Justia Verdict Podcast | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

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Legal analysis and commentary from Justia.com with the columinst team of Vikram Amar, Neil Buchanan, Sherry Colb, John Dean, Michael Dorf, Joanna Grossman, Marci Hamilton, Julie Hilden, Joanne Mariner and Anita Ramasastry.

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Justia Verdict Podcast | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia episodes:

02.18.2019
Complicity in Trump’s Bogus Emergency
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency after Congress denied him most of the funding he requested for a border wall. Dorf describes the legal framework that allows the president to do...
02.06.2019
Justifying External Support for Regime Change in Venezuela
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the recognition by the United States and some other constitutional democracies of Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader pending new elections. Dorf points out that many countries suffer under incompetent, corrupt, and...
01.23.2019
How Should the Law Address Illicit Motives in the Age of Trump?
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a case arising from the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire—a case the US Supreme Court had on its calendar for oral arguments until late...
01.09.2019
Why Facebook’s Hate-Speech Policy Makes So Little Sense
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on Facebook’s global efforts to block hate speech and other offensive content and explains why formula-based policy necessarily makes very little sense. As Dorf explains, accurate determinations of hate speech require cultural understanding...
12.21.2018
Obamacare Nonseverability Ruling Exposes Uncertainty in our Conception of Law
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the recent ruling by a federal district judge in Texas striking down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act and argues that the judge relies on a highly unorthodox (and erroneous) interpretation...
12.12.2018
Double Jeopardy Case in Supreme Court is About More than Trump
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the double jeopardy question raised in Gamble v. United States, in which the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week, and explains how the extraordinary nature of the Trump presidency should inform...
11.28.2018
The Department of Education’s Title IX Power Grab
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the Department of Education’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking rules requiring due process protections for those accused of sexual assault or harassment in Title IX cases. Dorf provides a history of Title IX,...
11.14.2018
Matthew Whitaker and the Constitution’s Appointments Gaps
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf considers the legality of President Donald Trump’s firing of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and designating Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General. Dorf points out that while the Constitution does not expressly address acting...
10.31.2018
Justice O’Connor Withdraws From Public Life, and the Reagan Court is Finally Born
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the announcement that retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor would be withdrawing from public life and explains how, ironically, the exit of President Ronald Reagan’s Supreme Court nominees is giving rise...
10.17.2018
Trump’s—and the GOP’s—Hat Trick of Falsehoods About Pre-Existing Conditions
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf debunks President Trump’s claim that he has kept his campaign promise to “protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions.” Dorf provides three primary reasons that the claim is dishonest: the administration’s position in a...
10.03.2018
Could the Conservative Attack on the Administrative State be Good for Net Neutrality—and for Progressive Regulation More Generally?
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf anticipates the possible next steps in the federal government’s lawsuit against California over the state’s new law mandating net neutrality. Dorf explains why, if conservative scholars and Supreme Court justices succeed in what seems...
09.19.2018
Can a Vegan Win the Presidency?
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf considers whether a vegan generally, and New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker specifically, would have a shot of winning the presidency in 2020. Dorf explains how food plays an important role in politics and...
09.05.2018
Trump Can Destroy NAFTA Alone But Cannot Replace It Without Congressional Help
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf explains why President Trump can unilaterally undermine NAFTA but cannot act to replace it without help from Congress. Dorf distinguishes treaties from “congressional-executive agreements” (NAFTA is an example of the latter), and he points...
08.22.2018
The Ongoing Salience of Brett Kavanaugh’s Lurid Memo to Ken Starr
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the recently publicized memorandum Brett Kavanaugh wrote in 1998 in the course of his work for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who was conducting the investigation of President Bill Clinton. Dorf points out...
08.08.2018
Why I Didn’t Sign the Kennedy Clerks’ Letter Supporting Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf describes why he chose not to join the 72 other former law clerks of Justice Anthony Kennedy who signed a letter urging the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Dorf explains that the letter is...
07.25.2018
FDA Plan to Censor “Milk” in Plant-Based Food Names May Violate the First Amendment
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf explains why the FDA’s recent announcement that it intends to restrict the word “milk” on food labels may present First Amendment issues. Dorf points to the US Supreme Court’s decision last year in Matal...
07.11.2018
Can State Supreme Courts Protect Liberal Constitutionalism in the Coming Era of Reactionary SCOTUS Jurisprudence?
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the suggestion that liberals who are distressed about the impending era of reactionary US Supreme Court jurisprudence should focus efforts on change at the level of state supreme courts. Without discouraging such...
06.27.2018
Silver Linings in an Otherwise Disappointing Travel Ban Ruling
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf condemns the Supreme Court’s 5–4 decision upholding President Trump’s travel ban but describes a few silver linings that the ruling contains. Specifically, Dorf points out that the majority left open the possibility of future...
06.13.2018
Originalism, the Contracts Clause, and the Sveen Case
Cornell law professor Michael C. Dorf argues that the form of originalism typically espoused by scholars—in which constitutional interpretation aims to recover the original public meaning of the text—often ends up being abused in practice. Judges and justices borrow the...
05.30.2018
Far-Reaching Implications of a Narrow Supreme Court Ruling on Tribal Sovereign Immunity
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren, but more specifically the implications of Chief Justice Roberts’s concurrence in that case. Dorf argues that the Chief Justice’s...
05.16.2018
AT&T’s Hiring of Michael Cohen Was a “Big Mistake,” But Was It More?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses a statement by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson calling his company’s decision to hire Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen “a big mistake.” Dorf describes under what circumstances AT&T’s hiring of Cohen would...
05.02.2018
Appeals Court Rejects PETA’s “Monkey Selfie” Case
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent Ninth Circuit decision rejecting an effort by PETA to bring a copyright lawsuit on behalf of Naruto, a crested macaque. Dorf points out that while the result in that...
04.18.2018
Judicial Nominee Refuses to Say Whether Brown v. Board Was Rightly Decided
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on an exchange during the confirmation hearing of Wendy Vitter, whom President Trump has nominated for a federal district court judgeship, in which Vitter declined to answer whether she thought Brown v....
04.04.2018
Requiem for Reinhardt, Chief Justice of the Warren Court in Exile
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf writes a tribute to renowned Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, who passed away last week. Dorf, who served as law clerk to Judge Reinhardt, extols...
03.21.2018
Does the Constitution Permit a State to Abolish Marriage?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf considers whether, in protest of the Supreme Court’s recognition of the constitutional right to same-sex marriage, states can “get out of the marriage business” altogether. Dorf explains that abolishing marriage for everyone likely...
03.07.2018
Supreme Court Divides Over What a Law Is
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent sharply divided decision by the US Supreme Court in Patchak v. Zinke, in which Court considered whether a particular piece of legislation actually constitutes a law. Dorf explains why...
02.21.2018
Mass Shootings and the Supreme Court
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf describes the underappreciated role of the US Supreme Court in shaping public opinion and discussion of gun regulations. Specifically, Dorf explains that the Court's seminal decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and...
02.07.2018
The Meaning of Trump’s Plan to Keep Gitmo Open
Cornell University Michael C. Dorf explains the symbolism of President Donald Trump's announcement during his State of the Union address that he would be keeping the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay open. Dorf points out that despite the extraordinarily high...
01.24.2018
Travel Ban 3.0 Heads to the Supreme Court: Win or Lose the Battle, the Resistance is Winning the War
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf argues that regardless of the outcome of President Trump's "Travel Ban 3.0" before the US Supreme Court, the litigation challenging the Travel Ban should be regarded as a victory over Trump's effort to...
01.10.2018
Two (But Only Two) Jeers for Enforcing the Federal Marijuana Law in Legalized States
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the recent announcement by Attorney General Sessions that the Trump Department of Justice was rescinding an Obama administration policy toward state-legal marijuana. Dorf argues that the policy shift breaks promises by...
12.27.2017
The New Tax Law Punishes Blue States: Is That Constitutional?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf considers whether the new tax law, which disproportionally affects “blue” states as compared to “red” states due to changes to the deductions for state and local taxes (SALT), is unconstitutional. Dorf explains some...
12.12.2017
Liberty and Equality Sometimes Require Tragic Choices, Just Not in Masterpiece Cakeshop
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf explains why the Masterpiece Cakeshop case before the US Supreme Court—in which the Court will decide whether a baker may refuse to serve a gay couple based on his religious beliefs—does not present...
11.29.2017
Why Washington Reacts More Slowly to Sexual Misconduct Allegations Than Hollywood
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf considers the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations in the political sphere and entertainment industry, and notes how much less inclined to action and condemnation the former is compared to the latter. Dorf...
11.15.2017
Do Trump’s Attacks on CNN Render Unconstitutional the Justice Department’s Effort to Block AT&T’s Acquisition of Time Warner?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf considers how President Trump’s attacks on CNN affect the Justice Department’s efforts to block AT&T’s proposed purchase of Time Warner (by requiring AT&T to sell off Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN,...
11.01.2017
The Troublingly Widening Gyre of Complicity Claims
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf describes a principle most famously articulated by Thomas Jefferson, under which there should be a right to avoid providing financial support for causes one strongly opposes. Dorf argues that the Jeffersonian principle has...
10.18.2017
Can Congress Ban Bump Stocks?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf explains why, if Congress wants to ban or further regulated the sale of “bump stocks,” it should act quickly or risk missing the window in which regulation is possible. Dorf points out that...
10.04.2017
What’s Different—And What Isn’t—About Travel Ban 3.0
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf describes some of the key similarities and differences between the most recent iteration of President Trump’s ban on entry to the US by certain foreign nationals (“Travel Ban 3.0”) and earlier versions, and...
09.20.2017
Supreme Court of Israel Requires Ultra-Orthodox Men to Perform Military Service
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent decision by the Israel Supreme Court holding that the government’s policy of exempting Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) from military service was unconstitutional discrimination. Dorf describes the background of the legal...
09.06.2017
Supreme Court of India Protects a Right to Privacy
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent decision by the Supreme Court of India in which that court ruled that the Constitution of India protects a right of privacy. Dorf explains the significance of the decision...
08.23.2017
Free Speech Issues Raised by Internet Companies Denying Service to Neo-Nazi Sites
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf uses the refusal of private internet domain registrars to do business with neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer to illustrate the need for a change in the law. Dorf acknowledges that in the case...
08.09.2017
What Do Colleges Have to Fear From Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Affirmative Action Policy?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf highlights some potentially dangerous consequences of the Justice Department’s recent indication that it would be investigating and suing colleges and universities that practice affirmative action. Dorf points out that the executive branch holds...
07.26.2017
Would a Trump Self-Pardon Precipitate a Constitutional Crisis?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf argues that if President Trump were to pardon himself, that action itself would not cause a constitutional crisis, but other actions Trump has already taken have already placed us far along a road...
07.12.2017
Can a Presidential Candidate Get Away With Defamatory Lying?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf analyzes the arguments made by Donald Trump’s lawyers in defending against Summer Zervos’s defamation suit against him, specifically the argument that Trump’s comments were mere “hyperbole” and “fiery rhetoric,” which, in the context...
06.27.2017
Trump’s Travel Ban Heads to the Supreme Court
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses possible implications and outcomes of the Supreme Court’s recent announcement that it will review the appeals court decisions invalidating President Trump’s travel ban executive order. Dorf explains the issue of mootness and...
06.14.2017
Supreme Court Rules That Citizenship Must Be Equally Heritable Through Fathers and Mothers
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the heritability of citizenship and explains why the decision might have implications for other immigration issues, such as the “Muslim ban” executive...
05.31.2017
What Gianforte’s Special Election Victory Teaches About Freedom of the Press
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the recent election of Republican Greg Gianforte in Montana, despite Gianforte’s being charged with misdemeanor assault for body-slamming a reporter. Dorf considers the broader implications of voters’ apparent indifference to the...
05.10.2017
What Employment Discrimination Law Teaches About the Comey Firing
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on President Trump’s decision Tuesday night to fire FBI Director James Comey. Though Title VII obviously does not apply to Trump’s action, Dorf analogizes to the framework used in Title VII employment...
05.03.2017
A Hundred-Plus Days of Incompetent Lawyering and Attempts to Delegitimate Dissent
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf describes President Trump’s first hundred days in office as characterized by incompetence and efforts to delegitimate the courts and the press. Dorf argues that the incompetence runs throughout Trump’s administration, not only in...
04.19.2017
Was Trump’s Bombing Syria Legal—And Does It Matter?
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf comments on the legality of President Trump’s missile strike on a Syrian airbase under domestic and international law. Dorf describes the different stakes under domestic and international law of permitting military intervention for...
04.05.2017
Credit Cards and the Disturbingly Widening Gyre of Free Speech
Cornell University law professor Michael C. Dorf explains the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding New York credit card surcharge laws as free speech. Dorf argues that the decision reflects an alarming trend of the Roberts Court...

What's Justia Verdict Podcast | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Justia Verdict Podcast | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia episodes:

Complicity in Trump’s Bogus Emergency

Justifying External Support for Regime Change in Venezuela

How Should the Law Address Illicit Motives in the Age of Trump?

Why Facebook’s Hate-Speech Policy Makes So Little Sense

Obamacare Nonseverability Ruling Exposes Uncertainty in our Conception of Law

Double Jeopardy Case in Supreme Court is About More than Trump

The Department of Education’s Title IX Power Grab

Matthew Whitaker and the Constitution’s Appointments Gaps

Justice O’Connor Withdraws From Public Life, and the Reagan Court is Finally Born

Trump’s—and the GOP’s—Hat Trick of Falsehoods About Pre-Existing Conditions

Could the Conservative Attack on the Administrative State be Good for Net Neutrality—and for Progressive Regulation More Generally?

Can a Vegan Win the Presidency?

Trump Can Destroy NAFTA Alone But Cannot Replace It Without Congressional Help

The Ongoing Salience of Brett Kavanaugh’s Lurid Memo to Ken Starr

Why I Didn’t Sign the Kennedy Clerks’ Letter Supporting Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh

FDA Plan to Censor “Milk” in Plant-Based Food Names May Violate the First Amendment

Can State Supreme Courts Protect Liberal Constitutionalism in the Coming Era of Reactionary SCOTUS Jurisprudence?

Silver Linings in an Otherwise Disappointing Travel Ban Ruling

Originalism, the Contracts Clause, and the Sveen Case

Far-Reaching Implications of a Narrow Supreme Court Ruling on Tribal Sovereign Immunity

AT&T’s Hiring of Michael Cohen Was a “Big Mistake,” But Was It More?

Appeals Court Rejects PETA’s “Monkey Selfie” Case

Judicial Nominee Refuses to Say Whether Brown v. Board Was Rightly Decided

Requiem for Reinhardt, Chief Justice of the Warren Court in Exile

Does the Constitution Permit a State to Abolish Marriage?

Supreme Court Divides Over What a Law Is

Mass Shootings and the Supreme Court

The Meaning of Trump’s Plan to Keep Gitmo Open

Travel Ban 3.0 Heads to the Supreme Court: Win or Lose the Battle, the Resistance is Winning the War

Two (But Only Two) Jeers for Enforcing the Federal Marijuana Law in Legalized States

The New Tax Law Punishes Blue States: Is That Constitutional?

Liberty and Equality Sometimes Require Tragic Choices, Just Not in Masterpiece Cakeshop

Why Washington Reacts More Slowly to Sexual Misconduct Allegations Than Hollywood

Do Trump’s Attacks on CNN Render Unconstitutional the Justice Department’s Effort to Block AT&T’s Acquisition of Time Warner?

The Troublingly Widening Gyre of Complicity Claims

Can Congress Ban Bump Stocks?

What’s Different—And What Isn’t—About Travel Ban 3.0

Supreme Court of Israel Requires Ultra-Orthodox Men to Perform Military Service

Supreme Court of India Protects a Right to Privacy

Free Speech Issues Raised by Internet Companies Denying Service to Neo-Nazi Sites

What Do Colleges Have to Fear From Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Affirmative Action Policy?

Would a Trump Self-Pardon Precipitate a Constitutional Crisis?

Can a Presidential Candidate Get Away With Defamatory Lying?

Trump’s Travel Ban Heads to the Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules That Citizenship Must Be Equally Heritable Through Fathers and Mothers

What Gianforte’s Special Election Victory Teaches About Freedom of the Press

What Employment Discrimination Law Teaches About the Comey Firing

A Hundred-Plus Days of Incompetent Lawyering and Attempts to Delegitimate Dissent

Was Trump’s Bombing Syria Legal—And Does It Matter?

Credit Cards and the Disturbingly Widening Gyre of Free Speech