Strict Scrutiny

Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap oral arguments in cases about January 6, political corruption, malicious prosecution claims, and the right to counsel. They also break down a batch of decisions, and look ahead to how SCOTUS may address state bans on gender-affirming care.

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In the next two weeks, SCOTUS will hear arguments in cases on political corruption, criminalizing houselessness, whether a state abortion ban can override a federal policy permitting abortion in emergency medical care, the statute under which most January 6th defendants were convicted-- and if that weren?t enough, Donald Trump?s request for immunity in the January 6th case against him. After previewing all these cases, Kate, Leah, and Melissa also provide updates on the total abortion ban and ballot initiative happening in Arizona, and the latest shenanigans out of the Fifth Circuit.

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Kate and Leah break down the latest court news with Errin Haines, Editor-at-Large for The 19th and host of The Amendment, including developments in abortion access in Florida and the discourse around whether Justice Sotomayor should retire. Then, Jill Habig of the Public Rights Project and Tyler Yarbro from the Tennessee Freedom Circle join Melissa, Kate, and Leah to talk about the latest conservative effort to control the courts: judicial gerrymandering.

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Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap the oral arguments in the case challenging the FDA's approval of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortion. They also recap arguments in cases about the Armed Career Criminal Act and Indian Health Services, and give some updates on cases they're watching in the lower courts, ranging from immigration, to guns, to Title IX.

Get your tickets to Strict Scrutiny Live HERE, or head to crooked.com/events for more info.

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Leah, Melissa, and Kate give a quick take on the bottom line from the oral arguments in the medication abortion case that is currently unraveling in the Supreme Court.

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Steve Vladeck joins Kate and Leah for the play-by-play of what happened with SB4, Texas's restrictive and extreme anti-immigration law that wound up on the U.S. Supreme Court's shadow docket. Kate and Leah also recap the oral arguments in cases about the First Amendment and social media, the NRA, and the types of evidence allowed in trials.

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The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on two First Amendment cases that ask whether the REAL victims of government coercion today are? conservatives with fringe views! Leah, Melissa, and Kate preview those cases, along with the mifepristone case the Court will hear next week. Plus, they do a deep dive on how SCOTUS uses the shadow docket to clear the way for executions.

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Our very own Melissa Murray has a new book out with co-author Andrew Weissmann-- The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary-- and it was an instant New York Times bestseller. Melissa and Andrew talk with Kate and Leah about the book and what they hope readers take from it. Plus, for a special court culture segment, Leah talks with Barb McQuade about her book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America.

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The Supreme Court released its opinion in Trump v. Anderson, saying Colorado and other states can't disqualify Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the (expected) outcome, the (heinous) reasoning and what it means going forward. One guess as to which justice has BDUE (big Dolores Umbridge energy).

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Leah and Kate analyze the ramifications of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear Trump's immunity case... seven whole weeks from now. They also recap the arguments in a case about whether the federal government can ban bump stocks, a device that turns a semi-automatic rifle into, essentially, a machine gun. Plus, evelyn douek joins the pod to recap arguments in a case about whether social media content moderation is censorship and therefore violates the First Amendment. 

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Looks like we have to add a new segment to the show: Fetal Personhood Watch. Leah, Melissa, and Kate break down the decision from the Alabama Supreme Court that ruled frozen embryos used in IVF treatment are "extrauterine children." They also recap the oral arguments the US Supreme Court heard last week, including a bonkers case about EPA regulations. And then, for a special Court Culture segment, Sherrilyn Ifill joins the pod to talk about launching a new center about the Fourteenth Amendment at Howard University School of Law.

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Kate, Melissa, and Leah preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week, explain the latest news in the Trump criminal cases, and survey the significant decisions happening in lower courts.

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The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case about whether Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment disqualifies Donald Trump from appearing on the presidential ballot or holding the office of the presidency because of his role in January 6th. Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the arguments and what it will mean if the Supreme Court reverses the Colorado Supreme Court's decision.

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This morning, the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit ruled that Donald Trump doesn't have immunity in the D.C. election interference case. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the D.C. Circuit's decision, Trump's arguments and whether or not it was all worth the wait.

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This week the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case about whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president, or whether he's disqualified from doing so by a provision of the 14th Amendment that prevents individuals from holding public office if they've engaged in insurrection. As part of the preview of the arguments, Kate, Melissa, and Leah welcome Rick Hasen, author of A Real Right To Vote: How A Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard Democracy.

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E. Jean Carroll and attorney Robbie Kaplan join us to share the process and aftermath of Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump-- in which a jury just awarded her $83.3 million. What was Trump's vibe in the courtroom? Will he actually pay up? And what does E. Jean plan to do with all that money? Melissa, Kate, and Leah get all these answers and more.

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Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down the legal fight in Texas at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the Supreme Court's take on it all. Plus, Melissa and Kate do a deep dive on another outlandish era in the Supreme Court's history with Cliff Sloan, author of The Court At War: FDR, His Justices, & The World They Made.

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Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of cases that threaten to topple four decades of precedent about federal agencies' authority to interpret statutes. Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the arguments and outline the Koch-funded basis for the Supreme Court's latest power grab.

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Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap oral arguments in cases about the No Fly List, the confrontation clause, and what qualifies as a government taking. They also preview the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week about Chevron, the doctrine that gives federal agencies the authority to interpret statues. Plus, they recap the arguments in the DC Circuit in which Trump argues he's immune from criminal prosecution (and in which his lawyer suggests he could freely use SEAL team 6 to assassinate a political opponent).

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We're only one week into 2024, and there's so much news to catch up on! Melissa, Leah, and Kate discuss ProPublica's reporting about rich guys giving Justice Thomas money when he hinted at retiring because his salary as a justice was too low. Then, they look to the latest in state courts, which are deciding issues such as Donald Trump's presidential eligibility, women's access to emergency abortion care, and fairly drawn electoral maps. After some quick previews of the cases the Supreme Court will hear this week, they welcome special guest Ross Rayburn, Peloton instructor and author of Turning Inward: The Practice of Introversion for a Calm, Joyful, Authentic Life. Ross shares advice for staying sane in this election year, and insights on how listening to Strict Scrutiny is actually a form of meditation.

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To start the new year off right, Jonathan Van Ness joins Kate, Leah, and Melissa to suggest some resolutions for the justices of the Supreme Court.

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Before we settle in for a long winter's nap, we have a LOT to catch up on. First, Jodi Kantor joins the pod to talk about her reporting, with Adam Liptak, on what went down behind the scenes at SCOTUS as the conservative majority sought to overturn Roe. Then we go over some new grants of cases the Supreme Court will hear in the near future-- including the mifepristone case, and a case about January 6th convictions. We also recap some bananas arguments in Wisconsin over a gerrymandering case. And then finally, we share our 2023 edition of our favorite things! Whether you're still holiday shopping for loved ones or need ideas on how to spend your gift cards and cash, we've got you.

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Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap arguments in a big tax case, Moore v. United States, and a bankruptcy case involving Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Plus, we have a breaking (and heart-breaking) update on an abortion-related case out of Texas.

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Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the arguments in the hugely important administrative law case, SEC v. Jarkesy. Plus, they welcome Oona Hathaway and Sam Sankar-- two former clerks to the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor-- to discuss her life and legacy.

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For its final sitting of 2023, the Supreme Court will hear cases on the Armed Career Criminal Act, double jeopardy, and whether the government is, well, constitutional. Leah, Melissa, and Kate preview those cases, and look into a hot mess of a voting rights case in the Eighth Circuit. Plus, US Representative Ro Khanna stops by to chat about SCOTUS ethics reform.

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After months of public pressure, the Supreme Court has released its newly adopted code of ethics. But it leaves a lot to be desired! Melissa, Kate, and Leah analyze the code and find all the possible loopholes. We also talk to Molly Duane, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers in the Zurawski case out of Texas, where women suffered serious health and emotional consequences after being denied abortions. And then we welcome Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, to update us on reproductive justice in the region after abortion bans and an extremist attack on one of their clinics.

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Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the arguments in United States v. Rahimi, the case about the constitutionality of gun regulations, featuring diss tracks by KBJ.

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Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap cases the Supreme Court heard last week about whether government officials can block people on social media platforms. Do the justices actually understand how social media, or even the Internet, works? Unclear! Plus, a recap of the case over whether the phrase "Trump Too Small" can be trademarked. They also preview the upcoming second amendment case, United States v. Rahimi, which challenges a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.

For a transcript of this episode, go to crooked.com/strictscrutiny

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Leah, Melissa, and Kate get up to date on the various cases against former President Trump and analyze the arguments being brought in his defense. Plus, they preview the First Amendment cases the Supreme Court will hear this week-- including one about the legality of trademarking the phrase "Trump Too Small." 

Find us on the internet!

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ProPublica's Andrea Bernstein joins Kate and Leah to talk about the new investigative podcast, "We Don't Talk About Leonard." Then, Melissa, Kate, and Leah are live from the University of Texas to talk about all the special things the state brings to the federal judiciary.

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Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap the oral arguments the Supreme Court heard last week, including a big one about voting rights and redistricting (Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP). Plus, an update on the shenanigans around the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the tomfoolery in the Fifth Circuit.

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Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in the cases the Supreme Court heard last week, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer (a case about civil rights enforcement) and CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association (a case about the constitutionality of funding structures for financial agencies). Plus, more Voting Rights Act shenanigans.

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It's the start of a new Supreme Court term... and the start of Strict Scrutiny's fifth season! While the cases ahead may seem technical and boring, they're actually quite significant. Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the first oral arguments the Court will hear in October Term 2023.

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Do you feel that chill in the air? It?s almost the first Monday of October and that means a new SCOTUS term! You may still be recovering from the last one (don?t worry, we are too) but Melissa, Kate and Leah talk about some themes that we can expect this term like the crazy cases coming out of the Fifth Circuit and whether government (as we know it) is constitutional. They also go through the justices? latest questionable, and in some cases egregious (Justice Thomas, we?re looking at you) ethical lapses. So pour yourself a Ginni Tonic or Hot Ginni Toddy now that it?s fall, and settle in for this week?s live show from the Texas Tribune Festival. 

Cases we?re watching:

-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited

-Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

-Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy

-Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer

-Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P.

-Pulsifer v. United States

-United States v. Rahimi

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On September 22, Showtime and Paramount+ will release the first episode of Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court. And if you tune in, you might recognize a few faces and voices. Documentarian Dawn Porter joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to talk about how the series came to be, and what she learned about the Supreme Court's evolution in the process.

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Being a Supreme Court podcast means we spend much of the year in dystopia. So just this once, let's look at the silver lining that is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Amir Ali, executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to look back on Justice Jackson's first year on the Supreme Court.

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Juvaria Khan, founder of The Appellate Project, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to catch up on the fallout of the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision in June. Then, Melissa talks with Justice Goodwin Liu of Supreme Court of California and Mary Hoopes of Pepperdine's Caruso School of Law about their research on how judges consider diversity when hiring clerks.

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Melissa, Leah, and Kate invite two guests to zoom out and analyze how the current Supreme Court got to be the way that it is... and what progressives are doing to push back. Michael Waldman, author of The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America, provides historical context for other times the Supreme Court has challenged the country. And Brian Fallon, co-founder of Demand Justice, reflects on his tenure as Executive Director as the group challenged Democrats to get on board with judicial reform.

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Easha Anand of Stanford's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to lay out what SCOTUS has been up to in the world of criminal law. But first, Kate and Leah analyze the Fifth Circuit's opinion in the mifepristone case, and what it means for people seeking abortions across the country.

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It's been 10 years since the Supreme Court started to dismantle the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, joins Leah and Kate to track the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the challenges against it over the decades, and the fallout from Shelby County and other voting rights cases.

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It's been over a year since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The majority opinion, concurrences, and joint dissent all made a lot of predictions about life without Roe-- but how accurate were they? Leah, Kate, and Melissa assemble a star-studded cast to do dramatic readings of the opinions and reflect on how they've panned out.

Featuring Jon Lovett as Sam Alito, Elie Mystal as Clarence Thomas, Jon Favreau as Brett Kavanaugh, and the hosts of Betches Sup (Amanda Duberman, Alise Morales, and Milly Tamarez) as the joint dissenters.

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Former President Donald Trump has been indicted for a third time-- this time in a Washington, DC, case about attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Kate, Melissa, and Leah huddle to break down the charges, the people involved, and what happens next.

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First things first, Melissa and Leah break down Sam Alito's latest airing of grievances in the Wall Street Journal. Then, Kate joins them for a lesson in actual history from an actual historian. Kate Masur, author of Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction, joins the trio for a conversation about her Pulitzer Prize-nominated book.

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Leah, Kate, and Melissa join MSNBC's Chris Hayes (aka Mr. Kate Shaw) to fully process the drama of the last Supreme Court term. It's our second annual crossover with Why Is This Happening?!

Another year, another pretty consequential Supreme Court term. SCOTUS recently ended its term with a number of big decisions including striking down affirmative action and issuing opinions in the 303 Creative case, in which the majority created a ?constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class,? as noted in Justice Sotomayor?s dissent. It also invalidated the Biden administration?s student debt relief program. Meanwhile, there?s increasing concern about recent allegations of ethical improprieties of SCOTUS justices, like the luxury fishing trip, reported by ProPublica, that Justice Alito took back in 2008 with GOP billionaire Paul Singer, who later had at least 10 cases before the high court. There?s a lot to unpack and we?re excited to share our second crossover episode with the hosts of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Chris? wife Kate Shaw, and her co-hosts Melissa Murray and Leah Litman. They join to discuss some of the most egregious actions from the super conservative majority of the Court, what?s at stake for American democracy and cases to look out for in the next term.

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Leah, Kate, and Melissa talk to Steve Vladeck about his new book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. From abortion bans to immigration restrictions, COVID orders and death penalty cases, the Supreme Court has taken to changing the law in quiet.

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Joel Anderson, host of Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas, joins Melissa and Kate to analyze the justice's trajectory from his childhood in Georgia to his contentious confirmation hearings. Plus, Joel spills behind-the-scenes tea about reporting the series-- including how he found himself in the living room of Justice Thomas's mother.

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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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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. 

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The Supreme Court ended its term today with a double whammy, issuing opinions in the 303 Creative case and the student debt relief cases. In the former, the majority creates "a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class." And in the latter, the majority invalidate's the Biden administration's student debt relief program because, well, they had feelings about it.

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Today the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, declaring admissions programs that consider race to be in violation of the 14th Amendment. Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the Chief Justice's opinion, Justice Thomas's galling concurrence, and the brilliant dissents by Justice Jackson and Justice Sotomayor.

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