Category: 3-LawSometimeCommentary

OA1044

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has used Georgia’s RICO statute against everyone from public school teachers to environmental protesters to a former President of the United States. This week we examine Willis's massive 88-page RICO indictment of rapper Young Thug and 27 other associates of YSL, the Atlanta record label which her office alleges is also operating as a violent street gang. Matt shakes his geriatric millennial first at the scourge of mumble rap before breaking down what has already become the longest criminal trial in Georgia history and the injustice of prosecutors using an artist’s lyrics against them in court.

Finally, we break down this month’s most listener-requested story: judge Ural Glanville’s inexplicable decision not only to secretly meet with a prosecutor and one of the state’s most important witnesses without defense counsel present, but to sentence Young Thug’s attorney to 20 days in jail simply for noticing that he wasn’t supposed to. What is going on here, and could there possibly be a good explanation for it?

• Georgia’s RICO statute

• RICO Indictment of “Cop City” opponents (8/29/2023)

• YSL Indictment (5/9/22)

• Young Thug’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert (7/27/2021)

• GA Code Rule 2.9 - Assuring Fair Hearings and Averting Ex Parte Communications

• Breaking Down the Origins of Mumble Rap (video), Genius.com

 

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As we wait for SCOTUS opinions in cases about presidential immunity, emergency abortions, the future of the administrative state, and more, we did a rowdy live show at the Howard Theatre in Washington, DC! It was  one for the books-- The Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, joined us to reflect on the second anniversary of Dobbs. Friend of the pod Commander Steve Vladeck filled in as guest host. And former Attorney General Eric Holder joined us to talk about the Court's decision in a case about domestic violence offenders obtaining guns, analyze possible paths for court reform, and lighten the mood with a game of This or That.

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

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Another major case for the “not a loss/not exactly a win” pile this term at SCOTUS. A majority of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority said what we knew all along - adjudicated domestic abusers shouldn’t hold onto second amendment rights and the guns that they are statistically, horrifyingly, apt to use to harm their intimate partners. In an 8-1 decision in United States v Rahimi, the Roberts Court looked frantically for a way to reverse out of – while still technically upholding – its bonkers extreme originalism-fueled Bruen decision from two terms ago.  

This week Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern are joined by Kelly Roskam, the Director of Law and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Later in the show, Mark and Dahlia look under the hood of Department of State v Munoz - an immigration case decided this week that Justice Sotomayor says is sewing seeds for the end of marriage equality as we know it.  

This is part of Opinionpalooza, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court this June. We kicked things off this year by explaining How Originalism Ate the Law. The best way to support our work is by joining Slate Plus. (If you are already a member, consider a donation or merch!)

Want more Amicus? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

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OA1043

This week: good immigration news! The Biden administration announced on June 17th that it will be moving forward with a plan to offer a pathway to citizenship for immigrants married to U.S. citizens who have been in the country for more than 10 years through a special “parole-in-place” program. Why does current U.S. immigration law make it so difficult--and sometimes impossible--for so many people who are  in loving long-term relationships with U.S. citizens to “do it the right way?” Matt breaks down the legal and historical context of the most important executive action on immigration policy since Barack Obama created the DACA program in 2012. We then speak with Emily, a U.S. citizen whose husband stands to directly benefit from this policy, for a firsthand account of the realities of living in immigration limbo.

• Official White House announcement of the new parole-in-place program (June 17, 2024)

• Extreme Hardship Considerations and Factors (USCIS Field Manual)

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The gang is back together! Ahead of the Strict Scrutiny live show on Saturday in DC, Kate, Melissa and Leah comb through four decisions from the Court. Are these the cases everyone’s waiting for? Not quite, but they do involve repatriation taxes, malicious prosecution, federal rules of evidence, and retaliatory arrests.

• Read Leah's NYT OpEd: "Something’s Rotten About the Justices Taking So Long on Trump’s Immunity Case"

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

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

After another discussion of Supreme Court ethics and legitimacy (hopefully our last for a long time), we discuss three of last week's decisions. We cover issues of statutory interpretation in Garland v. Cargill (the bump stock case), of standing in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (the mifepristone case), and of constitutional remedies in US Trustee v. John Q Hammons (a bankruptcy case).

The answer for T3BE28 is coming your way, and we launch our next Bar Prep question with Heather!

Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at reddit.com/r/openargs!

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Akhil is in Boston this week and reminds us that the history of the American Revolution, where Boston is so pivotal, contains myriad lessons that provide insight into the student protests of today - so we look at this subject in some detail.  Meanwhile, the Court issued opinions in two prominent cases, and Akhil seems to be reluctant to take “yes” for an answer in one of them, so we take another look at issues of standing.  Does Akhil convince you of the correctness of his approach?  Finally, the bump stock gun case, a statutory interpretation case, is lamented by many; we take a quick look at why it doesn’t have to be the last word on this matter.  CLE credit is available after listening by visiting podcast.njsba.com.

Live from New York, it's Strict Scrutiny! Elie Mystal guest hosts with Kate and Melissa in front of a sold-out crowd at the Tribeca Festival to break down opinions, perform dramatic readings of the secret Alito recordings, and imagine some end-of-year yearbook pages for the justices. Plus, New York Magazine's Irin Carmon joins to talk about the practical effects of the Supreme Court's ruling in the mifepristone case.

• To watch the full episode, complete with Martha-ritas and yearbook superlatives, head to our YouTube channel

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

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

OA1042

Several years ago, Christopher Rufo created a bogeyman that rallied the Right across the United States to seek bans in educational environments of "divisive concepts" such as Critical Race Theory. Since the entire effort was obviously... racist, the CRT bans themselves are just perfect for a CRT analysis, and Caroline Mala Corbin is here to lead us in a classic OA Deep Dive!

Caroline is a law professor at the University of Miami, focusing on the First Amendment's speech and religion clauses, reproductive justice, and the principle of equality that should run through it all. Be sure to check out the full article that was published recently in the UC Irvine Law Review!

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