Strict Scrutiny

Fetishistically Textualist

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the last week of opinions (Van Buren v. United States, Garland v. Dai, and Cooley v. United States). They also discuss s...

Death Eaters

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa interviews Ian Millhiser about his new book, The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America. This conversation was originally...

Siren Songs

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Melissa, and Leah notice the siren song of purposivism in some of the Court’s recent statutory interpretation cases. They also talk about deve...

Hysterical Lady Brains

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down the recent cert grants, the oral argument in Terry v. United States, and the opinions in Edwards v. Vannoy, CIC v. ...

When There Are 535

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In March, the NYU School of Law hosted the the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network's symposium on Politics, Power, and Women’s Leadership. As a pa...

Drained Pool Politics

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate & Melissa host Heather McGhee to discuss her new book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together. Get tickets f...

Burn Book on Purposivism

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate recap the textualist bonanza in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, and the recent arguments in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (during which Jus...

Barking Goldfish

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate, Leah, and Melissa go over new opinion, recap the previous week of oral arguments, and preview the next batch of cases to be heard at the Supreme...

Right for the Wrong Reasons

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa are joined by special guests Juvaria Khan, Matthew Fletcher, and Carmen Iguina Gonzalez to discuss the upcoming April sitting and the...

Tsunami of Slime

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate are joined by Sen. Sheldon “Whiteboard” Whitehouse to discuss the courts subcommittee hearing on dark money and how the topic of the...

Sausage Fest

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Live” from Yale Law’s ACS chapter, Leah and Kate recap the end of the March sitting, break down recent opinions, and kvell over some court cult...

Spaceships and Serial Killers

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa and special guest Ginger Anders recap the first week of the March sitting and preview the second week of the March sitting. Get tickets for ...

Dear Steve

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the March sitting and have a romp through court culture — cancel culture, the monarchy, media bias, and so much more...

Amend: The Fight for America

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah are joined by Robe Imbriano, producer of Amend: The Fight for America, and Michelle Adams, Cardozo Law Professor and one of th...

Get to the Punchline

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate recap some February arguments (Brnovich v. DNC and United States v. Arthrex) before pleading with the Biden administration to give them ...

Toddler Logic

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Josie Duffy Rice, President of the Appeal, and Jay Willis, senior contributor at the Appeal, to discuss some Court related news, pre...

Wilding Out

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap opinions, preview the first week of arguments in the February sitting, and discuss the perils of Zoom filters and group ...

Dude Process

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah do a “snap” episode on the most recent impeachment proceedings. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 20...

Gold Highways

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate are joined by David Schleicher and Sam Moyn, cohosts and creators of “Digging A Hole,” a legal theory podcast. They discuss Supreme ...

Dirty Damages

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the January sitting and the inauguration festivities. They also extend a few invites to join the pod -- so listen in! ...

My Name Is Pauli Murray

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Julie Cohen, Betsy West and Talleah Bridges McMahon, the team behind the new documentary, My Name Is Pauli Murra...

Rinse & Repeat

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Rutgers Law Dean Kim Mutcherson, host of “The Power of Attorney” podcast, to break down (FOR NOW) the Court’...

The Meme Lives

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate discuss the insurrection, their new BFF Joe Manchin, the upcoming January sitting, and the 25th Amendment. Get tickets for S...

No Coup For You

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this monster episode, Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap all of the December arguments, and the opinions we’ve gotten to date. They also deliver some ...

Our Favorite Things

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa, Leah, and Kate bring some BIG OPRAH ENERGY to share some of their favorite things around the holidays and new year. Get tickets for STRICT ...

When Reality Is Surreal

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa are joined by Alexandra Petri, author of Nothing Is Wrong And Here Is Why, and Washington Post columnist. They discuss how to cover n...

Normal Scrutiny

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa are joined by the first repeat guest on Strict Scrutiny, Elie Mystal, to discuss his recent column about Democratic leadership on the...

Big Whiteboard Energy

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for – our breakdown of Justice Alito’s keynote speech at the Federalist Society convention. And as our gu...

Call For Filings!

06 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Send us your favorite, crazy election law filings from this cycle. And we'll do a dramatic reading! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad...

Unfeathered Discretion

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa preview the first week of the December sitting and recap a lot of Supreme Court and Supreme Court adjacent news about turkeys, COVID,...

Cute as a Button

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa and Kate are joined by Meera Deo, Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Div...

Vice Signaling

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate are joined by Marin Levy to recap the Affordable Care Act argument and … wonder about the role of lawyers in contributing to the demis...

Unlawful Generally

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah break down the first week of arguments from the November sitting, as well as some developments on the Court’s shadow docket. Get tic...

Yes, Virginia

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate take a virtual road trip to UVA Law to dish on the upcoming November sitting with the hosts of the Common Law podcast, Dean Ri...

Hot Mess

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate, discuss some recent activity on the Court’s “shadow docket” related to the election. Oh, and the fact that we have a ne...

We The Women

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa talk with Julie Suk, author of We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY...

Big Dog Energy

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate discuss some of the highlights of the October sitting, as well as the conclusion of the Barrett confirmation hearings. Get t...

Not A Mystery

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate recap the first three days of the confirmation hearings so you don’t have to actually listen to them. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTIN...

The Red Death

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa recap the first week of the October sitting, as well as all of the beginning of term developments on the Court’s docket, orders lis...

Fire Season

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate bring their A+ Zoom game to NYU School of Law for a live-ish preview of the upcoming SCOTUS term. Get tickets for STRICT SCR...

The Women Tell All

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate discuss the President’s nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and the expedited process u...

In Memoriam

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, Kate are joined by Anne Joseph O’Connell,  Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and former clerk to Justice Rut...

I Want More

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa interview Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson about their book Shortlisted: Women In The Shadows Of The Supreme Court. ...

Courts of the Conqueror

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Liz Reese, a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School, for a deep dive on the Court’s blockbuster Indian law case, M...

What Would Chief Justice Roberts Do?

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined by Dale Ho, director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU and low-key star of The Fight. Get tickets for STRI...

Join Your Conflagrations

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined by Josie Duffy Rice, the President of The Appeal, to discuss the partnership with The Appeal. They also discuss bre...

RERELEASE: Bonus Pod- Melissa Murray on ACLU's "At Liberty"!

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa joins the ACLU's Emerson Sykes for an episode of their podcast, At Liberty. The Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in Lovi...

The Civility Alarm

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Amir Ali and Devi Rao from the Supreme Court & Appellate Program of the MacArthur Justice Center and Tiffany Wright of Orrick to dis...

Magical Moment

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate are joined by Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of NAACP LDF. They further break down the “shadow docket” cases from l...

Five-Dimensional Chess

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa talks with CNN's Joan Biskupic, author of The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts. Get tickets for STRICT SCRU...

"Three Generations of Imbeciles"

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa talks with Adam Cohen about his book Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, And The Sterilization Of Carrie Buck. Get tickets for ...

How To Train Your Killer Whale

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah Melissa, Jaime, and Kate recap the last term -- high points (flushgate), low points (you’ve heard some of these before), and everything in betw...

Diploma Privilege

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah is joined by Dr. Pilar Escontrias, one of the founders of United for Diploma Privilege. United for Diploma Privilege is seeking to address the ca...

Well Played, Sirs

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

*another airhorn* Leah and Melissa break down the Court's major contraception case. Welcome to Gilead! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The ...

Trollito

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah  and Kate discuss four big Supreme Court cases that came down last week (June Medical with special guest Julie Rikelman, Seila Law, Espinoza, an...

Save Your Yarn

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

*airhorn* The Supreme Court released the opinion in June Medical Services v. Russo-- this term's big abortion case. Leah, Melissa, and Kate discuss. ...

Thanks For The Footnote

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Anil Kalhan to break down the Supreme Court’s important immigration habeas case, Department of Homeland Securi...

PODIVERSARY GIVEAWAY

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A giveaway to mark our one year podiversary! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 10/4 – ChicagoLearn more: ...

Second Glow HH!

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A giveaway for law students and recent graduates to come to our second virtual happy hour for glow supporters! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE ...

2020 Bingo Card

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Melissa are joined by special guest Chase Strangio for a big recap episode of a big week. They cover some developments on the orders list and...

Josh Hawley's Tears

19 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate are joined by Luis Cortes-Romero to recap the DACA-licious DACA opinion that dropped today! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY ...

Carpool Dad

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa and Leah are joined by Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, to discuss why the Supreme Court doesn't get the media coverage it d...

Turd In The Punch Bowl

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah, Melissa, and Kate offer a quick recap and analysis of the 6-3 opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County that came out this morning, ruling that LGBTQ...

Blood-Stained Bunny Costume

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Because constitutional law makes everything more fun, Leah and Melissa decided to spot constitutional law issues in Netflix’s quarantine hit, Joe Ex...

Made Up Immunities

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Jaime discuss contributors to injustice--doctrines that encourage (or at least immunize) racial profiling and police misconduct-- with Fred S...

June First

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chose not to release our regularly scheduled episode today in light of the nationwide protests. #BlackLivesMatter Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY...

What's The Mouse Going To Do?

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Leah recap the other big argument from the May sitting they didn’t get a chance to last time -- the faithless (or is it Hamiltonian? Or def...

Earth to Nancy

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate break down the major arguments in the presidential immunity and subpoena cases as well as the major (?) social media and supporter updat...

Flushgate

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this jam-packed episode, Jaime and Melissa recap the Supreme Court’s first-ever telephonic arguments, delve into how three men advocated for or a...

Happy Hour!

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We'll be hosting a happy hour to thank our glow subscribers! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 10/4 – Chi...

Stay Frustrated

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa are joined by special guest Emily Bazelon to talk about her New York Times Magazine article, “How Will Trump’s Supreme Court Rema...

Pit of Piranhas

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Melissa talks shop with Jess Bravin, who covers the Court for the ​Wall Street Journal.​ Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE –...

Workplace Misconduct And The Federal Courts

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Jaime are joined by Deeva Shah (from Law Clerks for Workplace Accountability) and Sejal Singh and Emma Janger (from People’s Parity Project...

Podapalooza Live Event

24 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We'll be hosting a live Q&A event as part of podapalooza this Sunday (April 26) at 1 PM ET! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Deci...

Podapalooza Teaser

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This is just a reminder to sign up for podapalooza -- happening this weekend! You can sign up at plza.org Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – T...

Stop Trying To Make Democracy Happen

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this special episode, prepared for PODAPALOOZA, Leah, Melissa, Jaime, and Kate discuss some COVID-related Court issues. That includes the Court’s...

BONUS: Supreme Inequality with Adam Cohen

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Back in February, when crowds were still a thing, Melissa interviewed Adam Cohen about his new book, Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Yea...

Build A Bridge

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A special opinions episode! The Supreme Court has issued a lot of opinions recently, and we wanted to get you caught up on some of them. Get tickets...

Throwing Elbows

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Jaime recap other arguments from the February sitting that was a lifetime ago!  They cover Sineneng-Smith v. United States, DHS v. Thuraissi...

We See You, Steve

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Just what you need for quarantine-- a whole episode recapping the arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo. Plus, our suggestions for making the ju...

The Ghost of Phyllis Schlafly

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa join forces with Lauren Moxley, creator of The Ginsburg Tapes, for an exploration of the Equal Rights Amendment. Get tickets for ST...

No Jonathans Or Pauls

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Boston University School of Law put together an amazing live show! Leah, Melissa, and Jaime are joined by two fabulous BU law professors, Sarah Sherma...

BONUS: Jaime Santos on Our Curious Amalgam

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jaime Santos joins John Roberti and Christima Ma from Our Curious Amalgam to talk antitrust and the Supreme Court! Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY L...

Cassandra Moment

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While Kate and Jaime recover from the live show, Leah and Melissa bring some exciting impeachment updates … including the Chief Justice caught on ca...

Standing Cheese

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the very first live show, Strict Scrutiny goes blue at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor!  The full crew recaps two arguments from the Janua...

Criminally Petty

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kate and Melissa preview the January sitting, including Bridge-gate, some fashion-y trademark cases, and whether they count as “older workers” for...

BONUS: Kate Shaw on Why is This Happening? with Chris Hayes

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's a mash-up! Kate Shaw joins Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes to talk all things impeachment. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The...

Not Afraid of Garland

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Melissa and Jaime deck the halls with argument recaps, cert grants, and opinions-- plus some speculation about upcoming wardrobe choices for Chief Jus...

Here Come the Generals

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jaime, Kate, and Melissa break down the DACA argument and speak with Luis Cortes, who worked on the DACA case and is a DACA recipient himself.  They ...

Moot and Rally

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Kate discuss a case that isn’t even a real case involving a real law, as well as the very real and very important Affordable Care Act case ...

Reproductive Rights & Justice Stories (Melissa Murray, Kate Shaw, Reva Siegel & Rebecca Traister live at the Brennan Center)

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this special bonus episode, Melissa and Kate are joined by co-editor Reva Siegel to discuss their book "Reproductive Rights & Justice Stor...

This is Kansas

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Jaime recap a lot of the big November cases, including Kansas v. Glover, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Hernandez v. Mesa, and IBM v...

BONUS: Melissa Murray on ACLU's "At Liberty"

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia, the landmark ACLU case decided in 1967. But the government‘s regul...

Where My Girls At?

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode, Kate and Melissa talk breaking SCOTUS news; preview three cases from the upcoming November sitting -- DACA, Hernandez v. Mesa, and Co...

Repeat Players

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Leah and Jaime recap some of the Supreme Court’s October cases, including Ramos v. Louisiana, Mathena v. Malvo, and Aurelius Investment v. Puerto Ri...

Rick Perry and the German Policeman

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this special Title VII episode, Leah, Jaime, and Kate are joined by a special guest – Jay Austin, Senior Associate Dean of Enrollment and Financi...

Calm Before the Storm

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode, Melissa and Kate break down the Harvard affirmative action case just decided by a Massachusetts district court; go deep on some of ou...

Eat Your Spinach

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After a fun game of “how I spent my summer--Supreme Court edition,” Leah, Melissa, Jaime, and Kate preview some of the cases they are watching for...

Pineapple & Rage

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In our final summer episode, it’s a reproductive rights and justice block party (or wake, depending on your perspective). Leah, Melissa, and Kate di...

Leg Day

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the second summer episode, Leah, Melissa and Jaime keep things light with a discussion of the Court's death penalty docket, the Armed Career Crimin...