Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down an absolute boatload of beefs: Trump vs. Pope Leo, Sonia Sotomayor vs. Coach Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas vs. progressives, and Ketanji Brown Jackson vs. the shadow docket, before covering some of the week’s other legal news, including the Harvard Crimson’s reporting on conservative judges’ ideological litmus tests for clerkships. Then, they break down the Court’s opinion in Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, before previewing some upcoming oral arguments at One First Street, including the “crimmigration” case, Blanche v. Lau.

Favorite things:

Leah: RFK Jr. and the raccoon penis; Her talk with Steve Vladeck in DC on her upcoming paper, The Passive Vices, on Monday, April 20 at 12:45pm - RSVP here.
Melissa: Lady Tremaine, Rachel Hochhauser; Lily Allen’s West End Girl tour; Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
Kate: What I Want, MUNA; Playground, Richard Powers; Labor Dept. Investigates Texts Among Secretary’s Family and Staff, Rebecca Davis O’Brien (NYT)

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026!

6/20/26 – New York City

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Preorder Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Preorder a signed paperback of Leah’s book, Lawless, here.

SCOTUS Squabbles Go Public

Strict Scrutiny

Shadow Docket Origins and Roberts' Role

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