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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

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Slate Podcasts

A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.

#373

Meet Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s New Roy Cohn

What do people inside the Department of Justice think about their once-colleague and possible-future-overlord, Kash Patel? On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by former [US Attorney Joyce White Vance] (https://law.ua.edu/faculty_staff/joyce-vance/) to discuss the frightening implications of Patel's potential nomination as FBI Director under the incoming Trump administration. They explore Patel's [contentious history] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/12/trump-fbi-cabinet-kash-patel-qanon-deep-state-hegseth-tulsi.html) , including his time in the DOJ, his [authorship of the Nunes memo] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/the-nunes-memo-is-a-big-win-for-donald-trump.html) , and his bottomless loyalty to Trump. They also discuss the broader consequences of Patel’s stated desire to use the Justice Department as a tool for political retribution, including threats to journalists and DOJ officials, and what his targeted individuals can do in the face of this new, chilling reality. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

07 Dec 2024

53 MINS

53:19

07 Dec 2024

#372

The Right’s About-Turn on Parental Rights

When it comes to gender affirming care for teenagers, parents’ rights no longer matter. Doctors’ opinions no longer matter. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States. v Skrmetti, challenging Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for trans kids, and upending half a century of gender protection doctrine. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, who will also be the first openly trans lawyer to argue at SCOTUS when he argues, alongside the Biden administration, representing the parents and physician of trans adolescents seeking care, in what will be the biggest trans rights case the court has ever heard. Chase and Dahlia dig through the doctrine to reveal the conservative legal movement’s deep hypocrisy when it comes to trans rights as compared to the rights of parents and doctors when it comes to abortion. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

30 Nov 2024

53 MINS

53:00

30 Nov 2024

#371

Can The Senate Save Us?

If you had forgotten the chaos of Trump 1.0, the frenzied first two weeks of transition to Trump 2.0 has surely been a stark reminder. A pair of random billionaires are claiming in advance that SCOTUS will back their extra-governmental plans for a slash and burn policy for federal agencies; accusations of sexual misconduct swirl around cabinet picks; nominations are being retracted and replaced, and while all of this happens we are waiting to see whether Republicans in the Senate will step into a role of moderation, or just roll over. This matters a lot with respect to what the federal judiciary is going to look like, how much scrutiny is applied to the most outlandish cabinet nominees, and the independence of the Justice Department. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who has spent years investigating the dark money plot to control the courts, and who knows from firsthand experience why the justice department is different from other agencies. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

23 Nov 2024

46 MINS

46:23

23 Nov 2024

#370

Matt Gaetz And The Clown Car Crash Into The Justice Department

Trump’s announcement of Matt Gaetz as his pick to head the Justice Department was met with gasps around the Capitol. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s senior legal writer Mark Stern to, yes, gasp together, but also to dig into what this stunt Attorney General appointment means for the law and the rule of law. Next, Dahlia talks to Dr. Mary Anne Franks, author of [Fearless Speech] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1645030539/?tag=slatmaga-20) about the new era of censorship we are entering under the unprecedented power of Elon Musk and the oligarchs screaming “free speech” as they sue in their forum-shopped court of choice. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

16 Nov 2024

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:49

16 Nov 2024

#369

Trump’s Back, This Time Without Guardrails.

We are, most of us, still very much in the post-election fog. It’s early days and while the fog persists, some of the shape of the future is very clear: despite his felonies, his lies, his promised mass deportations and threats of vengeance, President Donald J Trump will re-enter the White House in 2025 better organized, with a clearer mandate, and with the seal of approval of the popular vote. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by [Protect Democracy’s Ian Bassin] (https://protectdemocracy.org/people/ian-bassin/) to discuss navigating the challenges that lie ahead for American democracy, as we collectively struggle to make sense of this pivotal moment and to emerge from the fog with a flicker of hope. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

09 Nov 2024

49 MINS

49:41

09 Nov 2024

#368

Deep Breath, Here We Go

In this extra episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern wade through the immediate aftermath of the election. Will splitting the ticket on abortion protect abortion rights nationally? (No) What will the federal government look like at 12:02 pm on January 20th, 2025? (very different than at 11:58 am that day) Are all of Brett Kavanaugh’s wildest unitary executive dreams about to come true? (looks likely!) This special episode of Amicus is possible thanks to the support of our Slate Plus subscribers. If you’re not a member but you’d like to access weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis and to access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts, you can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

06 Nov 2024

27 MINS

27:53

06 Nov 2024

#367

The Great Big Pre-Election Freedom and Democracy Show

This week’s show is unapologetically long, deep, and hopeful. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Yale history professor Timothy Snyder to talk about his new book, [On Freedom] (https://timothysnyder.org/on-freedom) , and to have the audacity to re-imagine freedom on the precipice of an election that could turn the United States hard right into tyranny. Next, Dahlia is joined by Rick Hasen, Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Law School, for a gut-check about how the election might go, legally speaking, and a reminder that “too early to call” is a pro-democracy posture on election night—even as the former guy almost certainly claims victory before the clock strikes midnight—regardless of the actual results. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

02 Nov 2024

1 HR 17 MINS

1:17:03

02 Nov 2024

#366

The 1798 Law Inspiring Trump’s Mass Deportation Dreams

It’s easy to dismiss nativist rhetoric as mere Trumpy “locker room talk.” But when it comes to immigration, deportation and even detention, rhetoric about foreigners and violent invaders is actually a legal long game. Toward the end of the summer of 2023, [Katherine Yon Ebright,] (https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/katherine-yon-ebright) counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, noticed that rightwing anti immigration groups and the Trump campaign had started [talking in earnest about using a very old law with a very dark history,] (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/alien-enemies-act-outdated-dangerous-and-ripe-abuse) in order to do very chilling things to immigrants. She started researching the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the sole operative part of the notorious Alien and Sedition Acts. [By October 2024] (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explained) , Donald Trump was [invoking the statute in most of his stump speeches] (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-north-carolina-rally-go-back-to-1798-1235139678/) , saying he intends to use it to carry out the mass deportations of non-citizens, without due process and with domestic law enforcement deployed to full effect. We are already seeing Texas trying to use the language of “foreign invasion” to achieve exactly these ends. On this week’s Amicus podcast, Dahlia Lithwick asks Katherine Yon Ebright to help the rest of us catch up with her deep dive on this dangerous law, and to explain why we should take the threats to use it literally and seriously. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

26 Oct 2024

56 MINS

56:27

26 Oct 2024

#365

How To Steal A Presidential Election

You’re nervous. We’re nervous. As we stop for gas with almost two weeks to go before November 5th, we’re kicking the tires of American democracy to see if it’s roadworthy. On this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Matthew Seligman, one of the authors of [How to Steal a Presidential Election] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0300270798/?tag=slatmaga-20) , to examine the legal avenues available to Donald J Trump and his band of merry lawyers to subvert the presidential election. Seligman answers Amicus listeners’ most common election question: Can MAGA electors refuse to certify the election if they disagree with the outcome? Next, Dahlia talks to retired respected conservative federal judge J Michal Luttig, who is raising the alarm about the Supreme Court’s willful ignorance when it comes to defending democracy from Donald J Trump. Judge Luttig says part of the blame for the January 6th insurrection lies with the Supreme Court, and warns the court’s majority is poised to tip the scale for Trump this time around. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

19 Oct 2024

1 HR 09 MINS

1:09:05

19 Oct 2024

#364

27 Years On Death Row

“Prosecutors elicited perjury and a man's gonna go to his death. We can't allow that to happen.” – Paul Clement, October 9th, 2024. This week the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the latest chapter in the [complex and prolonged legal battle involving Richard Glossip] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/10/richard-glossip-supreme-court-wrongful-convictions-prosecutors.html) , who has been on Oklahoma's death row since his conviction for a 1997 murder-for-hire. Following two independent investigations into allegations of [prosecutorial misconduct] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/10/clarence-thomas-kill-richard-glossip-supreme-court-arguments.html) , suppression of material evidence, and a history of inadequate defense counsel, Oklahoma’s Attorney General took the bold step of confessing to constitutional error in the case and supporting a new trial. But [Oklahoma’s State Supreme Court is pressing on with Glossip’s execution] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/09/glossip-oklahoma-supreme-court-innocence-executions.html) , and so, on Wednesday morning, the High Court heard a case long on the appearance of process and short on actual justice. [ Don Knight] (https://fdprc.capdefnet.org/project-staff/don-knight) , Richard Glossip’s attorney of almost 10 years, provides insights into the flawed process, and the shocking revelations from newly discovered evidence boxes. This case highlights broader questions about [justice, fairness, and trust in the American legal system] (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/supreme-court-wrong-richard-glossip-execution-oklahoma.html) …. Leading us to an update from the latest inductee to the Lady Justice Hall of Fame – Amicus listener Barbara Hausman-Smith, and her one-woman protest at One First Street. Listen to the end of the show to find out what links this 76-year-old grandmother from Maine to the late [Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and SCOTUS’s landmark decision to legalize equal marriage] (https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/11/ruth-bader-ginsburg-on-gay-marriage-a-constitutional-necessity.html) in Obergefell in 2015. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on [Apple Podcasts] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl) . Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

12 Oct 2024

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:43

12 Oct 2024

#363

What We’re Watching This New Supreme Court Term

Democracy had a pretty rough ride at the Supreme Court last term. Presidents have criminal immunity now! Agency experts aren’t the experts anymore! Sure, you can convert that rifle into an automatic weapon! And guess what? More horrors await us this term. But we are not going to spend this last episode before the start of a new term dispassionately picking over a smattering of cases for a lawyerly preview, or helplessly doom spiraling. Instead, we will hear from two women who refuse to blithely accept what the High Court is handing down—two women who have decided to do something, in very different ways. You’re going to find out why one of these women will head to SCOTUS on Monday in the suit she wore to [argue before the High Court 44 years ago] (https://www.oyez.org/cases/1980/79-1388) . Dahlia Lithwick will ask the other woman, Skye Perryman of [Democracy Forward] (https://democracyforward.org/) , about the legal theories, doctrine tracking, and litigation strategies her organization is deploying to fight for democracy in the courts –– even (and especially) in courthouses and cases far from One First Street, where until now, the conservative legal movement has had almost free reign. Because any honest preview of the new Supreme Court term needs to look wider and deeper than the handful of cases docketed for the coming weeks. Want more Amicus? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (http://slate.com/amicusplus) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

05 Oct 2024

54 MINS

54:00

05 Oct 2024

#362

Sneak Preview: The RFK Jr Ballot Mess in North Carolina Was Just the Beginning

State Supreme Courts are vital to the functioning of American democracy. They are also where voting rights are enforced or eviscerated. This is especially true of North Carolina’s State Supreme Court, a battleground court in a battleground state. On a special bonus episode of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Stern (your Amicus Plus dream team) are joined by Justice Allison Riggs of North Carolina’s State Supreme Court for an in-depth interview on what’s at stake in North Carolina this year, and the path forward for progressive priorities and jurists in state courthouses. This episode is member- exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes of Amicus, but you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (http://slate.com/amicusplus) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

02 Oct 2024

11 MINS

11:30

02 Oct 2024

#361

The Next Supreme Court Gun Fight

In this week's Amicus, Mark Joseph Stern steps in for Dahlia Lithwick to preview the upcoming Supreme Court term and dive into the high-stakes case of Garland v. VanDerStok. This critical case examines the legality of 'ghost guns'—untraceable firearms that can be assembled at home from kits bought online. Stern talks with [Eric Tirschwell] (https://everytownlaw.org/person/eric-tirschwell/) , executive director and chief litigation counsel of Everytown Law, the litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety. Stern and Tirschwell discuss the profound public safety implications of this case and the dramatic decrease in ghost gun-related crimes following the Biden administration’s introduction of [the rule at the heart of the case] (https://slate.com/transcripts/VHoyVnMvbE5WemlYQ0VKYTI3UjdjZnlZaHBscDRYamhYeE9MR3ZzMGtvND0=) . They also uncover the role of [dark money in funding lawsuits] (https://www.thetrace.org/2024/07/gun-rights-lawsuits-donors-trust-funding/) aimed at eroding gun safety laws, and how it compares to the anti-abortion legal strategies of the Christian right. Want more Amicus? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock exclusive SCOTUS analysis and weekly extended episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit [slate.com/amicusplus] (http://slate.com/amicusplus) to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit [megaphone.fm/adchoices] (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) ... Read more

28 Sep 2024

45 MINS

45:49

28 Sep 2024

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