More than 30 years ago, a Native American man named Al Smith was fired for ingesting peyote at a religious ceremony. When his battle made it to the Supreme Court, the decision set off a thorny debate over when religious people get to sidestep the law — a debate we’re still having today.
Voices in the episode include:
• Garrett Epps — University of Oregon Law ... Show More
Jun 2023
The Political Thicket Reprise
<p>This week, we revisit one of the most important Supreme Court cases you’ve probably never heard of: <em>Baker v. Carr,</em> a redistricting case from the 1960s, which challenged the justices to consider what might happen if they stepped into the world of electoral politics. It ... Show More
45m 18s
Sep 2024
Anthony Michael Kreis, "Rot and Revival: The History of Constitutional Law in American Political Development" (U California Press, 2024)
One of the great divides in American judicial scholarship is between legal scholars who take the justices at their word and assume that those words define the law and political scientists who dismiss all judicial arguments as smokescreens for partisan bias or wider political forc ... Show More
1h 3m
Jul 2023
The Supreme Court's Past, Present, and Future: A Conversation with John Yoo
It has been a momentous few weeks for the Supreme Court. What better time to discuss the Court's history and future? We are therefore launching our "Summer of Law" series to shed light on the legal world .
Kicking the series off is John Yoo, the Heller Professor of Law at the Uni ... Show More
53m 19s
Aug 2024
Wesley G. Phelps, "Before Lawrence v. Texas: The Making of a Queer Social Movement" (U Texas Press, 2023)
In 2003, in a ruling that bordered on poetic, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in Lawrence v. Texas that sexual behavior between consenting adults was protected under the constitutional right to privacy. This was a landmark case in the course of LGBTQ+ rights in the Un ... Show More
58m 23s
Nov 2023
Demystifying the Indian Supreme Court
<p>In recent years, there has a growing concern that the Supreme Court of India is not firing on all cylinders. Critics have argued that the court functions in an opaque manner, exhibits excessive deference to the executive, is sluggish in concluding cases, and is hampered by an ... Show More
51m 6s