281 episodes

A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America.

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts Slate Podcasts

    • News
    • 4.9 • 78 Ratings

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A show about the law and the nine Supreme Court justices who interpret it for the rest of America.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Fixing The Court, One Story at a Time

    Fixing The Court, One Story at a Time

    Take your seats for a live show from Washington DC this week. This live show is part of Slate’s Full Court Press coverage, a provocation for the fourth estate to hold the third branch of government to account. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, Elie Mystal of The Nation, and Jay Willis of Balls and Strikes. As we perch on the precipice of another slew of catastrophic decisions this June, they unpack how Supreme Court reporting has failed to meet the moment - and crucially, what to do about it. 
    In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, listeners will hear the question and answer segment of the live show - with piercing audience questions such as: "Why do so many Democrats fail to take the court seriously?, and some vital advice for law students from Elie Mystal and Jay Willis. (Spoiler: Don't be Tom Cotton)
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    • 52 min
    Bonus: SCOTUS Nukes Wetlands Protections

    Bonus: SCOTUS Nukes Wetlands Protections

    In this bonus episode for Amicus Plus listeners, Dahlia Lithwick and Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern discuss the latest biggest Supreme Court decision: Sackett v EPA. It’s good news for developers and polluters, bad news for the rest of us.
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    • 3 min
    E. Jean Carroll and the Lawyer Who Beat Trump

    E. Jean Carroll and the Lawyer Who Beat Trump

    Get your tickets for Amicus Live in Washington DC on May 24th here:
    https://slate.com/live/amicus-live-may-24-in-washington-d-c-full-court-press.html
    Dahlia Lithwick is joined by a pair of legal history-makers, E Jean Carroll and Roberta Kaplan. They discuss the landmark defamation and sexual abuse case they won against former President Donald J Trump; how the case came together, what tipped the balance in court, if vindication lasts, and what happens when the defendant won’t stop doing the same defamation over and over again.
    In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to talk about the Mifepristone arguments at the 5th Circuit, North Carolina’s abortion ban, and why Justice Kagan and Sotomayor are duking it out in the footnotes over Andy Warhol. 
    Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. 
    Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout.
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    • 53 min
    The Supreme Court's Dangerous Return to Its Roots

    The Supreme Court's Dangerous Return to Its Roots

    Get your tickets for Amicus Live on May 24th. 
    On this week’s Amicus, we head to Seattle for a live taping of the show at the Cross Cut Festival with guest Michael Waldman, President of NYU Law School’s Brennan Center. Dahlia Lithwick asks him about his new book, THE SUPERMAJORITY: How the Supreme Court Divided America, and what the ongoing ethics scandals and plummeting public approval for the court mean for our democracy. They also look ahead to next month when the court’s legitimacy may be stretched even further by major decisions that fly in the face of the majority of public opinion.

    In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to talk about the decisions that came out this week concerning pork producers and public corruption, which delivered some surprising and depressingly unsurprising opinions. They also try to figure out how many more times E Jean Carroll might have to sue Donald Trump to halt his defamation demolition derby.

    Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show. 
    Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout. https://books.supportingcast.fm/lady-justice
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    • 48 min
    Clarence Thomas and the Billionaires

    Clarence Thomas and the Billionaires

    After weeks of controversy, piled upon intrigue, heaped with scandal and topped with crisis at the Supreme Court, it can be hard to get your bearings. What’s illegal, what’s unethical, what’s just a bit hinky? And what does it really mean for an institution that is about to hand down decisions that reach into every part of our lives, from justice to climate, from youtube to universities? On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Lisa Graves from True North Research. Lisa ia a veteran investigator of the dark money spigot that has been flooding the Supreme Court and rewarding some of the justices, and the causes and people close to their hearts. If you can’t see the woods for the trees, Lisa will paint you a picture. And that painting will, of course, include; Clarence Thomas, Leonard Leo, Harlan Crow and Mark Paoletta. 
    In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to talk about the possible end of Chevron deference the impacts for the administrative state, the Texas abortion case that is a case study in SB8 working exactly as it was intended, and why it is so puzzling that the Justices won’t rescue themselves from the ethics quagmire that’s sinking trust in SCOTUS.
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    • 47 min
    John Roberts’ Unfunny Stalking Jokes at SCOTUS

    John Roberts’ Unfunny Stalking Jokes at SCOTUS

    As laughter ricocheted around the Supreme Court chamber Wednesday, Professor Mary Anne Franks wondered if she could quite believe her ears. The matter of some hilarity, it seems, were messages sent by a convicted stalker to his victim. Individual messages that were among what one detective estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands - possibly as many as one million messages - sent by Billy Raymond Counterman to singer Coles Whalen. Counterman’s campaign of harassment drove Whalen away from performing, indeed drove her away from her home state. She moved across the country to get away. On this week’s Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Professor Mary Anne Franks to discuss Counterman v Colorado and how the details of a cyber-stalking case were lost to free speech concerns about trigger warnings and "sensitivity". You can read Prof. Franks’ powerful piece on this here. 

    In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Dahlia is joined by Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern to discuss the big fat settlement Dominion got in its defamation case against Fox News, and why it feels so unsatisfying, the religious liberty case you probably missed at the court this week, Groff v DeJoy. They also talk about how Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s continued absence from the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Democrats’ workarounds for it, are like bringing a bubble blower to a knife fight. 

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    • 1 hr 1 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
78 Ratings

78 Ratings

perryn_66 ,

The Lawlessness of Property and Ownership

Anyone who asks “one final doctrinal question” has me engaged. Great podcast, Dahlia. Next podcast subject: the 1981 Montreal Expos!

lippie5432 ,

The Class of RBG

What a relief to follow a story of ethical, intelligent and unique human beings. Even though these women were pioneers of another era they give me hope for the future as they will inspire the ethical, intelligent and unique human beings of our time. Thank you for creating this great podcast.

vvmike ,

Great show but could benefit from better objectivity

When covering a case before the courts it is regrettably common for one side (the 'correct' side) to be apportioned all of the coverage.

Almost by definition, cases that make it to the supreme (or a circuit) court are not clear-cut and it does listeners a disservice to not let both sides be adequately represented and not show the full amount of 'gray' in an issue.

As a publication that caters to a 'left-leaning' audience (myself included) I of course realize that Slate, and thus Amicus, will look at issues from a certain perspective. I will even acknowledge that, whether they will admit it or not, a publicaiton does need to reinforce existing beliefs lest the 'base' becomes upset, but I do think Amicus is uniquely situated to be objective, rational and respectful in the coverage of views the staff or listeners may not personally hold.

If the election a year ago taught us anything it is that we (the people) need to encourage the probing of our thoughts and beliefs and feel comfortable enough to ask uncomfortable questions. Amicus is a great show, and I love listening to Dahlia, however, let's please strive to be a bit more willing to think of all sides.

Thanks :)

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