Bruce's Beach Returning 

NPR has a long report here about a beach resort on land south of Los Angeles once owned by a Black family that was seized by the city of Manhattan Beach in 1924. The state of California is beginning the process of giving the land back to heirs of Bruce. 11 min., transcript available soon.

Landmark Cases of the U.S. Supreme Court Explained

Heightened Scrutiny is a new podcast about the Supreme Court's landmark civil rights cases created by a self-described « attorney and professor who suffers from an incurable obsession with the Supreme Court and constitutional law. » The landmark cases featured so far are Roe v. Wade (abortion), Texas v. Johnson (flag burning and free speech), Loving v. Virginia (law forbidding marriage between blacks and whites), Kelo v. New London (eminent domain), Bowers v. Hardwick (anti-sodomy law), Lawrence v. Texas (anti-sodomy law), Employment Division v. Smith (peyote and religious freedom). 30 to 40 minutes, no transcript.

U.S. Supreme Court cases "lite"or "up close and personal"

Duke University Law School has recently put online Voices of American Law -  "materials to assist in studying the Supreme Court and its role in American society". It is a project of Thomas Metzloff, a law professor there who teaches a course entitled Distinctive Aspects of U.S. Law for international students
The website includes a selection of 18 relatively recent U.S. Supreme Court cases. Each case presentation includes a short (1-2 min) introductory video (trailer) and one or more longer videos featuring interviews with the parties themselves, their lawyers, and judges and others involved in the case. There are also links to court documents and opinions and further information.  Lesson plans are also proposed as well as an "edited" version of the Supreme Court opinion. Topics include punitive damages, abortion, discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation, election finance, religious freedom, the interstate commerce clause, property and privacy rights.   You can watch the videos online or purchase them ($35 each).

The Real Deal — "mini-lectures" by Cardozo Law School (New York) professors for prosective students - with transcripts

• Stewart E. Sterk talks about eminent domain - Kelo v. New London 4:11 min.
• Melanie Leslie describes a recent Connecticut case that illustrates the challenge of balancing the role of the state and those of parents when a child's welfare is at stake. 3:33 min.
• Dan Crane, using a famous antitrust enforcement action from the Roosevelt administration, shows how politics can dramatically change how the law is interpreted. 2:47 min.
• Marci Hamilton speaks about accomodation of religious beliefs by the state 3:47 min.
• Michael Herz illustrates one policy question facing environmental regulators when setting limits on air pollution: the choice between a "design standard" and a "performance standard." 3:51 min.
• Justin Hughes discusses the three main areas of intellectual property law: Patent, Copyright, and Trademark. 4:06 min.

highly recommended