Strict Scrutiny

Open Season on Precedents

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On Halloween, the Supreme Court will hear pair of cases challenging affirmative action in university admissions. Spooky! Janai Nelson, President and D...

Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate talks with Deborah Tuerkheimer about her recent book, Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers. A former prosecutor and leading author...

Pigs, Prince, and Proven Innocence

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap some of the cases argued at the Supreme Court last week: Reed v. Goertz, National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, and An...

Limiting the Inevitable Damage

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah welcome Sam Sankar of Earthjustice and Deuel Ross of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to recap  arguments the Supreme...

How SCOTUS Distorts Democracy

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It feels like we're still processing the end of last term, but alas, the first Monday in October is upon us. Kate, Melissa, and Leah kick off season 4...

Judicial Joyriding

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For the University of Michigan's Homecoming weekend, we held a special live recording for our season finale. Michelle Adams joins Kate and Leah to wra...

Unprincipled and Inconsistent Voting Rights Shenanigans

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah talks with Wilfred Codrington III about his article, "Purcell in Pandemic," which appeared in the NYU Law Review. The Purcell Principle comes fro...

Please Pay Attention to State Courts and Constitutions

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Leah, and Melissa convene a panel to persuade you that the fight for progressive causes has to include state courts and state constitutions. To ...

Debunking the Independent State Legislature Fantasy

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With guests Jamelle Bouie and Carolyn Shapiro, Kate and Leah analyze the fan fiction that is the Independent State Legislature "Theory" (emphasis on t...

Fossil Fuel Rules Everything Around Me

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins Leah and Melissa for a deep dive into West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court's major climate case last term. Get tic...

What the Fight After Roe Actually Looks Like

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Somehow, it's only been less than two months since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade with their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Orga...

Women Are Not Without Power

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Even though it's summer, there's a lot to catch up on in the legal world! Leah and Melissa talk with Grace Panetta, who co-wrote a piece for Business ...

Hostility to Mercy

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah talks with Lee Kovarsky of the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas about the Supreme Court's treatment of death penalty cases.  ...

Law & Religion on the Barrett Court

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a deep dive into law and religion in this conservative supermajority iteration of the Supreme Court. Kate talks with Micah Schwartzman of UVA and...

The Family Roe: An American Story

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa interviews journalist Joshua Prager about his book, The Family Roe: An American Story. Prager spent hours interviewing Norma McCorvey (aka Jan...

How Mitch Rigged the Courts

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While the Supreme Court gets all the focus, lower federal courts are just as much in need of reform. Unfortunately, rigging the courts is a game the G...

Break Glass in Case of Emergency

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It was a long term. It's over. Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap what all happened, what we maybe learned out of it, and what we have to look forward to. ...

Smashing Precedents and Making Up Facts

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court finally finished the OT2021 term-- and it was a doozy. Kate and Leah recap the last few opinions, including Oklahoma v. Castro Huert...

Just how bad is the Supreme Court's EPA decision?

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah break down the "free-wheeling, free association analysis" of the Supreme Court's opinion in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Ag...

This Maximalist Conservative Supermajority

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The pace of opinion releases has accelerated considerably as we speed toward the end of June and the justices' vacations. Even though last week brough...

Roe is dead. Now what?

25 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today the Supreme Court issued their opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. It overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey...

How SCOTUS gutted our gun laws

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today the Supreme Court released its opinion in NYSRPA v. Bruen, saying that the constitutional right to carry a gun extends beyond the home. Kate, Le...

Reeking of Impropriety

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court handed down 11 opinions last week-- 18 more to go. Leah and Melissa recap the outcomes, and then turn to our weekly "Ginni Tonic" se...

Queer Supremacy (A Pride Special)

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a special Pride episode of Strict Scrutiny! Special guests Joshua Matz and Chase Strangio join Melissa, Kate, and Leah to highlight developments ...

The Newly Constituted and Restless

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court released four opinions last week (still 20-something to go before the end of the term), so Leah, Kate, and Melissa break them all do...

Allow Me To Retort

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa interviews Elie Mystal about his new book, Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution.P.S. Melissa, Kate, and Leah will be on...

Innocence Isn't Enough

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Investigative journalist Liliana Segura joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to tell the story of Barry Jones, who was the center of one of the cases in Shin...

The Only Loser is the Public

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ellen Weintraub, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission since 2002, joins Kate and Leah to break down the Supreme Court's opinion in FEC v. T...

What's next in a post-Roe world

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah spend some additional time on possible fallout from a Dobbs opinion overruling or eviscerating Roe. They interview two people with insig...

Stay Mad Like Sam

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the remaining arguments from the April session: Nance v. Ward [1:38] and Biden v. Texas [18:04]. They also get into a un...

What the SCOTUS leak could mean for abortion

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Leah and Melissa get together for an emergency episode to discuss a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that indicates the justices are prepared ...

The Inner Life of Coach Kavanaugh

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa bring you a jam-packed show recapping news, arguments, and opinions from the Supreme Court in the past couple weeks. Recaps in...

Coup, But Make It Look Legal

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate's off glamping, so Leah and Melissa are left to their own devices to recap SCOTUS news [1:37], arguments from the first week in the April sitting...

The Non-Existent Establishment Clause

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa catch up on SCOTUS news (including more shadow docket activity and shady Thomas behavior) [1:04] and preview the cases the Sup...

Justice on the Brink

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa interviews Linda Greenhouse about her new book, Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett,...

Light Conspiracy Theories

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate catch up on all SCOTUS-related "antics" that happened in March-- including the latest in Ginni Thomas news [00:55], opinions [25:06], or...

Backwards and in High Heels

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa watched all the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson-- so you don't have to. Here's our recap of the best, wo...

Go Down Clutching the Constitution

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Nagle, host of This Land, joins Leah and Kate to discuss the issues at stake in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case challenging the Indian Child Welfa...

Living Textualism

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah talk with Cary Franklin, the McDonald/Wright Chair of Law and Faculty Director of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, abou...

Canon Wars

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Rothschild, legal fellow at the Institute for Policy Integrity, joins Kate and Melissa to recap oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental...

Indian Law Hall of Fame

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah recaps Denezpi v. United States, an important case about tribal sovereignty, with Matthew Fletcher (Michigan State University & Chief Justice of ...

KBJ, All the Way!

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, & Leah discuss the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson – KBJ, Yay! – to the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Lisa Fairf...

I Don't Wanna

26 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah discusses the upcoming climate change case, West Virginia v. EPA, with Lisa Heinzerling and Kirti Datla (1:06). Slate's Mark Joseph Stern join...

We're Doing S'mores

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, & Melissa run through a bunch of Court adjacent news-- including this Jane Mayer piece about Ginni Thomas-- before highlighting the big ca...

Speedy Sonia

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah's dreams come true with an episode all about a resentencing case, and the meaning of the First Step Act of 2018-- Concepcion v. United States. Ti...

Party Like It's 1935

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah interview Professors Julian Davis Mortenson and Nick Bagley about the nondelegation doctrine.  Get tickets for STRICT SCRUT...

Further Erosion

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Deuel Ross, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins Leah and Kate to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision allowing an election in Alab...

Supreme Ambition

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah sit down with Ruth Marcus, the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover. Get tickets for ST...

Mensch On The Bench

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, & Leah are joined by Dean Risa Goluboff & Tejas Narechania for a retrospective on Justice Breyer. Then FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub...

Comeback Kid

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our boy Steve is retiring. Here are our thoughts on the timing, his legacy, and potential successors. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The B...

Putting the Tea in Totenberg

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nina Totenberg joins the podcast to discuss her story that broke the Internet and sent the Court into a statement frenzy. Kate, Leah, and Melissa then...

BONUS: Strict Scrutiny x Why Is This Happening?

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The ladies of Strict Scrutiny join forces with Why Is This Happening?, hosted by Chris Hayes (aka Mr. Kate Shaw).Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once...

Hot Potato

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Payvand Ahdout, Assistant Professor of Law at University of Virginia School of Law and federal courts and post-conviction review expert, joins Leah to...

Putting the F in FDR

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap the Supreme Court’s opinions invalidating the Biden administration’s test-or-vaccinate policy for employers with mor...

Justice for Snowflake

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, & Kate preview the cases to be argued in the January sitting (other than the test-and-vax cases), and also cover all of the Court-adjac...

No Laws, Just Vibes

08 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in two emergency applications related to Biden administration policies designed to reduce the transmissio...

Laboratories of Autocracy

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah get to spend an entire show on one of their favorite topics -- Sam Alito. This time with an assist from Justice Alito’s neme...

The People's Constitution

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Wilfred Codrington III to discuss his co-authored book The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a M...

Our Favorite Things, 2021

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate round out 2021 with a discussion of their favorite things. To wearWool leg warmers from LunyaWashable silk pajamas from Lunya...

The Marshmallow Experiment

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We recap the second week of the December sitting, which is (more than) enough to justify a break for the New Year!Resources: Michele Goodwin's powerfu...

A Uterus, If You Can Keep It

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Commander Vladeck returns to break down what the Supreme Court’s decision in the SB8 case does and doesn’t mean. (Spoiler alert: Nothing good!) ...

Let's Be Legends

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tiffany Wright joins the show to recap last week’s oral arguments and to preview the second week of the December sitting... hijinks ensue.Strict Scr...

Fourth Dimension Feminism

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi case that banned abortion after 15 wee...

Sad Girl Autumn

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s sad girl autumn at the Supreme Court -- Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the upcoming cases, including the frontal challenge to Roe v. Wade in ...

At Liberty: This Fall’s Fight Against Forced Pregnancy

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In October, Melissa joined the ACLU's podcast At Liberty to discuss the state of abortion rights in Texas and the rest of the nation. We're thrilled t...

Self-Own Sam

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Lisa Eskow joins the podcast to discuss some Justices’ willingness to engage in ecclesiastical whack-a-mole in Ramirez v. Collier. There a...

Have They Heard of Frat Houses?

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah talks to Ahilan Arulanantham about the argument in FBI v. Fazaga, the case challenging the government’s surveillance of the Muslim community in...

Arbitration Rat

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Leah, & Kate recap the remaining cases from the first week of November -- and focus on Houston Community College and NYSRPA v. Bruen, which r...

Foreign in a Domestic Sense

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate speaks with Juan Perla and Neil Weare about United States v. Vaello-Madero, which will be argued before the Supreme Court on November 9th. US cit...

Some Geniuses

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the oral arguments in the S.B. 8 cases on Monday, November 1st. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decis...

That’s Just Like, Your Opinion, Man

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah preview the whopper first week of the November sitting. They are joined by Joseph Blocher, Professor of Law at Duke Law, to di...

Fatally Unequal

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa talks with Carol Anderson about her book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. This event originally aired as a program by ...

Watch This Space

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A quick breakdown on what the Court did and didn’t do today (Friday, October 22) in the cases against Texas's S.B. 8, which prohibits abortion 6 wee...

Per My Last Email

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the last week of the October sitting and some developments in the S.B. 8 litigation. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY L...

Latte Liberal

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap the first week of the October sitting. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 10/4...

Troll World Tour

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dahlia Lithwick joins us for a preview of this monster term, and a breakdown of … that Alito speech. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The ...

Hashtag YOLO

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded in partnership with the 2021 Texas Tribune festival, Dahlia Lithwick joins us to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s busy summer and do a ligh...

Sounds Legit

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Jeannie Suk Gersen and Deeva Shah to discuss an important case, Roe v. United States, about the procedures for addressing workplace ...

Meager Sentences

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah are joined by Elizabeth Wydra and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick to discuss more of the Supreme Court's orders coming out of the shadow docket. ...

Messing with Texas

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate reconvene for another emergency podcast on Texas SB8, which is now being challenged by the federal government. Y’all, they a...

Untitled Dating Show

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s law school advice time, Strict Scrutiny style! Melissa and Leah chat with Mark Moran, graduate of UVA Law and contestant on FBoy Island, for th...

Flagrantly Unconstitutional

04 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, & Leah get together again to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision in the Texas SB8 case, what is happening now in Texas, and what mig...

Message Received

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Commander Professor Steve Vladeck joins us for an emergency episode about SB8, the most restrictive abortion law that has been allowed to go into effe...

Sexual Justice

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah talk with Alexandra Brodsky, founding co-director of Know Your IX and author of Sexual Justice: Supporting Victims, Ensuring Due Process...

How Rights Went Wrong

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah talk with Jamal Greene about his new book, How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart.  Get ticket...

Open Wound

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa talks reparations with Katherine Franke, Columbia Law Professor and author of Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition. Get tickets for ST...

Superminority Status

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa and Leah are joined by Easha Anand (MacArthur Justice Center) and Kate Levine (Cardozo University School of Law) to recap the big criminal law...

Born Tired

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In collaboration with The Appellate Project, Leah, Kate, and Melissa talk to Debo Adegbile and Bruce Spiva about voting rights and diversity in the ap...

Anti-Democratic Super Weapon

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Supreme Court reform summer! On this episode, Leah talks to Professor Nikolas Bowie about his testimony to the Presidential commission on the S...

Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa interviews Berkeley Law Professor Amanda Tyler about the book she co-wrote with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice, Justice, Thou S...

Roses & Thorns

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s here … our term recap! We go over all the roses and thorns from OT2020, or at least as much as we have time for in this jam-packed episode. ...

Textually Challenged

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For a further break down of the opinion that is definitely not necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act (Brnovich v. DNC), Leah is joined by two vot...

An Insult to History

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With SCOTUS finishing in July, Leah recaps the end of the term (end of democracy?) cases, Brnovich and Americans for Prosperity, with law of democrac...

Tired of These Fools

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On June 23rd, we joined the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, together with the Western District of Washington Federal Bar Association, for a...

Comrade Thomas

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah recap the big FRIDAY, FRIDAY at the Supreme Court -- two statutory interpretation cases (Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation...

Cheerleaders for Democracy

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah recap four opinions: Lange v. California; Mahanoy Area School District v. BL; Collins v. Yellen; and Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid. Ge...

Love and Basketball

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa do a quick dash through Monday’s opinions in Arthrex, NCAA v. Alston, and Goldman v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement Systems and a quic...

Amuse Bouche

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa recap two opinions, California v. Texas (the ACA case) and Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (Masterpiece Cakeshop redux). For the latte...

State Courts Are Where It's At

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap an important CVSG, the Court’s opinions (in Gary, Greer, and Terry), and a major Wisconsin Supreme Court case! Get t...

Presto!

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah get together to discuss Justice Kagan’s approach to statutory interpretation. We got two opinions this week, Sanchez v. Mayo...