Boom! Lawyered

This week, the Supreme Court ruled that a provision of an Indiana law mandating the burial or cremation of fetal remains could take effect. At the same time, it blocked a separate provision of the Indiana law banning abortions based on the race, sex, or disability of a fetus. Imani and Jess explain Tuesday’s decision, Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion equating modern-day family planning with eugenics, and signals from the Court’s conservatives that access to birth control is in their crosshairs. Read Imani's award-winning Margaret Sanger piece here.

Conservative lawmakers are passing total and near-total abortion bans with the explicit hope that they will be used to overturn Roe v. Wade. But how would that work, exactly? Imani and Jess explain the arguments that would fuel a legal challenge to Roe and how a bad decision could then be used to attack state laws protecting abortion rights. Download Imani's highlighted copy of the Roe v. Wade decision. To see the highlights, use Adobe Acrobat on a computer or a PDF app on your phone.

Franchise Board of California v. Hyatt may not be the most important case of the Supreme Court term, but the fallout from the Court's decision to overturn decades of precedent could have major ramifications for Roe v. Wade. In fact, Justice Stephen Breyer sounded the alarm himself in his dissenting opinion. In this episode of Boom! Lawyered, Imani and Jess explain what happened and what it could mean for abortion rights, marriage equality, and more.

The near-total ban on abortion recently passed in Georgia contrasts sharply with the landmark decision in Kansas that declared abortion a natural right. Jess and Imani explore which of those paths other states are likely to follow and the main reason there's still hope for abortion rights in America.

The Supreme Court announced this week that it will hear three cases that could determine what, if any, protections LGBTQ employees have from job discrimination. Jess and Imani explain what it means that the Court agreed to hear all three cases together and how the effects of a bad ruling could extend into housing and health-care discrimination.

Imani and Jess discuss the case of Jamal Knox, a young rapper who was convicted for terroristic threats and witness intimidation based on the lyrics of his music. When are words “true threats,” and when are they protected free speech? And why do most court cases on speech seem to be decided in whichever direction benefits white Christian patriarchy?

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to take a case that would give school districts the ability to affirmatively discriminate against transgender students. Jess and Imani explain how a bad decision in this case could enshrine the bogus concept of "reverse discrimination" into law, putting even more rights—and lives—at risk.

In a new filing this week, President Donald Trump's Justice Department declared that it wants the courts to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional. This comes on the heels of a recent district court decision making the same argument by U.S. District Court Judge and noted malcontent Reed O'Connor. Jess and Imani explain this new strategy, the legal errors underpinning it, and its odds of success in the Era of Kavanaugh.

Jess and Imani answer listener questions across a range of important issues. Where can we find hope for the future of reproductive rights? How soon will people feel the impact of so many recent ultra-conservative judges appointed to the lower courts? And what beverage pairs well with a delicious criminal indictment?

Ryan Magers is suing the Alabama Women's Center for wrongful death because his girlfriend, who was 16 at the time, got an abortion—with the consent of her parents—against Magers's wishes. How is this even possible? And how does this case fit into the ongoing anti-choice campaign for "fetal personhood?" Imani and Jess have those answers and more.