In this episode of This is Democracy, Jeremi and Zachary talk with professor in law Stephen Vladeck about federalism and the recent focus on protests and law enforcement in Portland.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, entitled "Still."

Stephen I. Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) is the A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law at the University of Texas School of Law and a nationally recognized expert on the federal courts, constitutional law, national security law, and military justice. Professor Vladeck has argued multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts; has served as an expert witness both in U.S. and foreign tribunals; and has been repeatedly recognized for his influential and widely-cited legal scholarship, his prolific popular writing, his teaching, and his service to the legal profession.

Vladeck published an important article in the Washington Post on July 25 about the contemporary constitutional issues surrounding the use of federal force in American cities: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/25/are-trump-administrations-actions-portland-legal-are-they-constitutional/