According to the new fundamentalist majority on the Supreme Court, churches have the right to spread COVID as much as they damn well please and no one is allowed to tell them otherwise. Andrew Seidel is back on the show to give the full breakdown of just how terrible Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo is.
SCOTUScast - Taylor v. Riojas – Post-Decision SCOTUScast
On November 2, 2020 the Supreme Court decided Taylor v. Riojas, holding that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit erred in granting qualified immunity to correctional officers sued by inmate Trent Taylor regarding the conditions of his confinement in a Texas prison.
Taylor alleged that the officers knowingly confined him for six days in cells so grossly unsanitary as to violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. He contends that the cells were covered in human waste, that he was forced to sleep naked in raw sewage, and that the high risk of contamination prevented him from eating or drinking for nearly four days. The Fifth Circuit rejected Taylor’s challenge, reasoning that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity from suit because it was not “clearly established” by court doctrine that the specific conditions of Taylor’s confinement would have violated the Eighth Amendment.
The Supreme Court vacated the Fifth Circuit’s judgment and remanded the case. “No reasonable correctional officer,” the Court indicated, “could have concluded that, under the extreme circumstances of this case, it was constitutionally permissible to house Taylor in such deplorably unsanitary conditions for such an extended period of time.”
Although the Court’s opinion was issued per curiam, it was noted that Justice Thomas dissented and Justice Barrett took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Justice Alito issued an opinion concurring in the judgment.
Katherine Mims Crocker, Assistant Professor of Law at William and Mary Law School, joins us to discuss this decision and its implications.
Taylor alleged that the officers knowingly confined him for six days in cells so grossly unsanitary as to violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. He contends that the cells were covered in human waste, that he was forced to sleep naked in raw sewage, and that the high risk of contamination prevented him from eating or drinking for nearly four days. The Fifth Circuit rejected Taylor’s challenge, reasoning that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity from suit because it was not “clearly established” by court doctrine that the specific conditions of Taylor’s confinement would have violated the Eighth Amendment.
The Supreme Court vacated the Fifth Circuit’s judgment and remanded the case. “No reasonable correctional officer,” the Court indicated, “could have concluded that, under the extreme circumstances of this case, it was constitutionally permissible to house Taylor in such deplorably unsanitary conditions for such an extended period of time.”
Although the Court’s opinion was issued per curiam, it was noted that Justice Thomas dissented and Justice Barrett took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. Justice Alito issued an opinion concurring in the judgment.
Katherine Mims Crocker, Assistant Professor of Law at William and Mary Law School, joins us to discuss this decision and its implications.
Strict Scrutiny - Big Whiteboard Energy
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!
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
- 6/12 – NYC
- 10/4 – Chicago
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
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Strict Scrutiny - Call For Filings!
Send us your favorite, crazy election law filings from this cycle. And we'll do a dramatic reading!
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
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Trump’s Pardonpalooza
Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law professor, senior Hoover Institution fellow, co-founder of the Lawfare blog, and co-author (with Bob Bauer) of After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency. They unpack the presidential pardon power and try to figure out what Attorney General Bill Barr is up to with John Durham’s investigation of the investigation into the 2016 election.
In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to analyse what’s been happening at the Supreme Court in the last 14 days, including last week’s religious freedom decision weighing public worship in the pandemic, the latest Census case, and Justice Samuel Alito’s eagerness to hear from Pennsylvania.
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Podcast production by Sara Burningham.
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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Trump’s Pardonpalooza
Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Jack Goldsmith, Harvard Law professor, senior Hoover Institution fellow, co-founder of the Lawfare blog, and co-author (with Bob Bauer) of After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency. They unpack the presidential pardon power and try to figure out what Attorney General Bill Barr is up to with John Durham’s investigation of the investigation into the 2016 election.
In our Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern joins Dahlia to analyse what’s been happening at the Supreme Court in the last 14 days, including last week’s religious freedom decision weighing public worship in the pandemic, the latest Census case, and Justice Samuel Alito’s eagerness to hear from Pennsylvania.
Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.
Podcast production by Sara Burningham.
.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Opening Arguments - OA444: Going Out of Business Pardon Sale
Trump is looking poised to pardon everything not nailed down on his way out of the White House. You've got pardons in exchange for bribes, run-of-the-mill corrupt pardons, preemptive pardons(?), family pardons, and god knows what else. Andrew breaks it all down for us!
Also an update on state certification (IT'S OVER, BEAST!)
Links: Election results certification dates 2020, Court filing on DOJ pardon investigation, Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani, Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained, Flynn Pardon, Clint Lorance pardon, FIRST BLACK ARMY OFFICER IS PARDONED BY CLINTON
Opening Arguments - OA443: The (Terrible) Case Against Indicting Trump
Friend of the show Randall Eliason wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post called "The case against indicting Trump." Both of us on the show strongly disagree with the arguments presented and humbly submit our enthusiastic rebuke of it.
Before that, Andrew answers the clickbaity question of whether or not Trump made a major mistake in pardoning Flynn. As with all clickbait, the answer is no. Finally, we briefly touch on the terrible new decision out of the Amy Coney Barrett era that is our new hell.
Links: Last election nail, Biden hopes to avoid divisive Trump investigations, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Seventh Edition May 2007, REPORT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE UNITED STATES SENATE, 20A87 Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (11/25/2020)
Strict Scrutiny - Unfeathered Discretion
Leah and Melissa preview the first week of the December sitting and recap a lot of Supreme Court and Supreme Court adjacent news about turkeys, COVID, and more.
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
Opening Arguments - OA442: Lindsey Graham Is A Criminal
Happy Thanksgiving! Just like the criminals of the Trump era, Opening Arguments never stops. Just as we went to record, Trump pardoned Flynn via Tweet. Andrew gives us his thoughts on that. Then we cover a couple more things Andrew was right about that should reduce your blood pressure a little! (and one thing that might raise it..)
Our main segment is about how Lindsey Graham likely broke several laws in his attempts to influence the vote counting in this election. What's more, there are several things we can do about it! Find out!
Links: 3rd Circuit letter, GSA ascertainment letter, Election results certification dates, 2020, OA325: Putin's Puppet? The Open Skies Treaty, Trump administration pulls out of Open Skies treaty with Russia, False Positive Rate for Signature Matching, 52 US Code § 10307 - Prohibited acts, 52 US Code § 10308 - Civil and criminal sanctions, 2010 Georgia Code :: TITLE 21 - ELECTIONS, 2010 Georgia Code :: TITLE 45 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, US Senate: About Expulsion, No Senator Has Been Expelled Since 1862