Strict Scrutiny

How do you solve a problem like SCOTUS? Kate kicks off our Hot Supreme Court Reform September series with the New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie. They dig into the ins and outs of expanding the Court: what the process could look like, the argument for making the entire federal judiciary bigger, and how to avoid an FDR-style fail.
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You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback
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For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

In this bonus episode, Leah and Melissa break down the Supreme Court’s decision to let Trump move forward with plans for a White House ballroom, despite lower courts finding that the project cannot proceed without congressional authorization and appropriated funds. They also discuss a whistleblower’s allegations that the federal government is defying court orders on voting by mail, and new reporting from Jodi Kantor on the Supreme Court’s secretive policies governing when the justices’ papers and internal records will be made public.

Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.

New Strict merch available here.

You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

Kate and Leah break down last week's atrocious shadow docket order on the President's wildly illegal executive order concerning elections and absentee ballots, which furthers the administration's effort to, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warns, "foment chaos ahead of the November elections." Then, after touching on other legal news from the week, Leah speaks with former Governor of North Carolina—and current Senate candidate—Roy Cooper about the Court’s gutting of election law and what he’ll do about it when he’s elected. Finally, we kick off Hot SCOTUS Reform September with a conversation about docket reform featuring One First’s Steve Vladeck. Look out for our bonus series on Supreme Court reform every Thursday in September!
Favorite things:

Leah: Pumpkin spice latte season; Taylor Swift’s Icon Session; Operation Metro Surge resistance takes center stage in State Fair art (MPR News); KBJ’s dissent in Trump v. California

Kate: Paradiso 17, Hannah Lillith Assadi; Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times, Skye Perryman; The Political Supreme Court, Rachel A. Shelden; End Times Fascism, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor; meeting Mikey Friedman and learning about Page Break; Dolly Parton tributes

Take the Strict Scrutiny survey.
New Strict merch available here.
You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

In the second episode of our Know Your Rights series, Leah and Melissa sit down with NYU Law’s Daniel Harawa to break down what you do—and don't—have to say when law enforcement stops you. They cover the difference between being seized and a consensual encounter, and the crucial distinction between knowing your rights on paper and using your judgment to stay safe in the moment.
You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com
Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com

Huge news for lawyers: You can now listen to Strict Scrutiny for CLE credits in California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Oregon! More info at crooked.com/strict_cle

Leah is joined by guest co-host Somil Trivedi, advocacy director & senior counsel at Court Accountability, to run through last week’s legal news, which involves a whole lot of straight up fascism, the corruption that enables it, and the rising tide of Christian nationalism. They also ask the important questions: Who’s the richest SCOTUS justice? And…what exactly is Trump babysitter Natalie Harp’s whole deal? Then Melissa sits down with Jesse Wegman for a conversation about his book, The Lost Founder: James Wilson and the Forgotten Fight for a People's Constitution.
Favorite Things:

Leah: The Natalie Harp saga; The Five-Star Weekend (Peacock); Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers; He Was Deported to a Country He’d Never Heard Of. He May Never Go Free, Nicholas Casey (NYT); Kate’s conversation with Julia Angwin and Ami Fields-Meyer about their book, On Courage; The Wrong Kind of American, Julia Curlee (The Atlantic)

Somil: Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers; Frozen Charlotte, Jack White

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com

Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback
Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky

For a transcript of an episode of Strict Scrutiny please email transcripts@crooked.com