Strict Scrutiny

Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down how the lower courts are challenging the Trump administration and expressing their frustration with SCOTUS. Then, they check in with two members of the supermajority: Brett Kavanaugh, who’s touting a shiny new shadow docket rebrand, and Amy Coney Barrett as she commences her cursèd book tour. Finally, the hosts speak with Yale Law professor Justin Driver about hi...

The gang is back together as Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down this week’s mountain of legal news, including the Court’s greenlighting of Trump’s anti-DEI National Institutes of Health cuts, the president’s war on mail-in ballots, and a batshit missive from Solicitor General John Sauer. Then, Leah speaks with candidate for Michigan attorney general Eli Savit about the latest threat to marriage eq...

Kate and Leah recap the week's legal news, including argument calendars for the next SCOTUS term and President Trump's attempted federal takeover of Washington, DC. Then, it's our third annual State of The Uterus episode. Melissa and Leah talk with Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen, founder of ClutchKit , about...

Melissa and guest co-host Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group break down the week’s legal happenings, including how Texas Democrats are attempting to thwart that state’s gerrymandering efforts, college admissions in the age of Trump, and more Epstein fallout. Then, Melissa chats with Duke Law Professor Brandon Garrett about his book, Defending Due Process: Why Fairness Matters in a Polarized World ....

Leah and guest co-host Mark Joseph Stern of Slate and the Amicus podcast run through what’s been happening in the courts this week, including disturbing attacks on judges, the confirmation of the extremely unsavory Emile Bove, and Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming appearance with Bari Weiss. Then, Kate and Melissa speak with Jessica Calarco, sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madi...

Kate and Leah break down the week’s legal happenings, including Trump’s flailing efforts to manage the Epstein fallout, the latest abomination from the shadow docket, and the legal quagmire surrounding Trump lackey Alina Habba’s appointment as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. Then, they speak with law professors—and former clerks for David Souter—Allison Orr Larsen and Erin Delaney about the late jus...

Melissa and Kate run through the latest legal news, including the Court greenlighting the dismantling of the Department of Education. Then, they speak with NYU law professor Rachel Barkow about her book, Justice Abandoned: How the Supreme Court Ignored the Constitution and Enabled Mass Incarceration .  Hosts’ favorite things: Kate : Legalistic Noncompliance , Leah Litman and Dan Deacon (University...

Katie Phang , independent journalist and trial lawyer, joins Leah to run through the week’s legal news–and there’s a lot of it! They unpack, as KBJ puts it, “this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture” and break down the latest thirstiness from the judges angling to be Trump’s next SCOTUS pick. Then, all three hosts are j...

With July upon us and bad decision season (mercifully) over, Leah, Kate and Melissa take a step back to recap this year’s SCOTUS term. They highlight some of the overarching themes, break down the biggest opinions, and look back at the moments they’ll remember forever–whether they want to or not.  Hosts’ favorite things: Melissa: KBJ’s footnote 12 in Stanley v. City of Sanford, Florida ; Seven Cha...

Leah, Melissa and Kate roll up their sleeves and unpack last Friday’s huge day at the Court, starting with Mahmoud v. Taylor, the case that tested Sam Alito’s ability to comprehend picture books. They also break down the outcomes of cases involving age verification for adult entertainment and the nondelegation doctrine. If you missed last Friday’s emergency episode on the birthright citizenship ca...

In an emergency episode, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down today’s radical decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., which gives this administration carte blanche to pursue its heinous agenda by curbing the judiciary’s ability to issue nationwide injunctions. Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!  3/6/26 – San Francisco 3/7/26 – Los Angeles Learn more: http://crooked.com/even...

In this emergency episode, Melissa, Leah and Kate are joined by Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, to unpack today’s ruling in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. They talk about what this could mean for patients and the devastating ripple effect it will have across the country. Also covered: the rest of today’s opinions and the Court’s cruel shadow docket ord...

First, Leah is joined by international law expert Bec Ingber to lay out legal issues around the use of force (aka bombing Iran). Then, Leah is joined by two guest hosts–former legal journalist Mike Sacks and Georgetown Law’s Steve Vladeck–to break down last week’s opinions from the Court. Everyone’s up to their old tricks: Coach Kavanaugh makes sports metaphors, Clarence Thomas concurs (shudder),...

In this emergency episode, Chase Strangio of the ACLU joins the pod to talk about today’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti. Then, Kate, Leah, and Melissa dive deep into the opinion, the various flavors of awful found in the concurrences from the majority, and what this decision might mean more broadly for the future of sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. Get tickets fo...

Melissa, Kate, and Leah can smell the fascism in the air as President Trump forces troops on California protesters. They discuss how he is (yet again) pushing the boundaries of authoritarianism, provide an update on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case, and unpack another flurry of Supreme Court Opinions. Then, they talk trans rights with Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice and staff...

Leah, Kate and Melissa unpack this week’s raft of SCOTUS decisions, including cases on “reverse discrimination” and whether Mexico can sue American gun manufacturers, and explain why a unanimous vote is more complicated than it appears. Also covered: Trump’s new travel bans and the Justice Department filing a lawsuit against North Carolina because...a Democrat won the supreme court race. Finally,...

Live from Capital Turnaround in Washington, D.C., Leah, Kate, and Melissa wade right into the swamp, breaking down the (very weird, very disturbing) sexual harassment claims against Texas’s ex-solicitor general, Judd Stone and holding their noses to read Coach Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion on the National Environmental Policy Act. Then, the hosts welcome special guests Ambassador Norm Eisen and Emily...

Melissa, Leah, and Kate kick the show off with a look at the Court’s 4-4 deadlock on Oklahoma’s religious charter school case. Then, it’s a romp through the shadow docket, Judge Jim Ho’s sweaty pleas for attention, Kristi Noem’s humiliating Senate hearing, and selections from Trump’s fascism grab bag. Leah also speaks with Professor Noah Rosenblum of NYU School of Law about the 6-3 decision from t...

May is supposed to be the calm before June’s opinion storm in SCOTUS-land, but not in Trump’s America. Melissa, Kate, and Leah kick off the show with the latest news, including Stephen Miller’s habeas suspension fantasies and the president’s blatant disregard of the emoluments clause when it comes to free jumbo jets. Then, the hosts are joined by professor Elora Mukherjee of Columbia Law School to...

Drop everything and read! This week, the hosts celebrate the release of Leah’s book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes . Just how did the vibes get so rancid? What is Sam Alito’s…whole deal? And where does Taylor Swift factor in? The answers to these questions (and more!) are in the book. Then, after a rundown of the latest news out of th...

Is this the term when the Court says “see ya” to the Establishment Clause? Leah, Melissa and Kate consider that question in their recap of this week’s religious charter school case, Oklahoma Charter School Board v. Drummond. Also covered: Advocate Lisa Blatt’s run-in with Neil Gorsuch during oral arguments for a disability rights case, opinions concerning SSI benefits and the Department of Transpo...

Kate and Leah recap oral arguments in two big cases the Supreme Court heard this week. The first is about LGBTQ+ inclusive reading materials in public schools, and the second is about the Affordable Care Act's mechanism for ensuring preventative care. There are also developments in the Alien Enemies Act litigation, and a devastating, if predictable, executive order targeting the Civil Rights Act....

Leah, Melissa and Kate join forces to dig through the Trump administration’s latest affronts to the law and the possibility that its officials could be held in criminal contempt. They also react in real time to the Court’s decision to take up the question of birthright citizenship and cheer Harvard’s stand against the administration. Finally, they take a look at what’s in front of SCOTUS this week...

This week, the Court weighed in on two cases arising out of the Trump administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport people to El Salvador. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down both rulings, looking at how SCOTUS is giving leeway to the administration. For the second part of the show, Deborah Archer, professor of law at NYU and president of the ACLU, joins to talk about her new book, D...

Leah and Kate recap recent opinions and arguments from the Supreme Court, including cases about tax exemptions for religious organizations and the future of Planned Parenthood. Along the way they celebrate Susan Crawford’s election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech on the Senate floor, touch on potential legal challenges to Trump’s ruinous tariffs, and discuss the lat...