Info

The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court

Brett and Nazim are two attorneys who hate being attorneys. In lieu of practicing law, they have instead developed a podcast to help make the Supreme Court more accessible to the average person. Each week, Brett and Nazim will discuss current Supreme Court cases and how they affect your daily life, while also ruminating on how their dreams of fame and fortune resulted in jokes about Star Wars and wondering how Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks about Facebook. This Podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not legal advice. If anything you hear leads you to believe you need legal advice, please contact an attorney immediately.
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
2024
March
January


2023
December
July
June
May
April


2022
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2017
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2014
December


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: 2019

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not legal advice.  If you hear anything that leads you to believe you need legal advice, please contact an attorney immediately.

Jun 2, 2019

This year's summit on guns (covering the case of New York Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. New York) was rudely interrupted by an abortion case (Box v. Planned Parenthood), thus creating a Voltron-like Supreme Court podcast where no one is happy.  Enjoy, kind of?  Law starts at (08:25).

May 26, 2019

Listen gang, it's a holiday.  Although this episode covers two decisions (Herrera v. Wyoming & Washing State Licensing Department v. Cougar Den), this episode has all the seriousness of an afternoon BBQ where Brett and Nazim cumulatively eat nine hotdogs.  Come for the insight on meaningless cases, stay for Brett's half-baked ideas (there are about 3).  Law starts at (09:47).

May 19, 2019

It's finally decision season, and Brett and Nazim are covering two cases with broader implications for the future.  First is Apple v. Pepper, which deals with conservative and evolutionary approaches to anti-trust common law, and the second is Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt, which deals with whether or not a controversial Constitutional interpretation should be overruled.  Law starts at (09:09).

May 12, 2019

The dreaded BORING TERM strikes again, as Brett and Nazim take a stab at covering bankruptcy law.  This episode discusses general bankruptcy practice withing the scope of Taggart v. Lorenzen, which asks whether a creditor who violates the automatic stay has a mistake of law defense.  Pay your bills!  The Law starts at (05:27).

May 5, 2019

Brett and Nazim are on their best behavior this week, as the episode deals with three LGBT cases that the Supreme Court decided to hear for next term.  The main case R.G. & G.R. Funeral Homes v. EEOC, deals with the interpretation of Title VII regarding sex discrimination, and the episode serves as a primer to more detailed discussion next term.  The law starts from the very beginning, inappropriate jokes are bleeped out, and the Avengers talk is at an all-time low.  Just try not to get to used to it.

Apr 28, 2019

The case of California Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt should be enough for an exciting episode (dealing with federalism, State immunity, and precedent) that Brett and Nazim could stick to the issues, but as all good episodes go, this one takes some twists and turns around cheese talk, disparaging surrounding States, and how to explain Easter to non-Christians.  To that end, the law starts early and goes off track, so if you're really hard up for the law, it starts around (09:06).

Apr 21, 2019

This week's episode covers the Freedom of Information Act, and how the Court will look at the pending case of Food Market Institute v. Argus Leader Media, which asks whether or not customer information is "confidential" to bar disclosure under FOIA laws.  In the general theme of secrecy, Brett and Nazim share closely held secrets, like who likes Game of Thrones more, and who drinks Mountain Dew.  Law starts at (07:55).

Apr 14, 2019

Look out drunks, because Wisconsin is coming for your blood.  This week's episode covers the case of Mitchell v. Wisconsin, which asks whether the police can take the blood of a passed out drunk driver without a warrant.  Brett and Nazim discuss oral argument in general, previous cases on this topic and which opinion of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is the lesser-est of three evils.  Law starts at (06:05).

Apr 7, 2019

This week's case covers Kisor v. Wlkie, which specifically questions whether or not Supreme Court precedent that defers to agency interpretations of their own regulations is Constitutional.  This case covers admin law in general, when a Court should overturn precedent, and whether or not the Constitution permits delegating such power to un-elected officials.  Now, just in case that sounds too serious, the words "The Farts Doctrine" comes up more than once.  Law starts at (03:49).

Mar 31, 2019

Brett and Nazim have gone big-time, as this week's episode covers Flowers v. Mississippi, a criminal Batson challenge case that's far more famous for being ripe for podcast commentary.  In place of ephemeral music and gotcha journalism, Brett and Nazim talk about the criminal justice system, Batson challenges, jury selection, and Clarence Thomas talking at oral argument.  Law starts at (06:32).

Mar 24, 2019

Hold on to your butts gang, cuz Brett and Nazim are talking THE WALL!  By way of background, Brett is sick with Kathleen Turner voice and Nazim has one foot on the door with busy weekend plans, so this episode is general coverage about whatever the hell is going on with the government these days, and then a quick and dirty look at Iancu v. Brunetti, which covers free speech and the trademark office.....again.  (Law starts at 04:45).

Mar 17, 2019

AKA THIS AGAIN.  This week's episode takes a dive into the last four years of gerrymandering cases to suss out what the Court is talking about in the current cases of Virginia v. Bethune-Hill (2019), Lamone v. Benisk, and Rucho v. Common Cause.  Come for the nuanced political discussion, stay to hear how beaten-down Nazim is on this issue compared to four years ago.  Law starts at (07:20).

Mar 10, 2019

This week covers the recent opinions in Timbes v. Indiana (Excessive fines and the Incorporation Doctrine), Madison v. Alabama (Death Penalty Capacity, and Garza v. Idaho (Ineffective Assistance for Appeals), but more importantly, it's time for wild dissents and the Men who love them.  Law starts at (5:00) and Nazim spoils Infinity War and JAWS if you haven't seen it yet.

Mar 3, 2019

This immaculately titled episode covers the case of Department of Commerce v. New York as a play in two parts.  The first part discusses the policy merits of asking a citizenship question on the census, the second predicts whether the lower court's ruling removing the question will hold up.  Without giving it away, there's a good chance you won't like one of the part.  Law starts at (07:05).

Feb 24, 2019

In honor of the Verona High School Debate Team (the East Coast's best High School Debate Team obv), Brett and Nazim debate the value of winning a boat, numbers, state flags, bacon, federalism, getting drunk, buying birth control on Amazon, Constitutional Amendments and Tennessee Wine and Spirits Assoc. v. Blair, which asks the Court whether the 21st Amendment supersedes the Dormant Commerce Clause.  Law starts at (11:26).

Feb 17, 2019

The case of Timbs v. Indiana poses a very outcome dependent question of whether or not civil forfeiture is unfair and poorly managed, so to keep this podcast interesting, Brett and Nazim go through each argument for and against and assign a numerical value to really see what they think at the end of the day.  The law was supposed to start at (05:06), but it gets side-tracked with DMV stories and truly starts at (09:18).

Feb 10, 2019

In response to the Supreme Court's late night session last Thursday, Brett and Nazim discuss the Court's recent injunction of the Louisiana Abortion Statute, and the Court's reversal of a death penalty stay in Alabama for a defendant who was not provided his religious counselor of choice during the execution.  Law starts at (2:00).

Feb 3, 2019

I know that title is supposed to be a cliff-hanger, but the answer is yes.  In support of such a thesis, Brett and Nazim discuss the Court's holdings in New Prime v. Oliveira and U.S. v. Stokeling, which both discuss how the Supreme Court is generally being used to clean up poorly written statutes.  The play concludes with a great Dr. Pepper analogy.  Law starts (01:52).

Jan 27, 2019

This week's episode covers a case that is not even a fraction of as delicious as it sounds, Apple, Inc. v. Pepper, which covers whether Apple is engaging in Anti-Trust violations for how they allow apps on to your iPhone.  This episode goes off the rails early and often, so while the law starts at (05:37), you might miss which host doesn't know how to use Microsoft Excel and which host is a master of the DARK WEB (the answer may surprise you!).

Jan 20, 2019

Like all great podcasts, Brett and Nazim have devoted this week's episode to all the topical news stories from two weeks ago, including Ginsburg's health and the practicality of term limits, the Mueller investigation's mystery corporation, and Judge Kav-another-beer's first opinion.  Law starts at (05:20).

Jan 13, 2019

America's favorite game returns, as Brett and Nazim decide whether Garza v. Idaho (can a lawyer override a client's request for an appeal when the client waived appellate rights pursuant to a plea agreement) constitutes Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, along with a few other half-explained scenarios.  The law technically starts from the beginning but them goes on some kind of weird Mozzarella stick tangent before starting again at (09:28).

Jan 6, 2019

Today's episode covers the specific nuances underlying Obdusky v. McCarthy and Holthus, a case with topics as sexy as the names in its caption, including debt collection, mortgages, and statutory interpretation.  Brett and Nazim spice it up even further by talking about non-legal legal work, rooting for the Eagles in the playoffs today, and Nazim's beloved mason jar.  Law starts at (5:50).

« Previous 1 2