Strict Scrutiny
193 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 1.4K ratingsStrict Scrutiny is a podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it.
The show is hosted by three women, Leah Litman, Kate Shaw and Melissa Murray, who are three law professors, but they’re also swimmers, mothers (of humans and dogs), and celebrity gossip enthusiasts. They’re women who’ve practiced before and write about the Court in their professional lives. They have a different voice–one that celebrates the contributions and opinions of women and people of color. They provide intelligent and in-depth legal analysis alongside their unvarnished, respectfully irreverent takes. And they want to do it in a way that is accessible to a variety of listeners, including Supreme Court regulars, lawyers, law students, and members of the public who are looking for a window into the Court’s decisions, as well as its culture, personalities, and folkways.
The hosts think SCOTUS is serious business—but they don’t take ourselves or the Court too seriously. They’ve got hot takes, jokes, and a lot to say.
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Episodes
Let's Be Legends
December 06, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.1 MBTiffany Wright joins the show to recap last week’s oral arguments and to preview the second week of the December sitting... hijinks ensue. Strict Scrutiny depends on support from listeners. Become a Glow subscriber today for just $7/month, and get access to special live shows and virtual happy hours. Resources: "Texas Abortion Law Complicates Care for Risky Pregnancies," by Roni Caryn Rabin. New York Times, November 26, 2021. "The Judge Who Told the Truth About the Mississippi Abortion B...
Fourth Dimension Feminism
December 02, 2021 02:13 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi case that banned abortion after 15 weeks.
Sad Girl Autumn
November 29, 2021 10:00 - 54 minutes - 49.4 MBIt’s sad girl autumn at the Supreme Court -- Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the upcoming cases, including the frontal challenge to Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and discuss the Court’s lack of action on the S.B. 8 cases.
At Liberty: This Fall’s Fight Against Forced Pregnancy
November 22, 2021 10:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBIn October, Melissa joined the ACLU's podcast At Liberty to discuss the state of abortion rights in Texas and the rest of the nation. We're thrilled to bring the conversation to Strict Scrutiny listeners as well. The Supreme Court is gearing up to hear challenges to some state laws restricting abortion, including a case from Mississippi that directly challenges the 1973 precedent set in Roe v. Wade. Given the court’s conservative super majority, many legal experts are warning that access to...
Self-Own Sam
November 15, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBProfessor Lisa Eskow joins the podcast to discuss some Justices’ willingness to engage in ecclesiastical whack-a-mole in Ramirez v. Collier. There are also birthday wishes, Big Bird (and other birds), kale shops, and more!
Have They Heard of Frat Houses?
November 11, 2021 21:42 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBLeah talks to Ahilan Arulanantham about the argument in FBI v. Fazaga, the case challenging the government’s surveillance of the Muslim community in Southern California.
Arbitration Rat
November 08, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 64 MBMelissa, Leah, & Kate recap the remaining cases from the first week of November -- and focus on Houston Community College and NYSRPA v. Bruen, which raises the question whether NYU has a campus. (It does.)
Foreign in a Domestic Sense
November 05, 2021 14:16 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBKate speaks with Juan Perla and Neil Weare about United States v. Vaello-Madero, which will be argued before the Supreme Court on November 9th. US citizens who are otherwise eligible for SSI benefits are denied solely because they live in Puerto Rico-- a US territory. Does this denial violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment?
Some Geniuses
November 02, 2021 18:26 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah recap the oral arguments in the S.B. 8 cases on Monday, November 1st.
That’s Just Like, Your Opinion, Man
November 01, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah preview the whopper first week of the November sitting. They are joined by Joseph Blocher, Professor of Law at Duke Law, to discuss NYSRPA v. Bruen.
Fatally Unequal
October 25, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 56 MBMelissa talks with Carol Anderson about her book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America. This event originally aired as a program by the Commonwealth Club of California back in July, and we're excited to bring it to Strict Scrutiny listeners ahead of Supreme Court arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen on November 3rd.
Watch This Space
October 22, 2021 22:24 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBA quick breakdown on what the Court did and didn’t do today (Friday, October 22) in the cases against Texas's S.B. 8, which prohibits abortion 6 week's after the pregnant person's last period.
Per My Last Email
October 18, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah recap the last week of the October sitting and some developments in the S.B. 8 litigation.
Latte Liberal
October 11, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBMelissa, Leah, and Kate recap the first week of the October sitting.
Troll World Tour
October 04, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 66.9 MBDahlia Lithwick joins us for a preview of this monster term, and a breakdown of … that Alito speech.
Hashtag YOLO
September 27, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBRecorded in partnership with the 2021 Texas Tribune festival, Dahlia Lithwick joins us to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s busy summer and do a lightening-round preview of 2.5 cases on the docket for the Court’s upcoming term.
Sounds Legit
September 20, 2021 09:00 - 46 minutes - 43 MBLeah is joined by Jeannie Suk Gersen and Deeva Shah to discuss an important case, Roe v. United States, about the procedures for addressing workplace misconduct in the federal courts.
Meager Sentences
September 13, 2021 09:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBKate and Leah are joined by Elizabeth Wydra and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick to discuss more of the Supreme Court's orders coming out of the shadow docket. First up is the Migrant Protection Protocol, also known as the "Remain in Mexico" program from the Trump Administration. Then it's a look at the Court's decision to vacate the CDC's latest eviction moratorium, which allows evictions to resume. Both orders ruled against the Biden administration and were divided along ideological lines.
Messing with Texas
September 11, 2021 01:52 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBLeah, Melissa, and Kate reconvene for another emergency podcast on Texas SB8, which is now being challenged by the federal government. Y’all, they are messing with Texas!
Untitled Dating Show
September 06, 2021 09:00 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBIt’s law school advice time, Strict Scrutiny style! Melissa and Leah chat with Mark Moran, graduate of UVA Law and contestant on FBoy Island, for the first ever Strict Scrutiny x FBoy Island Crossover. What can law school teach you about reality TV, and reality TV teach you about law school? A lot, it turns out….
Flagrantly Unconstitutional
September 04, 2021 14:28 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBMelissa, Kate, & Leah get together again to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision in the Texas SB8 case, what is happening now in Texas, and what might happen still with the law.
Message Received
September 02, 2021 00:23 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBCommander Professor Steve Vladeck joins us for an emergency episode about SB8, the most restrictive abortion law that has been allowed to go into effect since Roe v. Wade.
Sexual Justice
August 30, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBKate and Leah talk with Alexandra Brodsky, founding co-director of Know Your IX and author of Sexual Justice: Supporting Victims, Ensuring Due Process, and Resisting the Conservative Backlash.
How Rights Went Wrong
August 23, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBKate and Leah talk with Jamal Greene about his new book, How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart.
Open Wound
August 16, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MBMelissa talks reparations with Katherine Franke, Columbia Law Professor and author of Repair: Redeeming the Promise of Abolition.
Superminority Status
August 09, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 58 MBMelissa and Leah are joined by Easha Anand (MacArthur Justice Center) and Kate Levine (Cardozo University School of Law) to recap the big criminal law cases from last term.
Born Tired
August 02, 2021 09:00 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBIn collaboration with The Appellate Project, Leah, Kate, and Melissa talk to Debo Adegbile and Bruce Spiva about voting rights and diversity in the appellate bar.
Anti-Democratic Super Weapon
July 26, 2021 09:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBIt’s Supreme Court reform summer! On this episode, Leah talks to Professor Nikolas Bowie about his testimony to the Presidential commission on the Supreme Court and whether we have or should have a democracy.
Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue
July 19, 2021 09:00 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBMelissa interviews Berkeley Law Professor Amanda Tyler about the book she co-wrote with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue. The book includes Justice Ginsburg's favorite opinions she authored, along with stories of her life, family, and career. Professor Tyler shares some of those stories as well as reflections on her working relationship and friendship with the justice. This conversation was originally an event put on by The Beverly Hills Bar Associati...
Roses & Thorns
July 12, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 76.2 MBIt’s here … our term recap! We go over all the roses and thorns from OT2020, or at least as much as we have time for in this jam-packed episode.
Textually Challenged
July 05, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 78.1 MBFor a further break down of the opinion that is definitely not necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act (Brnovich v. DNC), Leah is joined by two voting rights experts, Professors Nick Stephanopoulos and Franita Tolson, who offer their thoughts on (among other things) what music Justice Alito was listening to while writing Brnovich and who he was talking to as well.
An Insult to History
July 01, 2021 23:50 - 1 hour - 61.9 MBWith SCOTUS finishing in July, Leah recaps the end of the term (end of democracy?) cases, Brnovich and Americans for Prosperity, with law of democracy experts Wilfred Codrington and Rick Hasen.
Tired of These Fools
June 28, 2021 09:00 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBOn June 23rd, we joined the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, together with the Western District of Washington Federal Bar Association, for a “SCOTUS in FOCUS” event moderated by Cynthia Jones, the program chair of the Society.
Comrade Thomas
June 25, 2021 23:01 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBKate and Leah recap the big FRIDAY, FRIDAY at the Supreme Court -- two statutory interpretation cases (Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and Hollyfrontier Cheyenne Refining Co), and a major standing case (TransUnion v. Ramirez).
Cheerleaders for Democracy
June 24, 2021 02:41 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBKate and Leah recap four opinions: Lange v. California; Mahanoy Area School District v. BL; Collins v. Yellen; and Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
Love and Basketball
June 21, 2021 22:10 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBLeah and Melissa do a quick dash through Monday’s opinions in Arthrex, NCAA v. Alston, and Goldman v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement Systems and a quick note on Nestle v. Doe before allowing Leah time to work out some feelings on Justice Alito’s dissent in the ACA case.
Amuse Bouche
June 18, 2021 01:09 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBKate and Melissa recap two opinions, California v. Texas (the ACA case) and Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (Masterpiece Cakeshop redux). For the latter, Katherine Franke joins with historical context and insights.
State Courts Are Where It's At
June 15, 2021 10:00 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBLeah, Kate, and Melissa recap an important CVSG, the Court’s opinions (in Gary, Greer, and Terry), and a major Wisconsin Supreme Court case!
Presto!
June 11, 2021 13:10 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah get together to discuss Justice Kagan’s approach to statutory interpretation. We got two opinions this week, Sanchez v. Mayorkas, another unanimous immigration case, and the big ACCA (Armed Career Criminal Act, not Affordable Care Act) opinion we’ve been waiting for-- Borden v. US. They identify an important parallel between Justice Kagan and Taylor Swift and lay out the evidence that the Justices are reading their tweets (and everyone else’s too). Finally, they are j...
Fetishistically Textualist
June 04, 2021 17:56 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBLeah, Melissa, and Kate recap the last week of opinions (Van Buren v. United States, Garland v. Dai, and Cooley v. United States). They also discuss some developments on the shadow docket, whether Neil Gorsuch is getting some cold feet about the whole textualism thing, and the newest teacher in town -- Justice Breyer, who clearly needs some Zoom advice.
Death Eaters
May 31, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 59 MBMelissa interviews Ian Millhiser about his new book, The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court Is Reshaping America. This conversation was originally an event with the Commonwealth Club in April.
Siren Songs
May 26, 2021 03:10 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBKate, Melissa, and Leah notice the siren song of purposivism in some of the Court’s recent statutory interpretation cases. They also talk about developments on the Court’s death penalty docket before going through one of their binders of women advocates & advocates of color.
Hysterical Lady Brains
May 24, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBMelissa, Kate, and Leah break down the recent cert grants, the oral argument in Terry v. United States, and the opinions in Edwards v. Vannoy, CIC v. IRS, Caniglia v. Strom, & BP v. Baltimore. They then workshop their reviews of Justice Breyer’s forthcoming book before highlighting some exciting Supreme Court-related book reviews.
When There Are 535
May 17, 2021 09:00 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBIn March, the NYU School of Law hosted the the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network's symposium on Politics, Power, and Women’s Leadership. As a part of the event, Melissa interviewed Congresswoman Katie Porter about her experience running for office, child care as infrastructure, and, of course, her big whiteboard energy.
Drained Pool Politics
May 10, 2021 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBKate & Melissa host Heather McGhee to discuss her new book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
Burn Book on Purposivism
May 03, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBLeah and Kate recap the textualist bonanza in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, and the recent arguments in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (during which Justice Alito signaled that he’s a fan of the pod) and Mahanoy School District. They also preview the final case of the term, Terry v. United States.
Barking Goldfish
April 26, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBKate, Leah, and Melissa go over new opinion, recap the previous week of oral arguments, and preview the next batch of cases to be heard at the Supreme Court.
Right for the Wrong Reasons
April 19, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBKate and Melissa are joined by special guests Juvaria Khan, Matthew Fletcher, and Carmen Iguina Gonzalez to discuss the upcoming April sitting and the work of The Appellate Project.
Tsunami of Slime
April 12, 2021 09:00 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBLeah and Kate are joined by Sen. Sheldon “Whiteboard” Whitehouse to discuss the courts subcommittee hearing on dark money and how the topic of the hearing relates to the Court’s upcoming case in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra/Thomas More Law Foundation v. Becerra.
Sausage Fest
April 05, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MB“Live” from Yale Law’s ACS chapter, Leah and Kate recap the end of the March sitting, break down recent opinions, and kvell over some court culture -- the first batch of judicial nominees from the Biden administration!