The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court

By The Citizens Guide to the Supreme Court

Education Comedy Government & Organizations National

What's The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court about?

Brett and Nazim are two attorneys who hate being attorneys. In lieu of practicing law, they have instead developed a podcast to help make the Supreme Court more accessible to the average person. Each week, Brett and Nazim will discuss current Supreme Court cases and how they affect your daily life, while also ruminating on how their dreams of fame and fortune resulted in jokes about Star Wars and wondering how Antoine Scalia thinks about Facebook.

This Podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not legal advice. If anything you hear leads you to believe you need legal advice, please contact an attorney immediately.

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LAST EPISODE

The Annual Thanksgiving Mai...

11.27.2019

This week's episode is a mix of law questions, SCOTUS questions, thanksgiving questions, nonsense questions, and HYBRID questions (which is a mix of at least two) from the listeners. Happy Thanksgiving, and we'll see you next Sunday.

The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court episodes:

11.27.2019 The Annual Thanksgiving Mailbag Episode This week's episode is a mix of law questions, SCOTUS questions, thanksgiving questions, nonsense questions, and HYBRID questions (which is a mix of at least two) from the listeners. Happy Thanksgiving, and we'll see you next Sunday.
11.24.2019 Immigration Door #2 (DACA) This week's episode covers Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, which discusses whether or not the government's decision to wind-down DACA is constitutional, compliant with the APA, and/or just generally morally bankrupt. Law starts from ...
11.17.2019 Out of My Dreams, Into My Car This week's episode is slightly abbreviated, because Nazim is injured and can't laugh without screaming in pain. With that in mind, the case of Kansas v. Glover is discussed, which asks whether the police can assume the registered driver of ...
11.10.2019 Twelve Angry Federalists There are two main points in this week's episode. First, this week's episode covers the case of Ramos v. Louisiana, which asks whether or not the requirement of a unanimous jury verdict applies through the fourteenth amendment. Second, Brett and ...
11.03.2019 Religious Rights Royal Rumble The case of Epinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue is a real Constitutional Main Event. In one corner, is the Establishment Clauses ban on government funding of religious private schools, and in the other is the Free Exercise Clause's argument ...
10.27.2019 Immigration Door #1 This week's episode tackles the first of three immigration cases this year, leading to considerations of law, policy and practicality. Brett and Nazim discuss Kansas v. Garcia, which deals with a State's right to prosecute illegal works using Federal forms, ...
10.20.2019 Its Fun to Sue with the F! D! C! A! This week's episode covers the case of Rotkiske v. Klemm, which asks whether or not the Time of Discovery defense applies to the Fair Debt Collection Practice. You may not know this, but Brett and Nazim are uniquely qualified to ...
10.13.2019 Kansas Giveth, Kansas Taketh Away This week's episode discusses the case of Kahler v. Kansas, which broadly asks the Supreme Court if the insanity defense is protected under the Constitution. Brett and Nazim go through the applicable insanity defenses and eventually discuss the less interesting ...
10.06.2019 Impeachment Pit Dibs on that joke. This week's episode starts the term with a discussion on impeachment, with the judicial and political aspects of the process being the focus, as opposed to whether or not we like President Trump. Law starts from ...
08.18.2019 SEASON FINALE LIVE: Fantasy Things Draft 2020 It's the end of the term, so Brett and Nazim are coming at you LIVE from Brett's living room, covering topics like (1) the best story lines from last year, (2) what story lines will symbolize next year's term, and ...
08.14.2019 GUEST EP: Simon Tam, Bass Player of the Slants Good morning. In this guest episode, Brett talks with Simon Tam, bass player of the band that fought the Lanham Act in Lee v. Tam. Brett and Simon discuss what its like to bring a lawsuit before the Supreme Court, ...
08.11.2019 We Should Have a Public Access TV Show There's a lot of sexy topics at hand this week, as Brett and Nazim discuss uranium mining in Virginia Uranium v. Warren, secret graveyards in Knick v Township of Scott, and backstage drama at public access ala Murphy Brown in ...
08.04.2019 A Docket of Deplorables This week covers a cavalcade of naughty, immoral and scandalous participants who found a mixed bag of justice before the Supreme Court, including Iancu v. Brunetti (dirty-named clothing designers), Flowers v. Mississippi (racist prosecutors), and Gundy v. U.S. (the U.S. ...
07.28.2019 A Real Threat or a Mere Shadow This week's episode discusses the recent passing of former Justice John Paul Stevens before turning to American Humanist Society v. American Legion, which covers whether or not a 100 year old cross violates the Establishment Clause. Law starts at (07:30) ...
07.21.2019 Go Home Admin Law, You're Drunk It's a tough week for small government, as the Auer doctrine, the 21st Amendment, and local business associations all took one on this chin from the Supreme Court. Brett and Nazim discuss agency deference in Kisor v. Wilkie, and the ...
07.14.2019 It's Concurring Opinion Season This week's episode discusses the two criminal cases of Gable v. US and Mitchell v. Wisconsin, covering (1) why the double jeopardy clause is needlessly hard, (2) why Wisconsin gets to keep their Vampire Laws in effect, and (3) what ...
07.07.2019 Good Night, Sweet Political Questions This week's episode covers the two political cases that highlighted the last day of the term, as Nazim gets indignant about the death of political gerrymanddering cases in Rucho v Common Cause, Brett recounts his China trip, and Roberts sits ...
06.30.2019 A Summer of Sequels This week's episode covers topics that have roots in previous episodes, from the case of Quarles v. U.S., which covers the continued evolution of the Armed Career Criminals Act, to Nieves v. Bartlett, which covers whether probable cause defeats a ...
06.23.2019 It's Breyer Time, Part 2 As a supplement to last week's episode, Brett and Nazim cover the case of Bucklew v. Precyth, which discusses whether or not an individual can contest the death penalty on grounds that it would impose extreme pain just on him, ...
06.16.2019 It's Breyer Time! This week's episodes cover a collection of cases that deal with everyone's slightly vanilla, left-wing centrist judge, as the cases of Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus (attorney application under the FDCA), Taggart v. Lorenzon (test for violating bankruptcy discharge), and ...
06.09.2019 The Health Care System Likes to Cha-Cha-Cha It's summertime, people, and what better way to ring in the season than discussing two procedural cases involving the health care system. The case of Azar v. Allina Health Services deals with administrative procedure in Medicare rules, and Merk v. ...
06.02.2019 Fourth Annual Summit on Guns (and Abortion) This year's summit on guns (covering the case of New York Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. New York) was rudely interrupted by an abortion case (Box v. Planned Parenthood), thus creating a Voltron-like Supreme Court podcast where no one is ...
05.26.2019 A Memorial-Day-Weekend Kind of Episode Listen gang, it's a holiday. Although this episode covers two decisions (Herrera v. Wyoming & Washing State Licensing Department v. Cougar Den), this episode has all the seriousness of an afternoon BBQ where Brett and Nazim cumulatively eat nine hotdogs. ...
05.19.2019 Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Hyatt Decision?? It's finally decision season, and Brett and Nazim are covering two cases with broader implications for the future. First is Apple v. Pepper, which deals with conservative and evolutionary approaches to anti-trust common law, and the second is Franchise Tax ...
05.12.2019 I, Debt-Monger The dreaded BORING TERM strikes again, as Brett and Nazim take a stab at covering bankruptcy law. This episode discusses general bankruptcy practice withing the scope of Taggart v. Lorenzen, which asks whether a creditor who violates the automatic stay ...
05.05.2019 Chekhov's Dreadful Gay Rights Cases Brett and Nazim are on their best behavior this week, as the episode deals with three LGBT cases that the Supreme Court decided to hear for next term. The main case R.G. & G.R. Funeral Homes v. EEOC, deals with ...
04.28.2019 California v. Nevada Death Match The case of California Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt should be enough for an exciting episode (dealing with federalism, State immunity, and precedent) that Brett and Nazim could stick to the issues, but as all good episodes go, this one ...
04.21.2019 Do You Wanna Hear a Secret? This week's episode covers the Freedom of Information Act, and how the Court will look at the pending case of Food Market Institute v. Argus Leader Media, which asks whether or not customer information is "confidential" to bar disclosure under ...
04.14.2019 The Constitutionality of Vampire Laws Look out drunks, because Wisconsin is coming for your blood. This week's episode covers the case of Mitchell v. Wisconsin, which asks whether the police can take the blood of a passed out drunk driver without a warrant. Brett and ...
04.07.2019 Admin Law Under Attack (???/!!!) This week's case covers Kisor v. Wlkie, which specifically questions whether or not Supreme Court precedent that defers to agency interpretations of their own regulations is Constitutional. This case covers admin law in general, when a Court should overturn precedent, ...
03.31.2019 We're a True Crime Podcast Now Brett and Nazim have gone big-time, as this week's episode covers Flowers v. Mississippi, a criminal Batson challenge case that's far more famous for being ripe for podcast commentary. In place of ephemeral music and gotcha journalism, Brett and Nazim ...
03.24.2019 Presidential Free-Style Hold on to your butts gang, cuz Brett and Nazim are talking THE WALL! By way of background, Brett is sick with Kathleen Turner voice and Nazim has one foot on the door with busy weekend plans, so this episode ...
03.17.2019 The Good Guys and Bad Guys of Gerrymandering AKA THIS AGAIN. This week's episode takes a dive into the last four years of gerrymandering cases to suss out what the Court is talking about in the current cases of Virginia v. Bethune-Hill (2019), Lamone v. Benisk, and Rucho ...
03.10.2019 It's Dissenting Opinion Season This week covers the recent opinions in Timbes v. Indiana (Excessive fines and the Incorporation Doctrine), Madison v. Alabama (Death Penalty Capacity, and Garza v. Idaho (Ineffective Assistance for Appeals), but more importantly, it's time for wild dissents and the ...
03.03.2019 Census? They Hardly Knew Us! This immaculately titled episode covers the case of Department of Commerce v. New York as a play in two parts. The first part discusses the policy merits of asking a citizenship question on the census, the second predicts whether the ...
02.24.2019 Booze & Federalism In honor of the Verona High School Debate Team (the East Coast's best High School Debate Team obv), Brett and Nazim debate the value of winning a boat, numbers, state flags, bacon, federalism, getting drunk, buying birth control on Amazon, ...
02.17.2019 Math Fights: Civil Forfeiture The case of Timbs v. Indiana poses a very outcome dependent question of whether or not civil forfeiture is unfair and poorly managed, so to keep this podcast interesting, Brett and Nazim go through each argument for and against and ...
02.10.2019 The Abortion Cases of Tomorrow, TODAY! In response to the Supreme Court's late night session last Thursday, Brett and Nazim discuss the Court's recent injunction of the Louisiana Abortion Statute, and the Court's reversal of a death penalty stay in Alabama for a defendant who was ...
02.03.2019 Is Congress Incompetent? A Play in Two Parts I know that title is supposed to be a cliff-hanger, but the answer is yes. In support of such a thesis, Brett and Nazim discuss the Court's holdings in New Prime v. Oliveira and U.S. v. Stokeling, which both discuss ...
01.27.2019 Anti Trust Falls This week's episode covers a case that is not even a fraction of as delicious as it sounds, Apple, Inc. v. Pepper, which covers whether Apple is engaging in Anti-Trust violations for how they allow apps on to your iPhone. ...
01.20.2019 Hot News From Hot Dudes 2019 Like all great podcasts, Brett and Nazim have devoted this week's episode to all the topical news stories from two weeks ago, including Ginsburg's health and the practicality of term limits, the Mueller investigation's mystery corporation, and Judge Kav-another-beer's first ...
01.13.2019 Is This Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Part 4 America's favorite game returns, as Brett and Nazim decide whether Garza v. Idaho (can a lawyer override a client's request for an appeal when the client waived appellate rights pursuant to a plea agreement) constitutes Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, along ...
01.06.2019 Barristers Always Pay Their Debts Today's episode covers the specific nuances underlying Obdusky v. McCarthy and Holthus, a case with topics as sexy as the names in its caption, including debt collection, mortgages, and statutory interpretation. Brett and Nazim spice it up even further by ...
12.30.2018 Decisions, Decisions Brett and Nazim celebrate the holiday lull between Xmas and New Years by discussing the recent decisions in Stitt v. US (ACCA interpretation of burglary) and Mount Lemon Fire District v. Guido (ADA interpretation of government agencies), while also vamping ...
12.23.2018 The Blake Bortles of Supreme Court Cases Just in time for the holidays, this week's episode covers the case of American Legion v. American Humanist Association, which asks the Court whether a 93-year-old monument to World War I veterans violates the Establishment Clause because it is shaped ...
12.16.2018 Jam Master Judiciary This week's episode takes a long over-due detour into the world of International Law, as Brett and Nazim discuss Jam v. International Finance Corp., which discusses whether or not International Organizations are entitled to the same immunity protections as the ...
12.09.2018 The One with Harrison's Homework This week's episode centers on a listener email, in which an intrepid college student shared a sample opinion he wrote for Virginia Uranium v. Warren (a case about federal preemption of State law), and now Brett and Nazim have to ...
12.02.2018 He's the Burglar, I'm the Robber This week's episode takes a deep dive into the Armed Career Criminal Act, a Federal Sentencing Enhancement Statute that is regularly before the Supreme Court on interpretation issues. Brett and Nazim discuss U.S. v. Stitt (Is Burglary of a Mobile ...
11.21.2018 Thanksgiving Mailbag Episode Brett and Nazim celebrate Thanksgiving early by taking questions from listeners about the law, Thanksgiving, and random things like whether a straw has one hole or two. The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court will return on December 2nd.
11.18.2018 Takings Clause, Civil Procedure, and MAYBE a Cemetary This week's episode discusses Knick v. Township of Scott, PA, which on its face deals with the correct forum for Takings Clause cases, but on the sly is probably the best fact pattern we've dealt with so far on the ...

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