Dial S for Severability

As we near the end of another Supreme Court term, speculation abounds over a Court ...

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As we near the end of another Supreme Court term, speculation abounds over a Court retirement. Would the resulting nomination battle be more or less contentious than the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh? David and Sarah answer this thought experiment while also touching on the implications this scenario would have on the 2020 election. They also break down rulings on robocalls and faithless electors.

When and how can you constitutionally defend yourself? The question comes after a gun-toting St. Louis couple made a show of force against Black Lives Matter protesters. On a more lighthearted note, David concludes the podcast by interviewing Sarah on her career path and what landed her at The Dispatch.

Show Notes:

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  1. Avatar photo
    John Boren

    One of the topics I would love you two to cover is the number of members of congress that are lawyers, why in some ways it's good, why in some ways it's bad, and how it affects/warps the conversations in ways that would be different if the career paths of congress people better reflected the makeup of the broader public.

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    Adam

    In discussing severability, did I hear correctly as David made the tangential case that portions of one's soul (or maybe only Justice Roberts) are severable from the whole?

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  3. Kmsinatra

    Regarding reading and pronunciations... I think I was in my mid 20s when I realized what I called a "yamacka" was spelled yarmulke...(I also tend to pronounce Seoul a little iffy if I am reading it aloud)

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  4. rob

    It seems to me that allowing the state legislature to replace electors if they do not follow their pledge changes the vote from being an independent vote of the elector to being in actuality a vote of the state legislature. Oh sure they may continue to respect the vote of the voters of that state, but that is not constitutionally required. And given that their is a history of the federal government using carrots and sticks to impose its will on the state governments this could end up being the foot in the door of the federalization of elections and a "national popular vote" that many (including me) have been fearing.

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  5. Kathy Kattenburg

    This entire podcast was just totally fascinating to listen to. The self-defense and the David interviews
    Sarah parts were the especially standout parts. Sarah, I am in awe of how much energy and self-confidence you have. And David, what you said about that existential crisis people can have when they realize they can no longer reinvent themselves was so poignant, and something I can strongly relate to.

    Thank you both for the hard work you put in on this podcast. It's really good.

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    Ethan Cordray

    Kavanaugh should have included a tiny little carve-out, allowing debt collectors and political marketers to make as many robo-calls as they please, but only to Justice Gorsuch.

    Harrassment is not protected speech, robo-calls are harrassment, ergo robo-calls are not protected speech. Boom, that's all the Supreme Court opinion you need.

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      Tracie

      The First Amendment pushes always in one direction: more robocalls.

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  7. Aaron C.

    As someone who is just about to begin the law school admissions cycle, I always love hearing the career stories from David and Sarah.

    Definitely in awe of the people like Sarah who enjoy campaign work - I could never survive that kind of uncertainty in life!

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    Rev Snow

    In the opening section of speculation, you left out the worst of the worst possibility for social peace. Imagine retirement, nomination and confirmation happen not only in an election year, but in Nov/Dec after the election is over when turnover to Democrat control in 2021 is not a possibility but a certainty.

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    TheKingPrawn

    Textualism as bludgeon.

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      Tracie

      Gorsuch's or Kagan's?

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  10. Kyle C

    I also grew up in Kentucky and am familiar with Versailles. I was also near Cairo (pronounced kayrow), IL. We have many fantastically named town in Kentucky, like Possum Trot and Monkey's Eyebrow.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Pastorfbt

      In Maine there's a town NW of Augusta spelled Vienna, pronounced Vyahna

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    2. Avatar photo
      Tracie

      In Texas, had family who lived in a South Texas town called Refugio, Spanish for "refuge." Everyone I knew pronounced it Ruh - FYER - ee - oh.

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