Attorney, writer and political commentator Elie Mystal joins Laverne to talk about the radically conservative United States Supreme Court, the constitutional amendments through history and his eye-opening book, Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution. He explains how the judges’ own personal tastes make the largest impact on decisions and how the right’s unification has reaped a pipeline of conservative judges the left cannot replicate. They also talk about options like stacking the court and term limits to make change, but when it comes down to it, guess what, it’s up to us.

Elie is a frequent media contributor and the justice correspondent at The Nation.

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The U.S. Constitution Amendments mentioned:

1st Amendment = freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

2nd Amendment = the right to bear arms

4th Amendment = the right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure

“Reconstruction Amendments” 

13th Amendment (1865) = abolition of slavery

14th Amendment (1868) = US citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws

15th Amendment (1870) = Black men can vote

Links of Interest: 

Elie Mystal on The Mehdi Hassan Show (MSNBC via YouTube, 6/29/23)

Here’s What Happened When Affirmative Action Ended in California Public Colleges (NPR, 6/30/23)

The Current Supreme Court Justices

News and analysis of the US Supreme Court 

Reconstruction Amendments (Video, PBS)

The Federalist Society

Progressive Mobilization:

American Constitution Society (ACS)

Alliance for Justice

Demand Justice

Cases mentioned:

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Loving v. Virginia

US vs. Rahimi (opinion)

Slaughterhouse Cases

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis

Previous Episodes Mentioned:

Residential Segregation & Structural Racism w/ Richard Rothstein

CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sandie Bailey, Alex Alcheh, Lauren Hohman, Tyler Klang & Gabrielle Collins

Producer & Editor: Brooke Peterson-Bell

Editing Support: Nikolas Harter

Associate Producer: Akiya McKnight

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