Amarica's Constitution

Jeff Bezos emasculated the Washington Post; now he has virtually killed it.  Why?  And what does this mean for the nation?  What is the importance of major newspapers to the American constitutional system?  We bring you the great Ruth Marcus, former deputy editorial page editor, long-time columnist, with over 40 years at the Post, to offer an in-depth, insider perspective on this shocking set of events.  CLE credit is available for...

It’s becoming apparent that the theory that Professor Amar put forth 40 years ago in a now-famous law review article, Of Sovereignty And Federalism, is being taken seriously by more and more legislatures, newspapers, and the general public. Therefore, we bring the two leading experts on this – Professor Akhil Amar, and his brother Professor Vik Amar - together to go over the background, theory, and intricacies of this important dev...

In a wide-ranging episode, we finish looking back - and in doing so, we look into the near future as well.  The birthright citizenship case will be heard in oral argument on April 1, and we go back to our reaction to the executive order.  Unitary executive matters are awaiting court rulings; we look back at our back and forth with Steven Calabresi.  Meanwhile, audience questions on court term limits and the virtues of virtue are ad...

The look back over our five years of drama, humor, reason, and illogic continues, as perhaps the most notorious opinion of the five year period - the Trump immunity case - reappears in a clip, along with a revisit with Justice Breyer.  Meanwhile, the oral argument in Wolford v. Lopez did, in fact, prompt the Professors Amar to write in SCOTUSblog.com, and we go even further here, with clips from that oral argument and answers to th...

It’s five years of Akhil and Andy on Amarica’s Constitution, and our friends are lining up to talk about it.  In typical fashion, it’s not just testimonials but reflections.  And we do a clip episode, but this time it’s not the justices, or the oral advocates, or the pundits, on the hot seat:  it’s us.  We look back at two episodes per year, playing our sometimes correct, sometimes wildly wrong predictions, and our sometimes presci...

A powerful and aggressive central government sends unwanted forces in huge numbers to a city where the residents oppose and resent this policy.  The undertrained forces unleash violence against the population in the form of an obviously wrongful death.  Minneapolis, yes - but also a seeming repeat of an important American historic event, that shaped a nation’s core beliefs, later reflected in the Declaration and the Constitution.  ...

The military capture of the Venezuelan leader, Maduro, is an event with giant international strategic, moral, economic, political, and other considerations.  It also raises fascinating constitutional questions, and Professor Amar is ready to discuss some matters that probably did not come to your mind right away.  Much of this stems from the fact that Maduro will be tried in a U.S. civilian, not a military court, so constitutional ...

Our listeners have a talent for inquiry; they follow Professor Amar’s arguments every week, and come up with their own.  This week, we end the year by fielding a wide range of questions, including some related to presidential oath-taking; juries, asked by a Judge; pardons and their abuse; and many related topics.  Akhil invokes Angela Bassett and Tina Turner, as we answer the questions first softly, and then not so softly.  And we ...

Presidential power is abridged, for a change, by the Supreme Court in its shadow docket ruling in Trump v. Illinois.  Rather than ruling in silence, however, this time the Court gives us 25 pages and 4 opinions to chew on.  We examine the history behind issues of deployment of the Army as well as the Guard/Militia on domestic soil, which leads us to discussions of Militia Acts, the Military Amendments, and basic constitutional prin...

One of the most promising new faces in the US Congress, Representative Maggie Goodlander, joins us for a wide-ranging discussion, including the recent video assuring our troops that they may not obey illegal orders, and the aftermath of that simple offer of support.  You may not know that this first-term congresswoman has served in our military for 11 years; has clerked for a Supreme Court Justice; has served in the White House; ha...

Oral arguments took place in the highly-anticipated unitary executive case, Trump v. Slaughter. The overruling of the case that seems to govern, Humphrey’s Executor, has been long expected, and indeed, the Chief Justice referred to the “dry husk” that was all that remained of that case after recent years of whittling by the current and recent Court.  However, faced with the extremity of possible consequences, the Court veered this ...

Secretary of Defense Hegseth is making use of his sights.  He is focusing at times on Senator Mark Kelly, seeking to wreak havoc upon him for his utterances which have angered Hegseth’s master.  Meanwhile, purported drug smugglers have found Davy Jones’ locker at the order of Hegseth, it has been reported, including those left helpless after initial lethal strikes.  Yale Professor and Bancroft Prize winner John Fabian Witt joins us...

Events in the news once again intersect with Professor Amar’s past work, as a little-known aspect of a clause in the Constitution has surprising relevance to the President’s fire-breathing response to a video from Senators and Representatives reminding our military and other officers of their lawful obligations. We trace other constitutionally newsworthy developments, on the filibuster and on the unitary executive.  And the Born Eq...

We return to the tariff case and continue to hear from the justices and the advocates in their own voices from the oral argument.  This time, a 20 year old argument from Vik Amar takes center stage with apparent approval from several key justices, and several of the Court’s female justices join forces to make life difficult for the Solicitor General.  We also review some of the emerging implications from the recent election, and a ...

The economy, trillions of dollars, and consequences unknown are on the line in the tarrifs case, Learning Resources v. Trump.  We present the justices and the advocates in their own voices from the oral argument, and Akhil reacts in real time as he hears the clips for the first time.  It’s a three hour argument, so this is the first of a two-parter.  The Court’s recent doctrines, including major questions and non-delegation are in ...

California.  Meanwhile, the tariff case is about to come before the Supreme Court for oral argument.  So it’s timely indeed that Vik Amar joins us with expertise on both topics.  In fact, Vik has submitted an amicus brief in the tariff case. The “brothers in law” take us deep into the gerrymandering world, the major questions doctrine, and we also pause to reflect on the career of former Vice President Cheney who passed away this w...

Our 250th episode has us looking back 250 years, and looking ahead to the next year of commemoration of those 250 year anniversaries.  Sure enough, there is much gold to mine in those momentous events; much to inform us on matters of current import.  We recall and examine a Declaration that is 250 years old - no, not that one.  To top it off, we have a special guest that joins us to tie it all together as only he can.  Tune in and ...

The President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, Jeffrey Rosen, joins us for a timely discussion of his new book, The Pursuit of Liberty. The relevance to today’s dilemmas is matched only by the fascination of the deep historical analysis and amazing characters the book unearths.  In the differences that separated Hamilton and Jefferson, Professor Rosen finds the genesis of a divide that he maintains has inf...

As we continue to wade into the Supreme Court term, developments are taking place in several cases we are following. Professor Amar’s students are making constitutional news all over the place, it seems; several of them have converged on the tariff case once again, as well as now the unitary executive issues.  A new article made a splash, and it prompts us to harken back to an old one - a 1996 article by Professor Amar, in fact, wh...