Legal Spirits 058: Law & Justice in Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”
Apr 03, 2024
“Measure for Measure” in the First Folio (1623)
First performed 400 years ago, William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” addresses an enduring human dilemma. No society can safely exist without law, but law itself depends on human judgment, which is prone to error and corruption. In this episode, Center Director Mark Movsesian and Northwestern Law Professor John McGinnis discuss this great but problematic play and explore why it remains so humbling for lawyers and judges today. Listen in!
Legal Spirits 057: Historian Richard Brookhiser on Religious Freedom in America
Mar 07, 2024
In this episode, Center Director Mark Movsesian interviews historian Richard Brookhiser (left) about his new documentary, “Free Exercise: America’s Story of Religious Liberty.” How have minority religions tested and shaped America’s commitment to religious freedom over the centuries–and how has America changed those religions in return? From the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657 until now, it has been a grand story. Listen in!
Legal Spirits 056: Can the NY State Thruway Ban Chick-fil-A?
Jan 18, 2024
Chick-fil-A Inc. logo (PRNewsFoto/Chick-fil-A)
In this episode, we discuss a bill pending in New York that would require future fast food restaurants at rest stops on the State Thruway to open seven days a week. The bill expressly targets Chick-fil-A, which closes on Sundays in line with the owners’ religious commitments. Does the bill violate Chick-fil-A’s free exercise rights under the US and NY State Constitutions? And what does this controversy suggest about religious practice in the US? Listen in!
Legal Spirits 055: Speaker Mike Johnson on the Separation of Church and State
Dec 05, 2023
Speaker Mike Johnson on CNBC last month
In a TV interview last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson raised eyebrows by asserting that Framers welcomed religion in public life and that the Establishment Clause protects religion from the encroachment of government, not the other way around. In this podcast, we show how Johnson was both right and wrong. Many Framers shared his view, but others did not. The controversy over Johnson’s comments is just the latest episode in a continuing debate over the meaning of religious liberty. When we argue about the past, we are really arguing about what our country should be, today. Listen in!
Legal Spirits 054: Is Classical Law Due for a Comeback?
Oct 25, 2023
Recently, many people have been talking about classical law–specifically whether classical law, with its focus on Christian universals and natural law concepts, can make a comeback in American law schools. Will classical law have traction in an academy dominated by positivism, law-and-economics, and critical theories? Would it be a good thing if it did? We’re joined on this episode by Steve Smith (San Diego) and Julia Mahoney (UVA), who recently debated the question in an online forum, here and here. Sparks fly (just kidding–it’s all among friends, as the above picture suggests). Listen in!
Legal Spirits 053: Tom Berg on Religious Liberty in a Polarized Age
Oct 02, 2023
A protester calling for justice for Elijah McClain clashes with a member of the Proud Boys in Denver, Colorado, U.S., November 21, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
Welcome back! In our first Legal Spirits episode of the academic year, we interview our friend, law professor Tom Berg (University of St. Thomas) about his new book, Religious Liberty in a Polarized Age. We explore how fights about religious liberty both reflect and contribute to the deep social division in the US today–but also how a commitment to religious liberty might help ease that division. Listen in!
In our traditional end-of-term wrap up, Marc and Mark discuss the Supreme Court’s decisions in two cases: Groff v. DeJoy, the Title VII religious accommodations case, and 303 Creative v. Elenis, the website designer case. Were these simple cases masquerading as complicated ones? Do they suggest the Court is rethinking its views on free speech, religious freedom, and anti-discrimination law? Listen in to find out!
Legal Spirits 051: The Biden Administration’s Guidance on Prayer in Public Schools
May 24, 2023
In this episode, Marc and Mark offer some thoughts about the Biden Administration Department of Education’s guidance issued earlier this month (the first since 2020) on prayer and religious expression in public schools. The new guidance largely avoids much discussion of the newest Supreme Court decision on the matter, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, and does not mention the Court’s new text and tradition test at all. Marc and Mark offer some explanations (and entertain a few gentlemanly disagreements!) about just why that might be. Listen in!
Legal Spirits 050: Groff v. DeJoy and Religious Accommodation in the Workplace
Apr 28, 2023
In this episode, Marc and Mark discuss the background and recent oral argument before the Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy, a case about religious accommodation in the workplace under Title VII. The case involves a postal worker who observes Sunday sabbath and who was disciplined by the United States Postal Service after a dispute between the parties arose concerning his accommodation from working on Sunday. We discuss the interpretation of the statutory language “undue hardship,” an old 1970s-era Supreme Court decision offering an unusual reading of that language, and the general and growing problem of religious accommodation in a pluralistic society that makes this case so controversial. Listen in!