Supreme Court Did What?

The Supreme Court denies cert to an abortion case, grants cert to a case over ...

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The Supreme Court denies cert to an abortion case, grants cert to a case over Mueller’s secret evidence, and the Biden and Trump campaigns are lawyering up for 2020’s final act. David and Sarah have thoughts.

Show Notes:

–Declan’s Dispatch profile on Tim Scott

–Hill v. Colorado

–June Medical Services v. Russo

–Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

–Arlene’s Flowers Inc. v. Washington

–Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt

–Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc.

–6E law on grand juries

–“Biden pulls together hundreds of lawyers as a bulwark against election trickery”

–“GOP recruits army of poll watchers to fight voter fraud no one can prove exists”

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Comments (44)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Marian Cates

    Good episode. The flow of the discussion was excellent. And the sound was set well, so that you were both at the same volume.

    I couldn't remember the meaning of some of the terms, so I did a search and luckily happened upon the SCOTUSblog with legal definitions on the home page. Wow. It helped.

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  2. Luke Thompson

    I've re-upped my subscription after listening to this episode.

    The main reason is that I can't quite understand David French's mind. As far as I can tell, I agree on literally everything that doesn't connect to Trump. But somehow, I disagree every time the question has a relationship to Trump, even though I also would never, ever vote for him. The tweet that confirmed for me that I should delete Twitter was one of French's tweets opposing Trump... where I thought it was incandescently obvious that Trump was right (contrary to all odds.).

    I really don't know how to piece through his philosophy. I think there may be some animus that's coloring his view, but without a real conversation, I don't think it's okay to assert such a thing. (Although I think asserting that I'd like to have such a conversation at my expense is probably okay.)

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  3. Ryan Lafond

    How can I get in touch with David? I’d like to ask him about joining the military in your 30s.

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    BrettH

    I enjoyed the listen, as usual. I’m not a lawyer by trade but have been in the Environmental and Energy game (i.e. I swim in my own pool of the code of federal regulations like a big boy) for about a decade and always look forward to your reasonable and sober assessments of what the circuit and high courts are up to. Growing thick skin is most certainly a learned skill, some people are just awful and it’s why I avoid social media in general.

    I applaud your efforts and, full disclosure, followed Jonah to this site from NR as soon as I was aware of the startup he and Steve had cooking. Though I’m not a particularly religious individual, I have been reading David’s work for years and appreciate the thoughtful honesty behind his writing. Sarah, you’re the Robin to his legal Batman and y’all make me laugh and think about issues critically. Keep up the great work and Happy 4th from one vet to another! I’m currently smoking a pork shoulder with nothing but well wishes to the brisket.

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  5. Jake Oliger

    Wait, did I hear right that David has his own podcast? I did some quick googling and came up blank, but if there is one, I want to subscribe to it!

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    Angie

    I am sorry I keep adding, I think of things later...
    I don't do twitter, but, I do mod for a political forum, and find myself there less, because here, for the most part it is so much nicer here and great converstaions

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  7. Avatar photo
    Angie

    And yes, brushing it off is a learned skill and I still struggle with it sometimes...I try , but, sometimes it is hard...especially as I generally have the kind of personality that tends to get along with most people so, ( I make an effort to in most cases) when I got online and suddenly made some enemies that I still don't understand why...or when they called me foul names etc

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    1. Avatar photo
      Tracie

      Don't try to understand why. That includes trolls in real life, though we're all less brave when we have to show our faces.

      One of the most effective pieces of advice a therapist ever gave me was to stop trying to understand people prone to crazy/aggressive behavior. You'll never understand them, because you're projecting your own values that they don’t share.

      That said, I've certainly been more forward with criticism on social media, even with people I know. On Twitter, where I rarely interact with anyone I know, there's not a lot of space to contextually. I've certainly provided my share of unsolicited opinions. Don't think I've ever called anybody a name, but I have used derogatory qualifiers. Just because someone's putting an opinion out there, it doesn't mean they're going to process criticism with detachment. Especially if they get mobbed.

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        Angie

        Well, part of my problem is that I mod political forums, and helped create one of them...the worse abuse I have ever gotten was from banning someone who was either definitely a troll or kept refusing to follow our rules, after being warned several times...I had one guy once I banned him from a channel on Disqus, went to other channels I modded at or were a participant in and posted really nasty vulgar stuff about me...luckily as the owners all knew me they took care of him, but hs posts were there long enough for others to read them

        And yes, I know I shouldn't try to understand why..I try...but, my mom insists my first word was why..lol..I have always wanted to why about everything, especially human behaviors...it is partly intellectual, and partly if I know why ( and I believe context matters too), I know how to respond ...it is also part of my trying to understand other people thing

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          Tracie

          Empathy+curiosity. That's how I hear you describing yourself. Keep in mind, some people just like to blow stuff up. Not sayin evil, just really fond of chaos and destruction.

          Watch out for people who score high on this scale: https://twitter.com/AthenaAktipis/status/1015547953237446656?s=20

          A good read if you have the time:
          https://psyarxiv.com/6m4ts/

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        2. Alan

          Thank you so much for helping moderate / nurture forums like that. I'm sure it's a hard job, but it's so important that we keep trying. As to "why", it's impossible to comprehend any one individual, but I can see myself in a different life doing stuff like that. Perhaps if I were in a dark enough place in my personal life and if I felt like I was "fighting for right." Or, worse, if I convinced myself it was a game. Maybe after covid people will start to see the value in virtual communities and there'll be a stronger incentive not to trash them.

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            Angie

            Thank you Alan

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    2. Avatar photo
      Aylene Wright

      For some reason I have managed to spend about 1.5 years on Twitter without being attacked by trolls. Although recently I have noticed a split in my followers, who are mostly all Trump critics of one sort of another, or were in 2018 when I first joined. But some seem to have been won over by Trump, or at least plan on voting for him as the "lesser of two evils".

      Others have gone full Lincoln Project, or further, prioritizing not just getting rid of Trump but "burning down the GOP" & either remaking the party from scratch, or forming a third party. They are often eager to attack anyone who doesn't have as radical a position. Such as those who loathe Trump still can't bring themselves to vote for Biden. Or maybe they can, but would rather have the Senate stay in GOP hands to check the Dems.

      But there is a "cancel culture" among some corners of NT where any intra-tribal critique is seen as betrayal & cause for cancellation.

      All of this infighting has become very tiresome & at times I feel caught in the middle. I can see both sides, but I get the feeling that some people will soon force me to choose one and cancel the other.

      Twitter unfortunately is NOT at all a good medium for civil disagreement. This website is certainly better than that, yet even here I often see trolls who just want to mock their ideological opponents, taking over the comments. It is sad. I do think it would help if TD hosted some actual formal debates on controversial topics.

      Some of the podcast episodes certainly show that there are some disagreements between different staff members, as well as some guests. Steve grilling Jon Karl on media bias, for example. But these are mostly just brief asides. A point / counterpoint type feature on a topic like Qualified Immunity, the War in Afghanistan, how best to handle China, etc would be interesting to read.

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        Tracie

        "Twitter unfortunately is NOT at all a good medium for civil disagreement."

        Largely anonymous, unmoderated forums aren't going to remain civil for long, assuming they even start that way.

        With selective follows, Twitter can be a good, fast source for news and hot takes. Found some great links, articles, pods there. It's pretty random for discussion.

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  8. Avatar photo
    Angie

    Also, I loved the bio

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    Angie

    I have a question...is it a law in every state that you can't count ballots as they come in?
    That seems it would make it faster, and not sure what the reasoning if true...

    Enjoyed it as always

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    Tracie

    I was touched by this. Don't think I'd handle a swarm of trolls calling me names very well. Someone in a car called me "B!tch" over ten years ago cuz (presumably) they thought I was crossing the street too slow. I'm still a little upset about it.

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