Show Notes
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nealkatyal.substack.com
At once revered and reviled, Citizens United remains one of the most controversial and consequential Supreme Court decisions of the twenty-first century. Striking down all prohibitions on independent campaign expenditures, the landmark 2010 decision found that corporations are afforded the same First Amendment free speech rights as are individuals. While Justice Stevens, dissenting for the Court’s four liberal members, blasted the conservative majority’s “wooden approach to the First Amendment,” his words were not enough. Citizens United removed one of the last remaining guardrails against corporate interests, and as a result, dark money, corporate spending, and Super PACs have come into election cycles. Join the legendary Hollywood Director Judd Apatow as we get into the case. This marks the end of the Courtside Season 1. There might be a special bonus episode coming with someone quite interesting next month, if the stars align. And yes, because you all made Courtside such a smashing success, Season Two will appear in the summer of 2024! Paid subscribers have access to all the extra written materials about Citizens United below, including a short summary of the case, the full written decision, and an abridged one.
More from COURTSIDE with Neal Katyal
I discuss these three Trump maneuvers, and why each is likely to fail. Listeners have been asking me about each of these 3, so I thought I’d put my answers to you in this format. For more on the new Georgia statute for ouster of local prosecutors (a move Governor DeSantis just used in Florida), read this informative article https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/08/trump-georgia-indictment-motion-remove/675019/ If you aren’t a paid subscriber, please consider joining. I don’t run any ads on Courtside, everything is listener supported. All profits go to charity.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nealkatyal.substack.com
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit nealkatyal.substack.com
Judge Michael Luttig was one of the most respected jurists and lawyers in our nation. Appointed by President Reagan and a deep conservative, he played a critical role on January 6. Listen to his remarkable reactions to the indictment brought by Jack Smith. For more, please subscribe to Courtside at nealkatyal.substack.com. There you’ll get access to all the full episodes and written materials, including deep dives on historic Supreme Court cases with discussions from people like John Mulaney, Katie Couric, and Rob Reiner. I will also be launching a second emergency Courtside today with my own reactions to the indictment.
This episode is like a matter-anti matter explosion. Regina Spektor is one of the deepest and most thoughtful humans on the planet, and one of the most talented musicians to boot. Her music can bring you to tears with its celebration of life and emotion. She and I discuss one of the lowest points for the Supreme Court in recent memory, Hawaii v. Trump, where the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s severe restrictions on countries that were overwhelmingly Muslim. Paid subscribers on nealkatyal.substack.com will have access to the full written materials around the decision (including a short summary) along with some bonus material from the interview with Regina. On December 7, 2015 (note the date), candidate Donald Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” 5 days into his Administration, he implemented it, leading to mass protests at airports. That travel ban got struck down by the Courts. Trump created a new one. That one got struck down by courts. Trump created another one. And that third one is the one that went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, upheld the third ban. Chief Justice Roberts found that the ban was constitutional, arguing that it neither exceeded the executive power of the Presidency nor violated the First Amendment. Justice Breyer issued a dissent examining the Proclamation’s system of waivers and exemptions. In her more dissent, Justice Sotomayor rebuffed Roberts’ argument, connecting then-candidate Trump’s Islamophobic rhetoric to the ensuing travel ban and suggesting parallels to the Japanese internment cases. While the ban only lasted for four years, its impact was enormous; families were separated, dreams were crushed, and perhaps most disturbingly, the Court set a dangerous legal precedent. To me, as I wrote about in Yale Law Journal, it was a resurrection of the Korematsu case, where the Court upheld the Japanese American internment on grounds of national security. (Please keep in mind, I argued the Hawaii case in the Supreme Court and the lower courts, and have strong feelings, and some good stories I share here.). I have always felt the Supreme Court got Korematsu wrong, but part of the blame rests with the Solicitor General at the time, who lied to the Supreme Court. Regina, herself a refugee, is the perfect guest to discuss the human impact of a decision like Trump v Hawaii. I can’t wait for you to listen in, for what she says about the promise of America is so moving. Paid subscribers will have access to all the written materials and summary of the decision, along with a bonus episode discussing Regina’s tips for overcoming stage fright. Sign up at nealkatyal.substack.com