Versus Trump: Blurring Public and Private Conduct
9/17/20 //
In-Depth Analysis
On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss two new legal filings by the Trump DOJ that blur the line between the President as government official and the President as private citizen. In the first case, the government argues that the President's twitter feed is not an official public forum, so he can block people with whom he disagrees. In the second, the government argues that the President's denials that he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll were made in his official capacity as President. Listen now!
Versus Trump: Trump Versus Mail Voting
8/24/20 //
Commentary
On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss voting by mail in the pandemic. Have courts allowed the rules to be changed, either in responses to suits there should be more voting by mail—or less? Listen now!
The Real Problem with Seila
8/24/20 //
In-Depth Analysis
Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that tenure protection for the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional. The decision’s reasoning may be more important—and worrisome—than the holding itself.
Roberts’ Rules: How the Chief Justice Could Rein in Police Abuse of Power
8/19/20 //
In-Depth Analysis
A theme of Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinions this past term is that courts should not employ open-ended balancing tests to protect fundamental constitutional rights. Yet there is one area of the Supreme Court’s constitutional jurisprudence that is rife with such amorphous balancing tests: policing. It is long past time for the Court to revisit this area of law.
The Federal Judiciary Needs More Former Public Defenders
8/3/20 //
Commentary
By Orion de Nevers: The composition of President Trump’s record-setting number of judicial appointments has been widely criticized for its overwhelmingly white-male skew. But another, quieter, source of troubling homogeneity has also emerged: President Trump is loading the bench with former prosecutors.
Versus Trump: Are Tax Returns Coming Soon?
7/18/20 //
Commentary
On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the Supreme Court's pair of decisions governing Trump's tax returns. Are they coming soon? Did the Democrats make a mistake in not being more aggressive in invoking the impeachment power? Listen now!
An Absolute Right to Discriminate
7/8/20 //
Commentary
Thousands upon thousands of schoolteachers at religious schools – teachers who are mostly women – have been stripped of protection against anti-discrimination laws. Once again, religious rights trump women’s right to equality.
The Electoral College Shouldn’t Get in the Way of D.C. Statehood
7/7/20 //
Commentary
By Jessica Bulman-Pozen & Olatunde Johnson: On June 26, 2020, the House of Representatives voted to make DC the fifty-first state in our Union. This should be an urgent priority for the 117th Congress—but before passage, the bill should be modified in a way blessed by the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in Chiafalo v. Washington.