Civil Discourse

Aughie and Nia welcome back Hillary Miller for the last in the three part series dealing with the Supreme Court's decisions on trademark and copyright law of the recent term. In this episode, they discuss the use of "regular" words in trademark law in light of the Booking.com decision.  

Nia and Aughie welcome Hillary Miller to discuss trademark protections in the United States. The discussion ranges from logos to regular words used in business marks.

Aughie and Nia welcome Hillary Miller in the first of three episodes exploring the legal aspects of copyright and trademark law. In this episode, the three focus on copyright law as applied by the courts.

Nia and Aughie explore themes from the summer of SCOTUS, from the effects of COVID-19 to who wrote the most opinions. Themes include up and downsides to oral arguments, John Roberts' voting record, rulings all over the ideological spectrum, voting and opinion writing, and the future docket of the Court.

Aughie and Nia discuss the SCOTUS ruling in the case involving the Trump Administration's attempt to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The SCOTUS ruling focused on the Administrative Procedures Act, and whether the Trump Administration properly applied the necessary procedures to rescind DACA.

Aughie and Nia discuss the SCOTUS rulings concerning access to President Donald Trump's tax records, and whether U.S. Presidents can claim absolute immunity from the state criminal process. In the instance of Vance, the SCOTUS ruled that the President does not have immunity from a state criminal subpoena. In the instance of Mazars, the SCOTUS ruled that the Congress must present a compelling case to a judge (and outlined questions that should be asked) to justify their subpoenas.

Nia and Aughie grapple with SCOTUS rulings and questions of racism and Congressional neglect as they pertain to treaties with Native American tribes. In this case, the SCOTUS ruled that the Creek Nation's 1833 and 1856 treaties with the federal government are still in place, bringing into question who has authority over the eastern portion of the state of Oklahoma.

Aughie and Nia follow up an earlier podcast (Electoral College) with the rulings that were pending at that time. In a unanimous decision, the SCOTUS held that electors must follow the rules their states have set out for voting in the electoral college. The SCOTUS also held that states could punish electors that "go rogue". Discussion ensued on the long term effect this may have on the functioning of the Electoral College. 

In the rulings for these two cases, Aughie and Nia wrestle with the competing interests of the 1st Amendment's causes regarding religion, civil rights, and moral exceptions for employers.  In the first case, the SCOTUS ruling upholds the moral or religious exemption from being required to cover their employees' contraception. In the second case, the question of the ministerial exception is explored.

In this long episode, Nia and Aughie talk about three Supreme Court rulings: Seila Law, June Medical, and Espinoza. The Seila ruling considers whether a government official can fine companies, when that official's position may or may not be constitutionally guided. The June Medical ruling concerned the question of undue burden for women seeking abortions. Nia and Aughie disagree on the third ruling, Espinoza (regarding charitable donations and religious schools), but do so civilly.