Episode

5/24 Republican Conservative Trump Judges Ban Governing w/ Blake Emerson & Leah Litman

May 24, 2022

Sam and Emma host Blake Emerson, assistant professor at the UCLA School of Law, to discuss some of the recent rulings coming out of the 5th Circuit. Then, Sam and Emma are joined by Leah Litman, assistant professor at Michigan Law School and contributor to Slate, to discuss the recent SCOTUS ruling for Sen. Ted Cruz against the SEC. Emma and Sam start the show by diving into the US finally accepting trade with Venezuela, unsurprisingly centered on oil, the AP’s acceptance that it was, despite everything Israel was saying, probably the IDF that murdered Shereen Abu Aqleh, Kushner and Mnunchin’s ties to middle eastern oligarchs, and David Purdue doubling down on racism to win his primary and go up against Stacy Abrams. Then, Professor Emerson joins as they break down the recent ambush on the SEC in the Fifth Circuit, discussing WHAT this Texas-based circuit is, the appellate court’s role, and why Jarkesy v SEC was chosen to break down regulatory and administrative capacities of the executive branch. Next, they look at what the case entailed, parsing why the SEC chose to prosecute George Jarkesy in an administrative court, and why, like other agencies from the FDA to the EPA, this ability allowed them to expressly enforce policy without relying on years-long court cases or having to sacrifice their expertise. Professor Emerson then dives into the actual decision, walking through the court’s claims that it: 1) Violated the right to a jury; 2) violated the THEORETICAL non-delegation principle; and 3) violated the unitary executive theory, which, as a theory, is ALSO theoretical, and discusses how all three are incredibly outlandish decisions, particularly for a court that should be committed to Supreme Court precedent. Then Leah Litman hops in as she, Emma, and Sam look at the crumbling judicial infrastructure of constitutional rights in the US, from the Voting Rights Act to Roe v. Wade, and parses through Ted Cruz’s own case brought against the SEC under the right to use post-election contributions to repay pre-election loans, and the state’s commitment to poorly representing its constituents in Shinn v Martinez/Ramirez.

And in the Fun Half: Emma and Sam are joined by Nomiki Konst as they discuss Fox and Friends gearing up for the general elections as they crackdown on Stacy Abrams letting down “The Blacks.” They also dive into the GA primaries, as the largely unpopular (for everyone, mind you) Mike Pence rallies behind Brian Kemp, Majorie Taylor Greene questions why we talk about the Buffalo shooting, when there were also other shootings with much lower death tolls and much less vitriolic inspiration, and guests on an MSNBC 1/6 panel explore the Antifa troublemakers behind the FBI behind the conservatives behind the 1/6 insurrection. TERFs slowly begin realizing that maybe rallying behind hatred won’t get you love, plus, your IMs!

Check out Blake’s recent piece on the 5th Circuit here: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/05/5th-circuit-sec-securities-fraud-civil-service.html

Check out Leah’s recent piece on Shinn v. Martinez Ramirez here: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/05/scotus-constitutional-right-habeas-corpus-prison-death-row.html

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