Strict Scrutiny - Strict Scrutiny

Latest Episodes:

The Supreme Court's Second Amendment Mess Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap the arguments in United States v. Rahimi, the case about the constitutionality of gun regulations, featuring diss tracks by KBJ.

Listen to "How SCOTUS gutted our gun laws," our episode on the 2022 decision that started this madness

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Doing Government on Twitter Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Melissa, Leah, and Kate recap cases the Supreme Court heard last week about whether government officials can block people on social media platforms. Do the justices actually understand how social media, or even the Internet, works? Unclear! Plus, a recap of the case over whether the phrase "Trump Too Small" can be trademarked. They also preview the upcoming second amendment case, United States v. Rahimi, which challenges a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.

Read Melissa and Kate's op-ed in the New York Times, "One of the Most Brazen Republican Schemes Around Abortion Is Happening in Ohio."
Check out our new shirts, dropping just in time for holiday shopping!
Bluesky: leahlitman.bsky.social, profmmurray.bsky.social, Kateshaw.bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social
Threads: @profleahlitman, @profmmurray, @kateashaw, @strictscrutinypodcast

For a transcript of this episode, go to crooked.com/strictscrutiny

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Trump's Legal Defense is Dumb AF Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Leah, Melissa, and Kate get up to date on the various cases against former President Trump and analyze the arguments being brought in his defense. Plus, they preview the First Amendment cases the Supreme Court will hear this week-- including one about the legality of trademarking the phrase "Trump Too Small."

Read about the guilty pleas from Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis
Read the NYT on Amy Coney Barrett's remarks at the University of Minnesota and Clarence Thomas's RV loan
Read The Washington Post on Judge James Ho's speech to The Heritage Foundation

Find us on the internet!

Bluesky: leahlitman.bsky.social, profmmurray.bsky.social, Kateshaw.bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social, strictscrutiny@bsky.social
Threads: @profleahlitman, @profmmurray, @kateashaw, @strictscrutinypodcast

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Texas is a Magic 8 Ball for the Country Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

ProPublica's Andrea Bernstein joins Kate and Leah to talk about the new investigative podcast, "We Don't Talk About Leonard." Then, Melissa, Kate, and Leah are live from the University of Texas to talk about all the special things the state brings to the federal judiciary.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Big BROTUS Energy Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Melissa, Kate, and Leah recap the oral arguments the Supreme Court heard last week, including a big one about voting rights and redistricting (Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP). Plus, an update on the shenanigans around the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the tomfoolery in the Fifth Circuit.

Read ProPublica's reporting on how U.S. Representative James Clyburn was involved in the South Carolina redistricting plan that's now before the Supreme Court
Please consider donating the memorial fund for Maggie Rossman, a college classmate of Leah's who recently died from complications in childbirth
Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Not Especially Judicious Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Kate, Melissa, and Leah recap oral arguments in the cases the Supreme Court heard last week, including Acheson Hotels v. Laufer (a case about civil rights enforcement) and CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association (a case about the constitutionality of funding structures for financial agencies). Plus, more Voting Rights Act shenanigans.

Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

What Fresh Hell Will This Supreme Court Term Bring? Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

It's the start of a new Supreme Court term... and the start of Strict Scrutiny's fifth season! While the cases ahead may seem technical and boring, they're actually quite significant. Melissa, Kate, and Leah preview the first oral arguments the Court will hear in October Term 2023.

Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Will the Government (as we know it) Still Be Constitutional? Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

Do you feel that chill in the air? It’s almost the first Monday of October and that means a new SCOTUS term! You may still be recovering from the last one (don’t worry, we are too) but Melissa, Kate and Leah talk about some themes that we can expect this term like the crazy cases coming out of the Fifth Circuit and whether government (as we know it) is constitutional. They also go through the justices’ latest questionable, and in some cases egregious (Justice Thomas, we’re looking at you) ethical lapses. So pour yourself a Ginni Tonic or Hot Ginni Toddy now that it’s fall, and settle in for this week’s live show from the Texas Tribune Festival.

Cases we’re watching:

-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited

-Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

-Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy

-Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer

-Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P.

-Pulsifer v. United States

-United States v. Rahimi

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Lights, Camera, SCOTUS! Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

On September 22, Showtime and Paramount+ will release the first episode of Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court. And if you tune in, you might recognize a few faces and voices. Documentarian Dawn Porter joins Kate, Melissa, and Leah to talk about how the series came to be, and what she learned about the Supreme Court's evolution in the process.

Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco
3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

KBJ's Rookie Year Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

Being a Supreme Court podcast means we spend much of the year in dystopia. So just this once, let's look at the silver lining that is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Amir Ali, executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center, joins Melissa, Kate, and Leah to look back on Justice Jackson's first year on the Supreme Court.

Listen back to our episodes on Justice Jackson's historic nomination and hellacious confirmation hearings
Follow @CrookedMedia on Instagram and Twitter for more original content, host takeovers and other community events.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!