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.

The Law Report in Winter

While the northern hemisphere was on holiday recently, in the southern hemisphere Australia was going full steam. Some interesting stories from the Australian program The Law Report include :

• a discussion of new German legislation about hate speech on social media
• the rule of law in China
• reflections on justice and injustice
• transgender and identity

About 30 min, transcripts available.

Dissent on the U.S. Supreme Court

On C-Span’s BookTV of December 15 Jeffrey Rosen interviews Melvin Urofsky, author of Dissent and the Supreme Court. 1 hour, scrolling transcript under the video.

Justice Kagan on How to Interpret Statutes

The Scalia Lecture at Harvard Law School this year was a  dialogue with Justice Elena Kagan about the reading of statutes. The dialogue is with Professor John Manning of Harvard Law School. 1 hour, no transcript. You can find the video on SCOTUSblog or directly on YouTube.

What is Justice?

Melvyn Bragg’s BBC Radio 4 programme, The History of Ideas, this week explores the idea of justice. The first 11 minute recording is a general introduction to the question and is followed by four 11 minute recordings on specific subjects.

• Barrister Harry Potter on Deterrence
• Philosopher Angie Hobbs on the Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance
• Criminologist David Wilson on Thomas Hobbes and Civil Disobedience
• Historian Alice Taylor on Habeas Corpus

Finally there is an "omnibus" with all 5 parts of the programme together (58 min).
There are no transcripts, but the 4 specific subjects are accompanied by short animated clips :

• deterrence/retribution
• Rawls’ veil of ignorance
• civil disobedience 
• habeas corpus 

Right v. Wrong

In a new History of Ideas series, BBC  Radio 4's Melvyn Bragg is joined by four guests to discuss the question of how we can tell right from wrong. The guests include neuro-psychologist Paul Broks, philosopher Angie Hobbs, theologian Giles Fraser criminal lawyer Harry Potter. The general presentation is 12 min 23 sec, no transcript. There are also short (± 1 min, 30 sec) animations accompanying the discussion  - the Trolley Problem , Kant's Axe , the Life You Can Save , and the Is/Ought Problem  plus a longer presentation (11  min) on morality and the law by Potter which talks about the famous case of R. v. Dudley and Stephens.

Hobby Lobby and the Corporate Veil

NPR's All Things Considered of August 5 has a story about the consequences of the Hobby Lobby case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this June. Some law professors say that attributing religious beliefs which merit protection to a corporation is a step toward demolishing the distinction between a corporation and its shareholders - called figuratively "the corporate veil". 5 min 25 sec, transcript available.

Civilians in War

Philosophy Bites of July 19 presents Seth Lazar, professor of philosophy at the Australian National University discussing what the fate of civilians in war should be. 15 min 56 sec, no transcript but you will find a link to Lazar's articles on the subject.

More on interpreting the U.S. Affordable Care Act

Michael Dorf, professor of constitutional law at Cornell University School of Law, explains here two conflicting interpretations of the controversial Affordable Care Act in the context of different methods courts can use to interpret texts. 12 min, transcript available (in fact Dorf reads the piece he wrote for the internet site Verdict - with minor differences).

Harvard Law School Thinks Big 2014

Once a year for several years now Harvard Law School has held a gathering, modeled on the TED talks, asking several scholars to give short (8 min.) presentations about big ideas.  In May, 2014 these presentations included

• "The Future of Scholarly Publishing and How to Stop It" by Jonathan Zittrain
• "Finding the Child in Child Welfare" by Elizabeth Bartholet
• "Linking Law and Movements" by Tyler Giannini 
• "Back to the Future of Islamic Law: Digital Islamic Law" by Intisar Rabb 
• "From Court to Table" by Jacob Gersen

You find a video of the whole event (1h 30 min) with the questions and comments after the talks here.

Two Recent Lectures from the U. of Chicago Law School Professors

• David Strauss, "Does the Constitution Always Mean What It Says?" Quick answer - no. 56 min, no transcript, audio and video.
• Richard McAdams, "The Expressive Powers of Law". McAdams tries to explain the law's sometimes puzzling efficacy. 1h, 30 min, no transcript, audio and video.

Morality and the Law

The BBC Radio 4 program "Michael Sandel: The Public Philosopher" began a series of three lectures on May 13, recorded with an audience at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, entitled "Morality and the State". Mr Sandel, a Harvard professor, teaches a famous course there called Justice. The lectures are : Morality and the State ; Why Vote? and National Guilt.
Audio only, downloadable, 42 min, no transcript.

Goldstone on the Politics of International Justice

Legally Speaking produced by the University of California Television has an interview with South Africa's Judge Richard Goldstone - The Politics of International Justice. 58 min, video and audio, no transcript, but an article with edited excerpts of the interview is available here.

Scotusblog Interviews with Orin Kerr

SCOTUSblog is posting a series of five interviews with Orin Kerr, a young professor at Washington University Law School who is an expert in computer crime law. In part three, Kerr discusses oral argument : the interaction between lawyers and justices, how lawyers prepare for them, how legal academics influence the Court through Supreme Court clinics in law schools, through amicus briefs, or legal blogs. 10 min, no transcript. 
In part four, Kerr discusses what he thinks the background Supreme Court Justices should have, whether we should view the Court through a political lens, and does the Court reflect public opinion, 20 min, no transcript

Birth Control and Hypotheticals at the U.S. Supreme Court

NPR's All Things Considered of March 25 has a report about the recent oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court about a requirement in the Health Care Act that employers provide birth control. Two companies, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, contend that the Constitution's freedom of religion means that their insurance coverage for employees shouldn't have to provide something that is against their (the companies') religious principles. The story describes a series of hypothetical questions the justices asked the lawyers arguing the cases that are good examples of how legal questions are examined in U.S. law. 6 min 33 sec, transcript available.
More about this case — an interview with Amy Howe and Pete Williams who were in court for the oral arguments. 19 min, no transcript available.
You can find a full transcript of the oral arguments on the Supreme Court website here. The audio recording is now available here.
An analysis of the case by a constitutional law professor, Michael Dorf, can be found here. At the bottom of the page there is an audio link to Professor Dorf's reading of his article. 9 min 21 sec, transcript available.

H.L.A. Hart's Legal Positivism

The blog Philosophy Bites has posted an interview with Nicola Lacey, the biographer of H.L.A. Hart, a famous legal philosopher (1907-1992). Lacey discusses Hart's legal positivism. 18 min, no transcript.

Arbitration

A recent event at London School of Economics addressed the question of whether arbitrators should be allowed to apply the law and should they be allowed to decide matters of public policy. Central to the debate was discussion of a Jan Paulsson's newest book The Idea of Arbitration.  Speakers included Dr Tariq Baloch, Salim Moolan, Dr Jan Kleinheisterkamp, Dr Charles Poncet, Sir Bernard Rix, Professor Derek Roebuck, Professor Catherine Rogers, Professor Horatia Muir Watt.
Recorded on 13 February 2014. Audio and video available for downloading, almost 2 hours, no transcript.

Contract Law Theory

The Centre for the Study of European Contract Law, part of the Amsterdam Center for Law and Economics, has made available on iTunes an interview with UCLA Professor Seana Shiffrin.  Professor Shiffrin speaks about contract law theory, exploring the links between contracts (legally enforceable promises) and morality. Doctrines of unconscionability and efficient breach are discussed. 18 min, no transcript available. The podcast is now available on the web page of the centre.

[Only] Two Cheers for Human Rights

The BBC Radio 4 programme A Point of View of Dec. 27 presents John Gray's views on human rights: "Rather than thinking of rights as a militant creed that can deliver the world from its conflicts, we should recognise rights for what they are - useful devices that quite often don't work." 9 min. 20 sec. no transcript

John Tasioulas on Human Rights: a Philosophy Bites podcast

We have a right not to be tortured, a human right. But what does that mean? John Tasioulas explores the nature of human rights in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this new episode of Philosophy Bites. 21 min, no transcript