Boom! Lawyered

In this week's episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down the Court's decision to let Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron reanimate the fight to enforce a state law banning the most common form of later abortion. And while this case is about abortion on the surface, it's also about all that's lurking underneath—political power, ambition, and how conser...

To use a Biden-ism, " this is a big fucking deal! " President Joe Biden officially announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Once confirmed, she'll be the first Black woman to sit on the highest court of the United States. Jackson would also be the first public defender on the Supreme Court, bringing a much-needed, long-overdue per...

President Joe Biden has a chance to make good on his campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court—and it should be happening fairly soon! In this week's episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down the top names floating around to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the bench: D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supre...

Co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy explain how when it comes to the legal history of religious liberty in the United States, we've had a long and tumultuous past. And when it comes to religious freedom, it often means white, Christian supremacy. Fun! Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered—especially emergency episodes like this one—is only m...

You know that scene from The Office where Michael Scott is just shouting “It's happening, it's happening!” That's what's going on right now after news broke that Justice Stephen Breyer plans on retiring. Let’s say that again: Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring . In this emergency episode of Boom! Lawyered co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down what a Breyer retirement and vacancy...

This weekend we're approaching a big milestone for the abortion-loving community: the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. And with that comes an important question to consider: Will this be the last? Who’s to say! (We're not betting on it.) It also means anti-abortion groups are once again preparing to flood the streets of Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life. And this year’s theme is "Equ...

In the final 2021 episode of Boom! Lawyered, hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy go off the rails on a truly off-the-rails year at the Court. And they're joined by a special guest! The producer behind the mic—the man we would save in the man-rapture: Marc Faletti. Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of lis...

On Friday morning, the Supreme Court issued its decisions in United States v. Texas and Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson. In this special reaction episode of Boom! Lawyered, hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down the decisions and explain what they means for abortion access in Texas moving forward. TL;DR: It's a disaster. Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which mea...

What was it like getting ready for the biggest abortion case in decades? Jenny Ma, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights who was at the Supreme Court joins hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy for a behind-the-scenes perspective on everything  Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization . Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Law...

It happened—the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the biggest abortion case in decades, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization,  which could be the end of Roe v. Wade as we know it. In this rapid reaction episode of Boom! Lawyered, hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy bring you all the legal analysis on the most important and surprising insights from the day. Rewire News Group is a...

What’s the opposite of an advent calendar? Like, instead of opening a little gift every day leading up to a holiday, you get more bad abortion news while you anxiously wait for the Supreme Court to hear the first direct challenge to Roe v. Wade since the decision was passed down in 1973? That’s where we’re at, folks. And as we close in on oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizat...

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about what a bad dude Justice Neil Gorsuch is, and if you'd forgotten, the abortion double feature at the Supreme Court a week ago was a good reminder. Last Monday's two challenges to Texas SB 8 had some surprises and some predictable takes from the justices—Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were obviously not having it, and Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh...

Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating at https://rewirenewsgroup.com/donate/ . The Supreme Court today heard arguments in two cases challenging Texas SB 8, the unconstitutional near-total abortion ban: Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson , brought by T...

Here’s a fun thing that wasn't on our 2021 bingo card: multiple abortion rights challenges at the Supreme Court. But that happened thanks to Texas! The Supreme Court decided on Friday to hear two challenges to Texas SB 8, which restricts most abortions in the state after six weeks and puts a bounty in place for anyone who reports someone who helps someone else get an abortion. And they’re hearing...

Buckle up—we're taking you to Texas this week. Hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy unpack the current state of abortion access in Texas (we’re using the word “access” loosely here.)  They break down what the courts have done over the last few months as cases challenging the law have ping-ponged between the federal district and circuit courts and the Supreme Court. The TL;DR: It's not great!...

Get comfy—grab your law-nerd hats and a pillow to rage scream into, and join us for the season premiere episode of Boom! Lawyered. Jess and Imani return to the mics for: The latest in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization What’s next with Texas SB 8, the near-total abortion ban that went into effect in September via the Court’s shadow docket ruling Some special shoutouts to the advocates on...

Last night, the Supreme Court made it official: the brutal, blatantly unconstitutional Texas abortion ban is hunky-dory .  Roe v. Wade ? Not so much. Is there any chance of the Texas ban still being overturned? Will other states pass copycat laws? Is there any hope of a federal bill enshrining abortion rights? On the latest episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy end an ala...

The Supreme Court just let a blatantly unconstitutional abortion ban take effect in Texas. They made this unprecedented and radical move on the “ shadow docket ,” which is a fancy way of saying they avoided any hearings or scrutiny of any kind. They haven’t even had to explain their reasoning.  Now, maybe they will eventually fix this. But maybe they won't. At best, this is a major warning shot at...

Last week, the Supreme Court completed its business for this term. And by "its business" we mean "gutting the meager remaining protections for voting rights in the United States." Other highlights of their closing act include the Affordable Cart Act living to fight another day, some subtle groundwork being laid for legal religious discrimination, and a disappointing number of justices (ZERO) annou...

The Supreme Court handed down two big decisions today. First, the Court rejected an attempt by conservative attorneys general to declare the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional. But don't get too comfortable, law nerds. There's more to this decision than meets the eye. Then the Court declared that the city of Philadelphia must contract with a foster care agency that refuses to certify same-sex...

Heads up! If you can help us reach our fundraising goal at https://rewirenewsgroup.com/donate/, Jess and Imani will film the wildest and smashiest live event in Rewire News Group history next week! Check out that donate page for more info. *** Lubbock, Texas, passed a “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance, a so-called heartbeat ban that would ban abortion at around six weeks. The ban would all...

This direct challenge to Roe v. Wade didn't reach the Supreme Court by accident. It was the culmination of a detailed plan that was hiding in plain sight. Actually, that doesn't do it justice—the deep-pocketed anti-choice movement was begging everyone years ago to listen to exactly how it planned to obliterate abortion rights: by passing a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi and defending it all t...

The Supreme Court announced today it would be taking up a case that could completely upend abortion rights. Back in 2018, Mississippi passed a law that banned abortion at 15 weeks. It was struck down at the district level. Then the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a notoriously conservative appeals court, struck it down, citing the clear precedent of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. And...

RAGA is the Republican Attorneys General Association. It's essentially what it sounds like—a bunch of Republican attorneys general whose goal is to get other Republican attorneys general elected to office. Seems (relatively) normal, right? Well, it would be, except the group has gone completely off the deep end. On top of a lot of their members fighting to overturn the 2020 election, there are dis...

Fact #1: Everyone agrees—Mississippi’s lawyers included—that no fetus is viable at 15 weeks. Fact #2: Mississippi passed an abortion ban that takes effect at 15 weeks. Fact #3: Pre-viability abortion bans have been ruled unconstitutional. Combined, these three facts mean that courts should have no trouble striking down Mississippi's ban. And yet! Arguments over that ban have made it all the way to...