Voting Rights and the U.S. Supreme Court

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart interviews civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill about the history of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and the effect of the recent Court decision in the case of Louisiana v. Callais which for all purposes removed the last protections of the Act. Ifill provides a very clear presentation of the history of black voting. Stewart is funny at times, but does a good job of asking the right questions. 20 min. subtitles available.

 Birthright Citizenship before the U.S. Supreme Court    

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a challenge to President Trump's executive order abolishing birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment has been understood since it was adopted to grant citizenship to children born in the United States with minor exceptions. NPR's Nina Totenberg interviews experts on both sides of the question in this video. 10 min. subtitles available.

 U.S. Supreme Court Begins a New Term

NPR's Nina Totenberg has a preview of cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in their new term which starts this week. 4 min., 38 sec. transcript available.

Another presentation of some cases in the coming term in a Wall Street Journal podcast can be found here. 24 min. transcript available.

Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.

NPR's legal correspondent Nina Totenberg has this report about the state of the question of whether children, born in the U.S., of undocumented immigrants are U.S. citizens. 3 min. 12 sec., transcript available.

For a historical presentation of the question, NPR's Throughline has this hour-long episode, originally broadcast in 2022 under the heading By Accident of Birth. transcript available.

History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.

PBS has a special report on the history of birthright citizenship in the United States. 8 min. 35 sec. transcript available.

Immigration Law in the U.S. - History

PBS has just aired a ten-minute "deep dive" segment into the history of immigration law in the U.S. to put into context the sweeping changes in the law President Trump wishes to make. Transcript available.

SCOTUS and Gender-affirming Medical Care

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments concerning the constitutionality of a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors under 18. The Court must decide if the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. PBS News reports on this case here. 9 min. 25 sec. video, transcript available.

 SCOTUS on Presidential Immunity    

On the last day of this term (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark opinion (6-3) expanding presidential immunity. The dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor is fiery. 

NPR's coverage includes a 4 minute episode on All Things Considered by Nina Totenberg - transcript available, a 10 minute one on Morning Edition - transcript available and a 16 minute one on Consider This.

PBS NewsHour has an interview with historian Heather Cox Richardson who explains what a revolution this decision is in American law. 6 min. transcript available.

Trump in the Ballot?

NPR's program Consider This has an interview with University of Chicago law professor Aziz Huq about the case before the U.S. Supreme Court deciding if section three of the 14th Amendment applies to
Donald Trump. 

The case will be argued before the Court Thursday February 8. The Court has said the oral arguments will be live-streamed. 12 min. 53 sec., transcript available.

To prepare yourself for listening to the oral argument, you can see a presentation of how this one will take place as part of an article in Politico - Meet the Lawyers Arguing the Trump Ballot Case...(the second video).

Donald Trump on the Ballot?

NPR's Geoff Bennett interviews election law expert Professor Rick Hasen about the application of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment to the candidacy of former president Donald Trump in the 2024 election. 6 min., transcript available.

 The Mandatory Repatriation Tax - Unconstitutional?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging the legality of the mandatory repatriation tax, or MRT, which imposes a one-time tax on offshore investment income. The tax applies regardless of whether the earnings were distributed to shareholders or whether the shareholders owned the shares when the corporation made the earnings on which they are being taxed. NPR's Nina Totenberg has two pieces about this case which is getting a lot of attention because of the implications a decision will have on many more important parts of the tax code. Totenberg's first presentation, before the case was argued before the Court, presents the facts of the case and explains what the legal questions are. 6 min. 56 sec. transcript available. 

The second reports on what happened during the oral arguments. 3 min. 48 sec. transcript available. One mistake in this transcript is found near the end when transcribing the Solicitor General's remarks. The transcript presents the SG's words as saying that a realization requirement is "inaccurate, profoundly historical and consistent with the text of the 16th Amendment...". In fact she characterised the requirement as "ahistorical, inconsistent with the text of the 16th Amendment". Quite a difference!

The 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution before the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging the legality of the mandatory repatriation tax, or MRT, which imposes a one-time tax on offshore investment income.

NPR's Nina Totenberg has two pieces about this case which is noteworthy because of the implications a decision will have on many more important parts of the system of federal taxation made possible by the 16th Amendment of the Constitution. Totenberg's first presentation, before the case was argued before the Court, presents the facts of the case and explains what the legal questions are. 6 min. 56 sec. transcript available. Her second reports on what happened during oral arguments. 3 min. 48 sec. transcript available.

A serious mistake in the transcript is found at the end when transcribing the Solicitor General's remarks. The transcript has her saying said that a realization requirement is "inaccurate, profoundly historical and consistent with the text of the 16th Amendment...". In fact she characterised the requirement as "ahistorical, inconsistent with the text of the 16th Amendment". Quite a difference!

 U.S. Supreme Court and Laws Restricting Gun Ownership 

During oral arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to find a federal gun law restricting the right of anyone covered by a domestic violence court order to own a gun an acceptable limitation of the right to bear arms. NPR's Nina Totenberg has the story here. 5 min. 04, transcript available.

Insurrection and Disqualification of Candidates

The Minnesota Supreme Court on November 8 declined to disqualify former president Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot in the coming presidential primary election because of the 14th amendment of the U.S. constitution that prevents candidates from holding federal office if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion". The court did not rule out disqualification in the general election ballot. MPR has the story here. 4 min. 11 sec., no transcript.

 Roe v. Wade Overturned?

NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg has been interviewed about the leaked draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson that, if handed down with an opinion that is similar to the draft, will overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court opinion that gave women the right to abortions at least in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. 4 min. 50 sec., transcript available.

The oral arguments made before the Court in December 2021 can be found here.

Available on YouTube (with subtitles), late night comedians Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah have some good takes on the subject. More seriously, Stephen Colbert even interviewed Emily Bazelon of the New York Times Magazine, Yale University and Slate Political Gabfest.

More from NPR on the subject - a very good history of abortion laws in the U.S. can be found here. 3 min. 51 sec. 

Common Law Constitutionalsim

Common Law Constitutionalism is a "Chicago Best Ideas" lecture, given by Curtis Bradley, which can be found here. A excellent broad presentation of theories of American constitutional interpretation. 56 min. No transcript but very accurate subtitles (except for occasionally mixing up con law and common law, efficiency/deficiency) can be activated.

Trump Impeachment II

Can The Senate Try An Ex-President?

NPR's Nina Totenberg talks to several law professors about the question of whether the Senate can try Donald Trump once he leaves office on January 20 in this piece from Morning Edition. 

5 min, transcript available.

SCOTUS - end of term

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down the last cases for the October 2019 term. You can find NPR's Nina Totenberg and attorney Tom Goldstein's summary of the Court's year here. 5 min. 36 sec., transcript available soon.
PBS has a summary of the Supreme Court's term here in a video interviewing Paul Clement, Neal Katyal,  and Marcia Coyle, 9 min., 15 sec. transcript available.

Reports of some individual cases decided as the term ended can be found elsewhere on NPR:

• Teachers at religious schools aren't protected by fair employment laws (5 min. 14 sec., transcript available).
• President Trump's claim of absolute immunity under the law is rejected (5 min, 12 sec., transcript available). 
• Nearly half of the state of Oklahoma falls within an Indian reservation (4 min., 14 sec., transcript available). 

More on the Oklahoma case from PBS (video) can be found here (4 min. 54 sec., transcript available).

Prime Time at SCOTUS, part 2

The decision about abortion rights has been handed down. The 5-4 decision struck down a Louisiana law because it was almost identical to another law which the Court, four years ago, had said was unconstitutional. NPR's Nina Totenberg presents the decision here. 4 min. 52 sec., transcript available.

Abortion before the U.S. Supreme Court - Again

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday March 3 in a case, June Medical Services v. Russo, concerning Louisiana legislation which makes abortion not illegal but much more difficult to obtain. In another case, only 4 years ago, the Court held that almost identical legislation in Texas created an undue burden on women seeking abortions because the result was that most clinics providing abortions would have to close because they could not meet the addition requirements. Lower courts had found these requirements would not in fact to make the procedure safer.
The case this year raises the question of stare decisis (or the rule of precedent) since the only thing that distinguishes the two cases is the composition of the Court, with two new justices known to be opposed to abortion rights.
Counsel for the state of Louisiana also raised a procedural question of standing, saying that the abortion clinic doctors cannot make the argument that the legislation is unconstitutional, only women seeking abortions have standing to do this.
NPR's legal affairs correspondent, Nina Totenberg, presents the case here. 6 min., 50 sec.
Earlier reporting on NPR can be found here. 3 min., 49 sec., transcript available.
The NPR station in Boston's program, Here and Now, has an interview with Dahlia Lithwick, who writes about the Court for Slate, about the case here. 7 min., 14 sec., no transcript.