Cases and Controversies

By Bloomberg Law

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Cases and Controversies is a litigation podcast from Bloomberg BNA. From e-discovery to Supreme Court happenings, listen along as Bloomberg BNA breaks down the legal news.

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Latest Abortion Decision th...

10.22.2021

The Texas abortion law will be front and center at the Supreme Court Nov. 1 after the justices agreed to hear argument on an expedited basis over whether the Justice Department can sue despite the law's unusual enforcement mechanism. The ...

Cases and Controversies episodes:

10.22.2021 Latest Abortion Decision the Result of Curious Vote Breakdown The Texas abortion law will be front and center at the Supreme Court Nov. 1 after the justices agreed to hear argument on an expedited basis over whether the Justice Department can sue despite the law's unusual enforcement mechanism. The ...
10.15.2021 Justices Ponder Smoking Centaurs and State Secrets The Supreme Court’s first oral argument sitting of the new term is in the books as the nine-case docket included disputes over state secrets and the Boston Marathon bombing. The MacArthur Justice Center’s Amir Ali joins Bloomberg Law’s Cases and ...
10.08.2021 Marathon Bomber, Abortion Arguments Hit Supreme Court The Supreme Court will hear heavy arguments in a short week including disputes over the Boston Marathon bombing and abortion litigation. On top of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death-penalty case stemming from the 2013 bombing, the justices will also consider whether Kentucky’s ...
10.01.2021 Justices Head Back to Their Courtroom For New Term In-person arguments will resume at the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 4 after the courthouse was shuttered for the past year and a half due to Covid-19. Attendance in the courtroom is limited to staff, arguing attorneys, and a handful of ...
09.24.2021 What’s Happening in the Boston Marathon Bomber Case? When Supreme Court justices return to the courtroom for the new term in October, they’ll consider the government’s quest to reinstate Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentences. The court will hear arguments on Oct. 13 about pretrial publicity and ...
09.03.2021 Summer Abortion Bombshell, Explained The Supreme Court is typically thought to be out most of the summer. But it issued a momentous opinion on abortion rights that came from the court's so-called "shadow docket." For this special episode of Cases and Controversies, hosts Jordan ...
07.02.2021 Term Review with ACLU’s David Cole The Supreme Court handed down the final two opinions of the term in argued cases, in contentious disputes involving voting rights and charity-donor disclosure. Progressives largely bemoaned both rulings, which fell 6-3 along ideological lines in the conservative-majority court. But ...
06.25.2021 All Eyes on Breyer & Final Opinions of the Term The Supreme Court enters what is likely the final week of its term with a handful of cases remaining, including a closely watched one on Arizona ballot restrictions. All eyes, too, will be on Justice Stephen Breyer sometime after the ...
06.18.2021 Blockbuster Opinions! Obamacare, LGBT Among Supreme Court's Latest Cases After weeks of low-profile rulings in technical cases, the justices dropped two of the most anticipated cases of the term on the same day this week. The court handed progressives a 7-2 win by once again upholding Barack Obama's signature ...
06.14.2021 Male-Only Military Draft Here to Stay After Court's Denial The Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the military’s male-only draft, but a statement accompanying the denial from an interesting lineup of justices suggests the issue could come back to the court if Congress doesn’t act. Hogan Lovells partner Cate ...
06.04.2021 American Indian Law at the U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit on immigration and criminal justice, adding to the San Francisco-based appeals court’s string of high court losses. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin break down those cases along with ...
05.28.2021 Supreme Court Punts on Qualified Immunity Again The Supreme Court issued three more opinions before the Memorial Day holiday, leaving the justices with 26 to go before wrapping things up for the term at the end of June. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin ...
05.21.2021 Kavanaugh and Kagan Go to War Over Precedent The right to abortion enshrined in Roe v. Wade is in the crosshairs after the Supreme Court said it would take up a Mississippi case next term dealing with the issue. The high court’s grant kicked off a busy week ...
05.07.2021 Was That Justice Breyer's Last Oral Argument? The Supreme Court heard its last argument of the term—and perhaps the last of Justice Stephen Breyer’s tenure—in a crack-cocaine sentencing case May 4. D.C. Solicitor General Loren Alikhan, who filed a brief supporting the defense, joins Cases and Controversies ...
04.30.2021 Updating Tinker for Social Media: SCOTUS Deep Dive The U.S. Supreme Court confronted how to update its landmark student free speech ruling to accommodate social media and its ubiquitous use among students. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District said schools can't punish on-campus speech unless it ...
04.23.2021 Profane Cheerleader to Have Her Day at Supreme Court (Podcast) The Supreme Court wraps up its April sitting with another full week of arguments ranging from free speech to environmental law to immigration. A student's right to express herself on social media about her high school while on her own ...
04.16.2021 Court Packing Is the Topic Du Jour at Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court enters the term's last full argument sitting as the political fate of the court hangs in the balance with debates over court packing, term limits, and other reforms sweeping the nation. Starting April 19, the justices ...
04.09.2021 Donor Case Creates Strange Alliances Groups representing the spectrum of political ideologies have teamed up to challenge a California law that requires tax-exempt charities to disclose major donors. The state says this information is already required by the federal government and that it's needed to ...
04.02.2021 Supreme Court Dunks on NCAA at Oral Argument The Supreme Court heard argument in the NCAA’s highly-anticipated antitrust appeal over student-athlete compensation on March 31. The court had tough questions for WilmerHale’s Seth Waxman, who represented the NCAA and attempted to defend the unique amateurism status of college ...
03.26.2021 NCAA at Supreme Court: The Perfect March Madness A day after the NCAA wraps up basketball's Elite Eight, the Supreme Court team of nine will consider whether collegiate athletes can receive compensation. The justices will hear argument March 31 in an antitrust case where the Ninth Circuit invalidated ...
03.19.2021 Tribal Powers and Limits Come to Supreme Court Once Again The Supreme Court hears argument in three cases the week of March 22, two dealing with searches and seizures, and a third dealing with property rights in the labor context. The justices will consider Fifth Amendment protections for employers trying ...
03.12.2021 Warrantless Search Case is 'Hard Core' of 4th Amendment (Podcast) Supreme Court justices will hear argument in their latest Fourth Amendment case on March 24 over warrantless law enforcement action. The high court will examine whether the so-called "community caretaking" doctrine permits warrantless searches and seizures of homes. The court ...
03.05.2021 Future of Voting Rights in the Balance at Supreme Court With more proposals at statehouses to restrict voting following the 2020 election, the Supreme Court is considering a case that could make it harder to challenge such laws in federal court. In a just-argued case challenging out-of-precinct voting and ballot ...
02.26.2021 Big Voting Rights Test on Deck at the Supreme Court The Supreme Court wraps up its February sitting with arguments exploring the independence and accountability of federal agencies and the fate of Arizona voting restrictions and their potential wider impact. Cases and Controversies dives into the separation of powers dispute ...
02.19.2021 Supreme Court Returns to Face Water, Immigration, & Warrants The Supreme Court returns from its winter break to hear arguments in three cases dealing with water rights, immigration, and the Fourth Amendment. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin give a sneak peek of the disputes that ...
02.12.2021 It's Florida Versus Georgia in Existential Legal War Over Water The Supreme Court is coming back from its winter break and the first argument on its docket is a fight over water rights between Florida and Georgia. Jennifer Kay, Bloomberg Law’s Florida correspondent, says this dispute is so contentious that, ...
01.29.2021 Roberts Skips Impeachment, and Other Supreme Court Punts The U.S. Supreme Court may be the ultimate arbiter of constitutional questions, but recently its biggest decisions have been ones where the justices have refused to weigh in. From the Chief Justice's refusal to preside over a second impeachment trial ...
01.22.2021 The Inside Story From a Death Row Attorney Lisa Montgomery was executed Jan. 13 by the lame-duck Trump administration despite her lawyers’ best efforts to save her. On the latest Cases and Controversies episode, veteran public defender Kelley Henry gives an inside look at those efforts, which, for ...
01.15.2021 Few Arguments But Lots of Action at the Supreme Court The Supreme Court will hear just two arguments to wrap up the January sitting. But it has been busy—and divided— as it issued orders on executions and medication abortion access during the Covid-19 pandemic. The justices will hear arguments over ...
01.08.2021 With Flipping of Senate, We're Now on 'Breyer Watch' Supreme Court justices kick off the New Year with three arguments that they’ll hear remotely, continuing Covid-19 pandemic precautions. The court will hear disputes related to immigration, speech and religion, and the Federal Trade Commission the week of Jan. 11. ...
12.31.2020 Supremely Notable: Biggest SCOTUS Moments of 2020 From impeachment to historic pandemic-driven change to losing a justice to gaining a new one—it’s been an extraordinary year for the U.S. Supreme Court. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin round up the biggest moments in their ...
12.18.2020 Top SCOTUS Lawyer Talks Business, Family, and Britney In a special Cases and Controversies episode, top Supreme Court lawyer Kannon Shanmugam talks about running a high court practice during a pandemic. Shanmugam gives hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin an inside look at what it's been like running ...
12.11.2020 Saying Goodbye to 2020 at the Supreme Court The Supreme Court wrapped up its arguments for 2020, but there's still work to do before ringing in the new year. Bloomberg Law's Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin detail Texas's last-ditch effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, historic lame ...
12.07.2020 Looted Nazi Art and Facebook Robocalls at High Court The Supreme Court will hear its final arguments of 2020, starting with a pair of cases seeking to reclaim Nazi-looted art. In those cases—Germany v. Philipp and Hungary v. Simon—the justices will consider whether Holocaust survivors and their families can ...
11.27.2020 Introducing: Black Lawyers Speak Despite decades of work to educate more Black lawyers, the percentage of Black associates and partners in firms across the U.S. remain very low, and well below those of other professional careers. Big Law firms across the board are ramping ...
11.27.2020 Census Case Leads Off Latest Week of SCOTUS Arguments The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on a range of issues the week of Nov. 30, starting with a dispute over President Donald Trump’s attempt to keep non-citizens off the Census. The week will end with the latest ...
11.20.2020 SCOTUS Eyes the Off-Ramps for Cases on Census, Religion The Supreme Court still has high-profile cases involving President Donald Trump on its docket as his tenure comes to a close, including disputes involving the Mueller Report and the Census. On the latest Cases and Controversies episode, Bloomberg Law reporters ...
11.13.2020 SCOTUS Likely to Keep Obamacare Intact The justices wrapped up their remote November sitting with one of the most anticipated cases before the justices this term—the challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Akin Gump’s Pratik A. Shah joined “Cases and Controversies” podcast hosts Kimberly Robinson and ...
11.06.2020 Barrett's First Blockbuster Case Comes to SCOTUS The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of the Affordable Care Act—also known as Obamacare—on Nov. 10. It's a short argument week that also includes disputes over immigration and barriers to suing law enforcement. All ears will be ...
10.30.2020 Barrett Takes the Bench and Election Issues Keep Coming In the latest episode of Cases and Controversies, Bloomberg Law reporters Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin bring listeners up to speed on one of the next cases to be heard remotely by phone, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. This will ...
10.23.2020 A Deep Dive into Freedom of Religion at SCOTUS The Supreme Court is gearing up to hear a heated dispute pitting religious rights against LGBTQ rights the day after the election, in what could be an early test for Amy Coney Barrett. William Haun with the Becket Fund for ...
10.16.2020 The Couture and Cuisine of Remote SCOTUS Arguments The Supreme Court’s first argument session of the October 2020 term is in the books and two of the lawyers who argued in it join the latest episode of Cases and Controversies to share their virtual experiences. Ramzi Kassem of ...
10.09.2020 SCOTUS Takes Up Illegal Seizures & Military Sexual Assaults The Supreme Court continues to hear remote arguments in the second week of the term as confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are set to begin. Barrett’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings kick off Monday, a federal holiday. But in ...
10.02.2020 A Ginsburg-Less 'First Monday' at SCOTUS The Supreme Court term kicks off Monday after a shorter-than-usual summer break with only eight justices set to hear 10 cases this month. As in May, all arguments for the sitting will be conducted by phone due to social distancing ...
09.27.2020 Trump Chose Barrett. What Will Democrats Do About It? President Donald Trump nominated Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Sept. 26 to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Sept. 18. It's a move that could reshape the high court and the law for generations. On this ...
09.25.2020 A Somber Start to the Post-Ginsburg Era at SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has raised the Supreme Court’s profile as a confirmation fight over her successor and the presidential campaign converge. Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin look at the future of the court, both in the near- and long-term, ...
09.21.2020 Goodwin Liu on RBG's Legacy of Opinions and Dissents Goodwin Liu, a California Supreme Court Justice, and former law clerk to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, remembers the late Supreme Court Justice on this special episode of Cases & Controversies. Liu talks about Ginsburg’s voracious editing style, and her most memorable ...
09.11.2020 Trump SCOTUS Nominee Shortlist Not Very Short Anymore President Donald Trump announced 20 more potential Supreme Court justices for his "short" list, putting new attention on the high court as the 2020 election approaches. In the latest episode of Cases and Controversies, hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin ...
08.28.2020 Election Law to Get a Workout in Run Up to Nov. 3 Challenges to election laws have poured into the Supreme Court and more are likely as the 2020 election season really heats up after Labor Day. Election law expert Rick Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, joins Cases ...
07.31.2020 SCOTUS Goes to Church—and to the Casinos The Supreme Court keeps generating news despite it being in the thick of what should be a summer vacation. Some of that news involves yet more divided shadow docket orders related to Covid-19. On this episode of Cases and Controversies, ...

Older episodes

Cases and Controversies

What's Cases and Controversies about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Cases and Controversies episodes:

Latest Abortion Decision the Result of Curious Vote Breakdown

Justices Ponder Smoking Centaurs and State Secrets

Marathon Bomber, Abortion Arguments Hit Supreme Court

Justices Head Back to Their Courtroom For New Term

What’s Happening in the Boston Marathon Bomber Case?

Summer Abortion Bombshell, Explained

Term Review with ACLU’s David Cole

All Eyes on Breyer & Final Opinions of the Term

Blockbuster Opinions! Obamacare, LGBT Among Supreme Court's Latest Cases

Male-Only Military Draft Here to Stay After Court's Denial

American Indian Law at the U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court Punts on Qualified Immunity Again

Kavanaugh and Kagan Go to War Over Precedent

Was That Justice Breyer's Last Oral Argument?

Updating Tinker for Social Media: SCOTUS Deep Dive

Profane Cheerleader to Have Her Day at Supreme Court (Podcast)

Court Packing Is the Topic Du Jour at Supreme Court

Donor Case Creates Strange Alliances

Supreme Court Dunks on NCAA at Oral Argument

NCAA at Supreme Court: The Perfect March Madness

Tribal Powers and Limits Come to Supreme Court Once Again

Warrantless Search Case is 'Hard Core' of 4th Amendment (Podcast)

Future of Voting Rights in the Balance at Supreme Court

Big Voting Rights Test on Deck at the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Returns to Face Water, Immigration, & Warrants

It's Florida Versus Georgia in Existential Legal War Over Water

Roberts Skips Impeachment, and Other Supreme Court Punts

The Inside Story From a Death Row Attorney

Few Arguments But Lots of Action at the Supreme Court

With Flipping of Senate, We're Now on 'Breyer Watch'

Supremely Notable: Biggest SCOTUS Moments of 2020

Top SCOTUS Lawyer Talks Business, Family, and Britney

Saying Goodbye to 2020 at the Supreme Court

Looted Nazi Art and Facebook Robocalls at High Court

Introducing: Black Lawyers Speak

Census Case Leads Off Latest Week of SCOTUS Arguments

SCOTUS Eyes the Off-Ramps for Cases on Census, Religion

SCOTUS Likely to Keep Obamacare Intact

Barrett's First Blockbuster Case Comes to SCOTUS

Barrett Takes the Bench and Election Issues Keep Coming

A Deep Dive into Freedom of Religion at SCOTUS

The Couture and Cuisine of Remote SCOTUS Arguments

SCOTUS Takes Up Illegal Seizures & Military Sexual Assaults

A Ginsburg-Less 'First Monday' at SCOTUS

Trump Chose Barrett. What Will Democrats Do About It?

A Somber Start to the Post-Ginsburg Era at SCOTUS

Goodwin Liu on RBG's Legacy of Opinions and Dissents

Trump SCOTUS Nominee Shortlist Not Very Short Anymore

Election Law to Get a Workout in Run Up to Nov. 3

SCOTUS Goes to Church—and to the Casinos

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