Season 2, Episode 44 (Show 96): The Brief in Brief
October 26, 2022
The big news is that Professor Amar and colleagues have filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case of Moore v. Harper. We discuss its genesis, and its contents.
Professor Amar and colleagues have weighed in (heavily) on the ISL danger, as they filed a brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Harper. The brief is garnering wide attention with its powerful argument, as well as an innovative format. We review the background to the case and the brief, and then take you through the argument point by point. Law and history come together to make the case in this most consequential matter. Judging from the response, the country is watching.
Show Notes:
Season 2, Episode 43 (Show 95): Sweet Hugo in Alabama – A Special Live Podcast
October 19, 2022
Andy and Akhil are in Alabama for a live podcast at the festivities surrounding the dedication of the Hugo Black Memorial and Park. We take a look at the great liberal originalist’s legacy and find him more important than ever.
Amarica’s Constitution is “On the Road” in Alabama for the dedication of the Hugo Black Memorial and Park. Akhil is the keynote speaker and we record this live podcast at the Symposium that preceded Dedication Day. For the occasion, we look at the great originalist and see that his moment is now – not only in Alabama, but at the Supreme Court, where case after case tracks his issues, his reasoning, and his method. Indeed, Black’s greatest cases, including Adamson, Everson, Engel, and Gideon, find continuing relevance today. Thus informed, we take a look at the coming term’s big cases through the Hugo Black originalist lens. The audience chimes in with questions; a great time was had by all.
Show Notes:
The Hugo Black Memorial, with some friends
Season 2, Episode 42 (Show 94): Zelig On the Court – Special Guest Brad Snyder
October 12, 2022
Brad Snyder, biographer of Justice Felix Frankfurter, is back with us for a discussion of Frankfurter’s years on the Supreme Court and a look at how his method of judicial restraint stacks up against Originalism, through the lens of the landmark cases of his era.
Our judicial Zelig, Felix Frankfurter, continues to grab our spotlight as his biographer, Brad Snyder, joins us again – this time, as a sitting Justice. The many landmark cases that came Frankfurter’s way on the Supreme Court allow us to contrast his method of jurisprudence – be it “Thayerism,” “judicial restraint,” or something else – with originalism. This means that Hugo Black, Frankfurter’s colleague on the Court (it’s complicated), takes the stage as well, as we look at case after case and see how these different approaches, and their wielders, fare.
Show Notes:
Season 2, Episode 41 (Show 93): Zelig of the Court – Special Guest Brad Snyder
October 5, 2022
He was everywhere and knew everyone. He was perhaps the most influential person in the nation. And oh yes, he was an important Supreme Court Justice. Felix Frankfurter’s biographer, Brad Snyder, joins us and tells the amazing tale of a titanic figure you probably knew little of.
Do you know who was Franklin Roosevelt’s most trusted advisor? Do you know who practically invented the law clerk infrastructure and controlled the clerk assignments to 60% of the justices at once? Do you know who was a key early reporter for The New Republic? Do you know who was the first Jewish professor at the Harvard Law School? Who was the sharpest critic of the Supreme Court only to become a Justice of that Court? Who went to Versailles and advised both Weizmann and T.E. Lawrence? Who fought bitter battles with Harvard’s President again and again? These are all the same person: Felix Frankfurter. A new and important biography of Justice Frankfurter tells this incredible story, and he joins our podcast today: Professor Brad Snyder. Believe it or not, the superlatives you just read only scratch the surface of this Man Who Was Everywhere. You have to hear it all.
Show Notes:
Season 2, Episode 40 (Show 92): The Court’s Other Amy
September 28, 2022
As the new SCOTUS term begins, Professor Amar, Andy, and the constitutional ecosystem will rely on SCOTUS blog for instantaneous, insightful, accurate information. Meet Amy Howe; meet her invaluable creation; and be armed for what’s to come.
It’s almost the First Monday in October, so the Supreme Court term is upon us. Those who follow the Constitution may turn to Amarica’s Constitution for their Constitution-listening, and after meeting Amy Howe, founder of SCOTUS Blog, they will turn to that amazing resource for their Court-watching. So, join us. Meet today’s special guest, Amy Howe; meet SCOTUS Blog; meet the new term; and see why Professor Amar and colleagues regard her as a rock of integrity, completeness, and civic virtue.
Show Notes:
Season 2, Episode 39 (Show 91): Loving Lincoln, and Castigating Kastigar
September 21, 2022
It’s Constitution Week, and we have a big announcement. Meanwhile we conclude the Fifth Amendment series with a completely new Fifth A world – what it would take, and how we could get there. And how does Lincoln fit into all this?
Happy Constitution Week! Our Fifth Amendment journey takes us in a somewhat unexpected direction, as we pit Abraham Lincoln against the Supreme Court on the Fifth as well as on several other areas of contested constitutional law. Then it’s back to the near future as we look at how today’s Fifth confusion could be tomorrow’s clarity – and we look at the Court to see if there are five votes for a new Fifth. Then we top it all off with an exciting – very exciting – announcement.