Sarah and David tackle the events of last week: the verdict in the Alex Jones case, and the story of Breonna Taylor and the court’s surprising indictments of several police officers. Should there be monetary limits on punitive damages? And why, in this day and age, does everything need to be entertaining? Plus: Our hosts explore what court precedent actually lurks behind the concept of shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

Show Notes:

-New York Times: What To Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death

-French Press: Supreme Court Precedent Killed Breonna Taylor

-U.S. v. Perez

-Schenck v. United States

-New York Times: I Didn’t Want It to be True, But the Medium Really is the Message

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Sarah and David have a lot to talk about as the midterm primaries wrap up and federal lawsuits are filed stateside. What is former President Trump’s role in the midterm elections, or does he even have one? Also on the agenda: near-total abortion bans and pro-life amendments face a difficult path in Idaho and Kansas, and Justice Samuel Alito goes to Rome.

Show Notes:

-The Sweep: What We Learned

-Blake Masters campaign ad

-Washington Post: Justice Dept. sues Idaho over near-total abortion ban coming Aug. 25

-Idaho Statutes

-French Press: A Crucial Court Case Exposes the Darkness of America’s Worst Industry

-Fleites v. MindGeek

-Justice Samuel Alito delivers keynote address in Rome

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It’s August, and so David and Sarah are taking a break from court coverage and legal issues. Steven Pressfield, author of A Man at Arms, joins Sarah and David to kick off the month with a deep dive into what it’s like to write historical fiction set in the ancient world. Pressfield explains his mechanisms for creating fascinating stories and three-dimensional characters. What is the key to bringing history back to life? Plus: Steven gives some tried-and-true advice to aspiring writers.

Show Notes:

-A Man at Arms

-Steven Pressfield’s books

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Arkansas federal district judge Lee Rudofsky joins Sarah and David to give a guided tour of corpus linguistics, a recent but fascinating tool for jurists. How do corpus linguistics help define constitutional concepts and definitions? Plus, our hosts pick apart an article about the possible leaker of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health opinion.

Show Notes:

-Wilson v. Safelite

-New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen

-Salt Lake City Corp. v. Haik

-Muscarello v. United States

-United States v. Rice

-CNN: The inside story of how John Roberts failed to save abortion rights

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Former federal judge John Michael Luttig joins Sarah and David to detail his involvement in the events leading up to January 6, 2021. He reveals the story behind his tweet thread on January 5 that ended up on the front page of the New York Times, and the problems with the Electoral Count Act of 1887. Plus: Luttig walks us through his comprehensive, published study refuting election fraud claims in the 2020 election.

Show Notes:

-Judge Luttig’s January 6 testimony

-Judge Luttig’s January 5 tweet thread

-Lost Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Election

-The Dispatch: A 2020 Election Report ‘By Conservatives, For Conservatives’

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David and Sarah return to discussions they had with their last guest, professor Akhil Amar, including living constitutionalism and the question of whether to let voters or jurists decide issues of justice. Then our hosts dive into the University of Pennsylvania controversy concerning the limits of academic freedom at the private Ivy League institution. Plus: the Biden administration’s bid to clarify abortion protections in the Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Act.

Show Notes:

-AO: Akhil Amar Talks Liberal Originalism

-University of Pennsylvania Law Dean’s Report Regarding Amy Wax

-Biden admin looks to protect doctors providing emergency abortions, and warn those who don’t

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Sarah and David kick off the week with an exciting discussion of liberal constitutional originalism with Akhil Amar, author of The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, and constitutional law professor at Yale University. Our guest gives a dynamic perspective of the decision in Roe v. Wade, as well as dives into the nitty-gritty of the varying modes of constitutional interpretation. Who gets to decide what the common good is? Are philosophers really as smart as they think they are?

Show Notes:

-The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation

-Amarica’s Constitution

-Eradicating Bush-League Arguments Root and Branch: The Article III Independent-State-Legislature Notion and Related Rubbish

-Time: Why Liberal Justices Need to Start Thinking Like Conservatives

-New York Times: The Constitution Is More Than a Document—It’s a Conversation

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David and Sarah cover a full spectrum of cases and interesting news today. First up: Will a judge order Elon Musk to buy Twitter? Our hosts address the Texas res judicata case (pronunciation courtesy of a Latin expert); Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) laws; and an abortion travel case. They also answer a question from listeners about the Second Amendment and militia precedent.

Show Notes:

-Twitter v. Musk complaint

-Skiriotes v. Florida

-Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin

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David and Sarah are joined by Kannon Shanmugam, partner at Paul Weiss, for their now traditional end-of-term Supreme Court case roundup. Was this the most significant Supreme Court term of our lifetimes? Plus: it wouldn’t be a traditional episode with Kannon Shanmugam without another round of barbeque reviews.

Show Notes:

-TMD: The End of ‘Pen and Phone’

-Washington Post: A firm’s split with its star gun-case lawyer shows what ails the left

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David and Sarah begin by going through SCOTUSblog’s end-of-term Stat Pack. Then Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, joins for a deep dive into the Kennedy v. Bremerton School District Supreme Court case. Hiram, who was co-counsel on the case, explains the story and talks about Coach Joseph Kennedy from a more personal point of view. How did the facts become so muddled throughout the process? Our hosts have a lively debate about how the case could have—or should have—been handled.

Show Notes:

-SCOTUSblog Stat Pack

-Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist.

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