Jess and Imani get into the heart of the New York Times' bombshell reporting over the weekend that alleges Justice Samuel Alito leaked a 2014 opinion on a big contraception case. So, just how corrupt is Alito, and can anything be done about it?As Jess says, "The allegations in the New York Times piece are absolutely extraordinary. They totally paint this picture of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas as ... just straight-up partisan operatives ... helping the Court craft policy."Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

If the midterms solidified anything, it's this:The Supreme Court is a vehicle for how the white supremacist project of dominance—the relegation of women and other potential pregnant people to second-class citizenship and erasure of marginalized people—will be implemented.Jess and Imani get deep into how the election showed we’re in a battle between the democratic will of the voters and a captured federal judiciary that is intent on imposing its own white Christian vision of the United States.And yes, while we learned that when abortion is on the ballot, abortion wins, it means the anti-abortion movement will work even harder to keep abortion off the ballot moving forward.Mentioned in this episode:Justice Jackson Obliterates Originalism in Voting Rights CaseRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

While you were paying attention to the midterm election results, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was enacted 44 years ago this week to keep Native children and their families intact.In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani lay out what's at stake in Brackeen v. Haaland and other consolidated cases for tribal sovereignty and protections—and how overturning the precedent set forth in the ICWA will mean Native children will pay the price.As Imani says, "We're talking about the literal destruction of tribal sovereignty as it's been in place for centuries, and that should concern everyone."Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

It's our first live!In this rapid reaction episode, Jess and Imani break down all the shenanigans that were afoot at the Supreme Court today as the justices heard oral arguments in what could end race-based affirmative action as we know it in higher ed admissions.You can also watch the video playback of the live episode here.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered–especially rapid reaction episodes like this one—one are only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Imani and Jess are being upfront—and admitting they got something wrong. It’s about the 2020 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the justices held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects trans and gay employees at the workplace.Upon reflection, it turns out that the Bostock opinion is one giant goose egg—and Justice Neil Gorsuch is to blame. As Jess says in the episode, "He managed to write the decision and tailor it so narrowly that it left open room for future conservative fuckery."That moment has arrived.Mentioned in this episode:Thanks a Lot, Justice Kennedy. How Screwed Are We Now?Idaho Conservatives Want to Ban Drag PerformancesRewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Jess and Imani are all over National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, the Supreme Court case about pork production and regulation in California—but  really, it's low-key a case about abortion rights. Yes, pork rights are abortion rights.To understand the interconnectedness, you'll need to know about the commerce clause and the dormant commerce clause. This is a one meaty episode you won't want to miss.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, it's Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's first official week on the Supreme Court. And it was a big one! Jess and Imani get into the important voting rights case the justices heard and how Jackson is already making her mark on the bench.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Your favorite legal journalists Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy bring you everything you need to know about the new Supreme Court term and how the cases on the docket will represent the biggest step forward for the white evangelical movement in modern history.As Imani says in the episode, by the end of summer 2023, we could be looking at a world where business owners can discriminate against LGBTQ folks, tribal sovereignty is destroyed, and Black and brown voters experience even more voter suppression than they already do."It's bananas to me to think that we're previewing a term that's poised to be worse than one that overruled Roe v. Wade, that erased from history 50 years of constitutional law precedent—but here we are," Jess says.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

Host Imani Gandy is flying solo and is joined by friend-of-the-pod Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation. They have a super-sized conversation about the dystopian, post-Roe world the Supreme Court justices have created. They dissect why some people are afraid to say the word abortion (we're looking at you, President Biden) as if it's a shameful thing, and how that connects to the failings of comprehensive sex ed in schools.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

President Joe Biden took some baby steps—finally—to protect abortion in the country. But it's just not enough to get folks abortion care today.In a new episode of Boom! Lawyered, co-hosts Jessica Mason Pieklo and Imani Gandy dig into Biden's broad-strokes executive order, which is delivers big on aspirations and little on actual direction and action points.As Jess says in the episode: “Waiting to respond, issuing a response that so clearly doesn’t meet the moment—we’re sending signals that what the Supreme Court is doing is OK. Like the Supreme Court is functionally exercising a judicial coup in this country. It’s just doing what it wants because it can. The law is no longer a barrier to anything.”Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means that Boom! Lawyered is only made possible by the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that’s exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.