University of Miami School of Law: Explainer

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court waded into the fray during arguments over the partisan manipulation of congressional districts, or gerrymandering. Miami Law's Frances Hill’s scholarship often focuses on the intersection of tax law, federal election law, and the constitution. She is a highly-sought after commentator, has authored an amicus brief and has been a signer on other briefs fil...

Last week, a Florida jury deadlocked on attempted manslaughter charges against a white policeman in the shooting of a Black mental health therapist. The officer testified that he was aiming at an autistic man who he thought was holding the therapist hostage when he fired three bullets. Seven years ago, a self-appointed neighborhood watch volunteer gunned down a black teenager walking back from a c...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that they are returning the Gilded Coffin of the Priest Nedjemankh after evidence was unearthed that it was looted during the Arab Spring in 2011. The FBI has asked for governments’ assistance in returning from more than 40,000 cultural artifacts from everywhere from the Indo-Pacific region to the bones of 500 Arikara Native Americans that were illegally am...

“Making a Murderer” docu-series star Steven Avery served 18 years for a sexual assault and attempted murder he did not commit. Soon after release, the same county arrested and convicted him of murder. Twelve years into his current sentence, he has won the right to an appeal. Innocence Clinic Director Craig Trocino walks us through the case. Recorded on March 8, 2019.

With states positioning to act if the landmark Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, the woman’s right to choose is more at risk today than at any other time since its passing in 1974. Constitutional law expert Caroline Mala Corbin makes sense of the flurry of legislative activity. Recorded on February 22, 2019.

As dozens of lawsuits were filed at the end of January in Indiana, home of the NCAA, the future of football is under fire. Sports law expert and director of Miami Law’s Sports Law Track tackles the gridiron of the legislation. Recorded February 14, 2019.

Amazon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezo’s salvo aimed dead on at American Media Publisher David Pecker’s threat to publish salacious images. Miami Law cyber civil rights expert Mary Anne Franks answers the question: journalism or extortion? Recorded February 12, 2019.

Verifiable information and truth have been replaced with hyperbole and alternate facts in some sectors of the American consciousness in the topsy-turvy time of Trump. Communications law expert Lili Levi untangles the media morass.

At the heart of Frank v. Gaos, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, is an $8.5 million settlement from Google that ended up squarely in the pockets of everyone except those who were harmed by the tech giant’s violation. Class action expert Sergio Campos untangles not just the money trail but the possible outcomes. Recorded on January 31, 2019.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, even as even more Americans kept their coverage. Health rights expert JoNel Newman diagnoses the program’s past, present, and future. Recorded on January 23, 2019.

Palm Beach billionaire Jeffrey Epstein is a convicted pedophile and registered sex offender but escaped a long sentence in federal prison by cutting a secret deal with then U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta. Celeste Higgins, associate director of Miami Law’s litigation skills program and longtime federal public defender, tucks into the agreement, the victims, and the political fallout. Recorded in the Exp...

As the United Kingdom staggers toward the March 29 exit from the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May’s support has continued to erode. Miami Law British and European financial law expert Caroline Bradley digs into the building and fast-moving chaos. Recorded in the Explainer studios on January 10, 2019.

The U.S. has seen increasing numbers of children presenting at the southern border, either with family or without. Thousands are shuttled into camps or a patchwork of foster agencies across the country. Even in the best of examples, the children suffer from being separated from their families or people they know. Children and Youth Law Clinic Director Bernard Perlmutter carves out how we got here...

Acting Dean Osamudia James parses the widening gulf in the state of race in the United States and unpacks the ProPublica examination of racial disparities in educational opportunities and school discipline. Recorded in the Explainer studios on November 5, 2018.

Innocence Clinic Director Craig Trocino digs into the horrific Tree of Life crime scene and new evidence gathered in the case of Steven Avery, star of the Netflix breakout hit, “Making a Murderer.” Recorded in the Explainer studios on October 30, 2018.

From rancorous speech to pipe bombs, the U.S. is awash in partisanship. Apple and the big social platforms removed Infowars content from their sites. Miami Law’s Dr. Mary Anne Franks, president and policy director for the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, tackles the issues of free speech in a world of hate. Recorded in the Explainer studios on October 25, 2018.

The recent UN Climate Change Report contained dire forecasts of widespread wildfire, crippling food shortages, and mass coral reef die-offs as soon as 2040. Miami Law Environmental Justice Clinic’s Natalie Barefoot takes on the news. Recorded in the Explainer studios on October 16, 2018.

With the Kavanaugh hearings and confirmation in the rearview mirror, sexual assault expert and Miami Law Professor Tamara Rice Lave looks at the long-last impact of the nomincation that captured the nation. Recorded in the Explainer studios on October 11, 2018.

With the midterms just weeks away, voter disenfranchisement is on the lips of leaders in both parties. Constitutional law professor Charlton Copeland and political scientist Gregory Koger suss the vote, past, present, and future on the latest episode of the Explainer. Recorded in the Explainer studios on October 3, 2018.

Brexit and Trump’s retaliatory tariffs and upending of long-standing trade deals are rippling through world markets. Miami Law’s Caroline Bradley, former lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Kathleen Claussen, former associate general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, unbox trade in the time of Trump. Recorded September 25, 2018.

Musk tweets; he tokes; he drives the markets crazy. Teresa Verges, Miami Law’s Investor Rights Clinic Director and former assistant director of the SEC’s Miami Enforcement Office, wades into the morass to discuss what happens to investors when the CEO takes his hands off the wheel.

The recent use of the powerful opioid Fentanyl in Nebraska execution and Pope Francis’s declaration that all executions are unacceptable in the eyes of the Church has invigorated the capital punishment debate. Scott Sundby, professor of criminal law and author of “A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty,” joins the Explainer to look at all the angles.

Plastic guns are a security nightmare. A do-it-yourselfer with a half decent shop is unlikely to produce one on their own but with the help of technical spec blueprints, it poses a real threat. Michael Froomkin, a technology and internet law guru, talks about the complicated legal maneuvering underway to permanently block the release of 3D gun blueprints online.

The Miami Law Explainer is a weekly podcast from the University of Miami School of Law where faculty and clinician experts examine and explain the law one headline at a time. Join us as we take a smart look at the news of the day bringing context, relevance, and significance.

Kunal Parker, an expert on immigration and nationality law, unpacks what’s behind the citizenship question on the 2020 census and the battle to stop its inclusion. Is it a veiled attempt to Caucasian-ize the United States? Episode recorded on August 20, 2018.