It's been a while since we've gotten into the background of the Supreme Court, so this week, Brett and Nazim discuss the self-imposed scope of the Supreme Court's Power by way of a weird behind-the-scenes nuance of the San Francisco v. Sheehan case on police force. Much like any powerful individuals with unfettered power, the Supreme Court has had a strange amount of discretion in the limits of what it can do under the Constitution and has defined its role in the government carefully. By discussing judicial review, Marbury v. Madison, and standing, Brett and Nazim illustrate how they're basically a government institution with the same morals as Spiderman.
This week's podcast covers Jesinoski v. Countrywide Loans, a case that deals directly with the mortgage crisis of the mid-2000s. Brett and Nazim give background on the general topic of buying a house and why the Jesinoski case could give aggrieved homeowners a leg up against banks that caused this mess in the first place.
AKA, the Devil's Threesome. This week, Brett and Nazim cover the case of Williams-Yullee v. Florida Bar, which decided whether restrictions on a Judge's campaign donations were a violation of the First Amendment. This leads to a bigger discussion on Citizens United, in which popular opinions are polled to see if Citizens United is the worst decision of last few years, or the worst decision ever.
Brett and Nazim discuss the technical side of the death penalty, including how it is administered, the jury requirements and why Nazim thinks it costs too much. The cases, Kansas v. Carr and Brumfield v. Cain, help show how the death penalty comes before the Court and also that Court officials adminstering the death penalty make the same dumb mistakes at work that we all do.
We're running back the same sex marriage case to talk about the Oral Argument held on April 28, 2015. Brett and Nazim discuss the nuances of oral argument, who should be panicking based on the judge's questions, and which N'Sync member can be most associated to Justice Breyer.