Amarica's Constitution

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.

Akhil and Andy continue their look around the Ivy League.  Having dispensed with Harvard, Princeton enters their sights, particularly their great early product, James Madison.  Was he truly “the father of the Constitution,” and why does it matter?  Two of the most important early Supreme Court cases are implicated - one you probably have heard of, and one you most likely have not.  And two big issues for the 21st century find their roots in these cases - and the Court will be heard soon enough on one or both.  And why does Bobby Bonds find his way into this episode?

That little-known school in Cambridge, Massachusetts keeps popping up.  Akhil and Andy, objective Yale men as always, look at how Harvard was in the room at the American Revolution’s first stirrings, how generations of Harvard men kept a version of that story alive, and how today’s Cantab Crowd stumble over their own stories in ways that profoundly influence our American dialog about our past and our present.  Akhil scrutinizes Harvard’s best and finds them brilliant but at times wanting - and issues an invitation to hash it all out.

For more than 50 years, any discussion of criminal defense attorneys, legal academics, and civil libertarians - as well as staunch advocates for Israel -  included Professor Alan Dershowitz.  Today he joins “Amarica’s Constitution” for a far-ranging conversation.  Torture warrants, Trump’s misdeeds, the life of a principled advocate and his family, censorship in social media, campus speech, the Israeli Supreme Court - all fall under his gaze, and our scrutiny.  We also discuss Prof. Dershowitz’s new book, “The Case Against The New Censorship.”

Our series on civil liberties, including especially the First Amendment and free speech, continues with perhaps its greatest advocate before the Supreme Court, Floyd Abrams.  It’s natural to assume that Floyd would be an absolutist on such bedrocks as the case New York Times v. Sullivan - especially since he has represented The NY Times for years.  But no, surprisingly, he expresses, to Akhil and Andy, certain abridgments of this case that he might consider if he were, say, on the bench.  This and so much more, as a momentous career is celebrated and revealed, from one’s duty to one’s client to what it’s like to appear before the Supreme Court.

In the wake of the publication of The Words That Made Us, Akhil comes full circle, as his first book was The Bill of Rights.  To complete that circle, Professor Nadine Strossen, the youngest person and first woman to lead the ACLU as its president (for 17 years!) joins Akhil and Andy for a discussion that ranges from the current Supreme Court case on cheerleaders’ (and all other students’) rights to the famous Tinker case; from Citizens United to The Godfather.  And just what is wrong with The Sopranos?