Boom! Lawyered

A Florida attorney is trying to free his client from jail. His client? A fetus. In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani break down a case that could open the floodgates for "fetal personhood"—but, it's a little more complicated than that. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand...

Charter Day School in North Carolina requires girls to wear skirts in order to "preserve chivalry" based on its belief that "every girl is a fragile vessel." Is it the 1950s? In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani get into the case, Charter Day School v. Peltier, which the Supreme Court is thinking about taking—despite the fact that the Court has never weighed in on dress codes. We kno...

The future of abortion is medication abortion. Anti-abortion activists know this. That's why they're coming after abortion pills—and  fighting hard to get it banned nationwide. In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani dive into Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA , the case before a Trump judge that could ban mifepristone, one of the two pills used in medication abortions. Mentioned...

In this post- Roe world, we're at the intersection of the criminalization of pregnancy and the future of abortion access—and that's by design. In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy discuss how medication abortion—which is safe, effective, and lets people manage their abortion at home if they choose—is being targeted (like it is in Alabama, where the atto...

What a surreal  moment. This should be the week of Roe 's 50th anniversary. But like the planet Alderaan, it's been blown away by the Death Star (aka the Supreme Court). Jess and Imani discuss the future of abortion rights and what abortion access will look like in our new post- Roe reality. Mentioned in this episode: SCOTUS Gutting Native Families Will Usher In Cultural Genocide Rewire News Group...

As Jess predicts, “Conservatives will really go for it in terms of the wild restrictions and trying to push fetal ‘”personhood.'” Jess and Imani reflect on a wild and devastating year and put their prediction hats on for next year. The TL;DR: With this Court, it's not great. Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means episodes like this are only made possible by the support of...

Jess and Imani are back with their rapid reaction analysis of Moore v. Harper , the case heard today before the Supreme Court that that could forever change how elections are run in this country. It involves the absurd independent state legislature theory that claims the elections clause of the Constitution allows state legislatures to run their federal elections with unchecked power. Rewire News...

In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani get into today's Supreme Court oral arguments in a case about a web designer who argues free speech extends to hypothetical website design for a hypothetical same-sex couple. In other words, it's about weaponizing the First Amendment to refuse services based on personal belief. And in his questioning, Justice Samuel Alito had some things to say about...

Jess and Imani get into the heart of the New York Times' bombshell reporting over the weekend that alleges Justice Samuel Alito leaked a 2014 opinion on a big contraception case. So, just how corrupt is Alito, and can anything be done about it? As Jess says, "The allegations in the New York Times piece are absolutely extraordinary. They totally paint this picture of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas a...

If the midterms solidified anything, it's this: The Supreme Court is a vehicle for how the white supremacist project of dominance—the relegation of women and other potential pregnant people to second-class citizenship and erasure of marginalized people—will be implemented. Jess and Imani get deep into how the election showed we’re in a battle between the democratic will of the voters and a capture...

While you were paying attention to the midterm election results, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted 44 years ago this week to keep Native children and their families intact. In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani lay out what's at stake in Brackeen v. Haaland and other consolidated cases for t...

It's our first live! In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani break down all the shenanigans that were afoot at the Supreme Court today as the justices heard oral arguments in what could end race-based affirmative action as we know it in higher ed admissions. You can also watch the video playback of the live episode here . Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that...

Imani and Jess are being upfront—and admitting they got something wrong. It’s about the 2020 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the justices held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects trans and gay employees at the workplace. Upon reflection, it turns out that the Bostock opinion is one giant goose egg—and Justice Neil Gorsuch is to blame. As Jess says in the e...

Jess and Imani are all over National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, the Supreme Court case about pork production and regulation in California—but  really, it's low-key a case about abortion rights. Yes, pork rights are abortion rights. To understand the interconnectedness, you'll need to know about the commerce clause and the dormant commerce clause. This is a one meaty episode you won't want to...

In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, it's Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's first official week on the Supreme Court. And it was a big one! Jess and Imani get into the important voting rights case the justices heard and how Jackson is already making her mark on the bench. Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of liste...

Your favorite legal journalists Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy bring you everything you need to know about the new Supreme Court term and how the cases on the docket will represent the biggest step forward for the white evangelical movement in modern history. As Imani says in the episode, by the end of summer 2023, we could be looking at a world where business owners can discriminate against...

Host Imani Gandy is flying solo and is joined by friend-of-the-pod Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation. They have a super-sized conversation about the dystopian, post- Roe world the Supreme Court justices have created. They dissect why some people are afraid to say the word abortion (we're looking at you, President Biden) as if it's a shameful thing, and how that connects to the fail...

President Joe Biden took some baby steps—finally—to protect abortion in the country. But it's just not enough to get folks abortion care today . In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy dig into Biden's broad-strokes executive order, which is delivers big on aspirations and little on actual direction and action points. As Jess says in the episode: “Waiting...

In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy dive into the Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District , which sided with the public high school football coach whose prayer circle turned into a community event. Everything about it takes us back to our worst colonial and imperialist days. Mentioned in this episode: Where Were You the Day 'Roe' Died?...

For the first time in this country's history, an unelected majority of Supreme Court justices have taken away a fundamental constitutional right. In this rapid reaction episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy try to process the Court's decision to overturn the right to abortion set by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. For full coverage of the end of Roe...

Do you live in Sacramento? Houston? Literally the entire state of Florida? What about Maine? If so, the Supreme Court recently gave the green light for border patrol agents to enter your home without a warrant—and there’s nothing you can do about it. In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down the stunning decision in Egbert v. Boule and what it mea...

Supreme Court clerks are being pressed to turn over their phones. Whispers of criminal statutes being invoked abound. Basically, whomever leaked the draft of Justice Samuel Alito's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization  might be in a whole lot of trouble. But did they actually commit a crime? In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy discus...

In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy discuss the surveillance state that conservative lawmakers are creating. It's real. It's not just the bounty hunter laws where neighbors are rewarded for snitching on each other. They're also getting nurses to snitch on patients. It's using the criminal justice system to police pregnancy—and it's going to get worse. M...

Jess is joined by Robin Marty, operations director at Alabama West Women's Center, for a deeper look into the landscape of abortion in the South and how the clinic is preparing for a post- Roe world. Resources mentioned in the episode: If You Want to Protect Pregnant People From Arrest, Fund Red-State Clinics The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Rewire News Group i...

Co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down what’s happened since Politico published the leaked SCOTUS opinion, including which lawmakers have risen to the occasion, and which didn’t. They also chat about how the White House’s response measures up to the gravity of the moment. And they’ll hit on what comes next: which states are poised to defend access moving forward and what the deci...