Amarica's Constitution

The Supreme Court is still in the news, with vaccine mandate follies and more, and we continue to be there to help you decipher it.  This week, our timing is perfect: the long-time, Pulitzer-winning NY Times correspondent, now columnist, Linda Greenhouse, joins us for a discussion of the Court and her new book: “Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett,...

Amarica’s Constitution is 50 - 50 episodes, that is.  The Supreme Court isn’t done with abortion yet, as it marks our “silver episode” unveiling with a pair of rulings on the Texas abortion law, SB8.  The rulings themselves may not be long remembered, but the opinions contained sentences that shocked Professor Amar.  In a happy coincidence, the Friday rulings coincided with a Friday taping, and we...

The oral argument is complete in the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. In our previous two episodes, Professor Amar prepared our audience with a remarkable menu of constitutional theory, a recap of the relevant cases and the orientation of the justices.  We now look at the actual argument and find where it cohered with Akhil’s notions.  We critique the arguments, the advo...

Fifty years of controversial jurisprudence have followed Roe v. Wade, and now the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that many see as this story’s reckoning: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.  In our last episode Professor Amar identified “precedent” as the legal coordinates where the abortion road may fork.  He now lays out the conflicting theories of precedent which the...

Abortion, and Roe v. Wade, is in the news again as the Supreme Court prepares to review challenges to the Mississippi law which, if upheld, would amount to an overrule of Roe.  Professor Amar tells us that the argument, in addition to discussions of abortion itself, will center on the role of precedent.  To prepare us for an examination of the particulars of this case, he conducts a master class o...

Now that our audience are masters of rights analysis after last week’s overview and framework presentation, we turn to the current SCOTUS gun rights case, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. Consistent with Professor Amar’s approach, we begin with the text of the 2nd and 14th Amendments, along with a fascinating historical analysis.  When that is complete, the questions the Justi...

Gun rights are in the news again as the Supreme Court hears New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.  Professor Amar discusses his landmark work on the Bill of Rights, and invites you to join him in an analysis of the issues in this and other “rights” cases.  These cases require an appropriate methodology, and we are treated to a master class in the tools we need to perform this analysi...

Our series on books and authoring takes a look back at - what else?  - the opening of a book.  What comes first can make all the difference, but what makes for a great opening?  And there are things before the opening - the forward, the preface, the dedication, the title, the cover.  It’s all grist for our mill, with classic openings as well as deep dives into Akhil’s own books’ kickoffs.

What began as an exploration of sources of authority - citations, rankings, reviews, sales - now continues with our inside look at book writing and publishing.  For those who have considered eventually writing a book themselves - and who among us hasn’t? - we take a deeply honest and nuanced look at all aspects of the process, including many most of us take for granted.  Professor Amar’s personal...

Remember “18 reasons for 18 years?”  Well, so did the Biden Commission, and as they reject court packing, they flirt with the 18 year plan.  A few voices are raising in the media and even some on the commission, so we review their arguments and analyze their possible merits.  A big question - can it be implemented by statute, or is a constitutional amendment required?  No surprise that Akhil has a...

Amarica’s Constitution shares the stage this week with the fine podcast “So to Speak” from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).  Professor Amar is interviewed by FIRE, and the history of the First Amendment leads to - surprise! - any number of fascinating constitutional law issues.  Akhil takes time out to take issue with Robert Bork, by the way.   And who kicked the dog?

The academic year is underway, and Professor Amar’s crazy teaching schedule, as usual, includes co-teaching with some of the greatest constitutional scholars in the nation.  This semester Akhil is joined by Professor Edward Larson, whose amazingly wide range includes a PhD in History of Science in addition to his Harvard Law degree. So it is not surprising that as Professor Larson joins us for thi...

Our look inside the literary world continues. So many of us are aspiring or perhaps would-be authors, but what is really involved, and can we really join that world?  Akhil takes you through the many and sometimes surprising corners of this sphere, which is far more intricate than one might think.  His personal route was not quite as smooth as it might seem, and the story of his move from a very s...

It’s fitting that our recent discussion of how authors and their books are realized is followed this week by a discussion with the finest example of a historian, Gordon Wood.  We explore his new book, “Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution;” locate it in the amazing arc of Gordon’s peerless career, and then conduct a lively discussion of what at first glance seems a clear...

It’s Constitution Week, and Akhil is “booked;” not only with events of the week, but on his book tour.  Our series on scholars, schools, and scholarship resumes, then, with a comprehensive look at the entire ecosystem of books.  What is the author’s process, and what happens after a book is written?  How does a book, and an author, gain authority in a world of ubiquitous social media?  And how doe...

Texas has brazenly - or boldly, depending on your point of view - thrown down a gauntlet on abortion with their new law purporting to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.  The Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the law prior to its effective date, so the nation holds its breath wondering where abortion rights, long treasured by many, will head.  Meanwhile, the law deputi...

Suppose there is a controversial issue of constitutional law.  Where does one go for authoritative exposition? We continue what is essentially a discussion of expertise and authority.  How do you know whom to trust?  Who has the right answers?  How might we go about finding out these things?  We continue to look at these questions in several arenas:  scholars, scholarship, and schools.  Interestin...

What do Willie Mays and Laurence Tribe have in common?  Andy and Akhil start with an Amar citation from Clarence Thomas in a case last term and branch off into a discussion of scholars’ rankings, the fourth amendment, legal realism, scholarship and schools, books vs. articles, and a dizzying array of other topics.  This potpourri launches a series on the inside of the academic world as well as a l...

We return to our look at all the sitting Supreme Court justices with the final two - Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.  This necessarily involves revisiting the confirmation process, particularly in the case of Justice Kavanaugh, where Professor Amar played a role in print and in the witness chair.  How have the first years of his tenure, along with Justice Barrett’s, played out in light of some of...

Neal Katyal, now at the peak of the Supreme Court bar, reviews many of the big issues the Supreme Court will face in the new term, as well as some just past.  Abortion, affirmative action, and cases involving a tension between legitimate governmental action and religious organizations are all discussed from the unique perspective of this remarkable litigator, professor, author, and television comm...

After teasing it for months, Neal Katyal, perhaps our nation’s finest Supreme Court advocate, joins Amarica’s Constitution.  The dramatic rise of a truly great lawyer is a fascinating story, including the case that launched Neal into Supreme Court practice - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.  Later he would become Acting Solicitor General and then move into John Roberts’ old chair as the head of the Supreme Cou...

In these days of Zoom, Professor Amar’s testimony before The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States looks a lot like the old TV show, the Hollywood Squares, and Akhil is in the center square.  This is fitting, because his proposal for 18-year terms of active en banc service on the Court is front and center in these hearings.  Akhil and Andy review the work done in advanc...

We continue to profile, recap, analyze, and learn from the nine Supreme Court Justices.  This week our focus turns to those justices appointed by Trump, and the seat that would be Garland’s instead went to Neil Gorsuch.  Akhil looks at cases old and new to find the highs and lows in Justice Gorsuch’s jurisprudence, and this justice who studied in two countries and clerked for two SCOTUS members, w...

We continue our Supreme Court series as the term has comes to a close.  Akhil profiles the “middle three” Justices:  Alito, Sotomayor, and Kagan.  Their backgrounds, their finest, and their not-so-finest moments are described and analyzed.  If a Justice seems destined to spend decades in dissent, can she leave a legacy?  We look at some who did.  Lots of law, lots of cases in this episode for SCOT...

After decades on the bench, Justice Breyer’s distinguished career is, for better or worse, fodder for discussion and debate.  Akhil has brought a “refined legal realism” to profiling the various justices in terms of their backgrounds, legal and personal; the same approach provides a starting point for looking at this decision.  But as we move into the realm of politics and strategy, reasonable peo...