Dissed

In this bonus episode, the Political Orphanage's Andrew Heaton joins the ladies to discuss big cases (guns, abortion, and executions, oh my!) coming up in the Supreme Court's new term. Stay tuned for a SUPREME poetry slam. Check out our guest's podcast here:   https://mightyheaton.com/dissed . Follow us on Twitter: @EHSlattery @Anastasia_Esq @PacificLegal Send comments, questions, o...

In this bonus episode, the ladies discuss the cursing cheerleader case, Pacific Legal Foundation’s win in a property rights case, and two fractured, mind-boggling separation-of-powers cases. Plus, stay tuned for “Name that dissent!” Please subscribe, leave us a review, and share with your friends!   Follow us on Twitter: @EHSlattery @Anastasia_Esq @PacificLegal   Send comments, questions...

In this bonus episode, the ladies discuss the Supreme Court’s recent opinions and dissents related to the Affordable Care Act and a dispute involving Catholic Charities, same-sex couples, and foster care. Plus, stay tuned for “Name that dissent!” Please subscribe, leave us a review, and share with your friends! Follow us on Twitter: @EHSlattery @Anastasia_Esq @PacificLegal Send comments, questions...

This is the story of the most consequential Supreme Court case in history: Dred Scott v. Sandford. It was a catalyst for Abraham Lincoln’s famous “House Divided” speech, which catapulted him onto the national stage. It led a dissenting justice to resign in protest. And it plunged our nation into its darkest hour—a civil war that nearly tore us apart. Join us as we explore what it means for our cou...

A license to arrange flowers? Laws mandating higher prices during difficult financial times? Government lawyers defending economic regulations on the basis of possible extraterrestrial activity? Welcome to the wacky world of the constitutional right to earn a living, which since the 1930s has been relegated to the lowest level of protection by the Courts. In this episode, the ladies discuss the or...

Since the Supreme Court first upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action in college admissions in 1978, the clock has been counting down to a time when it would no longer be necessary. Instead of winding down their use of racial preferences, colleges have doubled down, to the point that one justice called it “affirmative action gone berserk.” From Bakke to Grutter to Fisher and beyond, has...

42 U.S. Code § 1983, one of our nation’s most important civil rights statutes, offers plaintiffs a way to seek damages against state officials in federal courts. But in Pierson v. Ray , the Supreme Court created a defense under Section 1983, called qualified immunity, even if officials do in fact violate people’s rights. In his dissent, Justice Douglas called the doctrine “a more sophisticated man...

In this bonus episode, the ladies discuss the Supreme Court’s recent opinions and dissents related to juvenile life sentences, disputes between states, and immigration proceedings. Plus, stay tuned for “Name that dissent!” Please subscribe, leave us a review, and share with your friends! Follow us on Twitter: @EHSlattery @Anastasia_Esq @PacificLegal Send comments, questions, or ideas for future ep...

For much of our nation’s history, courts asked whether government physically intruded on property to determine if it violated the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. The Supreme Court later adopted a standard looking at whether the government violated an individual’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.” But in recent years, the property-based approach has been mak...

In the inaugural bonus episode, the ladies discuss the Supreme Court’s latest COVID order and Justice Breyer’s “dissent” on court packing. Plus, stay tuned for “Name that dissent!” Please subscribe, leave us a review, and share with your friends! Follow us on Twitter: @EHSlattery @Anastasia_Esq @PacificLegal Send comments, questions, or ideas for future episodes to Dissed@pacificlegal.org Hosted o...

Almost as soon as the government started passing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the lawsuits began. Many of them wound up arguing about Jacobson v. Massachusetts, a 1905 Supreme Court decision that said states had the power to impose mandatory smallpox vaccinations. If the government has the power to vaccinate you, surely---regulators argued---it has the power to do things like shutting...

In the spring of 1837, Justice Joseph Story was despondent. A new chief justice—the infamous Roger Taney—had just joined the bench. And the Supreme Court decided  Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge  over Story’s dissent. The case signaled a shift from a court that favored strong federal power and robust constitutional protections for property rights, and gave way&n...

President Harry Truman once said, “I thought I was the president, but when it comes to these bureaucrats, I can’t do a damn thing!” In Justice Antonin Scalia’s most famous dissent,  Morrison v. Olson , he argued that the President must have the power to remove executive branch officials, and Congress cannot limit that power. But for nearly a century, the Supreme Court has allowed Co...

What happens when a Supreme Court justice votes to dissent from a ruling but doesn’t actually write a dissenting opinion? Chief Justice Salmon Chase was too sick to write a dissent in Bradwell v. Illinois , where the majority said the 14th Amendment did not protect a woman’s right to practice law. Could a written dissent by Chase have changed the entire trajectory of history? What would he have sa...

The Supreme Court will hear its 7th challenge involving Obamacare this term. We sat down to talk about the first Obamacare case, NFIB v. Sebelius , with Randy Barnett, Todd Gaziano, and Josh Blackman and to look for clues about whether the joint dissent actually began as the majority opinion. And will this newest challenge be the one that brings down the whole law? Tune in to find out! Please subs...

The ladies unpack a ruling from 30 years ago involving religious liberty, a shocking majority opinion, a surprising dissent, and peyote. The decision has been called a travesty, a tragedy, and a sweeping disaster. Will the justices overrule that case— Employment Division v. Smith —this term? And more importantly, will that help or hinder Americans’ freedoms? Tune in to find out.   Please subs...

Dissents have it all: brilliant writing, surprising reasoning, shade, puns, and sometimes historic impact. Although they are necessarily written by the "losing" side, they’re still important: they can provide a roadmap for future challenges or persuade other judges. Sometimes they're just cathartic.    In our pilot episode, hosts Anastasia Boden and Elizabeth Slattery interview fell...