Episodes
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Pugin v. Garland (June 22, 2023) Immigration & Nationality Act; Aggravated Felony
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Held: An offense may "relate to" obstruction of justice under the Immigration & Nationality Act's definition of an "aggravated felony," even if the offense does not require that an investigation or proceeding be pending.
Listen to the majority opinion in Pugin v. Garland (June 22, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Thursday Jul 27, 2023
Listen to Justice Thomas, concurring in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023) (Affirmative Action, Race, University Admissions)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Listen to Justice Thomas, concurring in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023) (Affirmative Action, Race, University Admissions)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Listen to Justice Thomas, concurring in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023) (Affirmative Action, Race, University Admissions)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Listen to Justice Thomas, concurring in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023) (Affirmative Action, Race, University Admissions)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Listen to Justice Thomas, concurring in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023) (Affirmative Action, Race, University Admissions)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
Majority opinion in Counterman v. Colorado (2023)
*Warning: This episode includes a quote containing an "f bomb" precisely at the 3-minute mark, which is why it has been labeled explicit.
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
I apologize for the delay in posting this final segment of this opinion; I'm in the middle of a move. Thanks for your patience!
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Thursday Jul 13, 2023
Held: Race-based admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023). Next episode, I'll be reading the final 19 pages.
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Held: Race-based admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Tuesday Jul 11, 2023
Held: Race-based admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Held: Race-based admissions policies at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Part 4: Sotomayor, Dissenting in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Does Colorado's public accommodations law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation violate the First Amendment?
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
Part 3: Sotomayor, Dissenting in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
Saturday Jul 08, 2023
Does Colorado's public accommodations law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation violate the First Amendment?
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Part 2: Sotomayor, Dissenting in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Listen to part 2 of Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Part 1: Sotomayor, Dissenting in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Thursday Jul 06, 2023
Does Colorado's public accommodations law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation violate the First Amendment?
Listen to Justice Sotomayor's dissenting opinion in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Part 2: Biden v. Nebraska (June 30, 2023) Is Biden’s student debt relief plan legal?
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Wednesday Jul 05, 2023
Held: The Secretary of Education does not have authority under the HEROES Act (2003) to establish a student loan forgiveness program that will cancel roughly $430 billion in debt principal and affect nearly all borrowers.
Audio of the Supreme Court's majority opinion in Biden v. Nebraska (2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Held: The Secretary of Education does not have authority under the HEROES Act (2003) to establish a student loan forgiveness program that will cancel roughly $430 billion in debt principal and affect nearly all borrowers.
Audio of the Supreme Court's majority opinion in Biden v. Nebraska (2023). Part 1 of 2.
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Held: The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a web designer to create expressive designs that speak messages with which the designer disagrees.
Majority opinion in Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a web designer to create expressive designs that speak messages with which the designer disagrees.
Majority opinion in Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a web designer to create expressive designs that speak messages with which the designer disagrees.
Majority opinion in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (June 30, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions.
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Saturday Jul 01, 2023
Majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions.
Friday Jun 30, 2023
Friday Jun 30, 2023
Majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
Thursday Jun 29, 2023
Majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (June 29, 2023)
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions.
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Majority Opinion in Moore v. Harper (June 27, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Majority Opinion in Moore v. Harper (June 27, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
The opinion of a unanimous Supreme Court in Lora v. United States (June 16, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Majority opinion in United States v. Hansen (June 23, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Saturday Jun 24, 2023
Majority opinion in United States v. Hansen (June 23, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Friday Jun 23, 2023
Friday Jun 23, 2023
Majority opinion in United States v. Texas (June 23, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Wednesday Jun 21, 2023
Does the Indian Child Welfare Act's (ICWA) preference for Native over non-Native homes when placing Native American foster children violate the anti-commandeering principles of the Tenth Amendment?
The majority opinion of the Supreme Court in Haaland v. Brackeen (June 15, 2023)
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Does the Indian Child Welfare Act's (ICWA) preference for Native over non-Native homes when placing Native American foster children violate the anti-commandeering principles of the Tenth Amendment?
The majority opinion of the Supreme Court in Haaland v. Brackeen (June 15, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Federal Indictment of Donald J. Trump (Documents Case)
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Thursday Jun 15, 2023
Listen to audio of the full federal indictment of Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta issued June 8, 2023 by the U.S. Department of Justice in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Access the full charging document here:
https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Opinion of the Supreme Court in Dupree v. Younger (May 25, 2023)
A party need not reassert in a post-trial motion a purely legal issue rejected at summary judgment in order to preserve it for appeal.
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Majority opinion of the Supreme Court in Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC (June 8, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Majority opinion of the Supreme Court in Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC (June 8, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Friday Jun 09, 2023
Majority opinion in Allen v. Milligan (2023), formerly Merrill v. Milligan.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Majority opinion in Allen v. Milligan (2023), formerly Merrill v. Milligan.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Follow What SCOTUS Wrote Us for audio of Supreme Court opinions. Anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Majority opinion in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. Teamsters (June 1, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound.
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
Tuesday Jun 06, 2023
The opinion of a unanimous Supreme Court in Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota (May 25, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Friday Jun 02, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Part 2: Sackett v. EPA (May 25, 2023) Are wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act?
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Majority Opinion of the Supreme Court in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (May 25, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Part 1: Sackett v. EPA (May 25, 2023) Are wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act?
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Majority Opinion of the Supreme Court in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (May 25, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Does the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 empower the Federal Labor Relations Authority to regulate the labor practices of state militias?
Audio of the opinion of the Supreme Court in Ohio Adjutant General's Dept. v. FLRA (2023)
Friday May 26, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Does Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act immunize interactive computer services when they make targeted recommendations of information provided by another information content provider?
Audio of Gonzalez v. Google, Inc. (May 18, 2023)
Friday May 26, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Tuesday May 23, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Saturday May 20, 2023
Saturday May 20, 2023
Audio of the opinion of the Supreme Court in Santos-Zacaria v. Garland (May 11, 2023)
Saturday May 20, 2023
Saturday May 20, 2023
What is the proper test is for determining whether a work is “transformative” under the first factor of the Copyright Act’s fair use doctrine?
Audio of the opinion of the Supreme Court in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Lynn Goldsmith(May 18, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Friday May 19, 2023
Friday May 19, 2023
What is the proper test is for determining whether a work is “transformative” under the first factor of the Copyright Act’s fair use doctrine?
Audio of the opinion of the Supreme Court in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Lynn Goldsmith (May 18, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Does a California law requiring pork sold in-state to come from animals raised with certain confinement standards violate the "dormant" Commerce Clause of the Constitution?
Audio of the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in National Pork Producer's Council v. Ross (May 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Does a California law requiring pork sold in-state to come from animals raised with certain confinement standards violate the "dormant" Commerce Clause of the Constitution?
Audio of the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in National Pork Producer's Council v. Ross (May 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Saturday May 13, 2023
Saturday May 13, 2023
Audio of the opinion of the Court in Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. (May 11, 2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Friday May 12, 2023
Percoco v. United States (May 11, 2023) (Honest Services Fraud)
Friday May 12, 2023
Friday May 12, 2023
Audio of the opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Percoco v. United States (May 11, 2023).
Thursday May 11, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. (1970) (Interstate Commerce)
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Audio of the 1970 opinion of the Supreme Court in Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. (1970)
Read in anticipation of the Court’s decision in National Pork Producers v. Ross argued earlier this term.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Sunday May 07, 2023
Sunday May 07, 2023
Audio of the 2004 opinion of the Supreme Court in KP Permanent Makeup v. Lasting Impression (2004)
Music by Epidemic Sound
Saturday May 06, 2023
About the Court, Part III: History and Tradition
Saturday May 06, 2023
Saturday May 06, 2023
If you are interested in learning more about the Supreme Court, there's really no better way to do that than to read the opinions the Justices write. But, if you're a little new to reading SCOTUS opinions, the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court provides the public with helpful, general information contained within the about the court tab of the Court's official website supremecourt.gov.
I'll be reading some of that information in a series of four bonus episodes: The Supreme Court at Work; The Justices; History and Traditions; and an entire episode dedicated to the most helpful frequently asked questions answered on the website. In today's episode, the third in the series, I'll be reading about the history and traditions of the Supreme Court and its iconic building- links to the text have been included in the episode description. Enjoy.
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
About the Court II: The Justices
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Audio of brief readings about the nine sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, as provided by the Public Information Office.
Episode 2 in a series of four bonus episodes.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
About the Court I: The Supreme Court at Work
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
About the Court, Part I: The Supreme Court at Work
If you are interested in learning more about the Supreme Court, there's really no better way than to read the opinions the Justices write. But, if you're a little new to reading SCOTUS opinions, the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court provides the public with helpful, general information contained within the about the court tab of the Court's official website supremecourt.gov. In the weeks ahead, I'll be reading some of that information in a series of four bonus episodes: The Supreme Court at Work; The Justices; History and Traditions; and an entire episode dedicated to the most helpful frequently asked questions answered on the website. In today's episode, the first in the series, I'll be reading The Supreme Court at Work - a link to which is included in the episode description. Enjoy.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/courtatwork.aspx
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Audio of Justice Sotomayor's dissent from denial of certiorari in Burns v. Mays (April 24, 2023)
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Audio of Donziger v. United States (March 27, 2023) Justice Gorsuch Dissenting from Denial of Certiorari.
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Audio of Part 2: MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC (April 19, 2023)
Justice Jackson delivered the opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court.
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
The unanimous opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC (April 19, 2023) written by Justice Jackson. Next episode will begin with part III of the opinion.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Turkiye Halk Bankasi a.k.a. Halkbank v. United States (April 19, 2023) Majority Opinion
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Audio of Justice Alito dissenting from grant of application for stay in Danco Laboratories, LLC v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (April 21, 2023)
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Audio of the opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Reed v. Goertz (April 19, 2023)
Friday Apr 21, 2023
New York v. New Jersey (April 18, 2023) (Interstate Compacts)
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in New York v. New Jersey (April 18, 2023)
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Audio of Part 2 of the opinion of a unanimous Supreme Court in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC (April 14, 2023).
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Audio of the opinion of a unanimous Supreme Court in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC (April 14, 2023).
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Audio of West Virginia v. B.P.J. (Apr 6, 2023) Justice Alito Dissenting from Denial to Vacate Injunction (Title IX, Transgender Athletes)
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Audio of Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools (March 21, 2023) Majority Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Audio of Chapman v. Doe (March 20, 2023) Justice Jackson, Dissenting to Grant for Certiorari (Abortion, Munsingwear Vacatur, Dobbs v. Jackson, Mootness)
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Audio of Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt (2019) Majority Opinion (States are immune from suit in the courts of other states)
Back in 1993, Gilbert Hyatt was an inventor, raking-in loads of cash from a patent he owned. When an auditor with the Franchise Tax Board of California learned about Hyatt's success, he decided to look into it. As you may have already guessed, the auditor found some discrepancies in Mr. Hyatt's accounting - so, he opened an audit on Hyatt's 1991 state tax return, finding even more discrepancies related to Hyatt's recent move from California to Nevada - so, he extended the audit to include California tax returns from 1992. As a result, the Franchise Tax Board of California found that Hyatt owed the state $1.8 million unpaid taxes, $1.4 million in penalties, and $1.2 million in interest for a total of $4.5 million for 1991. But, wait, there's more. The tax board also found Hyatt owed more than $6 million in taxes and interest for 1992, not including penalties.
Of course, Hyatt challenged the results of the audit - first with the Franchise Tax Board of California (without any luck) and then in California courts. In 1998, he sued the tax board for damages in Nevada state court.
Last episode, I read Nevada v. Hall (1979) a case in which the Court held that sovereign states can be sued in another state's courts without the first state's consent.
So, when Hyatt's case finally worked its way before the Supreme Court, the Franchise Tax Board of California asked the Court to reconsider Nevada v. Hall. In doing so, the Court determined that states are indeed immune from suit in the courts of other states, overruling the Court's forty-year-old precedent in Nevada v. Hall.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Audio of Nevada v. Hall (1979) Majority Opinion (State immunity from suit in the courts of another state)
Today I'll be reading the 1979 opinion of the Court in Nevada v. Hall in which respondents, residents of California, sued the State of Nevada for injuries that they sustained on a California highway when a Nevada-owned vehicle on official business collided with a vehicle occupied by the California respondents - killing the Nevada driver.
The question before the Court in this case was whether a state is constitutionally immune from suit in the courts of another state. And, in a 6-3 decision, the Court they are not- permitting sovereign states to be haled into another state's courts without the first state's consent.
Forty years later, in 2019, in a 5-4 decision split along ideological lines, the Court overturned Nevada v. Hall in a case I'll be reading next episode - Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, which held that that states are indeed immune from suit in the courts of other states.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Wednesday Mar 08, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Audio of Ramos v. Louisiana (2020) Majority Opinion
In federal court and 48 states, all it takes is one juror to prevent a guilty verdict at trial. Only two states do not abide by this rule; they are Oregon and Louisiana, which require a 10-2 jury verdict.
The question before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the Fourteenth Amendment incorporated to the states the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a unanimous verdict.
The Court said yes, incorporating the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial to the states while overturning their 1972 decision in Apodaca v. Oregon, holding that a unanimous verdict is indeed required to convict a defendant of a serious offense.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Audio of Justice Thomas, Dissenting to Denial of Certiorari in City of Ocala v. Art Rojas (Mar 6, 2023)
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Audio of Justice Gorsuch's statement regarding denial of certiorari in City of Ocala v. Art Rojas (March 6, 2023)
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Audio of Davis v. United States (Feb 21, 2023) Justice Jackson Dissenting to Denial of Certiorari
This episode, I will be reading Justice Jackson's dissent to the denial of cert in Davis v. United States, decided Feb 21, 2023. Enjoy.
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Audio of Bittner v. United States (Feb 28, 2023) Dissenting Opinion
U.S. persons with foreign bank accounts are required to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an FBAR.
Alexandru Bittner, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Romania, failed to report his interests in his foreign bank accounts on annual FBAR forms, as required by the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA). So, the United States government fined him 10,000 for each unreported account each year from 2007 to 2011 - for a grand total of $2.72 million. You might say Mr. Bittner was FUBAR over his FBARS at this point.
Of course, Bittner challenged the fines. The district court held that a $10,000 maximum penalty attaches to each failure to file an annual FBAR, not to each account to be reported on the FBAR, so it reduced Bittner's fines to $50,000 total. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that each account he failed to report indeed counted as separate reporting violation.
In this case, the Court was asked…
Is a “violation” under the Bank Secrecy Act the failure to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (no matter the number of foreign accounts), or is there a separate violation for each individual account that was not properly reported?
The Court sided with Bittner in a surprising 5-4 split. Today I'll be reading Justice Barrett's dissenting opinion, in which she is joined by an unlikely collection of colleagues.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Audio of Part 2 of Bittner v. United States (Feb 28, 2023) Majority Opinion
U.S. persons with foreign bank accounts are required to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an FBAR.
Alexandru Bittner, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Romania, failed to report his interests in his foreign bank accounts on annual FBAR forms, as required by the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA). So, the United States government fined him 10,000 for each unreported account each year from 2007 to 2011 - for a grand total of $2.72 million. You might say Mr. Bittner was FUBAR over his FBARS at this point.
Of course, Bittner challenged the fines. The district court held that a $10,000 maximum penalty attaches to each failure to file an annual FBAR, not to each account to be reported on the FBAR, so it reduced Bittner's fines to $50,000 total. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that each account he failed to report indeed counted as separate reporting violation.
In this case, the Court was asked…
Is a “violation” under the Bank Secrecy Act the failure to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (no matter the number of foreign accounts), or is there a separate violation for each individual account that was not properly reported?
Music by Epidemic Sound
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Audio of Bittner v. United States (Feb 28, 2023) Majority Opinion
U.S. persons with foreign bank accounts are required to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an FBAR.
Alexandru Bittner, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Romania, failed to report his interests in his foreign bank accounts on annual FBAR forms, as required by the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA). So, the United States government fined him 10,000 for each unreported account each year from 2007 to 2011 - for a grand total of $2.72 million. You might say Mr. Bittner was FUBAR over his FBARS at this point.
Of course, Bittner challenged the fines. The district court held that a $10,000 maximum penalty attaches to each failure to file an annual FBAR, not to each account to be reported on the FBAR, so it reduced Bittner's fines to $50,000 total. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that each account he failed to report indeed counted as separate reporting violation.
In this case, the Court was asked…
Is a “violation” under the Bank Secrecy Act the failure to file an annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (no matter the number of foreign accounts), or is there a separate violation for each individual account that was not properly reported?
Music by Epidemic Sound
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Wednesday Mar 01, 2023
Audio of Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (Feb 28, 2023) Majority Opinion (Escheatment, MoneyGram Official Checks)
When property is abandoned and unclaimed, it often ends up becoming the property of the state where it's located - a legal principle called escheatment. But, when such property isn't tangible like, say, real estate - when it's something intangible, like an uncashed money order- figuring out who is entitled to that money can get a little messy.
Today I'll be reading the opinion of the Court in Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. There were three questions before the Court in this case regarding uncashed MoneyGram Official Checks - and the answers may determine who gets hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed money.
First, what exactly is a MoneyGram Official Check? Is it a traveler’s check, a money order, or some other similar written instrument (other than a third-party bank check) on which a financial organization, business association, or bank is directly liable under federal law.
Second, whether Pennsylvania and Wisconsin may claim any abandoned and unclaimed property associated with MoneyGram Official Checks.
Third, whether all future sums payable on abandoned MoneyGram Official Checks should be paid to Delaware.
Why is this such a big deal to Delaware? Well, for its compact size and population, a disproportionate percentage of American companies are incorporated there to benefit from business-friendly laws. In fact, there are so many businesses in Delaware that deal with unclaimed funds, the state ends up receiving a sizable chunk of revenue each year. In 2021, for example, eight percent of Delaware's state revenue came from unclaimed property - including uncashed moneygram checks. That's because one of those Delaware businesses happens to be - you guessed it - Moneygram.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Audio of Justice Barrett's dissenting opinion in Cruz v. Arizona (Feb 22, 2023)
In 2005, John Montenegro Cruz was sentenced to death after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for killing a Tucson police officer in 2003. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. In 2012, the state court dismissed Cruz’s petition for post-conviction relief and the Arizona Supreme Court denied review.
In 2014, Cruz initiated federal habeas proceedings, which were still ongoing when SCOTUS decided Lynch v. Arizona (Lynch II) in 2016, which held that the Arizona Supreme Court had misapplied precedent. Now, normally, it would have been hopeless for Cruz to file a second petition for post-conviction relief, but for an exception in Arizona law that a “significant change in the law” could intervene in his favor. So, Cruz filed that second petition, arguing that the Lynch II decision was indeed a significant change in the law, that it was retroactive, and that it just might overturn his sentence.
The Arizona Supreme Court disagreed and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the Arizona Supreme Court’s holding that Lynch II was not a significant change in the law under Arizona’s rules of criminal procedure Rule 32.1(g) is an adequate and independent state-law ground for the judgment.
Music by Epidemic Sound
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Sunday Feb 26, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Audio of Justice Gorsuch, Dissenting in Helix Energy Solutions v. Hewitt (2023)
Music by Epidemic Sound