The Minnesota Massacre

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 prescient, sometimes widely ignored so-called insights.  It’s been quite a ride, and quite a recap - so much so that this part one of at least two.  And still, after five years, CLE credit remains available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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.  We tell those stories, and look at the values and basic laws that emerged from them; bring to light important Supreme Court cases  - and bring all this to Minneapolis for examination of how they apply, 250 years later.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 protections are implicated.  Whatever your thoughts about the policy matters, it behooves you to join us in this exploration of how this escapade reveals a strain in constitutional doctrine that remains unresolved.  Meanwhile, you will learn of cases with names like “Frisbie,” hence our title.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges at podcast.njsba.com.

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 end the year with fond wishes sincerely offered.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 principles.  Professor Amar discusses the implications for the coming big rulings on tariffs and birthright citizenship he sees in the alignment the Court assumes in this ruling. Just as this is not the Court’s last word in this case, we will have more to say in subsequent episodes, but this discussion will leave you armed, if you will, with the tools to see the issues clearly.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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; has been senior advisor to both Republican and Democratic Senators; has studied under Professor Amar - and much more.  Hear from her, and see that there are still talented American patriots that seek to defend the Constitution.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 way and that, indicating that while the direction seems clear, the destination may not be.  Fascinating intersections with other cases and theories that Professor Amar has studied and expounded over the years abound, and in our Cosell-like tour of the argument’s twists and turns, you will learn how it fits together.  CLE is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 to help us make sense of the international law and laws of war issues here. Meanwhile, your poor co-host, Andy, is subjected to a Socratic barrage at the hands of a Kingsfield-like Professor Amar, as the relentless logic - or is it illogic - of Hegseth’s actions run into a Constitutional wall.  This is an entirely new, and entirely irresistible analysis; it’s Professor Amar at his best. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 Equal tour continues, with some interesting reflections on the genesis and rationale for some interesting aspects of the book.  CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

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 bill coming out of Illinois that takes its inspiration from a 40 year old argument made by Professor Amar. Part 2 of 2. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.