Boom! Lawyered

Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy recap the third day of Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing. On Wednesday, Barrett flubbed the basics of the First Amendment, refused to denounce poll taxes, and couldn't confirm that a right to privacy exists. Oh, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) seemed nostalgic about segregation? Join Jess and Imani as they wade through it all on our final...

Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy recap the second day of Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation process. On Tuesday, she refused to answer a lot of questions but still managed to make some pretty wild statements on health care, the LGBTQ community, and more. How did senators respond to them? And is any kind of meaningful opposition strategy emerging from the Democrats? Find out all of...

Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation process is officially underway. On Monday, we heard opening statements first from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and then Barrett—and the day was almost too normal. Did Democrats do themselves a disservice by playing along? Did Barrett acknowledge any of the outrageous circumstances of her nomination? And what's next in the wild week ahead?...

As Boom! Lawyered returns for its fifth season, #TeamLegal has come to the inexorable conclusion that it's time to expand the courts. But is there a non-messy way to do that? How much math has to be involved? And what can be done about the conservative radicalization of the lower courts? Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy dive into all of that and more. If you'd like to support Boom! Lawyered, p...

Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, has challenged marriage equality, opposed abortion rights, misgendered transgender people, and so much more. How likely is she to join the Court? And what's being done to block her nomination? #TeamLegal experts Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo walk you through of that and more on this special episode of Boom! Lawyered. If you'd like to...

RIP, Justice Ginsburg. Nothing will be the same. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake in our courts, chip in to keep our fearless legal analysis alive. Become a member today .   B*itch, Listen now has its own dedicated feed on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and whe...

Employers who love to wield religious freedom as a cudgel scored a couple big wins at the U.S. Supreme Court today, including a decision allowing employers to meddle with the birth control of their employees based on "conscientious objections." Jess and Imani explain what happened and whether there's any logic to this expansion of your employer's power over your health-care decisions. If you'd lik...

Julie Rikelman of the Center for Reproductive Rights did the unthinkable in 2020: As the lead attorney representing June Medical in June Medical Services v. Russo , she convinced Chief Justice John Roberts to sign onto a decision protecting abortion rights! She joins Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy to discuss what it's like to argue before the Supreme Court, to try and get some sleep the nigh...

The June Medical Services v. Russo decision is in, and it's 5-4 in favor of the very obvious truth:  Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt already decided this shit. Chief Justice John Roberts is forced to concur, but his dissent lays out a troubling roadmap for the next round of anti-choice restrictions. Jess and Imani explain all of this and more. And on Tuesday June 30 at 11am ET, join Jess and I...

For the second time in a week, the Supreme Court came down on the side of justice! On Thursday morning, it blocked the Trump administration's efforts to rescind DACA in a 5-4 decision . In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy explain the decision, how Justice Sotomayor added an extra dollop of truth, and whether Trump has any hope of finding a workaround. If you'd l...

A big Supreme Court decision just arrived, and it's comprehensively awesome. In a 6-3 ruling , the Court confirmed that "an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law." In this emergency episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo react to the decision—written by Neil Gorsuch, of all people—and the extremely salty dissent. If you'd like...

Racism is baked into the U.S. model of policing. More and more people are starting to believe that no amount of "reform" will help; a full tear-down is required. But what does "defunding the police" actually mean? What would happen to people who need to report a crime? And are we sure the police have ever actually been effective at any of the services they're supposed to provide? Imani Gandy and J...

Gavin Grimm has been challenging a policy at his former high school that requires transgender students to use separate bathroom facilities. On Tuesday, the case landed in federal appeals court. Jess and Imani break down the arguments and explain why the school's pleas to keep discriminating are so horribly misguided. If you'd like to support Boom! Lawyered, text "BOOMGIVE" to 44-321 or go to https...

The Daily Beast just reported that the upcoming FX documentary AKA Jane Roe reveals that Norma McCorvey, aka "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade, admitted on film that her anti-choice conversion was "all an act." On this emergency episode of Boom! Lawyered, Jess and Imani react to the shocking news and what it means for the abortion rights fight ahead. For more on  Roe v. Wade,  check out #TeamLegal's other...

On April 27, Arkansas officials issued a directive requiring anyone seeking elective surgery to obtain a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours prior to an abortion. Can you guess which elective procedure those officials were primarily targeting? Yep, that's right: procedural abortion. Advocates almost immediately sued on behalf of three patients who needed an abortion, hadn’t been able to get a COVID-19...

Believe it or not, the U.S. Supreme Court is still hearing cases on the birth control benefit! Jess and Imani hop on the mics after Wednesday's arguments to break down everything you need to know, including: The highlights and lowlights from the arguments The future of contraceptive coverage Whether Brett Kavanaugh horribly embarrassed himself The justices' ongoing battle with the mute button And...

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two consolidated cases that could kill off the birth control benefit for good. Jess and Imani preview everything you need to know. If you'd like to support Boom! Lawyered, please visit: https://rewire.news/boomgive Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawye...

The landscape of abortion access is shifting rapidly, and it feels something new is happening every day. Which states are trying to use COVID-19 to try and ban abortion? How are the courts responding? It’s almost impossible to keep up. Fortunately, Jess and Imani are here to bring us up to speed on the latest developments in Texas, Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and...

Do you know who's not staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic? Abortion clinic protesters. In this episode, Jess and Imani lay waste to the claim that protesting an abortion clinic during a global pandemic is an "essential service" and discuss whether the courts will look the other way, anyway. Love Boom! Lawyered? Support us here: https://rewire.news/boomgive Expert Repro Journalism That Inspir...

On March 31, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Texas lawmakers to exploit the COVID-19 outbreak to ban abortion services—effective immediately. Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo hop on the mic to discuss what happened, what this means, and what's likely to happen next in Texas and around the country. Want to support Boom! Lawyered? Help us here ! Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.&...

The coronavirus crisis has forced the U.S. Supreme Court to hit pause. What will happen to cases that have been argued, like June Medical Services v. Russo ? What will happen to other important cases yet to be argued? And how concerned should we be for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Imani and Jess discuss these questions and more on the latest episode of Boom! Lawyered. If you'd like to support our...

Eleven towns in East Texas recently declared themselves "sanctuary cities for the unborn." Seriously. Jess and Imani explain why this ridiculous idea might be the first step of a scary new strategy from the anti-choice movement. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’s at stake...

Jess was inside the Supreme Court for arguments in June Medical Services v. Russo. Then she literally ran across the street to record this podcast with Imani to bring the rest of us up to speed on the most important and surprising moments of the day. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you under...

On March 4th, the Supreme Court will hear the first major abortion rights case since Brett Kavanaugh joined the bench. Jess and Imani preview what's at stake and explain the sleeper issue that could upend abortion rights law as we know it. Expert Repro Journalism That Inspires.  Episodes like this take time, research, and a commitment to the truth. If Boom! Lawyered helps you understand what’...

ALERT: Our new series We'll Hear Arguments comes out on 2/25! Subscribe here for the coolest breakdown of Roe v. Wade ever: https://rewire.news/arguments Now back to our regular programming: An alarming new bill in Indiana asserts that life begins at conception, and federal laws that “fail to protect a person’s inalienable right to life” are null and void in the Hoosier State. In other words, anti...