Amarica's Constitution

Neal Katyal, now at the peak of the Supreme Court bar, reviews many of the big issues the Supreme Court will face in the new term, as well as some just past.  Abortion, affirmative action, and cases involving a tension between legitimate governmental action and religious organizations are all discussed from the unique perspective of this remarkable litigator, professor, author, and television commentator.

After teasing it for months, Neal Katyal, perhaps our nation’s finest Supreme Court advocate, joins Amarica’s Constitution.  The dramatic rise of a truly great lawyer is a fascinating story, including the case that launched Neal into Supreme Court practice - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.  Later he would become Acting Solicitor General and then move into John Roberts’ old chair as the head of the Supreme Court appellate office at Hogan Lovells, Georgetown Law Professor, nationally-known media personality, author including sometimes co-author with Professor Amar, and even a TV actor. There’s too much to tell in one episode, so Neal will return next week for analysis of some of today and tomorrow’s most compelling legal issues.

In these days of Zoom, Professor Amar’s testimony before The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States looks a lot like the old TV show, the Hollywood Squares, and Akhil is in the center square.  This is fitting, because his proposal for 18-year terms of active en banc service on the Court is front and center in these hearings.  Akhil and Andy review the work done in advance of this testimony, recapitulate the major arguments in the proposal, and look at the Q&A that followed in depth, along with the arguments of other panelists.

We continue to profile, recap, analyze, and learn from the nine Supreme Court Justices.  This week our focus turns to those justices appointed by Trump, and the seat that would be Garland’s instead went to Neil Gorsuch.  Akhil looks at cases old and new to find the highs and lows in Justice Gorsuch’s jurisprudence, and this justice who studied in two countries and clerked for two SCOTUS members, who calls neither of them his great influence, comes under our microscope.

We continue our Supreme Court series as the term has comes to a close.  Akhil profiles the “middle three” Justices:  Alito, Sotomayor, and Kagan.  Their backgrounds, their finest, and their not-so-finest moments are described and analyzed.  If a Justice seems destined to spend decades in dissent, can she leave a legacy?  We look at some who did.  Lots of law, lots of cases in this episode for SCOTUS/con-law nerds.

After decades on the bench, Justice Breyer’s distinguished career is, for better or worse, fodder for discussion and debate.  Akhil has brought a “refined legal realism” to profiling the various justices in terms of their backgrounds, legal and personal; the same approach provides a starting point for looking at this decision.  But as we move into the realm of politics and strategy, reasonable people may disagree - just as when sports are discussed. So, Andy and Akhil consider clock management and other coaching questions.

The Supreme Court’s 2020-21 term is closing, and we are opening a window into the Court.  We begin this multiple-episode series by looking closely at each Justice - specifically, their backgrounds and how their jurisprudence reflects influences from their past.  Each Justice has their best and worst moments in Akhil’s eyes, and we discuss them.  Also, Akhil has an important appearance coming up, so some background to that event is yours for the listening.

In this “additional” episode, Andy and Akhil switch roles and put the US Constitution aside for an hour, as they take a deep dive into the governance and politics of their beloved alma mater.  Yale recently initiated a scandal when their trustees abruptly eliminated most of the democratic elements whereby alumni participated in the governance of the University.  Andy was a candidate for election to the Yale Corporation, and he leads us through the weeds “inside Yale.”  Meanwhile, Nicholas Christakis, a Sterling Professor at Yale and an official of Yale’s Faculty Senate, joins us; he and Akhil offer a unique faculty-oriented perspective on events.  Anyone who cares about Yale will want to learn the facts behind this outrage.  And how does John Adams, a Harvard man, sneak his way in?

Akhil and Andy continue their tour of the 9 established colleges at the Founding, 7 were in the Ivy League, so the Ancient Eight will inevitably stand out in our survey - but they are not alone, as we discuss. Still it is remarkable that such a tiny portion of the population yielded so many familiar names.  Latter-day scholars from these institutions still loom large as well, from Daniel Webster and Charles Beard to Gordon Wood and Maggie Blackhawk - giants all.  And learn about one of the greats that you may not know well - Douglas Adair.

Akhil and Andy move from The College of New Jersey - Princeton in the period of America’s Founding - to the Princeton University of today, and discuss matters of agreement and disagreement between Akhil and some of the Orange and Black’s leading faculty lights.  Topics range from the 1619 project to the Electoral College and some of Andrew Jackson’s most controversial and misunderstood statements.  Finally, everything you never knew you wanted to know about property is revealed.