5-4

Justice Samuel Alito is deeply contemptuous of those who don't share his worldview, where abortion is murder, and the cops can do whatever they want, and Jesus would have ruled against the FEC in Citizens United. If hell is real, plan to see Alito there. The full version of this premium episode is available exclusively to our Patreon supporters. To join, visit  www.patreon.com/fivefourpod . 5...

This episode quotes outdated language about homosexuality that maybe painful to hear. Please take care while listening. If you're not a 5-4 Premium member, you're not hearing every episode! To get exclusive Premium-only episodes, discounts on merch, access to our Slack community, and more, join at fivefourpod.com/support. 5 to 4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our produce...

The first time the Supreme Court flirted with Independent State Legislature doctrine, George W. Bush wound up in the presidency. Next time, if conservatives on the court get their way in an upcoming case, your vote - depending on where you live - could lose all meaning. You can now get 5-4 Premium on Spotify by visiting our website fivefourpod.com/support. There, you can sign up to join 5-4 Premiu...

The hosts have some ~personal~ news. The full version of this premium episode is available exclusively to our Patreon supporters. To join, visit https://www.fivefourpod.com/support/ Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Our Sponsors: * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/five...

The state of legal discourse is bad. There's an entire ecosystem of talkers that need the Court to exist so they have something to talk about. Which naturally warps the way they talk about the Court. But the Court's blatant political maneuvering over the last term is impossible to ignore - and it looks like there may be a shift happening in the ecosystem. The full version of this premium e...

Fun party idea: convene 11 strangers, get zooted at lunch, deal some weed, do a little coke in the bathroom of a courthouse, then determine whether or not you're going to put a human in a cage for a substantial chunk of their life. 5 to 4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our producer. Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons provide editorial support. Our production manager is Percia V...

Having accomplished their big goals of overturning Roe and giving a praying football coach back a job he never actually lost and apparently does not want to anymore, conservatives are now looking to the next Supreme Court term. This year, as part of their continued campaign to prove that racism does not exist, they'll try to eliminate affirmative action and federal Indian Law. Follow Peter (@T...

The Supreme Court term begins next week and for the first time in American history, a Black woman will sit among the justices. Here's everything you need to know about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's background, judicial philosophy, and approach to haters. The full version of this premium episode is available exclusively to our Patreon supporters. To join, visit  www.patreon.com/fivefourpo...

Welcome to citizenship in the United States of America - you knew that you weren't guaranteed to get health care, housing, economic security, or education … but did you know that you ALSO aren't guaranteed the right to vote?! Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter.   If you're not a Patreon member, you're not hearing every episod...

Cops have to read you your Miranda rights. If they don't … nothing happens, according to this recent Supreme Court ruling. Probably nothing to worry about here. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. If you're not a Patreon member, you're not hearing every episode! To get exclusive Patreon-only episodes, discounts on merch, access t...

Oh my god, MORE of you decided to go to law school? Even after we released this episode last year? Welp. We can't stop you. But we can offer you an encore of our Welcome to Law School episode, where we break down why it's not you - it's law school. Get the support of likeminded law students, lawyers, and law lovers (or haters) in our Slack community, by joining our Patreon at the $10 a...

Harriet Miers was a lawyer and advisor in the Bush Administration. But what she was NOT was reliably conservative enough to pass Federalist Society muster. Her failed nomination was the first breath of a new era in Court politics: where you toe the line or you gtfo. The full version of this premium episode is available exclusively to our Patreon supporters. To join, visit  www.patreon.com/fivefour...

The United States has a long, complex, and often contradictory history of firearm regulation. Clarence Thomas reached into that history, selected the parts he liked, discarded the parts he didn’t, and used it to overturn New York’s longstanding handgun licensing law.  Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. If you're not a Patreon member, yo...

Continuing its trajectory of abandoning tests that don't pass the vibe check, the Supreme Court ruled that states can prosecute crimes committed by non-Natives on Native land.  The holding overturns literally centuries of precedent and clears the way to eliminate tribal sovereignty all together. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. If you...

Live from the People's Parity convening in Washington, DC, we're talking about free speech and the right's obsession with cancel culture. We're digging into what speech the conservative legal movement thinks is worth protecting (such as the heavenbound prayers of a humble junior varsity football coach) and what speech is not (all other speech). The full version of this premium epis...

Senator Elizabeth Warren, we can only assume against the advice of counsel, agreed to come on 5-4. We talked about the filibuster, the Democratic response to Dobbs, and Peter and Michael's beards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Our Sponsors: * Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/fivefour for a great deal: https://www.quince.com * Check out Quince and use m...

Imagine you are given a month and a half head start on a race. Do you A) start running, B) wait around until the official start time to run, or C) act surprised when the race starts and chastise any of your teammates who tell you that it's time to start running?  If you chose C, congratulations, you are the Democratic Party responding to the Dobb decision! Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon...

John Roberts has decided that the standard for whether or not something is a "major question" is whether or not it "raises an eyebrow." But like, let's not beat around the bush, John - you can just say vibe check. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter.   If you're not a Patreon member, you're not hearing every episod...

In this case from the most recent term, the Court once again says we should look to history and tradition to determine what's appropriate. Which is gonna be a tough one to parse, because the founders didn't really give us a strong sense of how they felt about junior varsity football games at public high schools. Probably because none of those things had been invented yet. Follow Peter (@Th...

This episode contains descriptions of violence against a child that may be challenging for some listeners. Please take care while listening. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter. If you're not.a member of our Patreon, you're not hearing every episode of 5-4. To get exclusive episodes, access to live events, and membership in our Slack...

The Supreme Court has released the long-awaited Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. The news is bad. Ruling in favor of Mississippi, the Court allows the state to ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks. The opinion is written by Justice Samuel Alito, and is largely the same as the opinion that was leaked earlier this year. Alito writes, "The Constitution does not confer...

In this case the Court holds that you have no right to sue a federal official, even if a border agent trespasses on your property, knocks you to the ground, and calls the IRS on you for having the gall to file a complaint about it. So if you're keeping track at home, the Court is saying that First Amendment and Fourth Amendment don't actually mean anything. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhi...

The hosts were recently guests on Know Your Enemy, talking about the origins of the conservative legal movement, and its decades-long campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade. This episode is part of a series they're calling "How They Did It," about the likely reversal of Roe. If you like this episode, you find Know Your Enemy wherever you get your podcasts. To get premium Patreon-only episode...

This week, the hosts use a variety of film and television references to try and capture the pure villainy of a recent ruling that allows candidates to "loan" their campaigns unlimited money and be paid back, with donor funds, AFTER they're elected. We're talking tie-a-damsel-to-the-tracks-twirl-your-mustache level. Follow Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (...

The hosts pound some brewskis with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Normally there would be no episode in the free feed this week, but we decided to do something special for ya. This episode was originally exclusively available to our Patreon members, but we're giving you a peek into the premium feed. If you enjoyed the episode and want to unlock more like it, like our just-released epis...