Supreme Court Brief

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, Jimmy recaps an action-packed week at the court, highlighting a major new environmental case, a unanimous decision against an ICE contractor, and four justices' "night out" at President Donald Trump's state of the union address.   Later on, Jimmy interviews Law.com and New York Law Journal litigation reporter Alyssa Aquino about what comes next after Friday's landmark decision striking down President Trump's tariffs.    Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Alyssa Aquino Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode, Jimmy interviews one of the creators of a new project that seeks to use artificial intelligence to create videos of the Supreme Court justices reading their opinions from the bench. The project, called "On The Docket," features strikingly lifelike visuals of AI-depicted readings of landmark Supreme Court opinions. Jimmy presses co-creator and law professor Timothy Johnson of the ethical implications of the computer-created videos, and whether it may "nudge" the Supreme Court to one day embrace cameras inside the courtroom.  Also this episode: a look at the Supreme Court's new automated recusal software, and why it has some court watchers criticizing Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.    Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Tim Johnson Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this week's episode, Jimmy highlights new data revealing the incredible success that a small group of elite lawyers are having in taking their cases to the Supreme Court, and what it tells us about who gets to influence the direction of U.S. law. Law professors Tracey George, Mitu Gulati, and Albert Yoon join the program to discuss the findings of their recent paper, "The Inside Track." Plus, a look at the Department of Justice's efforts to have the Supreme Court throw out the contempt-of-Congress convictions of MAGA influencer Steve Bannon in the "interests of justice."     Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Tracey George, Mitu Gulati & Albert Yoon Producer: Charles Garnar

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover interviews defamation lawyer Travis Chance on why a recent medical malpractice ruling from the Supreme Court could make it harder for news organizations to defeat frivolous libel lawsuits. Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Travis Chance Producer: Charles Garnar  

 On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, Jimmy interviews criminal defense attorney and Supreme Court advocate Jeff Green on the stark drop in the number of appeals being filed by indigent prisoners at the court, and how it could affect the development of the criminal law.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Jeff Green Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover breaks down Wednesday's blockbuster hearing on whether President Donald Trump may fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Joining the program to discuss her original scholarship into "for cause" removal protections is legal historian Jane Manners, whose amicus brief was discussed in the courtroom on Wednesday. Plus, Jimmy recaps a notable win for medical malpractice plaintiffs and why Hawaii's recent law restricting firearms in public is likely to fall.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Jane Manners Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover summarizes Tuesday's oral arguments over state laws that prohibit trans student athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports. Later, Jimmy interviews Supreme Court lawyer Adam Unikowsky on the promise and peril of using AI to litigate cases at the Supreme Court.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Adam Unikowsky Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode, host Jimmy Hoover interviews law scholar Amanda Frost about her latest research on the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause, and how it calls into question President Donald Trump's attempt to deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants. The Supreme Court will be weighing the constitutionality of Trump's policy this term, with a ruling expected by July   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Amanda Frost Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover interviews the lawyer for George Retes, a U.S. citizen and veteran who was detained for three days by ICE following an immigration raid in California. Institute for Justice attorney Marie Miller explains how the Supreme Court's rulings have both fueled the administration's aggressive immigration crackdown and made it nearly impossible to hold officers accountable in court for alleged civil rights violations. Plus, Jimmy talks through a new death penalty case taken up by the Supreme Court this week involving claims of racial discrimination during the jury selection process. Supreme Court Brief will return to regular programming in January after the holiday break.    Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest:  Marie Miller  Producer: Charles Garnar  

On today's episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover takes an inside look at Monday's blockbuster hearing on the fate of independent federal agencies and how it could vastly expand the powers of the presidency. Plus: a breakdown of Tuesday's arguments on the constitutionality of a campaign finance law aimed at preventing public corruption by federal officials. Jimmy looks at why one key issue is whether Vice President J.D. Vance intends to run for the White House in 2028. Today's guest is Bill Kovacic, a former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission during the late Bush and early Obama administrations. Kovacic speaks with Jimmy about the "disappointing" aspect of Monday's Supreme Court hearing in Trump v. Slaughter about whether President Donald Trump should be allowed to fire members of so-called "independent agencies" like the FTC.  The case centers around Trump's purported firing of Democratic FTC member Rebecca Slaughter. It could spell the end of roughly a century of Supreme Court precedent upholding removal restrictions for members of multi-member government commissions. Supreme Court Brief will be back with another podcast episode next week. Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple and Spotify. The show is produced by Charles Garnar. For more of the latest news on the U.S. Supreme Court, go to Law.com.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Bill Kovacic Producer: Charles Garnar  

On today's episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover breaks down the latest highlights from the courtroom as the justices considered copyright liability for internet service providers, and a pro-life group's civil rights lawsuit over a Democratic attorney general's subpoena. Today's guest is Harvard Law Professor Richard Re, who joins Supreme Court Brief to discuss his latest scholarship on the "legal realignment" that has occurred between conservative and liberal members of the Supreme Court, and the federal judiciary writ large.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Richard Re Producer: Charles Garnar  

On this episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover interviews Second Amendment scholar Haley Proctor of Notre Dame Law School on the major gun cases to be decided during the 2025-2026 term. Plus, a look at the court's decision this week to take up a case about the right of immigrants facing persecution to seek asylum in the U.S., and a recent trend of retired judges filing amicus briefs to the justices.      Supreme Court Brief will be back after the week of Thanksgiving with more news and analysis of the nation's top court. Host: Jimmy Hoover   Guest: Haley Proctor    Producer: Charles Garnar

On this week's episode of Supreme Court Brief, host Jimmy Hoover discusses the court's intervention in a battle over food stamp benefits, new briefing over President Donald Trump's efforts to deploy the National Guard, and oral arguments in the case of a Rastafarian prisoner who was forcibly shaved by prison guards.   This week's guest is law professor Carolyn Shapiro, who explains how the Supreme Court's under-the-radar shift in emergency docket cases is leading to a string of victories for the Trump administration.   Shapiro argues that the court has quietly adopted the presumption that the government experiences "irreparable harm" any time a new policy is blocked by a federal court, essentially removing a crucial factor that the justices had long required all litigants to meet before awarding emergency relief.   "It seems more and more clear that that is what the majority on the Supreme Court thinks: that it is just simply, by definition, 'irreparable harm' when the government is told it can't do what it wants," said Shapiro, who co-leads the Supreme Court clinic at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. "That's never been the standard before."   "It is extraordinarily important and it is an enormous shift that the court is not even owning up to," argued Shapiro, a former clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer and the former solicitor general of Illinois. "It's acting as if that's always been the law and that has never been the law."     Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Carolyn Shapiro Producer: Charles Garnar

On this edition of Supreme Court Brief, Jimmy analyzes Wednesday's lengthy hearing over the fate of President Donald Trump's tariffs, arguably the keystone economic policy of his second term. This weeks guest is Law.com litigation reporter Alyssa Aquino, who has closely followed the tariff cases since the challenges began. In their conversation, Jimmy and Alyssa highlight the most notable exchanges between the bench and the arguing attorneys, what they signal for the potential outcome of the case, and how a ruling against the administration could lead—as one justice put it—to a "mess" of lawsuits and refund claims.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Alyssa Aquino Producer: Charles Garnar

On today's episode of Supreme Court Brief, Jimmy updates listeners on a significant development in the case over whether President Donald Trump can deploy the National Guard to Chicago. In an unusual order Wednesday, the court signaled that it is unlikely to take any action in the case until at least mid-November—despite Trump's desire for "immediate" permission to proceed with the deployment.  Today's guest is law professor and legal commentator Dan Epps, who joins Supreme Court Brief for an in-depth discussion of next week's Supreme Court argument about the legality of President Trump's tariff policies. According to Epps, the hearing will be a revealing test of the conservative majority's commitment to a legal doctrine that they invoked to strike down several of former President Joe Biden's biggest policies, including his student debt relief plan in the 2023 case Biden v. Nebraska.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest:: Dan Epps Producer: Charles Garnar

On today's episode of Supreme Court Brief from Law.com, host Jimmy Hoover provides an overview of a major new Second Amendment case to be decided this term and breaks down the latest emergency case over President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Chicago. Later on, Supreme Court lawyer Deepak Gupta joins the show to talk about the coming showdown at the court over the fate of independent federal agencies.   Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Deepak Gupta Producer: Charles Garnar

On today's episode of Supreme Court Brief from Law.com, host Jimmy Hoover breaks down the Supreme Court's Wednesday oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, involving a major challenge to the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act cases.  Jimmy explains why, following Wednesday's hearing, the Supreme Court's conservative majority now seems poised to strike a significant blow to minority voting districts by narrowing a key provision of the landmark 1965 law. Today's guest is conservative legal commentator and law professor Josh Blackman, who discusses his latest project as senior editor of the third edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, which purports to supply an originalist understanding on the entirety of the U.S. Constitution. Blackman charts the rise of originalism—a method of interpreting the Constitution as it was understood at the country's founding—from a little known legal theory to the dominant form of constitutional interpretation practiced by the Supreme Court today.    Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Josh Blackman  Producer: Charles Garnar For more legal news, visit Law.com. 

On the inaugural episode of Supreme Court Brief, constitutional law scholar and dean of Berkeley Law School Erwin Chemerinsky discusses the upcoming October 2025 term, which kicked off on Monday. Erwin explains how the Supreme Court will be considering cases that could shape the power of the presidency, and whether the court's conservative majority will continue to side with President Donald Trump in his bold assertions of executive authority during his second term. Host: Jimmy Hoover Guest: Erwin Chemerinsky Producer: Charles Garnar