Reasonably Speaking

In this episode of Reasonably Speaking, ALI President David Levi moderates a timely and incisive discussion on nationwide (or universal) injunctions—court orders that extend relief beyond the parties in a case, often halting federal policy nationwide. Featuring legal scholars William Baude and Samuel Bray, along with Judge Robin Rosenberg and former Judge Gregg Costa, the conversation explores the...

This episode addresses the alarming surge of attacks on judges and courts. These attacks range from threats and acts of physical violence to a corrosive rhetoric that undermines public confidence in the judiciary. While criticism of court decisions is a vital aspect of a healthy democracy, dismissing the courts as corrupt or illegitimate threatens the rule of law. ALI President David F. Levi moder...

Is America’s governing framework hindering our ability to make simple choices in daily life? In this episode of Reasonably Speaking, ALI President David F. Levi sits down with author and lawyer Philip Howard to discuss his new book, Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society . They’re joined by Judge Edith Jones and Professor Nicholas Bagley for a lively conversation that...

On the occasion of ALI’s anniversary, we brought together three of our project Reporters to talk about ALI’s history and a few of our most influential projects. In this discussion, ALI Centennial History Book Editor Andrew Gold is joined by Deborah A. DeMott (Reporter for Restatement of the Law Third, Agency), John C.P. Goldberg (Associate Reporter for Restatement the Law Fourth, Property), and Er...

Mike served as ALI's eighth president from 2000 to 2008, and Roberta as ALI's ninth and first woman president from 2008 to 2017. Both are recipients of ALI's Distinguished Service Award. Beyond the ALI, Mike is senior counsel at Cobalt in Berkeley, California. He's a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, among others. He's the recipient...

The tension between protecting and promoting freedom of speech is no better exhibited than in the university setting. Historically, colleges have been a place where young minds have been encouraged to exercise true freedom of thought. But to what extent is that freedom protected? Additionally, how does that freedom extend to university faculty?   On this episode of Reasonably Speaking , ALI Presid...

ALI President David F. Levi sits down with M. Margaret McKeown, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for a discussion on McKeown’s new book,  Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas—Public Advocate and Conservation Champion . U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas was a giant in the legal world, particularly as the longest-serving justice...

The Supreme Court of the United States has historically received criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. However, recent Gallop polls suggest a significant loss in confidence by the American people in several institutions of government, including the Court. These ratings were from June 2022 before the last few controversial decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court were entered, including th...

In April 2022, at the invitation of the leadership of The American Law Institute, a group whose members span a range of legal and political views, came together to consider possible Electoral Count Act (ECA) reforms. Despite holding diverse legal, political, and ideological commitments, the group is united by the belief that Congress should reform the ECA before the 2024 presidential election. The...

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke about his new book, The Authority of the Court and the Perils of Politics , and his views on judicial decision-making with David F. Levi, director of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School and president of The American Law Institute. During the hour-long conversation, Breyer reflects on his 27 years on the Court and discusses the roots of th...

Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into completing an ALI project? There’s nobody better to talk about the ALI process than four veteran Reporters whose projects may be completed at the 2021 Annual Meeting. In this episode of Reasonably Speaking, Reporter on one of our newest projects, Lyrissa Lidsky from Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Defamation and Privacy will moderate the panel of...

ALI President David F. Levi is joined by three former Solicitors General, Walter E. Dellinger, Donald B. Verrilli, and Seth P. Waxman, to discuss the topic of election litigation and reflect upon the unconventional challenges faced in the 2020 presidential election.

Join us for this episode of Reasonably Speaking where top scholars in U.S. presidency and political science discuss the the history of the U.S. presidency and its future "post–Trump."  Moderated by: ALI President David F. Levi Panel: Jack Landman Goldsmith, Harvard Law School David M. Kennedy, Stanford University Terry M. Moe, Stanford University Daphna  Renan, Harvard Law School

The treatment of the children in two distinct areas of the law – child welfare and juvenile justice – is fraught with difficulty even under the best of circumstances. But with the onslaught of the COVID pandemic, the regular challenges and the need to protect children have only been compounded. In this episode of Reasonably Speaking, juvenile justice scholar and Chief Reporter of the Restatement o...

This episode explores the multidistrict litigation (MDL) from their origins to current examples and recommended reforms. When complex issues effect large numbers of people, MDLs are often seen as the most efficient way to consolidate and manage those cases, recent examples include opioids and Roundup. Led by MDL expert and scholar Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, participants will discuss the nuances of...

The 2020 election is seeing unprecedented volatility leading up to November 3. Will this volatility make a difference, helping or hurting the system’s capacity to serve its purpose? This is the first of many questions about the 2020 election that this group of election law experts will tackle. Every election year presents its own unique set of challenges, but 2020 has been a uniquely challenging y...

Since the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, civil unrest has spread throughout the United States, causing many American citizens to question racial equality in every corner of our society. In this episode we will explore one of those corners, the justice system, to discuss how our courts and judges are addressing the complex topic of racism and racial disparities. The pa...

In Liu v. SEC (June 22, 2020), the Supreme Court of the United States held, in an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, that a disgorgement order that did not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits and was awarded for victims constituted “equitable relief” that was permissible under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5), rather than punitive sanctions, which...

On July 6, the Supreme Court of the United States held that states may replace and even punish “faithless electors,” the term used for a member of the U.S. Electoral College who does not vote for the presidential or vice presidential candidate they pledged to support. This episode will consider the implications of the Court’s ruling and reasoning for a broader set of questions on the Electoral Col...

This episode of Coping with COVID shifts attention from one pandemic to another, the plague of excessive force by police officers. This is an old and longstanding problem receiving new attention in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. Although we have witnessed these atrocities in the past, across the nation, citizens are coming together with a renewed strength to work together to find a so...

In its April 2020 primary election, Wisconsin experienced serious problems in its absentee balloting processes, which led to a federal court case (RNC v. DNC) that the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately resolved on election eve. The problem was that in the face of the current pandemic, the number of voters who requested an absentee ballot overwhelmed the election officials’ ability to get the ballots t...

Featuring one of the series of interviews that ALI is conducting as part of ALI’s Oral History Series, in this episode ALI Council Member Kenneth Frazier of Merck is interviewed by Alfred W. Putnam Jr. of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. This interview was conducted on January 22, 2020. Ken was elected to ALI membership in 1996, and to ALI’s Council in 2003. He has served as the Chairman of the...

The current public health crisis has raised a variety of new challenges in the workplace. What is the employer's responsibility to keep employees safe? Is an employee able to refuse to work? Can an employee share medical information without adverse consequences? Join us for this episode of Reasonably Speaking when we are joined by lawyers and scholars who are on top of these and other very complex...

As we saw in the first episode of Season 2, our state and federal courts have adapted much of their work to digital platforms. But some procedures or litigation events do not easily or obviously translate to digital. In this episode, judges and court administrators reveal how procedures and processes that traditionally rely heavily on in-person interactions, such as jury trials or mediations, can...

This episode features a previously un-aired portion of the season one episode “Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture.” On that episode, Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sat down with Judge Robert Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to talk a...