Amarica's Constitution

***CLE Available*** The newly Republican House is threatening to refuse to raise the debt ceiling, raising the spectre of a US default.  Given the 14th amendment, section 4’s prohibition on “questioning” the debt of the United States, all sorts of constitutional questions and strategies have been raised.  We are fortunate to welcome Professor Jack Balkin, who knows more about this provision and th...

A new book, The Nation That Never Was, by Professor Kermit Roosevelt III of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, engages in extensive historical, legal, political, and philosophical analysis of the American story.  This is nothing less than a search for America's most useful and unifying narrative, even as we are living with the controversy and divisions that the “1619” and “1776” projects h...

The aftermath of murders in Idaho saw another terrible crime in Massachusetts, and all these matters raise questions of criminal procedure and the constitution.  We continue our 4th amendment reflection but add the 6th amendment, which has seen little attention on our podcast in the past.  What can a lawyer fairly do in your defense?  Add to this a discussion of the various anniversaries that this...

A tragedy in Idaho riveted the nation, as a dragnet, a manhunt, a search of garbage, a DNA test, a bail hearing, an extradition, and much more surrounded the eventual arrest and the onset of legal process in the case.  Fortunately, Professor Amar has written on all these subjects, and we travel down these various roads, explaining and navigating their constitutional complexities.

We’re back early this week, as promised in our last episode, to help you take in the spectacle underway on the floor of the House of Representatives.  We give you the historical background, the constitutional framework, and we look at some of the tactical and political machinations playing out in as close to real time as podcasts allow.  We also peek at the still-simmering Santos situation, which...

Two year anniversaries in Washington mean a new Congress, but this year January also brings the echoes and the legacy of January 6.  These intertwine most intimately, as the end of the old Congress necessitated the windup of the January 6 Commission, a report, some referrals, and all sorts of constitutional questions.  Meanwhile, it also brings a new Speaker election and why should anything be sim...

The third season of Amarica’s Constitution begins with a special guest, as the star of the podcast “Strict Scrutiny,” Professor Kate Shaw, spends an hour with us.  Like Andy and Akhil, she attended the oral arguments in Moore v. Harper - as she had attended many arguments when she clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens.  Her insights on clerking for the Court are particularly timely, since Justice...

The oral argument in Moore v. Harper lasted approximately three hours.  In our last podcast, we began an analysis by tracing some of the advocates’ arguments and justices’ responses.  This time, we go to the key questions that lay at the basis of all the back and forth.  We answer them, but more than that, we look at their underpinnings and construct a framework in which, we believe, all elements...

After a year of lead-up, Moore vs. Harper has landed at the Supreme Court for oral argument.  Akhil and Andy travel to Washington and attend the three hours of argument in the Chamber.  We play clips and analyze them - the words, the logic, the briefs, the lawyers, the justices, the clerks, the legal world, as America holds its collective breath while democracy itself hangs in the balance.  This i...

Amarica’s Constitution is invited to Yale Law School by the YLS chapter of the Federalist Society for a live podcast, and Yale cooperates by choosing this day to withdraw from the US News rankings of Law Schools.  Naturally, we take that on, and it is the law students themselves that serve as our guests for a lively discussion.  Beyond this issue, however, we take a look inside this iconic Law Sch...

It’s Part 2 of our discussion of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action cases, with Harvard and the University of North Carolina defending their procedures  We play clips from the oral arguments, with every justice chiming in along with the advocates, and our analysis follows.  This time we address themes that recurred during the arguments - how does one determine an endpoint for racial preference...

It’s Amarica’s Constitution’s 100th episode, and anniversary celebrations are in the air!  We bring back Professor Steve Calabresi, who returns from the Federalist Society’s Lawyers Convention - which just celebrated its own 40th anniversary.  The occasion was marked by a memorable Rosenkranz Debate, wherein Akhil took on Professor John Yoo on - what else? - the merits and demerits of ISL theory,...

Affirmative action is before the Supreme Court, and two cases - one involving Harvard, and one implicating the University of North Carolina - were recently argued before the Court.  We have pulled out clips from the more than six hours of argument, culled the main arguments, and we present them to you.  Listen to the voices of the justices and the advocates, and hear Akhil’s commentary and analysi...

The recent brief in the ISL case, Moore v. Harper, was notable in part because it was co-authored not only by our own Professor Amar and his brother, Dean Vik Amar, both well-known Democrats, but also by one of America’s best-known conservatives, Professor Steven Calabresi.  Steve is a co-founder and national chair of the Federalist Society, and importantly, this is not the first time he has cross...

It’s a week since the amicus curiae brief in the case of Moore v. Harper - the ISL case - was filed by Professor Amar, Dean Vik Amar, and Professor Steven Calabresi, and the reaction has been pouring in.  What arguments have been made to attempt to refute the brief?  The answer may surprise you.  Meanwhile, we take you through the remainder of the brief, explaining and expounding, providing backst...

Professor Amar and colleagues have weighed in (heavily) on the ISL danger, as they filed a brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Moore v. Harper.  The brief is garnering wide attention with its powerful argument, as well as an innovative format.  We review the background to the case and the brief, and then take you through the argument point by point.  Law and history come together to make t...

Amarica’s Constitution is “On the Road” in Alabama for the dedication of the Hugo Black Memorial and Park.  Akhil is the keynote speaker and we record this live podcast at the Symposium that preceded Dedication Day.  For the occasion, we look at the great originalist and see that his moment is now - not only in Alabama, but at the Supreme Court, where case after case tracks his issues, his reasoni...

Our judicial Zelig, Felix Frankfurter, continues to grab our spotlight as his biographer, Brad Snyder, joins us again - this time, as a sitting Justice.  The many landmark cases that came Frankfurter’s way on the Supreme Court allow us to contrast his method of jurisprudence - be it “Thayerism,” “judicial restraint,” or something else - with originalism.  This means that Hugo Black, Frankfurter’s...

Do you know who was Franklin Roosevelt's most trusted advisor? Do you know who practically invented the law clerk infrastructure and controlled the clerk assignments to 60% of the justices at once?  Do you know who was a key early reporter for The New Republic? Do you know who was the first Jewish professor at the Harvard Law School?  Who was the sharpest critic of the Supreme Court only to become...

It’s almost the First Monday in October, so the Supreme Court term is upon us.  Those who follow the Constitution may turn to Amarica’s Constitution for their Constitution-listening, and after meeting Amy Howe, founder of SCOTUS Blog, they will turn to that amazing resource for their Court-watching.  So, join us. Meet today’s special guest, Amy Howe; meet SCOTUS Blog; meet the new term; and see wh...

Happy Constitution Week!  Our Fifth Amendment journey takes us in a somewhat unexpected direction, as we pit Abraham Lincoln against the Supreme Court on the Fifth as well as on several other areas of contested constitutional law.  Then it’s back to the near future as we look at how today’s Fifth confusion could be tomorrow’s clarity - and we look at the Court to see if there are five votes for a...

The controversy over a possible appointment of a special master in the. Mar-a-Lago search matter is a timely trigger for our discussion, especially in light of our recent 4th amendment episodes. Meanwhile we continue a rethinking of the fifth, and of course Professor Amar has a theory that unites everything. There’s also the Queen”s death, which is also fascinatingly relevant, and somehow Lincoln...

Our last episode explored how the self-incrimination protection came about, and how much of safeguards now lie outside the fifth amendment.  Given that, what is left?  Surprise - Professor Amar has a theory, and once again, it can change everything.  Well, almost everything - Donald Trump is still up to his old tricks.  Why does he say his name, and nothing else?  Also, what’s going on back in Flo...

The Trump investigations are everywhere.  This week we move from Mar-A-Lago to New York, where the Attorney General had some questions for the ex-president.  He took the Fifth, repeatedly if unsurprisingly.  We look at it, but to do so we look at the Fifth Amendment itself, its roots going back millennia, and its evolution as American law.  So you think you know the Fifth?  We beg to differ.  Prep...

Following Akhil’s MSNBC appearance on “Velshi,” we elaborate on how a Republic is a Democracy.  Does it matter - oh yes, and we explain why. Then we go back to the future - to the biggest Supreme Court case of the 18th century, with rock star Alexander Hamilton arguing, and the echoes resonate today.  So why haven’t you heard of this case?  Well, now you will, and follow a step-by-step explanation...