Boom! Lawyered

Jess was inside the courtroom this morning as the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in NIFLA v. Becerra, which will decide whether a clinic can be required to reveal whether they are a licensed reproductive health-care provider or an unlicensed fake clinic. She talks with Imani about the key arguments, memorable moments, and potential outcomes from the morning's events.

When a pregnant person walks into a clinic, should that clinic be forced to reveal whether they are a licensed reproductive health care provider or an unlicensed fake clinic? Imani and Jess break down NIFLA v. Becerra, the Supreme Court case that's about to answer that question.

Imani and Jess discuss a Supreme Court case that could spell the end of public sector unions as we know them. Who is bringing this case and what do they hope to achieve? Which justice could be the one to swing the wrecking ball? And why do conservatives always talk about the "right to work" when trying to end unionization? Answers to those questions and more await you on Boom! Lawyered.

Jess and Imani explain the laws and policies that pipeline pregnant people into the criminal justice system. Then they speak with the reproductive justice advocates at the SIA Legal Team about their important work on behalf of people who self-induce abortions. 

Jess and Imani delve into the laundry list of state abortion restrictions already introduced in 2018. Spoiler alert: not only are anti-choice legislators drafting many different kinds of restrictions, they are also employing new legal strategies to try and undo Roe v. Wade one bad bill at a time. Recommended Reading: Rewire False Witnesses project Rewire Legislative Tracker Texas Used Junk Science to Restrict Abortion, by Kathryn Kolbert for Slate, January 2015

Jess and Imani explain which states are trying to prevent you from voting, why the Department of Justice went from helping to hurting, and how this all might play out in the courts in 2018. Recommended Reading: Supreme Court Lets Mississippi’s Anti-LGBTQ Law Stand—for Now, by Jessica Mason Pieklo for Rewire.News, January 2018 Boom! Lawyered: Standing Edition, by Imani Gandy for Rewire.News, August 2016 A Dead-Simple Algorithm Reveals the True Toll of Voter I.D. Laws, by Issie Lapowsky for Wired, January 2018

In this episode, Jess and Imani talk with Rewire's Jenn Stanley and Sofia Resnick about their new audio documentary, "Marching Toward Gilead: The Rise of American Theocracy." This two-part documentary dives deep on Operation Save America (OSA), an organization committed to a theocratic vision of America, and reveals the alarming ways OSA’s fundamentalist far-right ideology has wormed its way into state and federal government. Jess and Imani also unpack the key laws involved, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the concept of "justifiable homicide."

Jess and Imani discuss protected speech, expressive conduct, going topless as protest speech, and whether or not you can refuse to bake a cake for a same-sex couple and call it "free speech." They also explain the convoluted process by which cases make it to the U.S. Supreme Court and read the latest listener reviews. More from #TeamLegal at Rewire.news: Boom! Lawyered: Supreme Court Edition Justice Neil Gorsuch Has Already Changed the Supreme Court Forever

Jess and Imani dive into the laws that define the concept of a person and how Congress and President Donald Trump are trying to sneak the anti-choice concept of "personhood" into everything from the Supreme Court to the latest tax legislation. Learn more at Rewire: Alabama Supreme Court Justices Make Case for Prosecuting Abortions Roe v. Wade and Fetal Personhood: Juridical Persons Are Not Natural Persons, And Why it Matters

Jess and Imani are joined by Ally Sheedy and her son Beckett Lansbury, a Title IX activist who is also transgender. Beckett explains why asking someone for their pronouns is important, why he decided to be public about his journey, and what allies to trans people can do to make a difference. Ally discusses her experience as the parent of a child coming out as transgender and what scares her the most about life under the Trump administration.