Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. Thank you to our Slate Plus members for making this episode available to all listeners. The full version of this episode is now exclusively available to our Slate Plus members. If you want to have access to bonus content like this, go to slate.com/amicusplus to become a member.In deciding against the bonkers (technical legal term) “Independent State Legislature Theory” in Moore v Harper, the Supreme Court chose not to take a wrecking ball to American democracy. Judge Michael Luttig, a counsel of record in the case, is relieved but not surprised. In this emergency episode of Amicus, Judge Luttig tells Dahlia Lithwick that Tuesday’s decision may have big repercussions at the Department of Justice, in Jack Smith’s investigation of former President Trump’s role in January 6th.Sign up for Slate Plus now to support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions, and the other legal happenings in June. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox.On this one year anniversary of Dobbs, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Anat Shenker Osorio to talk about how the political class still hasn’t found a way to communicate or act toward the court that delivered this suffering. Next, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s own Mark Joseph Stern to talk about two important decisions that came down this week, one concerning the rights of criminal defendants and another about the U.S. President’s right to set immigration policy. In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia and Mark tackle more questions from the Slate Plus listener mail bag about the tension between establishment clause and equal protection claims in suits brought to fight back against Dobbs on religious grounds, and how to impeach terrible awful no-good judges.Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. Thank you to our Slate Plus members for making this episode available to all listeners. The full version of this episode is now exclusively available to our Slate Plus members. If you want to have access to bonus content like this, go to slate.com/amicusplus to become a member.Amicus is coming at you again with an emergency episode. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Mark Joseph Stern to process ProPublica’s latest reporting on a growing theme of conservative supreme court justices with a penchant for luxury travel at the expense of billionaires (who also happen to be close friends with Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society). Dahlia and Mark also examine Justice Samuel Alito’s eye-popping pre-buttal of ProPublica’s piece about his Alaskan fishing trip with billionaire GOP donor Paul Singer, which Justice Alito chose to publish in the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal. Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox.Dahlia Lithwick is joined by environmental appellate lawyer Sean Donahue to discuss the far-reaching consequences of one of the biggest decisions so far this term. In Sackett v EPA,  the court decided that as many as 90 million acres of wetlands no longer qualify for environmental protection. Together, they trace the case’s history, its claims, and what tools are left for lawyers fighting to protect the environment.In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to answer listener questions, including how to counter dodgy originalism arguments, and whether there’s anything that could stop Donald Trump from running or even assuming office if he’s convicted of a crimeSign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. Thank you to our Slate Plus members for making this episode available to all listeners. The full version of this episode is now exclusively available to our Slate Plus members. If you want to have access to bonus content like this, go to slate.com/amicusplus to become a member.Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern join forces for this Opinionpalooza extra episode of Amicus where they discuss Haaland v Brackeen, a case that could have upended Indian Law, but didn’t. The case concerned the Indian Child Welfare Act, Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s majority opinion also reveals some tensions among the Supreme Court’s conservative justices. Together, Dahlia and Mark assess what another unexpected win can tell us about the shape of the current court. Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. Thank you to our Slate Plus members for making this episode available to all listeners. The full version of this episode is now exclusively available to our Slate Plus members. If you want to have access to bonus content like this, go to slate.com/amicusplus to become a member.An extra episode of Amicus as the former President of the United States, Donald J Trump, is arraigned in federal court in Miami on 37 counts, entering a plea of not guilty. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Ryan Goodman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, a distinguished fellow at the National Institute of Military Justice, and former special counsel at the Department of Defense. Together, they step back from the spectacle to examine the challenge of prosecuting a former President over things that were supposed to be state secrets, and whether Trump can use politics to outrun justice this time.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox.Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern join forces again for an urgent look at Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of former President Donald J Trump. Trump is facing 37 counts in seven charges in the case concerning his mishandling of classified documents, and trying to cover up that mishandling.  Then, Dahlia is joined by Amicus’ election law guiding light, Professor Richard L Hasen, for a close look at the big and shocking voting rights case decided at the Supreme Court this week. Professor Hasen takes us through the fascinating backstory of the case and what Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in Allen v Milligan can tell us about another big elections case Moore v Harper,  and what we might be able to expect in the affirmative action decision that will also be coming down in the next couple of weeks. Finally, Slate Plus members will have a chance to hear Dahlia and Mark answer listener questions, such as…. What is the progressive answer to originalism?  Sign up for Slate Plus now to support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. Thank you to our Slate Plus members for making this episode available to all listeners. The full version of this episode is now exclusively available to our Slate Plus members. If you want to have access to bonus content like this, go to slate.com/amicusplus to become a member.Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern join forces for this Opinionpalooza extra episode of Amicus discussing a seismic Supreme Court decision on voting rights. In his majority opinion in Allen v Milligan, Chief Justice John Roberts pushes back against his own long-standing stance on voting rights. Join Dahlia and Mark in this bonus episode to find out why.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a part of Opinionpalooza. Slate’s coverage of Supreme Court decisions. We consider this coverage so essential that we’re taking down the paywall for all of it. If you would like to help us continue to cover the courts aggressively, please consider joining Slate Plus. And sign up for the pop-up newsletter to see the latest every week in your inbox.On this week’s Amicus, a sobering interview between Dahlia Lithwick and the ACLU's Chase Strangio. Chase is deputy director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project and a nationally recognized expert on trans rights. . The sheer number and breadth of proposed new laws targeting trans people is breathtaking, and they are coming from some familiar quarters if you follow the Supreme Court and abortion law. This conversation helps to set the stage for the end of the Supreme Court’s term by looking beyond the cases being decided this month at One, First Street, and toward the legal landscape, and the systems and groups that are shaping that landscape for the rest of us. In the second half of the show, Dahlia is joined by her jurisprudential co-pilot Mark Stern. They talk about why everyone on Twitter hates Mark (hint: people have strong feelings about Justice Alito’s recusal ethics), the labor case that was not as bad for unions as maybe could have been (but is still NOT GREAT), and Mark floats his theory that Supreme Court Justices just don’t want to go back to the office full time and that’s why we’re getting a dribble of decisions now… And might get a firehose of them later this month.  In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, we return to Washington DC and our Full Court Press live show at Sixth and I, where Mark and Dahlia were joined by Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia’s 4th District. Rep. Johnson is the ranking member of the House Judiciary subcommittee that oversees the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. They talk court reform and modernizing the judiciary, and why term limits and court expansion are vital to both. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take your seats for a live show from Washington DC this week. This live show is part of Slate’s Full Court Press coverage, a provocation for the fourth estate to hold the third branch of government to account. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, Elie Mystal of The Nation, and Jay Willis of Balls and Strikes. As we perch on the precipice of another slew of catastrophic decisions this June, they unpack how Supreme Court reporting has failed to meet the moment - and crucially, what to do about it. In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, listeners will hear the question and answer segment of the live show - with piercing audience questions such as: "Why do so many Democrats fail to take the court seriously?, and some vital advice for law students from Elie Mystal and Jay Willis. (Spoiler: Don't be Tom Cotton)Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.