DISCOVERY presented by UW Law

Seattle takes  center stage  this summer  as a host city  for the FIFA World Cup 2026 ,  one of the largest  global  sporting events ever held in the Pacific Northwest. While most fans are focused on the excitement on the field, an equally important effort is taking place behind the scenes: ensuring that the World Cup is conducted in a way that respects and protects human rights.   On this episode...

Should parents face criminal charges for the violent acts of their children? On this episode of the Discovery podcast, we feature a thought-provoking conversation with assistant professor of law Shirin Bakhshay from UCLA Law. Centering on the landmark  People v. Crumbley case, Bakhshay explains why the convictions of the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley represent a major — and potentially...

Imagine that you are living in your car. One day, it's stolen for a joyride, abandoned and eventually towed away. You get a court order for the return of your car, but then discover that your very home, your 1991 Camry, has been sold for $175. Later, you find out that the towing company has the car back in their possession and holds it hostage for over a year, accruing $21,684 in storage fees.  Am...

In this episode of the Discovery podcast, Jevan Hutson , J.D. '20, incoming assistant professor of law and director of the Technology Law & Public Policy Clinic, discusses the article "Forget Me Not? Machine Unlearning's Implications for Privacy Law," which he co-authored in The Columbia Science & Technology Law Review . The article explores the intersection of generative AI, privacy and data prot...

In this episode of Discovery , we speak with Professor Peter Nicolas from the University of Washington School of Law about his new copyright law class, a case study of "The Wizard of Oz." The class debuted in winter quarter and included a mandatory group outing to "The Wiz" musical at Paramount Theatre. Since The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900, eventually entering the public domain,...

What does justice look like for children caught in the gun violence epidemic? And why do courts struggle to treat kids like kids when  sentencing  them for serious crimes?   In this episode of  Discovery ,  we  examine these issues with  UW Law  t eaching  p rofessor Kimberly Ambrose  and  community member  Aaron Faletogo  who was incarcerated at the age of 16 . In 2021,  the  Tools for Social Cha...

In this episode of  Discovery ,  we spe ak with retired  professor and Associate Dean Emeritus Hugh Spitzer, a distinguished scholar of constitutional and comparative  law, about his recent  Seattle Times op-ed, "This Baked-In Constitutional Conundrum Will Take Some Time to Repair ."   Professor Spitzer examines how foundational features of the U.S. Constitution   —   particularly the disproportio...

Courts are increasingly allowing employers to invoke the First Amendment's expressive association doctrine   — originally crafted for civic and membership organizations   — to avoid antidiscrimination laws in the workplace.   In this episode, we speak with  our Toni  Rembe   L ecture speaker,  Professor Elizabeth  Seppe r ,  who is known for her work on religious liberty, health law,  equality  an...

In this episode of the Discovery podcast, we speak with Professor David B. Owens , assistant professor of law and director of the Civil Rights and Justice Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law. A nationally recognized civil rights litigator and scholar, Owens discusses his recent essay in the New York University Review of Law and Social Change , "The Equal Protection–Fourth Amendmen...

In this episode of the Discovery podcast , we talk with Timothy Heaphy about the similarities between the 2017 Charlottesville riot and the January 6 th insurrection. Heaphy led the House investigation into the January 6 th attacks on the U.S. Capitol and recently authored  Harbingers: What January 6 and Charlottesville Reveal About Rising Threats to American Democracy .   Heaphy reflects on his u...

During the first wave of the opioid pandemic, the U.S. federal government encouraged states to establish prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) which use predictive algorithms to determine risk scores for patients. These scores, which can point correctly or inaccurately to substance use disorder (SUD), drug diversion, doctor shopping or drug misuse, have a risk themselves, as overreliance o...

We interview new faculty member Jeremiah Chin, an expert on children's rights and constitutional rights, about Held v. Montana , the first constitutional climate trial led by children in U.S. history. The Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the 16 youth plaintiffs in December 2024 that Montana's fossil fuel energy policies and actions violate the children's state constitutional rights. An expe...

To open season seven of Discovery, we're discussing voter suppression through a social science lens with UW Law faculty member Danieli Evans. The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election is just weeks away and concerns around preserving voters' rights are ever-present as Americans begin casting their ballots. Poll taxes, strict voter ID laws and restrictions on mail voting are examples of policies limiting...

Some scholars call our politically fraught and hyper-partisan times "the age of impeachment." They claim the increased use of impeachment and removal proceedings signals an erosion in institutional norms, perhaps that we've even "overwhelmed" the use of impeachment and diluted impeachment of any significance. What does U.S. impeachment history tell us? The Constitution provides that treason, bribe...

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee to personal liberty does not include the right to abortion and returned the power to regulate abortion to individual states. Justice Samuel Alito said in the Court's majority opinion that the decision in Dobbs v. The Jackson Women's Health Organization would end the abortion controversy once and for all. However, in ove...

Beginning with the tale of an unsolved mystery, and expanding to the U.S. Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, UW Professor of Law Mary D. Fan takes us through a look at how crimes are being solved through t he use of digital searches. Keyword and geofence warrants are now tools helping law enforcement identify unknown perpetrators. However, c ourts are split over their constitutionality. Search and...

The Supreme Court has categorically ruled that the application of neuroscience research to the legal culpability of minors committing crimes, no matter how serious, must be considered in the criminal justice system. In addition to maintaining public safety, the primary goals of the juvenile justice system include rehabilitation and successfully reintegrating youth into the community after time is...

In this episode of "Discovery," we interview our first return guest, Professor Robert Tsai of the Boston University School of Law. Tsai visited the UW Law Faculty Colloquium to discuss his forthcoming (and fourth) book, Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer's Pursuit of Equal Justice, a historical thriller about the decline of the death penalty adjacent to the career of attorney Stephen Bright, execut...

If fishing in international waters is legal, what about mining asteroids and the moon for water ice and precious metals? Turns out in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) i s lawful, as governed by the Outer Space Treaty and Artemis Accords , and embraced as advancing the cause of space exploration . Of interest to NASA an d other civil space agencies around the globe , as well as a number of companie...

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against race-based admissions at college campuses nationwide after hearing companion cases by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) that challenged admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC). SFFA overturned the 2003 ruling by a more liberal Supreme Court in the case Grutter v. Bollinger , which affirmed that a student's r...

Over the last half century, Congress has passed strong laws relating to environmental protection, covering a range of resources and industries. Despite these bold and comprehensive laws, implementation can be challenging, especially when it comes to the court system's interpretation of them. Sanne Knudsen, the Stimson Bullitt Endowed Professor of Environmental Law at UW Law, calls out the United S...

On March 20, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Arizona v. Navajo Nation, a case in which UW Law professor Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center, filed an amicus brief with other professors and the Native American Rights Fund on February 8, 2023. The brief requests that the Court acknowledge that the Winters water rights doctrine, established in 1908, enfor...

As part of UW Law's storytelling around Black History Month, the Discovery podcast interviewed Dr. Kara Swanson, professor of law and affiliate professor of history at Northeastern University in Boston, about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. This lesser-known event, which Dr. Swanson calls the "racially motivated wholesale destruction of a community," details the tragedy that befell the lives and...

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown is the first black U.S. attorney in Washington state history and the chief law enforcement officer in Western Washington. He chairs the Civil Rights subcommittee for all U.S. attorneys in the country. Brown recently visited UW Law as part of the Innovative Justice Speaker Series. A former "Survivor" alumnus from one of the first seasons, U.S. Attorney Brown is a Moreho...

Many of the performers and composers in legacy Black music have never been compensated for their cultural production, despite longstanding acceptance of their formative influence on the music industry. Copyright law doctrine includes formalities that continue to divest what is due to Black artists, widening the racial justice gap in the entertainment industry. A Yale Law School graduate and U.S. M...