Strict Scrutiny
Strict Scrutiny is a podcast about the United States Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it.
Hosted by three badass constitutional law professors-- Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray-- Strict Scrutiny provides in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. Each week, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down the latest headlines and biggest legal questions facing our country, emphasizing what it all means for our daily lives.
Whether you’re a lawyer or law student, or you’re just here for the messy legal drama, Strict Scrutiny has you covered. New episodes out every Monday… plus bonuses whenever SCOTUS takes away another one of our rights.
Hosted by three badass constitutional law professors-- Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray-- Strict Scrutiny provides in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. Each week, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down the latest headlines and biggest legal questions facing our country, emphasizing what it all means for our daily lives.
Whether you’re a lawyer or law student, or you’re just here for the messy legal drama, Strict Scrutiny has you covered. New episodes out every Monday… plus bonuses whenever SCOTUS takes away another one of our rights.
Episodes (51)
The Lower Courts Punch Up
Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down how the lower courts are challenging the Trump administration and expressing their frustration with SCOTUS. Then, they check in with two members of the...
The Shadow Docket Just Won’t Quit
The gang is back together as Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down this week’s mountain of legal news, including the Court’s greenlighting of Trump’s anti-DEI National Institutes of Health cuts, the...
The Dubious Legality of Trump's DC Takeover
Kate and Leah recap the week's legal news, including argument calendars for the next SCOTUS term and President Trump's attempted federal takeover of Washington, DC. Then, it's our third annual State...
How the GOP is Trying to Steal the 2026 Midterms
Melissa and guest co-host Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group break down the week’s legal happenings, including how Texas Democrats are attempting to thwart that state’s gerrymandering efforts, college...
Stacking the Bench with Creeps & Kooks
Leah and guest co-host Mark Joseph Stern of Slate and the Amicus podcast run through what’s been happening in the courts this week, including disturbing attacks on judges, the confirmation of the...
Can Trump Sue His Way Out of the Epstein Mess?
Kate and Leah break down the week’s legal happenings, including Trump’s flailing efforts to manage the Epstein fallout, the latest abomination from the shadow docket, and the legal quagmire...
SCOTUS Enables Government Destruction
Melissa and Kate run through the latest legal news, including the Court greenlighting the dismantling of the Department of Education. Then, they speak with NYU law professor Rachel Barkow about her...
Hunger Games for Legal Hackery
Katie Phang, independent journalist and trial lawyer, joins Leah to run through the week’s legal news–and there’s a lot of it! They unpack, as KBJ puts it, “this Court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for...
A Term for the Rich, the Reactionaries, and the Ruthless
With July upon us and bad decision season (mercifully) over, Leah, Kate and Melissa take a step back to recap this year’s SCOTUS term. They highlight some of the overarching themes, break down the...
SCOTUS Strengthens Conservative War on Education
Leah, Melissa and Kate roll up their sleeves and unpack last Friday’s huge day at the Court, starting with Mahmoud v. Taylor, the case that tested Sam Alito’s ability to comprehend picture books. They...
SCOTUS Clears the Way for Trump’s Lawlessness
In an emergency episode, Leah, Kate, and Melissa break down today’s radical decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., which gives this administration carte blanche to pursue its heinous agenda by curbing the...
SCOTUS Deals Massive Blow to Health Care Access
In this emergency episode, Melissa, Leah and Kate are joined by Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, to unpack today’s ruling in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic....
Ketanji Brown Jackson Sounds the Alarm
First, Leah is joined by international law expert Bec Ingber to lay out legal issues around the use of force (aka bombing Iran). Then, Leah is joined by two guest hosts–former legal journalist Mike...
SCOTUS Upholds Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
In this emergency episode, Chase Strangio of the ACLU joins the pod to talk about today’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti. Then, Kate, Leah, and Melissa dive deep into the opinion, the various...
Can Trump Mobilize the Military Without California's Consent?
Melissa, Kate, and Leah can smell the fascism in the air as President Trump forces troops on California protesters. They discuss how he is (yet again) pushing the boundaries of authoritarianism,...
9-0, but Make It Complicated
Leah, Kate and Melissa unpack this week’s raft of SCOTUS decisions, including cases on “reverse discrimination” and whether Mexico can sue American gun manufacturers, and explain why a unanimous vote...
It's Officially Bad Decision Season
Live from Capital Turnaround in Washington, D.C., Leah, Kate, and Melissa wade right into the swamp, breaking down the (very weird, very disturbing) sexual harassment claims against Texas’s...
A Blockbuster Non-Opinion and a Fascism Grab Bag
Melissa, Leah, and Kate kick the show off with a look at the Court’s 4-4 deadlock on Oklahoma’s religious charter school case. Then, it’s a romp through the shadow docket, Judge Jim Ho’s sweaty pleas...
Will the Courts Let Trump End Birthright Citizenship?
May is supposed to be the calm before June’s opinion storm in SCOTUS-land, but not in Trump’s America. Melissa, Kate, and Leah kick off the show with the latest news, including Stephen Miller’s habeas...
The Supreme Court’s ‘Lawless’ Era
Drop everything and read! This week, the hosts celebrate the release of Leah’s book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. Just how did the...
Will SCOTUS Sign Off on Religious Charter Schools?
Is this the term when the Court says “see ya” to the Establishment Clause? Leah, Melissa and Kate consider that question in their recap of this week’s religious charter school case, Oklahoma Charter...
Can Religious Parents Veto Books in Public Schools?
Kate and Leah recap oral arguments in two big cases the Supreme Court heard this week. The first is about LGBTQ+ inclusive reading materials in public schools, and the second is about the Affordable...
Are Trump Administration Officials in Criminal Contempt?
Leah, Melissa and Kate join forces to dig through the Trump administration’s latest affronts to the law and the possibility that its officials could be held in criminal contempt. They also react in...
SCOTUS Lets Trump Play Word Games
This week, the Court weighed in on two cases arising out of the Trump administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport people to El Salvador. Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down both...
What’s the Future of Planned Parenthood?
Leah and Kate recap recent opinions and arguments from the Supreme Court, including cases about tax exemptions for religious organizations and the future of Planned Parenthood. Along the way they...
Can Elon Musk Buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race? (With Jon Lovett)
Jon Lovett joins Leah and Melissa to talk about what’s at stake in this week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election and what it was like campaigning for Susan Crawford in Madison and Milwaukee. Then, the...
Deportations and the Death of Due Process
After a deep dive on the Trump administration’s horrifying misuse of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people from the US without due process, Kate and Leah preview upcoming SCOTUS cases about the...
How to Lose a Democracy in 10 Laws (with Elie Mystal)
Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined this week by Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, whose new book is Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America. They talk about what rotten...
The Conservative Push to Sue the Media Into Oblivion
After covering the latest goings-on in Trumpland, Melissa and Kate turn to this week’s SCOTUS arguments and opinions, touching on the Court’s decision to weaken the EPA’s clean water regulations and...
Pod Save the Separation of Powers
Leah, Melissa, and Kate once again wade through the latest malevolence from the Trump White House in a segment they’re now calling “Pod Save the Separation of Powers.” Then, they turn to what’s going...
The Atextual & Illegal Attack on Birthright Citizenship
Melissa, Leah, and Kate are joined by Professor Kate Masur of Northwestern to talk about just how illegal and off-the-wall Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is. Then, the hosts cover...
Yes, We’re in a Constitutional Crisis
Live from Fordham Law, Leah, Melissa, and Kate stay on the Trump 2.0 chaos beat. They cover the continued ransacking of the federal government by the new administration, lawlessness at the DOJ, and...
DOGE Runs Amok & Originalism’s Ahistoricism
This week, the ladies react to the ransacking of the federal government by Elon Musk and his fleet of DOGE dorks. Then, Kate and Leah speak with Jonathan Gienapp, professor of law and history at...
The Lawlessness, Chaos, & Cruelty of Trump 2.0
Melissa, Kate, and Leah continue to assess the fallout from the second Trump administration, including his blatant disregard of the law in firing many inspectors general. They also discuss the mental...
Trump’s Onslaught of Executive Orders
Post-inauguration, the Trump administration is wasting no time issuing a flurry of heinous executive orders. Melissa, Kate, and Leah walk through them and then take a look at last week’s SCOTUS...
SCOTUS's Porn Problem
Leah, Melissa and Kate cover some breaking news, including Biden’s last-minute declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land. Then, it’s a rollicking ride through Free Speech...
SCOTUS Unanimously Upholds TikTok Ban
In the first emergency episode of 2025, Kate, Leah, and Melissa break down the Court’s unanimous decision to uphold the upcoming TikTok ban in the United States. They cover the implications and...
Is TikTok’s Time Up?
Leah, Melissa & Kate dive headfirst into an already busy 2025 by detailing the Republican attempt to steal a North Carolina Supreme Court seat, looking at the just-argued TikTok case, parsing through...
The Promise and Perils of Presidential Power
On the fourth anniversary of January 6th, Leah, Melissa & Kate dive deep on presidential power: how the presidency became what it is today, transitions of power, and how we’ve seen checks on the power...
Our Favorite Things, 2024
In the spirit of the holidays, Leah, Kate & Melissa force themselves to say something nice about each Supreme Court Justice. Yes, all of them. Then they take a break from the tomfoolery at One First...
Jingle Bells, the Fifth Circuit Is Hell
Leah, Melissa, and Kate cover some breaking news before recapping last week’s SCOTUS arguments. They also touch on some lower-court opinions and court culture including the Fifth Circuit going buck...
Leave Trans Kids Alone You Absolute Freaks (with Chase Strangio)
Kate, Melissa, and Leah break down United States v. Skrmetti, the Court’s big case on gender-affirming care for minors, with the ACLU’s Chase Strangio. Chase is one of the lawyers who argued the...
Gender-Affirming Care in the Court’s Crosshairs
After touching on some shenanigans from the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention and Chuck Schumer’s lousy deal on judicial appointments, Leah, Kate, and Melissa preview December’s...
How Will Trump 2.0 Embolden SCOTUS to Gut the Law?
Kate and Melissa comb through the latest from the incoming Trump administration, including the subbing in of Pam Bondi for Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. Then, they take a look at the areas of law...
Trump’s Parade of Clowns, Idiots, and Creeps
Leah, Melissa, and Kate wade through more election fallout, including President-elect Trump’s proposed use of recess appointments to jam his cabinet picks through. Also covered: this week’s SCOTUS...
Making Sense of the Election and What It Means for the Court
After processing the election and thinking through what it means for the future of the Supreme Court, Kate and Leah dig into a Voting Rights Act case newly added to SCOTUS’s docket. They also tackle...
Election Anxiety: How the Outcome Could Affect SCOTUS’s Docket
After diving deep on a wild story about Justice Alito palling around with a German princess, Melissa, Kate, and Leah take a look at pending SCOTUS cases, including some that could be affected by the...
Fifth Circuit Election Madness, a Post-Mortem on Roe, & the War on Drugs
After an emergency intro looking at the Fifth Circuit’s bonkers mail-in ballot decision, the ladies do a deep dive on two books. First, they speak with New York Times correspondents Lisa Lerer and...
SCOTUS’s Endless Beef with the EPA
Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap October at the Supreme Court, diving into the sewage-infested waters of City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency. What did clean water ever do...
"Ghost Guns" are Guns (Duh)
After covering some breaking news, Kate, Melissa and Leah recap last week's oral arguments at the Supreme Court, including cases about civil rights, ghost guns, and the death penalty. Come for the...
An Unsealed Brief, Ghost Guns, & Antitrust Law as Social Justice
Leah, Melissa, and Kate kick off with a look at Jack Smith’s unsealed brief on Trump’s election interference case before digging into some cases the court is hearing this week, including one centered...
About this Podcast
Copyright
© Crooked Media. All Rights Reserved.
Language
en
Categories
supreme court, Government, News, Society & Culture, Philosophy