Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, ju...
A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America.
Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.
376
2016 Term Preview
Reflections on the thin gruel of a docket crafted in large part to avoid 4-4 ties. Plus – a conversation with the latest judge to be personally insulted by Donald Trump.
41 min
377
Notorious RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg biographer Irin Carmon joins Dahlia to reflect on how the diminutive Supreme Court justice came to loom so large in the consciousness of young feminists. Dahlia also speaks with the proud owner of an RBG tattoo.
36 min
378
That's a Wrap
The Supreme Court caps off one of its twistiest-turniest terms ever with a strong defense of abortion rights. Dahlia speaks with the woman behind Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt. And she recaps the term’s highlights with Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern.
57 min
379
Goodbye, General!
On his last day in office, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli tells Dahlia what it’s been like to argue the government’s most consequential cases at the high court. Also – why Justice Anthony Kennedy cast a clutch vote for affirmative action.
51 min
380
What Would Brandeis Do?
Dahlia sits down with Stanford Law School’s Deborah Rhode to discuss Donald Trump’s attack on the judge in the Trump University fraud lawsuits. And she talks with legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen about the astonishing legal mind of Justice Louis Brandeis.
49 min
381
A Bird with a Broken Wing
Is the eight-member Supreme Court a diminvished body? Dahlia mulls that question with fellow court watchers Garrett Epps and Jonathan Adler. And they consider what we should make of Donald Trump’s recently released Supreme Court nomination shortlist.
41 min
382
Memory Lane
Dahlia and the National Law Journal’s Tony Mauro listen to highlights from the Supreme Court’s 2015 term. And she speaks with Politico’s Josh Gerstein about the recent non-developments in the non-confirmation of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland.
41 min
383
This is Not Corruption
This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in McDonnell v. U.S., the former Virginia governor’s appeal of his 2014 corruption conviction. On this episode, former federal judge Nancy Gertner tells Dahlia why she believes McDonnell should walk free.
29 min
384
Contra Obama
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.
33 min
385
The Case Against the Case Against Confirmation
More than two weeks into the standoff over Merrick Garland’s nomination to SCOTUS, GOP leaders show no sign of backing down. Legal scholar Geoffrey Stone tells Dahlia that this stonewalling is not only unprecedented, but unjustifiable as well.
34 min
386
The Contraceptive Mandate
This week, SCOTUS heard arguments in Zubik v Burwell, the latest challenge to Obamacare. In it, a group of religious nonprofits are challenging the govt.’s workaround for employers who don’t want anything to do with getting birth control to their workers.
44 min
387
Is the Burden Undue?
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.
45 min
388
The Contradictions of Antonin Scalia
A week after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, one of his former clerks shares fond memories of a mentor with whom she didn’t always agree politically. And a legal scholar explains why Scalia didn’t always remain true to his originalist principles.
49 min
389
Amicus Extra: Antonin Scalia's Death
The sudden death on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday has unleashed huge shockwaves in both the presidential race and the legal community.
27 min
390
The Candidates and the Court
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.
26 min
391
The Case of the Missing Constitutional Violation
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. This week, Dahlia speaks with lawyers on both sides of the topsy-turvy case.
27 min
392
Labor Pains
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.
37 min
393
Judging Tribal Courts
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.
31 min
394
One Person, One Vote
What is the meaning of “one person, one vote? That’s the main question in Evenwel v. Abbott, argued this week at SCOTUS. Dahlia speaks with experts on both sides of the case. And she plays a few highlights from the week’s big affirmative action case.
44 min
395
Color Blind Constitution
A half-century after Brown v. Board, should courts still be in the business of integrating public schools? Dahlia sits down with legal historian Risa Golubuff to discuss the backdrop to the term’s big affirmative action case, Fisher v Univ. of Texas.
41 min
396
Class Dismissed?
Dahlia speaks with Carter Phillips, the lawyer who represented Tyson Foods at SCOTUS this week in its attempt to dismiss a class action suit by workers. She also considers the love-hate relationship between presidential hopefuls and the high court.
32 min
397
Strike Zone
Dahlia previews Foster v. Chatman, a Supreme Court case that centers on the problem of racial bias in the process of jury selection.
42 min
398
No Second Chances
In Montgomery v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court takes up the case of a man who has served 53 years in prison for a murder he committed as a juvenile.
30 min
399
The Machinery of Death
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.
30 min
400
2015 Term Preview
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.
33 min