PODCAST: Law and Politics: The Case of State Judicial Elections 

Summary:

Alicia Bannon, Director of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, discusses the politics of state judicial elections with Associate Dean Rodger Citron.  In 38 states, judges are elected.  As Bannon describes, judicial elections used to be “sleepy” – not much campaigning was done and not much money was spent.  For a number of reasons, that has changed.  In 2023, for example, about $51 million was spent on the election of a state supreme court justice in Wisconsin. 

Furthermore, as Bannon explains, state courts matter.  The most notable example of the importance of state courts is that they very well may have the final say on laws allowing or restricting access to abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022.  Bannon describes how judicial elections have become more politicized, what effect this has on the operation and perception of state judicial systems, and what, if anything, can be done in response to these developments.       

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.    

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PODCAST: The Demise of Chevron Deference: A Discussion with Professor David Franklin

Summary: 

The Supreme Court continued its project of reshaping administrative law this term.  Perhaps its most widely discussed decision in this area was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, in which the Court overruled the doctrine of Chevron deference.  How did the Chevron doctrine operate?  Why, after forty years, did the Supreme Court set it aside?  And what will judges do when interpreting regulatory statutes that are either ambiguous or silent on the question pending before the court?     

DePaul College of Law Professor David Franklin discusses these questions on this Touro Law Review podcast with Associate Dean Rodger Citron.  Franklin clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court, has taught Administrative Law and Constitutional Law for more than a decade, and recently wrote about the Loper Bright decision for Slate, see This Supreme Court has betrayed Antonin Scalia’s legacy. (slate.com)

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.   

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