Trump says he will no longer take advice from the Federalist Society, and Leonard Leo in particular, for judicial nominations. The criteria he will use instead appear to be cause for great concern, and we discuss this. Meanwhile, the Senate is poised to bypass the filibuster for more than judicial nominations, which calls for an analysis that we provide. And the publication this week of Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation brings its author, Zaakir Tameez, onto our podcast to speak to Sumner’s enduring relevance. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

This past week, the Supreme Court issued stays of injunctions which lower courts had issued, those injunctions blocking the firings of officials on statutorily independent agencies. In doing so, the Court may have pointed to an imminent overruling of Humphrey’s Executor, possibly removing existing limitations on the unitary executive theory. At the same time, the Court moved to protect the Federal Reserve, or at least markets’ perception of the independence of that crucial Board. Several justices reacted strongly, led by Justice Kagan, who found fault not only in the ruling regarding the injunction, but in the behavior of the President in bringing this case on in the first place. We take a deeper look at these controversies. Meanwhile, the Court deadlocked in a religious freedom case, and surprisingly, we see a connection between these two events. And some other tidbits, as well. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.

The Trump executive order on birthright citizenship has been banging around the lower federal courts for months now, with court after court opining on its unconstitutionality and issuing injunctions against it that span the nation. The Supreme Court took cert on the question of whether such national injunctions are appropriate, and if not, how the relief that appears indicated can be offered. Along the way questions of the merits poked their way through, with interesting results. In this episode you will hear from the justices and the attorneys, and you will hear Professor Amar doing his Howard Cosell halftime highlights imitation, opining on their arguments, responses, and questions, and offering a holistic approach to the case as well as some new theories on how to think about citizenship in this context. A “clip episode” as only Amarica’s Constitution does it. CLE credit is available for lawyers and judges from podcast.njsba.com.