Something's rotten at the Supreme Court: Leah Litman on the lawlessness embraced by conservative justices

Because they are human, and because humans are suspect to biases and unconscious beliefs, Supreme Court justices may falter in their duty to rule objectively on cases. It is not difficult to imagine how personal ideology or politics could occasionally seep into their judgements. But the tendency for justices to toe the line of one party or another has only worsened over the years.

Now, as Leah Litman argues, the Supreme Court is no longer practicing law; it’s running on vibes. Litman joins Jen to talk about the “conservative grievance industrial complex” dominating law, cutting the Court down to size, and the necessity of lawyers’ advocacy extending beyond the courtroom.

Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk. She writes frequently about the Court for media outlets including The Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, cohosts the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and has appeared as a commentator on NPR and MSNBC, in addition to other venues. She has received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg award for her “scholarly excellence” from the American Constitution Society and published in top law reviews. Her new book is Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes.