You may have heard last week’s conversation on the Supreme Court.
Well, there’s something about the Supreme Court that gets listeners’ attention. I received a lot of follow-up questions – so many, that I wished I had immediate access to another constitutional scholar.
Turns out, I did.
I already had recorded the second half of the conversation you’ll hear today with Robert Tsai. Tsai is Professor of Law at American University and a prize-winning essayist in constitutional law and history. Previously, he clerked for two federal judges and worked civil rights lawyer in Georgia. He has written three books, the most recent of which is Practical Equality: Forging Justice in a Divided Nation.
When we consider remedies to the various inequalities that define these times – from voting restrictions and oppressive measures against migrants to the rights of sexual minorities, victims of police action, and even racism in the criminal justice system – existing laws to address equality are often incomplete.
But in exploring the Constitution and reexamining important historical cases, Tsai explains how legal ideas that aren’t necessarily about equality at all — ensuring fair play, acting reasonably, avoiding cruelty, and protecting free speech — have been used to overcome inequality in the past and can serve as potent alternative tools to promote equality today.
Simply, Tsai offers a distinct view and outlines the possible innovative legal measures to overcome injustice.
But with all the comments from last week’s podcast, I asked Robert for a favor – would he be willing to do a quick update call where I could ask him some of the Supreme Court follow-ups I got from listeners. He agreed, so here it is.
For show notes & my newsletter, go to chrisriback.com
Jennifer Duffy, Cook Political Report
Mark McKinnon, co-founder of No Labels
Sasha Issenberg, Author of "The Victory Lab"
Tom Jensen, Pulic Policy Polling
Rick Hasen, election law expert
Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, co-authors of HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton
Patrick Ruffini, Republican digital strategist
Amy Walter, Cook Political Report
Celinda Lake, Democratic pollster
Jeffrey Toobin, legal analyst for the New Yorker and CNN
Teddy Goff, digital director for President Obama's re-election campaign
Stan Greenberg, Democratic pollster
Inside the making of the State of the Union address
Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Obama
Mike Murphy, GOP media consultant
Steve Kornacki, Host of "Up with Steve Kornacki" on MSNBC
Chuck Todd, Chief White House correspondent and political director for NBC News
David Frum, author and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush
Joe Trippi, political consultant and media strategist
Frank Rich, writer at New York Magazine and Executive Producer of Veep on HBO
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