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Strict Scrutiny

Boy Math, Boy Law, Man Problems

106 min episode · 2 min read
·
Jill Hasday

Episode

106 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Science & Discovery, History, Books & Authors

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • Texas Redistricting Self-Own: Trump DOJ sent Texas a letter explicitly stating redistricting should dismantle multiracial coalition districts based on race, inadvertently creating evidence of racial gerrymandering that Judge Brown called ham-fisted, while California's purely partisan redistricting may survive legal challenge because they avoided racial justifications.
  • Grand Jury Irregularities: Interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan told grand jurors that Comey lacks Fifth Amendment rights at trial and they could indict based on promised future evidence rather than presented evidence, then admitted the full grand jury never voted on the final indictment charges.
  • Historical Erasure Patterns: Women remain absent from public commemorations despite century-long battles, with surveys showing only one-third of Americans believe their neighbors would accept a female president, and none of Alice Paul's 1922 predictions for 2023 including equal congressional representation have been achieved.
  • Self-Contradictory Victory Announcements: Courts and lawmakers have declared sex equality achieved since before the Nineteenth Amendment while simultaneously denying rights, as seen in the 1961 Hoyt case where the Supreme Court proclaimed enlightened emancipation while upholding all-male jury systems that denied women defendants peer juries.
  • Mueller versus Lochner Legacy: The 1908 Mueller decision constitutionalizing women's domestic roles remained good law until the 1970s and influenced cases through Dobbs, yet receives no recognition as judicial overreach compared to Lochner's 1937 overturn, demonstrating how cases affecting women disappear from constitutional canon despite lasting impact.

What It Covers

Strict Scrutiny analyzes recent Supreme Court developments, redistricting battles across multiple states, DOJ prosecutorial misconduct in the Comey case, and features professor Jill Hasday discussing her book on how erasing women's historical struggles perpetuates ongoing inequality.

Key Questions Answered

  • Texas Redistricting Self-Own: Trump DOJ sent Texas a letter explicitly stating redistricting should dismantle multiracial coalition districts based on race, inadvertently creating evidence of racial gerrymandering that Judge Brown called ham-fisted, while California's purely partisan redistricting may survive legal challenge because they avoided racial justifications.
  • Grand Jury Irregularities: Interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan told grand jurors that Comey lacks Fifth Amendment rights at trial and they could indict based on promised future evidence rather than presented evidence, then admitted the full grand jury never voted on the final indictment charges.
  • Historical Erasure Patterns: Women remain absent from public commemorations despite century-long battles, with surveys showing only one-third of Americans believe their neighbors would accept a female president, and none of Alice Paul's 1922 predictions for 2023 including equal congressional representation have been achieved.
  • Self-Contradictory Victory Announcements: Courts and lawmakers have declared sex equality achieved since before the Nineteenth Amendment while simultaneously denying rights, as seen in the 1961 Hoyt case where the Supreme Court proclaimed enlightened emancipation while upholding all-male jury systems that denied women defendants peer juries.
  • Mueller versus Lochner Legacy: The 1908 Mueller decision constitutionalizing women's domestic roles remained good law until the 1970s and influenced cases through Dobbs, yet receives no recognition as judicial overreach compared to Lochner's 1937 overturn, demonstrating how cases affecting women disappear from constitutional canon despite lasting impact.

Notable Moment

Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith's dissent in the Texas redistricting case mentioned George Soros over ten times, called an expert witness a Soros operative with a piggy bank, and acknowledged some might view his comments as political rather than judicial, resembling conspiracy theory more than legal analysis.

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Episode Transcript

Strict Scootany is brought to you by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Right now, the Trump administration is trying to dismantle our bedrock environmental protections, but here's the truth. No one voted for dirty air and dirty water. The election wasn't a mandate to contaminate our water with forever chemicals or to pollute our air with hazardous emissions or to trade away our public lands to the highest bidders. That's why the Southern Environmental Law Center is fighting back to protect our bedrock environmental laws and regulations and safeguards in the courtroom and in the halls of government. With four decades of experience and more than a 130 legal and policy experts, SELC is standing alongside their partners and the people across the South to protect the healthy environment we all depend on. Because clean air, clean water, and a healthy climate aren't political, they're fundamental. SELC is working hand in hand with communities to stop harmful policies, fight for clean air and water, defend climate progress, push for environmental justice, and protect wild places and wildlife for future generations. Learn how you can join their important work by visiting selc.org. Mister chief justice, may it please support? It's an old joke, but when a man argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they're going to have the last word. She spoke not elegantly, but with unmistakable clarity. She said, I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks. Hello, Hello, and welcome back to strict scrutiny, your podcast about the Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. We are your hosts for this first segment today. I'm Kate Shaw. And I'm Leah Litvin. And I'm Melissa Murray. And per our last episode, or really just per usual these days, we are going to spend the first part of this episode talking about some legal news, including new developments in the redistricting fight. We'll also give you an update on reproductive rights and wrongs, as well as the latest on the Comey James prosecutions, and of course, Lefair Epstein? And some worms. There will be worms. I just said we would cover developments in Lefair Epstein. Like, you did not have to get There are actually many worms to cover. Among the, you know, worm coverage, the main winner, though, is going to be George Soros. Always. If none of if none of this makes sense to you, congratulations. You are less online than fifth circuit judges. And don't worry. We consume the content for you and are about to report back. Once you get through all of that news, we will feature a conversation that Kate had with professor Jill Hasday about Hasday's recently published book, We the Men. Actually, both parts of today's episode are kind of about We the Men. Just very different. Oh, a 100%. On point. It seems like the whole last year has been about We the Men. Sure. …

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Books

  • <UNKNOWN>By guest

    by Jill Hasday

    features professor Jill Hasday discussing her book on how erasing women's historical struggles perpetuates ongoing inequality

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