Broken Law

The 2024 presidential election is behind us. Now, the second Trump administration looks poised to pick up where the first left off in its effort to reshape the federal judiciary in the conservative legal movement’s image. ACS President and former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold joins Christopher Wright Durocher to discuss prospects for the current Senate to confirm President Biden’s remaining judicial nominees to mitigate the damage of more Trump-appointed judges and to discuss what progressives c...

In the days after Election Day 2020, mis- and disinformation over how votes are counted, verified, and results certified fueled political violence and the birth of the Big Lie. Ahead of Election Day 2024, Jonathan Diaz joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss what election law experts are actually focused on once the polls close and what is just noise. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and ProgramGuest: Jonathan Diaz, Directo...

From the January 6th attack on the Capitol to recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump, political violence and intimidation pose a growing threat to our democracy. Taonga Leslie brings an excerpt from a recent ACS program co-hosted by Giffords Law Center and March for Our Lives featuring a discussion among advocates and legal scholars on the causes of rising political violence, the stakes of the 2024 election, and how progressives can support positive change.Join the Pro...

In this supersized episode, Christopher Wright Durocher joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss what to expect from the imminent start to the 2024-2025 Supreme Court Term. Then, Sylvia Albert and Eyricka Geneus of Common Cause join Ashley Erickson to dig in on volunteer opportunities in this final stretch of the 2024 election cycle.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program csacasGuest: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice P...

The Roberts Court has spent years ignoring precedent, norms, and judicial restraint in pursuit of concentrated power. Chris Kang joins Taonga Leslie to discuss the problems this power grab has caused and many of the reform proposals currently on the table.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial JusticeGuest: Chris Kang, Co-Founder and Former Chief Counsel, Demand JusticeLink: "To Save Democracy, We Must Expand the Cou...

This Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end to an historically hot summer. Terri Gerstein returns to Broken Law to talk with Valerie Nannery about legal protections for workers -- including from record heats but also from non-compete provisions, child labor exploitation, and more -- and the people who enforce those laws. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program at American Constitution SocietyGuest: Terri...

Two recent Supreme Court decisions have dramatically eroded the separation of church and state when it comes to our public schools. As students head back for another school year, Elizabeth Cavell joins Lindsay Langholz to look at the impact the Court's decisions have had on public school classrooms and how Christian nationalists are attempting to push the boundary even further.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Prog...

In less than four years, President Biden has gone from a skeptic to proponent of significant reforms to the Supreme Court. Christopher Wright Durocher joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss how the Court’s recent decisions have played into the growing calls for reform and what proposals may be gaining traction. We also bring you excerpts of ACS’s 2023-2024 Supreme Court Review to better understand just how aggressive the Court has become in delivering wins for the conservative legal movement and a...

In less than 100 days, voters all over the country will start heading to the polls as early voting begins in most states. Lindsay Langholz is joined by ACS’s Ashley Erickson and Power the Poll’s Marta Hanson to cut through the noise of the presidential race and talk about one concrete thing that can be done to help protect democracy this year and help restore faith in our election system long-term. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of...

Artificial intelligence has burst onto the scene at a fragile time for our democracy, leading to many questions about how such a powerful tool can be harnessed to empower voters and election administrators while exposing vulnerabilities in our democratic structures. Taonga Leslie speaks with Spencer Overton about the potential racial harms and upsides of AI on our democracy. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Raci...

As we approach the end of another Supreme Court term where originalism has dominated opinion after opinion in furtherance of an extremist conservative ideology, a question once again arises - how should progressives interpret the Constitution? Madiba Dennie joins Valerie Nannery to discuss her new book, The Originalism Trap, and how progressives can reclaim what the Constitution means.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy a...

Antitrust has escaped the business section and become a major topic of conversation in households across America. If you plan to attend a summer concert, buy groceries, or even listen to this episode on your phone, antitrust could have a real impact on your day-to-day life. Recent high-profile cases and notable agency actions have garnered commentary from supporters and skeptics alike. Elizabeth Binczik speaks with Sandeep Vaheesan of Open Markets Institute about the competing views on the FT...

The Biden Administration recently released a new rule that provides critical updates to Title IX. Lindsay Langholz and ACS Law Fellow Claire Comey speak with Anya Marino and Shiwali Patel about this important federal civil rights law, the contours of this new regulation, and the work still to be done to protect students of all gender identities on campus. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgHost: Lindsay Langholz - Senior Director of Policy and ProgramCo-Host: Claire Co...

Christopher Wright Durocher is joined by Professor Elisabeth Semel to talk about her recently released report, Guess Who’s Coming to Jury Duty? They discuss how too many courts don’t adequately track prospective jurors’ race and ethnicity and how the failure to take a race-conscious approach to jury selection and service results in the perpetuation of implicit, explicit, and institutional racial bias in our criminal legal system. Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgToday's Ho...

This week on Broken Law, we revisit two moving speeches from ACS's 2023 National Convention. Oren Nimni and Sherrilyn Ifill explore the complicity of lawyers in maintaining our unjust legal system and the special responsibility we bear in creating a more just future.Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.orgToday's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACSFeatured Speaker: Oren Nimni, Litigation Director, Rights Behind BarsFeatured Speaker: Sherrilyn ...