Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, And The Courts

In anticipation of big decisions on marriage equality and Obamacare, many are talking about the balance of political power on the Supreme Court. Dahlia Lithwick speaks with two court watchers about the extent to which the Justices are political actors. Please let us know what you think of Amicus, our legal affairs podcast. Our email is amicus@slate.com.Subscribe to our podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slates-amicus-dahlia-lithwick/id928790786?mt=2#Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at [http://slate.me/1ENza1a].     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 28, the Supreme Court will finally take up the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans. Dahlia Lithwick previews the cases with Paul Smith, the lawyer involved in the 2003 gay rights case that helped set the stage for this historic event. Please let us know what you think of Amicus, our legal affairs podcast. Our email is amicus@slate.com. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at http://slate.me/1ENza1a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How should the EPA weigh costs when regulating toxic emissions? Dahlia Lithwick speaks with lawyers on both sides of a Supreme Court case posing that question. And she reviews the highlights of a case testing the limits of free speech on license plates. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at http://slate.com/podcast.plus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seven years after ruling that detainees at Guantanamo Bay were entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court seems to have turned its back on the remaining detainees there. On this week’s episode, we ask why.This week’s episode is sponsored by HBO. Its documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” airs Sundays at 8.Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today here.Please let us know what you think of Amicus, our legal affairs podcast. Our email is .   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act -- King v. Burwell -- Dahlia Lithwick hears from experts on both sides of what could be the most important case in the Court’s entire term. First, she speaks with Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University and a one of the lawsuit’s chief architects. Then she hears from Abbe Gluck, a professor at Yale Law School and a co-author of an amicus brief submitted in the case. ************** This week’s episode is sponsored by HBO. Its new documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” airs Sundays at 8. We’re also sponsored by the Great Courses. Save up to 80% off their most bestselling courses here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Supreme Court prepares to revisit the constitutionality of lethal injection, Dahlia Lithwick speaks with two experts about the controversial drugs being used for execution and whether the capital punishment system can be repaired. This week’s excerpts from the Supreme Court’s public sessions were provided by Oyez, a free law project at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, part of the Illinois Institute of Technology. More information on our show page.  Please take a couple of minutes to Slate's podcast listener survey! Tell us about yourself and your favorite podcasts, so that Slate can serve you better. Go to slate.com/survey. This week’s episode is sponsored by The Great Courses. Save up to 80 percent off their most bestselling courses when you visit thegreatcourses.com/amicus. We’re also sponsored by HBO. Its new documentary series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” airs Sundays at 8 on HBO, starting this Sunday, Feb. 8. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick speaks with Sonja West and RonNell Andersen Jones, two Supreme Court experts who don’t buy the justices’ arguments against allowing cameras in the courtroom. Help us make our podcasts even better! Take Slate's listener survey at to slate.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick talks to Andrew Pincus, the lawyer who brought a Supreme Court challenge this week to a law banning fundraising by judicial candidates. And she hears from the NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill on the latest challenge to the Fair Housing Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick talks to Joan Biskupic, the author of a new Reuters study about the elite "one-percent" group of lawyers who bring most of the cases at the Supreme Court. She also hears from two of these super-lawyers -- Tom Goldstein and Paul Clement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dahlia Lithwick talks to rap music scholar Charis Kubrin about Elonis v. U.S., and about how courts are using rap lyrics in criminal proceedings. She also hears from Sam Bagenstos, who argued this week’s pregnancy discrimination case Young v. United Parcel Service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With an execution looming, Dahlia Lithwick revisits Panetti v. Quarterman, a case involving mental illness and the death penalty. Her guests are Scott Panetti’s lawyer Kathryn Kase and Brandon Garrett of the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh off oral arguments in the Supreme Court, Alyza Lewin discusses Zivotofsky v. Kerry, which asks if Congress or the President has ultimate authority over passports. Plus, Yates v. U.S. debates whether grouper should qualify as "tangible objects." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Ep. 4 of Amicus, a pre-election special. Dahlia sits down with UC Irvine law professor Rick Hasen, founder of Election Law Blog, to survey the landscape of state voter ID laws. They consider the effect of recent headlines on voters' confidence in elections, as well as the enduring curiosity of judicial elections in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Ep. 3 of Amicus, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick talks with the New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin about his recent interview with President Obama on Obama’s judicial legacy. Then Dahlia welcomes Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer who won last year’s DOMA case U.S. vs. Windsor, and who’s now fighting for same-sex marriage in the South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Ep. 2 of Amicus, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and former acting solicitor general Walter Dellinger discuss the Surpreme Court’s recent non-decisions about abortion and voter I.D. laws. Then Dahlia talks with Joan Biskupic, author of a new biography of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Ep. 1 of Amicus, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick discusses the opening of the Surpreme Court’s new term with Tom Goldstein, publisher of SCOTUSblog. Dahlia also welcomes Douglas Laycock, who argued the case of a Muslim prisoner who wants to grow a beard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices