The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court

This week's episode once again covers former President Donald Trump's cases before the Supreme Court, dealing mostly with Trump v. U.S. (whether a President has absolute immunity for criminal actions), but also covering Fischer v. U.S. (whether a statute meant to resolve evidence tampering can also be applied against January 6th Defendants). Brett and Nazim, always sensitive to your tolerance for Trump cases, also give you a crash course in the Confrontation Clause in the third act of this episode by covering Smith v. Arizona. Law starts at (05:43).

This week's episode covers the most recent abortion case before the Supreme Court, which covers less about the Constitution, and more about administrative law and the adversarial nature of the American legal system. Brett and Nazim discuss the basics underlying the case and also predict the outcome based a fairly one-sided oral argument. The law starts at (05:00).

Time is a flat circle, folks. Fresh off the heels of two SCOTUS decisions, Brett and Nazim discuss the Supreme Court hearing Trump's Executive Immunity defense in Trump v. U.S., and the Supreme Court's holding in Trump v. Anderson which bars Colorado from removing Trump from the ballot. Next time we'll talk about something else. We promise. At least we hope. Law starts at (03:00) following some sweet Dune talk.

This week's episode covers Trump v. Anderson, which asks whether Colorado can prevent Donald Trump from being on the Presidential ballot due to the 14th Amendment. Considering how insane this case is, your boys discuss the lower decision to determine how the Supreme Court will likely reverse this, while discussing history, January 6th, and Colorado statutes. Law starts from the beginning.

Well hello there. The podcast returns for a discussion on executive immunity (United States v. Trump), double jeopardy and the insanity defense (McElrath v. Georgia) and the second amendment's application to domestic violence crimes (Rahimni v. U.S.). Other topics discussed include breakfast foods, Fortnight, and what 2024 may bring to the brains of legal scholars. Law starts at (08:30)

Brett and Nazim are back to discuss the case of Students for Fair Admissions v. North Carolina/Harvard, in which the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs in school admissions. The Law starts at (8:20), and Nazim's sound is wonky for like three minutes at the start. We are sorry, but we missed you if that makes up for it.

Well hello there. Your boys are back to discuss the two lousy decisions of Biden v. Nebraska (holding the President cannot forgive student loan debt pursuant to the HEROES Act) and 303 Creative v. Elenis (holding that Colorado's Public Accomodations Law violates the First Amendment's ban on compelled speech when applied to a wedding website designer). Law starts at (02:21).

This week's episode covers big opinions from the past few weeks, including Twitter v. Taamneh (whether social media is civilly liable for terrorism), Sackett v. EPA (how do different justices interpret the Clean Water Act), Pork Council v. Ross (does the Dormant Commerce Clause bar California from legislating out of State) and Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (does fair use consider artistic merit or commercial usage). Law starts at (4:40).

This week's episode covers two cases, Gonzales v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, which appear to cover broad, important issues at first (the recruitment of terrorism on the internet), but seem more likely to affect narrow, trivial issues later on (how Youtube recommends videos for you). This episode also talks voting, Legend of Zelda and Shake Shack's Tiramisu Milk Shake. Law starts at (5:30), but the milkshake gets reference all the way through, my dog.

This week's episode is jam-packed with current events, as it covers Clarence Thomas' recent ethics controversy, followed by Alliance for Hippocratic Oath v. United States FDA, which asks whether the Court can overrule FDA approval for abortion medication a few decades later. This episode was recorded a few hours before the decision came out, but still goes into detail on the merits of the issue and how it compares to previous abortion cases to help explain the final opinion. Law starts at (2:35).

Brett and Nazim continue last week's episode of covering new cases on the docket in 2023, which include Samia v. U.S. (does the Confrontation Clause bar vague, redacted accusations), Groff v. DeJoy (what level of accommodation do employers have to provide for religious exceptions, and Counterman v. Colorado (what level of mens rea is necessary when you are threatening people online). Law starts at (2:20)

Look! We're back! Brett and Nazim return to discuss new cases added to the docket in 2023, including United States v. Hanson (whether an immigration statute is void for vagueness), and Jack Daniels Properties v. VIP Properties LLC (whether Jack Daniels can sue a Dog Toy manufacturer for trademark infringement). We also discuss some current events and why the podcast was gone for a bit. Law starts at (10:20).

There are no Christmas themed cases this year, so Brett and Nazim usher in our holiday break by covering In re Grand Jury, a case with anonymous parties, no facts, and the Supreme Court seemingly poised to overturn a generally reasonable 9th Circuit Decision. Let the good times roll. The law starts at (9:23), some scheduling announcements start at (06:50), and Nazim's Gift List starts right after the theme song. The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court will return sometime late winter/early spring.

Ho ho ho! Just in time for the holidays, the podcast covers the most direct example of the Supreme Court possibly taking $20,000.00 out of your pocket. This week, Brett and Nazim discuss Biden v. Nebraska, which covers whether the Supreme Court will vacate a stay on President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan by playing all the President's administrative law hits from the past few years. Law starts at (05:05).

This week's episode covers the case of Haaland v. Brackeen, a case involving Tribal Sovereignty and (stop us if you've heard this before) an argument to overrule a decades-long statute because it was decided incorrectly in the first place. Law starts at (06:50).

Happy Thanksgiving, folks. This year's mailbag covers topics such as a Supreme Court code of ethics, the leaked Dobbs opinion, strict scrutiny on religious laws, and senate confirmation hearings, BUT ALSO covers a professional wrestling match called WARGAMES, football, and whether cheesecake is a pie. It's all very on-brand and there's no time stamp because its Thanksgiving. The podcast will return next Sunday (12/4).

If you love that age-old classic, you're going to love this week's episode covering Sackett v. EPA, which asks the Court to revisit the EPA's definition of "a wetland", after they were unable to come to a consensus sixteen years ago. Brett and Nazim also discuss our upcoming Thanksgiving mailbag episode and the chances of Nazim eating himself to death next week. The answer will not surprise you. Law starts at a robust (10:15).

Brett and Nazim are bringing up the caboose on last week's news, covering Affirmative Action oral argument highlights, Lindsey Graham looking to avoid a subpoena, and Trump asking the Supreme Court to help protect his tax returns. Everything old is new again. Law starts at (04:55).

This week's episode serves as the spiritual successor to Thursday's episode on intellectual property, as Brett and Nazim discuss Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts v. Goldsmith, which asks whether Warhol's depictions of a photograph are protected by the doctrine of fair use from the photographer and copyright holder of the original picture. The law starts from the beginning.

Brett and Nazim continue a series of shorter episodes on fundamental legal topics. This episode covers intellectual property, including what is protected, how it is protected, and why we sometimes let that protection lapse in the interests of good and evil.