Boom! Lawyered

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving a former high school student who posted a photo of herself and a friend on Snapchat with their middle fingers raised. The caption read, “fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything.” Have you fainted in outrage yet? Brandi Levy was a freshman at a Pennsylvania high school when she tried out for the varsity cheerleading te...

Just when you thought lawmakers couldn't stoop any lower to attack trans kids, Texas state senators took it to a new level with the introduction of a bill that would prohibit parents from "administering or supplying, or consenting to or assisting in the administering or supplying of puberty suppression prescription drug or cross-sex hormone to a child, other than an intersex child, for the purpose...

Jess and Imani explain three of the most alarming pieces of legislation introduced anywhere in the United States: -The voter suppression legislation in Georgia, which might be even more outrageous than most folks realize. -A new abortion ban in Texas, which goes even farther than your typical effort to criminalize health care. -The anti-trans bill in Arkansas, which is poised to take effect despit...

President Joe Biden's recent slate of judicial nominees are more than a breath of fresh air—they represent a serious step forward in building a more just legal system. And we need good judges now more than ever because state legislatures around the country are trying to pass some terrible laws. For example, an alarming new bill in Arkansas could strip trans kids of necessary health care. Meanwhile...

On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani and Jess talk about the increasing violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, the importance of allyship in its wake, and how racist stereotypes against the AAPI community are also fueling new anti-choice legislation. In a bit of good news, the Biden administration's getting serious about new judicial nominees and the candida...

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill Tuesday that would ban all abortions in the state except those deemed a “medical emergency.” If it takes effect in August as planned, it'll be the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. Fortunately, legal challenges should be on the way. But is that what they want? In better news, the COVID-19 stimulus package has a lot of health-care goodies in it...

One year ago today, Jess Pieklo and Imani Gandy were on the steps of the Supreme Court for the oral arguments in  June Medical Services v. Russo . Since then, everyone's lives—and the Supreme Court itself—have been turned completely upside down. On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani reflect on everything that's changed and what lies ahead. Rewire News Group is a nonprofit, so your supp...

Justice Clarence Thomas has gone full election truther. And if that's not enough to make you sweat, the most conservative Supreme Court of our lifetimes just took on its first abortion rights case of 2021. Oh, and a Virginia school district is going back to court because apparently they're that desperate to discriminate against trans kids. On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo an...

The impeachment trial was going so well! Alas, the Democrats managed to tie themselves into knots and fumble away the narrative. But all is not lost, thanks to a creative lawsuit that invokes the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Meanwhile, the Biden administration took some bold steps to rescue the Affordable Care Act from a Supreme Court disaster while 30 (!) states are gearing up to attack abortion rig...

This week, the nation reckoned with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's terrifying account of the insurrection at the Capitol. Democrats also discussed plans to un-bleep the courts, but will they go far enough? And the Department of Justice signaled a major sea-change on immigration. Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo help you make sense of all of these topics and more in this latest episode of Boom! Law...

The filibuster was created by accident. Now, it's one of the most controversial and crucial components of our clunky mess of a government. But is it a good thing or a bad thing? On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy dig into whether the filibuster helps or hurts progressives in the long run, how to work around it, and whether those workarounds offer any path to st...

On day one of his White House term, President Joe Biden made big moves to protect LGBTQ and undocumented folks, called out the dangers of white supremacy, and more. It was a helluva start! But there was one minor kerfuffle at the end of the day. On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo break down the moments to celebrate and explain why Biden and his surrogates shoul...

Last week, President-elect Joe Biden announced his key nominees for the Department of Justice. And those nominees—Merrick Garland, Vanita Gupta, and Kristen Clarke—talked a big game about dismantling fascism and advancing progressive justice. It was exciting stuff! But who exactly are these folks? Can we trust them to back up their words with actions? And what can we expect from them regarding the...

Welcome to the re-release of We’ll Hear Arguments, a mini-series from the Boom! Lawyered team that dives into the dramatic arguments of the most important Supreme Court cases in history. To honor the absurd shenanigans of the Roe v. Wade arguments, we complete our mini-series with a reality tv-style reunion episode that will leave you with all the feels.   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.&nb...

Welcome to the re-release of We’ll Hear Arguments, a mini-series from the Boom! Lawyered team that dives into the dramatic arguments of the most important Supreme Court cases in history. When is a case not a case? When the plaintiff doesn't have a right to sue! And would you believe that Texas tried to argue that Jane Roe didn't even have a right to be in court? Buckle up for episode three of our...

Welcome to the re-release of We’ll Hear Arguments, a mini-series from the Boom! Lawyered team that dives into the dramatic arguments of the most important Supreme Court cases in history. Our third episode on Roe v. Wade puts the ol’ magnifying glass on a simple but messy question: what gives a state the right to regulate what kind of medicine someone accesses?   Expert Repro Journalism That Inspir...

Welcome to the re-release of We’ll Hear Arguments, a mini-series from the Boom! Lawyered team that dives into the dramatic arguments of the most important Supreme Court cases in history. Today, our two legal heroines embark on part 2 of their five-part dive into Roe v. Wade to answer the age old question: what's more important, a living pregnant person or a group of cells that exist inside them? I...

Welcome to the re-release of We’ll Hear Arguments, a mini-series from the Boom! Lawyered team that dives into the dramatic arguments of the most important Supreme Court cases in history.   You see, our greatest courtroom dramas aren’t streaming on Netflix or Hulu or even HBOMax! They happened in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Supreme Court. And We’ll Hear Arguments breaks down all the juiciest, mo...

Last year, we made a thing we love: a mini-series all about the surprisingly dramatic Supreme Court arguments of Roe v. Wade.   The show is called We’ll Hear Arguments, and we originally released it as its own podcast. But now that the Boom! Lawyered community has grown so much, we decided to re-release it here and unite the feeds. If you’ve never heard We’ll Hear Arguments, check out this trailer...

We have a big end-of-year campaign underway, and your generous donations make our podcast possible! If you can, please support Boom! Lawyered at https://rewirenewsgroup.com/give2020. Donald Trump spent his entire presidency mangling the courts and the law, and Rewire News Group's Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy covered every major moment of it. But the last four years weren't all bad!  A few...

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that could ultimately decide if the Trump administration can rig the census by excluding undocumented people. On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo recap today's events and break down everything you need to know about this latest battle in the right to be counted as a person.  Expert Repro Journalism That Insp...

Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that threatens to finally do what conservatives have spent the last ten years failing at: striking down the Affordable Care Act. On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy break down the key battles and what they portend for the future of our health-care system. If you’d like to support Boom! Lawyered, please do s...

Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia —a key case in the conservative strategy to dismantle laws that protect LGBTQ people. At the core of the case is a chilling question: Under the guise of "religious freedom," does the Constitution mandate government discrimination? On this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo break down the argumen...

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Monday evening. Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo use her first day on the job to take stock of her wildly inappropriate appearance with Trump last night during her swearing-in ceremony, the effectiveness (or lack thereof?) of Senate opposition, and how the mainstream media handled itself during this unprecedented power-grab. Rewire News G...

It's official. With the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court today, conservatives now have a 6-3 majority and a death-grip on the institution and the law. But as grim as things seem, all is not lost. On this special episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy explain how Barrett's appointment will impact our rights immediately and what progressives can do to f...