April 4, 2022
[Cross-posted from What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
Trump's improper dealing with Ukraine was what led to his first impeachment. While most of us were focused on the domestic political implications of Trump's actions, the country of Ukraine was put into jeopardy in a way that many didn't fully realize until the recent Russian invasion. Time to revisit the first Trump impeachment now that we know more about who was on the other end of that phone line and the imminent danger they were in.
Listen to episode 62 of What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law.
February 24, 2022
'What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law,' episode 60: 'The Administrative State'
By Elizabeth Joh
What two rulings about COVID vaccine mandates tell us about the future of the administrative state under this configuration of the Supreme Court. Plus, updates on Texas abortion rights, executive privilege in the Jan. 6 investigations, and Breyer! Listen to the episode.
December 21, 2021
[Cross-posted from Learnconlaw.com]
By Elizabeth Joh
On episode 59 of the podcast formerly known as What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law, renamed What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law: Supreme Court cases from Mississippi and Texas are challenging long upheld precedents that established abortion rights. Reproductive rights, and many others, are not explicitly referenced in the Constitution, but are considered fundamental because of the presence of the word "liberty" in the 14th Amendment. Listen to the episode.
November 15, 2021
[Cross-posted from Science]
By Elizabeth Joh
Abstract: Facial recognition, body cameras, and other digital technologies are increasingly commonplace tools of police departments. These provide police with an increased ability to collect vast stores of information on our movements and habits, both online and in real life. These new forms of investigation have led to successes in ways that might not have been possible with traditional policing. But they also raise the specter of unchecked police surveillance. As a result, privacy and civil liberties groups have raised concerns about how much control we have over the most intimate details of our lives. But there is another, less obvious, challenge to democratic policing from these profound changes. Private companies, not public agencies, are typically responsible for the design, production, and sales of products like body cameras and facial recognition software. That the police neither design nor produce the tools that raise some of the most important questions about privacy and civil liberties today has profound consequences for how we think about democratic policing. Perhaps the central dilemma about this corporate shadow in policing is the tensions that exist between public accountability and private interests when police departments are customers.
November 15, 2021
[Cross-posted from What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
John Eastman, a mainstream conservative lawyer working for Trump, outlined a plan for VP Pence to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election regardless of the votes. It didn't happen, but should we be worried about the memo when it comes to future elections? Listen to Ep. 57 of the What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law podcast.
September 13, 2021
[Cross-posted from What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
On the topic of legal procedure and how it relates to the Supreme Court's so-called "shadow docket" and the Texas abortion law. Listen to Episode 56 of the What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law podcast.
August 5, 2021
[Cross-posted from What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
As people argue about public policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination, Jacobson V. Massachusetts is invoked a lot. Plus, Donald Trump is in court, and the first Capitol riot conviction. Listen to episode 55 of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.
July 9, 2021
[Cross-posted from What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
We discuss three cases from the recently wrapped Supreme Court term: California v. Texas, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., and Lange v. California. (This episode contains explicit language – quoted from a cheerleader).
Listen to episode 54 of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.
June 2, 2021
[Cross-posted from What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law]
By Elizabeth Joh
On May 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. This bill made special mention of hate crimes against Asian Americans. This was in stark contrast to his predecessor, President Donald Trump, who used racist and xenophobic terms in relation to COVID-19. What exactly are hate crimes, and what does the Constitution say about them? Listen to episode 53 of the What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law podcast.
May 6, 2021
[Cross-posted from Trumpconlaw.com]
By Elizabeth Joh
What can Joe Biden or any U.S. president do when it comes to reforming the approximately 18,000 locally governed police departments around the U.S.? The infamous Rodney King video showing him being graphically beaten by police officers helped catalyze a giant 1994 crime reform bill that brought the pattern and practice of local police departments under federal scrutiny. How does it work? Listen to episode 52 of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.
