What Next is still enjoying the three-day weekend, so we proudly present this special episode of Amicus.

Dahlia Lithwick is joined by two key players from this week’s consequential voting rights cases at the US Supreme Court. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s senior counsel Deuel Ross argued part of Merrill v Milligan at the High Court on Tuesday, and Evan Milligan of Alabama Forward is the named plaintiff in one of a pair of cases that argued that Alabama’s congressional maps are racially gerrymandered in violation of Section II of the Voting Rights Act. They take listeners inside the arguments, and provide vital context for the challenges faced by residents of Alabama’s Black Belt in accessing healthcare, infrastructure and not coincidentally, political representation.

Next, Dahlia is joined by Sam Sankar, Senior Vice President of Programs at Earth Justice to discuss what went down in Sackett v EPA, a case argued Monday that could have wide-ranging effects on the waters and wetlands of the United States.

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Mark Joseph Stern to talk about the new dynamics of arguments with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson taking her seat at the High Court, the conservative reaction to their favorite text and history rubric being applied by the first African American woman on the court (huh, they don’t love it?), and what to expect from a new filing in the Mar A Lago investigation that’s on its way to 1, First Street. Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.

Dahlia’s new book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25% discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout.

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Brainwave 236 - Lectionary Texts for May 27, 2012