In this new podcast, Professor Amar offers weekly in-depth discussions on the most urgent and fascinating constitutional issues of our day. He is joined by host Andy Lipka and frequent guests: other top experts, including Bob Woodward, Neal Katyal, Nina Totenberg, Lawrence Lessig, Michael Gerhardt, and many more.

Season 4, Episode 34 (Show 191): Circuit of Shame

August 21, 2024

The Fifth Circuit, already notorious, had a remarkable record of reversal by the Supreme  Court, complete with harsh rhetoric, in the last term. We explore that as well as circuit-supreme relations in general – and more.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has been overruled by the Supreme Court more often, and more forcefully, than any other circuit during the past term.  Why?  What are the consequences for the judges of the Fifth Circuit, if any?  Is this a problem for our judicial system, and if so, are there any remedies available?  Listeners to Amarica’s Constitution will not be surprised to learn that Professor Amar has some ideas on this topic.  He also grounds the problems and the solutions in history and structure, and lest one think this is a partisan attack on a conservative court, he tells of his past criticism of the then-ultra-liberal ninth circuit for analogous behavior. 

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

Season 4, Episode 33 (Show 190): Term Limits Made Workable

August 14, 2024

This week we dissect Professor Amar’s own plan for 18 year Supreme Court “so called” term limits, and put it under the microscope as we did for the other plans before Congress.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

Court reform is in the air.  Having presented the problems with the 18 year term proposals before the House and Senate, Professor Amar’s plan deserves its own scrutiny.  We therefore present the plan in detail, explaining the problems that it attempts to solve, the principles it attempts to uphold, and the criticisms it might attract. Since it is a proposal and not yet a statute, it is subject to modification and hopefully improvement, so we invite the audience to chime in with your own critiques and suggestions.  Let’s keep the conversation going.

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

Season 4, Episode 32 (Show 189): How To Get To 18 Years

August 7, 2024

President Biden has announced his Court reform plans, and though short of details, it sounds the 18 year “term limits” bell that we have advocated. So, we analyze.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

The 2021 Biden Commission on the Court has now led – with a big “assistance” from the Court itself – to President Biden’s own plan for Court reform. It is sketchy in many ways, but is entirely consistent with Professor Amar’s long-held views on 18 year active terms for Supreme Court justices, though the President’s proposal lacks the detail of that plan. This is unsurprising in a way since Prof. Amar testified before that Commission.  There are other related plans in proposed statutes that lie in committees of the House and Senate.  We consider the features of all, the flaws we have diagnosed, and we also have some commentary on some other aspects of the President’s proposals, including a possible constitutional amendment.  Lots to consider this week!

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

Season 4, Episode 31 (Show 188): Stepping Aside and Its Implications

July 30, 2024

We’re back early again in the aftermath of President Biden ending his candidacy in a historic act of virtue; what are the constitutional implications?

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

President Biden has stepped aside as a candidate, and as promised, we look at what’s next from a variety of points of view.  Some Republicans, notably the Speaker, are claiming that the President should actually resign or step back under the 25th amendment. What would this mean? Meanwhile, we have a lot more in this early episode, including a reader’s question on Barack Obama; another on Edmund Burke; a preview of an amazing EverScholar program; a preview of Biden’s Supreme Court proposed reform; and more.

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

Season 4, Episode 30 (Show 187): Virtuous Presidents and A Loose Cannon – guest Vikram Amar

July 23, 2024

President Biden steps down (after we recorded this) and this episode is amazingly on point, with its takes on resignations as well as a fantastic analysis of Judge Cannon’s follies by our guest, Professor Vik Amar.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

Resignations are in the air, and our discussion – recorded before President Biden’s actions – offers surprising resonances in its wake.  Meanwhile, our guest, Professor Vik Amar, provides not just a condemnation of Judge Cannon’s recent dismissal of the Trump documents case, but a refutation of the arguments she made, and a recitation of those crucial points, cases, and reasonings which she ignored.  Plus we finally have the details on the EverScholar announcements we have been teasing; 18 year terms are back in the news; and more.  We will be back, possibly early this week depending on developments, with a special episode on President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes:

Season 4, Episode 29 (Show 186): Resignation Realities and Bullets Dodged (Part 4)

July 17, 2024

In the wake of calls for President Biden to withdraw from the race, and the shooting of Donald Trump, we examine the law, history, and tradition surrounding Presidential succession and resignation.

CLE Credit Available for this episode from podcast.njsba.com.

President Biden is hearing calls from many quarters to step down as a candidate.  Donald Trump is shot. Questions of presidential succession and/or resignation abound.  While it may seem these are unique and strange situations that the American republic has never faced, in fact, resignation has been a key American issue for centuries.  Episodes well-known, and others rarely taught, are reviewed on our podcast this week, providing context and counsel for our listeners, and hopefully for the candidates themselves.  The path to Mount Rushmore may take a turn away from the Oval Office, it turns out. 

(LAWYERS AND JUDGES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT by visiting podcast.njsba.com after listening.)

Show Notes: