Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, And The Courts

Dahlia sits down with Tony Mauro of the National Law Journal to listen to highlights from the Supreme Court’s 2015 term. And she speaks with Politico’s Josh Gerstein about recent non-developments in the non-confirmation of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland. You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus, a new video service with thousands of lectures on dozens of topics. For a limited time, Amicus listeners can stream Influence: Mastering Life’s Most Powerful Skill—and hundreds of other courses—for free. Just visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/amicus. Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in McDonnell v. United States, an appeal of the 2014 corruption conviction of Virginia’s former governor. The facts of the case read a bit like a reality show, with Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife affording access to a wealthy businessman in exchange for Rolex watches, fancy ball gowns and expensive golf clubs. But on this episode of the podcast, former federal judge Nancy Gertner argues that prosecutors interpreted an anti-corruption law too broadly. (Gertner co-authored an amicus brief in support of McDonnell – you can read it here.) You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus, a new video service with thousands of lectures on dozens of topics. For

Dahlia previews United States v. Texas – this week’s big immigration case – with Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center. She also hears from Sen. Al Franken about the latest in the standoff over Obama’s SCOTUS nominee, Merrick Garland. You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus, a new video service with thousands of lectures on dozens of topics. For a limited time, Amicus listeners can stream The Modern Political Tradition: Hobbes to Habermas—and hundreds of other courses—for free. Just visit TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/amicus. And by “Confirmation,” the new HBO film that details the explosive 1991 Supreme Court nomination hearings of Clarence Thomas. Confirmation premieres at 8

More than two weeks have passed since President Obama tapped Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But while their rationale has shifted somewhat, Senate Republican leaders remain as firm as ever in their refusal to hold confirmation hearings for the nominee. On this week’s episode, University of Chicago Law School professor Geoffrey R. Stone joins us to explain why the GOP’s intransigence is so threatening to the core institutions of federal government. You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus, a new video service with more than 5,000 lectures on subjects from science to cooking to history. Right now, you can have unlimited access to the entire Great Cou

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Zubik v Burwell, the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act. This time, a group of religious non-profits are challenging the government’s accommodation for employers who don’t want to have anything to do with providing birth control to their workers. Dahlia speaks with Paul Clement, who argued the case for the plaintiffs, and Walter Dellinger, who supports the government's position. You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  This week’s excerpts from the Supreme Court’s public sessions were provided by Oyez, a free law project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, part of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Amicus is sponsored by Amazon. Detective Harry Bosch is back on the new season o

It was a big week at SCOTUS, as a newly-balanced Court turned to Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, its first abortion case in nine years. We discuss the case with legal scholar Pamela Karlan and listen to some highlights from oral arguments. Amicus is sponsored by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses for a fraction of the price. Casper mattresses come with free delivery and returns within a 100-day period. And get 50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by visiting Casper.com/amicus and using the promo code AMICUS. And by Amazon. Detective Harry Bosch is back on the new season of Amazon’s Original Series Bosch, based on the best selling novels by Michael Connelly. Stream the new season on March 11th on Amazon Prime Video. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Podcas

A week after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, his former clerk Rachel Barkow shares fond memories of a mentor with whom she didn’t always agree politically. And legal scholar Akhil Reed Amar explains why Scalia didn’t always remain true to his originalist principles. You can listen to past episodes of Amicus here. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.  Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.  Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The sudden death on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday has unleashed huge shockwaves in both the presidential race and the legal community. Luckily, Slate has podcasts covering both areas. In this special joint episode, Amicus host Dahlia Lithwick joins Political Gabfest panelists Emily Bazelon and David Plotz to look at all the possible repercussions of Scalia’s death. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Dahlia asks why the Supreme Court has been almost absent as a campaign issue, despite the fact that the next president could have the opportunity to reshape the Court’s bench.  She is joined by UC-Irvine law professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Heffernan v City of Paterson, the Supreme Court must decide whether a government worker can be punished for a political belief his employers attribute to him – rightly or wrongly. This week, Dahlia speaks with lawyers on both sides of the topsy-turvy case. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.

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 Amicus is sponsored by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses for a fraction of the price. Casper mattresses come with free delivery and returns within a 100-day period. Get $50 toward any mattress purchase by visiting Casper.com/amicus and using the promo code AMICUS. 
Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could undercut the ability of public sector unions to raise money. Dahlia is joined by Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro and U. of Michigan’s Sam Bagenstos, who submitted briefs on opposite sides of the case. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. You can find past episodes of our show here. Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia speaks with attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle about Dollar General Corporation v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a major Native American rights case argued at the Supreme Court earlier this month. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. You can find past episodes of our show here. Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the meaning of “one person, one vote? That’s the main question in Evenwel v. Abbott, argued this week at the Supreme Court. On this episode, Dahlia speaks with Andrew Grossman and Nathaniel Persily -- experts on opposing sides of the case. She also plays a few highlights from the week’s big affirmative action case, Fisher v University of Texas at Austin. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. You can find past episodes of our show here. Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about the impact that technology is having on the constitution and our rights. The series—"Privacy, Property & Free Speech: Law and the Constitution in the 21st Century"—is available right now at up to 80 percent off the original price if you visit TheGreatCourses.com/amicus. Podcast production by Tony Field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A half-century after Brown v. Board of Education, should the Supreme Court still be in the business of integrating public schools and universities? Dahlia sits down with University of Virginia legal historian Risa Golubuff to discuss the backdrop to the term’s big affirmative action case, Fisher v University of Texas. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. You can find past episodes of our show here. This week’s excerpts from the Supreme Court’s public sessions were provided by Oyez, a free law project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, part of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Amicus is sponsored by MileIQ. If you’re one of the 60 million Americans who drive for work then you know that your miles are your dollars. Every mile you don’t log is money that you are losing. MileIQ is the only mileage-tracker app that detects, logs, and calculates your miles for you, ensuring that every mile is accounted for and no dollar is lost. Try MileIQ f

Dahlia speaks with Carter Phillips, the lawyer who represented Tyson Foods at the Supreme Court this week in Tyson's attempt to dismiss a class action suit by its workers. She also considers the love-hate relationship between presidential hopefuls and the high court. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com.Subscribe to our podcast here. Want a transcript of this week’s episode? They’re all available to members of Slate Plus on our show page. If you're not a Slate Plus member, consider becoming one -- members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial here.Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about the impact that technology is having on the constitution and our rights. The series—titled "Privacy, Property & Free Speech: Law and the Constitution in the 21st Century"—is available right now at up to 80% off the original price if you visit TheGreatCourses.com/amicus.And by The Rachel Maddow Show on MS

Dahlia previews Foster v. Chatman, a Supreme Court appeal that contends with the problem of racial bias in the process of jury selection. Her guests include Stephen Bright, president of the Southern Center for Human Rights; and Glenn Ivey, a former prosecutor who has joined an amicus brief in support of the man at the center of Foster. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here.Want a transcript of this week’s episode? They’re all available to members of Slate Plus on our show page. If you're not a Slate Plus member, consider becoming one -- members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial here. Amicus is sponsored by The Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about the impact that technology is having on the constitution and our rights. The series—titled "Privacy, Property & Free Speech: Law and the Constitution in the 21st Century"—is available right now at up to 80% off the original price if y

Dahlia speaks with law professor Robert J. Smith about Montgomery v. Louisiana, a Supreme Court case that focuses on a man who has served 53 years in prison for a murder he committed as a juvenile. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. Want a transcript of this week’s episode? They’re all available to members of Slate Plus on our show page. If you're not a Slate Plus member, consider becoming one -- members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial here.Amicus is sponsored by the Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about business and presentation—including Scientific Secrets for a Powerful Memory, How Conversation Works, The Art of Public Speaking, and Influence: Mastering Life’s Most Powerful Skill. Order any one of these courses for only $9.95 for a limited time at TheGreatCourses.com/amicus.And by The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Watch Rachel as she breaks down the big headlines for th

As serious questions about lethal injection protocols continue to swirl, Dahlia speaks with The Marshall Project’s Andrew Cohen about where the Supreme Court currently stands on the constitutionality of the death penalty. Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Subscribe to our podcast here. Want a transcript of this week’s episode? They’re all available to members of Slate Plus on our show page. If you're not a Slate Plus member, consider becoming one -- members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial here.Amicus is sponsored by the Great Courses, offering a series of lectures about business and presentation—including Scientific Secrets for a Powerful Memory, How Conversation Works, The Art of Public Speaking, and Influence: Mastering Life’s Most Powerful Skill. Order any one of these courses for only $9.95 for a limited time at TheGreatCourses.com/amicus.And by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses for a fraction

Dahlia sits down with the LA Times’ David Savage to consider three of the big cases on the SCOTUS docket this fall -- and whether liberals are right to be worried about the outcomes of those cases. *********** Transcripts of Amicus are available to Slate Plus members. Consider signing up today! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here. Amicus is sponsored by the Great Courses, offering engaging audio and video lectures taught by top professors. Courses like "Cycles of American Political Thought." Right now, get up to 80 percent off the original price when you visit TheGreatCourses.com/AMICUS.And by LegalZoom—a way for regular people to confidently navigate the legal system. If you need help with Incorporation, Trademarks, Last Wills, Living Trusts, and more, then don't let legal hurdles become an excuse. Go to LegalZoom.com today and enter AMICUS in the referral box for additional savings. 
And by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses

Dahlia sits down with Linda Hirshman, author of Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World. Hirshman recounts the two women’s rise to the SCOTUS bench and reflects on the impact they’ve had.**************Subscribe to our podcast here. Want a transcript of this week’s episode? They’re all available to members of Slate Plus. Consider signing up today -- members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today. Amicus is sponsored by the Great Courses, offering engaging audio and video lectures taught by top professors. Courses like "Cycles of American Political Thought." Right now, get up to 80 percent off the original price when you visit TheGreatCourses.com/AMICUS.And by LegalZoom—a way for regular people to confidently navigate the legal system. If you need help with Incorporation, Trademarks, Last Wills, Living Trusts, and more, then don't let legal hurdles become an excuse. Go to LegalZoom.com t