Passing Judgment

By Jessica LevinsonNews Arts Politics

Passing Judgment episodes

November 13, 2022 Midterm Elections Update! Who will control the House?
Democrats outperformed expectations in the midterm elections. Jessica gives three reasons why historical trends didn't hold in this election, previews what will come next, and shares the best-known secret in American politics - Supreme Court decisions matter!
2 min
November 08, 2022 What led to the rise of Trump and Trumpism? (Guest: David Corn)
It's midterm election eve and all is not quiet. With the control of both houses of Congress hanging in the balance, rising inflation, a staunchly conservative Supreme Court majority and a President with low approval ratings, Americans are poised to go to the polls to determine the direction of the country.
In the midst of this, Jessica talks with David Corn, the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for Mother Jones and author of American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, as well as other books.
What do Barry Goldwater, the Tea Party, and Senator Joe McCarthy have to do with Trumpism? Listen and find out!
2 min
November 06, 2022 Justice Alito's Roe v. Wade 'Truthiness’ & Trump's Legal Strategy
Jessica gives a quick summary of the breaking legal news of the week, including new revelations in a book that call into question some of Justice Samuel Alito’s statements to the late Senator Ted Kennedy about his position on Roe v. Wade, the January 6th Committee’s decision to give Trump another week to produce subpoenaed documents, and the likelihood that Donald Trump will ever sit for a deposition. (Don’t hold your breath.)
2 min
October 30, 2022 Will the Supreme Court end affirmative action programs? Probably.
The Supreme Court is hearing two huge cases dealing with the legality of affirmative action programs. Jessica explains the two cases before the court and what is likely to happen in each case.
2 min
October 29, 2022 Can the 14th Amendment be used to disqualify elected officials involved in Jan 6? (Guest - Noah Bookbinder)
Jessica speaks with Noah Bookbinder, the President and CEO of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW's mission statement outlines the organization's activities to "...use aggressive legal actions, in-depth investigations, and innovative policy and reform work" because "Americans deserve a government that is ethical, accountable, and open."
Noah and Jessica discuss efforts to use the 14th Amendment to disqualify lawmakers involved in the insurrection on January 6th, efforts to reform judicial ethics, and more.
2 min
October 22, 2022 Donald Trump Is Subpoenaed and Deposed, Steve Bannon Is Sentenced
The former president had a no good, very bad legal week. The January 6th Committee served him with a subpoena. He was deposed in a defamation case brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll. And a federal judge found that it is more likely than not that Trump and one of his attorneys, John Eastman, engaged in a crime related to thwarting the peaceful transfer of power. Oh, and Steve Bannon was sentenced for contempt of Congress. Jessica breaks it all down in plain English.
2 min
October 16, 2022 It is going to be another huge term for the Supreme Court. Here is why.
After an earth-shattering term that ended federal protection for abortion in the last term, the 6-3 Supreme Court GOP majority is flexing its power in the new 2022-2023 term. Jessica welcomes the PJP producer and co-host Joe Armstrong back to discuss upcoming cases about redistricting and voting rights, a 1st Amendment case that deals with Andy Warhol (you read that right), a pair of cases that address affirmative action, yet another religious rights and discrimination case, and a doozy of a case with colossal implications that deals with what what is referred to as the independent legislature doctrine. And there is a new justice on the bench, with Ketanji Brown Jackson displaying a keen legal mind in the first oral arguments of the new session.
2 min
October 16, 2022 Why did prosecutors drop the murder charges against Adnan Syed?
Jessica gives a quick update on what happened this week when Baltimore prosecutors decided to drop all charges against Adnan Syed, who has spent the last two decades in prison after being convicted in 2000 of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Syed's story was brought to national attention in the "Serial" podcast and he has consistently claimed to be innocent of the crimes of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment that landed him in jail.
2 min
October 09, 2022 What is the latest in case of the classified docs found at Mar-a-Lago? (Guest: Jose Pagliery)
The Daily Beast's political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery joins Jessica to unravel the morass of legal maneuvers by Donald Trump's lawyers.
2 min
September 30, 2022 Will the Supreme Court Weaken Legal Protections Against Discrimination?
The new Supreme Court term is about to begin and the court is set to hear a number of cases that address legal protections from discrimination. Two of the cases involve voting rights, two more involve affirmative action programs, and another centers on the matchup between free speech rights and freedom from discrimination. How will these cases impact American society? Will the now-entrenched 6-3 conservative majority on the court continue to attempt to push the country to the right?
2 min

About Passing Judgment

From the publisher's feed

Is the constitution in crisis? This podcast is for people who are curious about politics and the law and how the biggest political and legal issues of the moment affect you. Pull up a chair and join host Jessica Levinson, a professor at LMU’s Loyola Law School, and a rotating cast of experts. Jessica will be joined by journalists, politicians, political scientists, lawyers, and many others.