Broken Law
Ever feel like the law is stacked against you? It probably is. Broken Law speaks truth to power in discussing how our laws and legal system serve the few at the expense of the many. This is where law meets real life. Hosted by the staff of the American Constitution Society, we reckon with the origins of our legal system, interview people on the frontlines of the progressive legal movement, and chat about necessary legal reforms to restore our democratic legitimacy and improve the lives of all people.
Episode 170: Public Policy and Religious Exemptions Collide Again, and Again, at SCOTUS
The Court is entering its final stretch of oral arguments for the 2024-2025 term and they will be hearing four important cases with significant First Amendment implications, particularly when it comes to the separation of church and state. Hirsh Joshi joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss the tension between public policy goals and religiously motivated exemptions in each of these cases.
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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program
Guest: Hirsh Joshi, Attorney and Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow, Fre...
Episode 169: We Are in a Constitutional Crisis
More than 950 law scholars from around the country have signed on to a bipartisan letter decrying President Trump’s slew of illegal executive orders and actions. Christopher Wright Durocher talks with principal author and coordinator of the letter Kent Greenfield about what prompted these scholars to speak out and where this crisis may lead.
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Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program
Guest: Kent Greenfield, Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law SchoolÂ
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Episode 168: Confronting the War on Immigrants
Perhaps more than any other issue, harsh immigration enforcement has defined President Trump’s political career. Since returning to office, the President has moved to end birthright citizenship, authorized ICE to raid schools and churches, and announced plans for mass detention centers on Guantanamo. Professors Ana Raquel Minian and Amanda Frost join Taonga Leslie to help us make sense of the raft of anti-immigrant actions and what they mean for our civil and constitutional rights more broadly.
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Host: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy an...
Episode 167: TikTok, Adult Content, and the First Amendment's Big Month at the Court
The Supreme Court recently heard two cases that could have significant implications for the way we live our lives online. Gautam Hans joins Lindsay Langholz to reflect on the arguments made to the Court, how to interpret the TikTok v. Garland decision and chaotic aftermath, and why we should all care about broad restrictions on adult content websites.
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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program
Guest: Gautam Hans, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Civil R...
Episode 166: What's Next for DEI?
From the first Trump Administration's executive order restricting equity and inclusion discussions across the federal government to the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions, the last few years have seen significant legal attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. David Glasgow joins Taonga Leslie to discuss the historical context of DEI, the current state of play as we enter a second Trump Administration, and potential opportunities for individuals and companies to be doing more.
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Host: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy a...
Episode 165: Judging the Failure of Constitutional Theory
What is constitutional theory and do judges actually need one? Mark Tushnet joins Christopher Wright Durocher to discuss his new book, Who Am I to Judge? Judicial Craft Versus Constitutional Theory, and how reasoned judgment can lead the way forward.
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Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program
Guest: Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Emeritus, Harvard Law School
Link: Who Am I to Judge? Judicial Craft Versus Constitutional Theory, by...
Episode 164: Holiday Reading Wishlist
If you are doing some last minute holiday shopping or resolving to read more books in 2025, we have got you covered. Lindsay Langholz and Christopher Wright Durocher share what books are on their wishlist this holiday season, and Valerie Nannery speaks with Joshua Perry about his novel, Seraphim.
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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program
Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program, ACS
Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy a...
Episode 163: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: How Trump Will Move To Roll Back Protections Under Federal Law
Bethany Davis Noll, Executive Director of The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, joins Valerie Nannery to talk about how a second Trump Administration will move to roll back federal regulations, how he harnessed previously low-profile tools to roll back regulations during his first term in office, and how this changed the way the Biden Administration approached regulatory changes.
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Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program at American Constitution Society
Guest: Bethany Davis Noll, Executive Director, State Energy...
Episode 162: The Threat of a National Abortion Ban in All but Name
How might a Trump administration effectively ban abortion without actually signing a national abortion ban into law? Abortion advocates are sounding the alarm over a 1873 law known as the Comstock Act. Lindsay Langholz joins Christopher Wright Durocher to take a critical look at this zombie law - why it was passed, how it has historically been used, and how an incoming Trump administration might take advantage of this dusty section of the United States Code.Â
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Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and...
Episode 161: Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop. Judicial Confirmations Post-Election
The 2024 presidential election is behind us. Now, the second Trump administration looks poised to pick up where the first left off in its effort to reshape the federal judiciary in the conservative legal movement’s image. ACS President and former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold joins Christopher Wright Durocher to discuss prospects for the current Senate to confirm President Biden’s remaining judicial nominees to mitigate the damage of more Trump-appointed judges and to discuss what progressives can do about the courts right now and over the next four years.
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