biden administration policies designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
- 6/12 – NYC
- 10/4 – Chicago
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
Strict Scrutiny - S3: No Laws, Just Vibes
Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in two emergency applications related to Biden administration policies designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
- 3/6/26 – San Francisco
- 3/7/26 – Los Angeles
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes
SCOTUScast - Ramirez v. Collier – Post-Argument SCOTUScast
On November 9th, the Court heard argument in Ramirez v. Collier, a case which concerned Texas’ decision to allow Ramirez’s pastor to enter the execution chamber, but forbid the pastor from laying his hands on his parishioner. Joining today to discuss this decision in two parts is Jennifer Lichter, Deputy General Counsel of the Catholic University of America. Mrs. Lichter has served on the Domestic Policy Counsel, in the Office of Legal Policy, and as in-house counsel for the Archdiocese of Washington.
Opening Arguments - OA558: One Year Since 1/6 – What Merrick Garland Said (and Didn’t Say)
It's been both an eternity and no time since the disgusting attack on our nation's Capitol one year ago. We've seen some amount of justice dealt to those involved, but mostly at lower levels. Is there more to come? Will those at the top face consequences? Andrew is here reading the tea leaves on Merrick Garland's speech, and they are some interesting leaves... In the second segment, Andrew tells us about the worthless ethics report issued by Chief Justice Roberts.
Links: Read Merrick Garland's Full Jan. 6 Speech, 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, "On Sexual Harassment in the Judiciary" by Leah M. Litman and Deeva Shah, Supreme Court order vax case