Episode 51: Roberts Court, or Trump Court? A Conversation with Linda Greenhouse

December 22, 2021

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, author, and Yale Law School colleague of Professor Amar, Linda Greenhouse, joins us for a discussion of the Court, and its possible moment of truth, identified in her latest book, “Justice on the Brink.”  Meanwhile, SCOTUS keeps making news, and we (this time with Linda’s help) keep clarifying it.

The Supreme Court is still in the news, with vaccine mandate follies and more, and we continue to be there to help you decipher it.  This week, our timing is perfect:  the long-time, Pulitzer-winning NY Times correspondent, now columnist, Linda Greenhouse, joins us for a discussion of the Court and her new book: “Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months that Transformed the Supreme Court.”  In light of Justice Breyer’s retirement issues (and how RBG’s retirement echoes loudly), the current torrent of impactful cases, and our recent commentary and other guests, this couldn’t be more timely.  Linda’s book prepares us to ask if the Roberts Court is gone and the Trump Court arrived – and now we can begin to answer the question, as the Court slowly unveils its character.   Best of all, you can find out what all this has to do with an iguana.

Show Notes:

More information on the new book authored by our special guest, Linda Greenhouse:  Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months that Transformed the Supreme Court.

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Dissenting opinion in Dr. A v. Hochul

In Dr. A, Et Al., Applicants v. Kathy Hochul, Governor Of New York, Et Al., Justice Gorsuch pens a very problematic dissent to this past week’s Supreme Court decision to deny injunctive relief and block New York’s vaccine mandate, thus allowing the mandate to stand.  We discuss this at length in the podcast – what does it say about predictions of the demise of the Roberts Court?

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“The Father of Roe v. Wade,” Professor Amar reviews Linda Greenhouse’s book, Becoming Justice Blackmun, in the May 8, 2005 edition of the Washington Post.  Best line: “Blackmun came to see the world through Roe’s colored glasses.”

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Church Of The Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc., Et Al. v. City Of Hialeah

Church Of The Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc., Et Al. v. City Of Hialeah, 508 U. S. 520 (1993).  Linda Greenhouse considers Lukumi a case of previously little importance which threatens to overtake Smith as the controlling standard in religious freedom cases; we discuss.

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