Dial S for Severability

Jul 7, 2020

As we near the end of another Supreme Court term, speculation abounds over a Court retirement. Would the resulting nomination battle be more or less contentious than the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh? David and Sarah answer this thought experiment while also touching on the implications this scenario would have on the 2020 election. They also break down rulings on robocalls and faithless electors.

When and how can you constitutionally defend yourself? The question comes after a gun-toting St. Louis couple made a show of force against Black Lives Matter protesters. On a more lighthearted note, David concludes the podcast by interviewing Sarah on her career path and what landed her at The Dispatch.

Show Notes:

-Check out the Supreme Court’s rulings in the robocall case (Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, Inc.) and the faithless electors case (Chiafalo v. Washington).

-Click here for a video of the Brooks Brothers militia v. BLM protesters standoff and be sure to read Andrew Egger’s interview with Stephen Mutowski in The Dispatch for an in-depth legal analysis of the incident. Be sure to check out David’sWashington Post 2018 piece on stand your ground laws.

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Seth BJul 7, 2020Liked by David French

If you had told me a year ago that I'd soon become a dedicated listener to a podcast in which two conservative lawyers discuss Supreme Court cases (among other legal topics), I wouldn't have believed you. And yet... it is so. I was particularly fascinated by the episode a couple of weeks ago about the Title VII case, and the textualist/originalist arguments therein. All this is new to me; I'm a math guy - never did I consider, even for a second, the possibility of studying law in college. By the way, David, I love your daughter's idea of studying mathematics as an undergraduate before going to law school. Someone once told me - I have no idea if it's true - of a law school (U of Texas?) at which students were once encouraged to take classes in abstract algebra and point-set topology so as to sharpen their skills at marshalling logical arguments proceeding from axioms and definitions.

I attended the electoral voting in Olympia, WA in 2016. It was great fun to go to the beautiful state Capitol building to witness the vote - and an exciting surprise to see faithless electors in action.

Some silly questions and comments regarding the Advisory Opinions intro music:

1. "I was born ready." Is that Billy Bob Thornton?

2. "Ready?" Is that Sarah?

3. The wordless tune sung thereafter ("Whoa-oh-oh-OH! ah-ah-AH-ah!"). Is that David? ;-)

(All right, I know the answer to #3 is "no", but it's fun to pretend that it's David.)