Broken Law

Ever feel like the law is stacked against you? It probably is. Broken Law speaks truth to power in discussing how our laws and legal system serve the few at the expense of the many. This is where law meets real life. Hosted by the staff of the American Constitution Society, we reckon with the origins of our legal system, interview people on the frontlines of the progressive legal movement, and chat about necessary legal reforms to restore our democratic legitimacy and improve the lives of all people.

enAmerican Constitution Society144 Episodes

Episodes (144)

Episode 103: Bradley Whitford Talks Courts

Bradley Whitford (West Wing, The Handmaid's Tale, Get Out) stops by Broken Law to discuss his political activism, the state of our democracy, and why courts matter.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, ACS Sr. Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Bradley Whitford, Actor and Political Activist

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMay 23, 2023

Episode 102: Shadow Docket Power Grab

“Any story of the Supreme Court that doesn’t include the shadow docket is a story that’s looking at an increasingly skewed and incomplete portion of the Court’s work," writes Professor Stephen Vladeck in his new book, "The Shadow Docket." Jeanne Hruska speaks with Professor Vladeck about his book, the Supreme Court's increasing use of the shadow docket, and what it means for the Court's legitimacy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, ACS Sr. Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Stephen Vladeck, Charles Alan Wright Chair In Federal Courts, University of Texas School of Law

Link: "The Shadow Docket," by Stephen Vladeck

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMay 16, 2023

Episode 101: Is the Law Ready for ChatGPT?

In less than two months, ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, has gained over 100 million users – outpacing TikTok in its rate of growth. In addition to their novelty, ChatGPT and AI tools like it raise numerous concerns about data privacy, intellectual property, ethics, and more. Jeanne Hruska speaks with Professor James Grimmelmann about these challenges and whether lawmakers are prepared to address them.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, ACS Sr. Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: James Grimmelmann, Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law, Cornell Law School

Link: "What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?" by Stephen Wolfram

Link: "Eight Things to Know about Large Language Models," by Samuel R. Bowman

Link: "A Primer and FAQ on Copyright Law and Generative AI for News Media," by João Pedro Quintais

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMay 09, 2023

Episode 100: The Making of These Nine Black Robes

On our 100th episode, Russ Feingold speaks with Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst, about her new book, “Nine Black Robes,” which details how the Supreme Court came to be dominated by the conservative supermajority that it is today, with a close examination of the Trump administration’s handling of judicial vacancies.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Russ Feingold, ACS President

Guest: Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst

Link: "Nine Black Robes," by Joan Biskupic

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMay 02, 2023

Episode 99: Mifepristone and Judicial Whiplash

In the past couple of weeks, there has been a flurry of judicial activity over Mifepristone, one of the two drugs most often used in medication abortion and that was approved by the FDA over 20 years ago. On this episode, Jenny Ma returns to Broken Law to speak with Lindsay Langholz about the absurdity of the argument being made against Mifepristone, how it has played out in the courts thus far, and what may happen next.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, ACS Sr Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Jenny Ma, Senior Counsel, Center for Reproductive Rights

Link: I Need An A

Link: "Amicus Briefs: Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA"

Link: "The Lawless Ruling Against the Abortion Pill Has Already Prompted a Constitutional Crisis," Mark Joseph Stern

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enApril 25, 2023

Episode 98: Unpacking the Child Labor Crisis

Recent media reporting has uncovered just how widespread the use of child labor is in the United States. Rather than rush in to strengthen child labor laws and enforcement, some states are actually moving to make it easier for employers to hire children. Beth Binczik speaks with Terri Gerstein about why child labor is on the rise and what needs to happen to protect minors and workers' rights.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Elizabeth Binczik, ACS Director of Policy and Program for Economic Justice

Guest: Terri Gerstein, Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project, Harvard Law School

Link: "Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.," by Hannah Dreier

Link: "Child workers found throughout Hyundai-Kia supply chain in Alabama," Reuters Investigates

Link: "Child labor laws are under attack in states across the country," Economic Policy Institute

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enApril 18, 2023

Episode 97: Countering Florida's War on CRT

The Florida state government has enacted multiple laws in recent years that censor what can and cannot be taught and discussed in the classroom. Taonga Leslie speaks with Kenneth Nunn about the experience of teaching about race in Florida. They discuss the consequences for teachers, students, and society when critical discussions of race are censored, strategies for countering such censorship, and some of the silver linings from what is happening right now.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Taonga Leslie, ACS Director of Policy and Program for Racial Justice

Guest: Kenneth Nunn, Professor of Law Emeritus, UF Law

Link: "Florida's fight against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," by Chuck Hobbs

Link: "Recent UF academic freedom infringements follow trend of collusion against faculty, professors say," by April Rubin

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enApril 11, 2023

Episode 96: The Campaign to Erase Trans People from Public Life

This year alone, hundreds of bills have been introduced in state legislatures aimed at erasing trans people from public life. Christopher Wright Durocher speaks with Alejandra Caraballo and Mary Kelly Persyn about this "legislative terror campaign," the devastating consequences of it, and how the legal community can fight in solidarity with the trans community in support of trans rights, dignity, and safety.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, ACS VP of Policy and Program

Guest: Alejandra Caraballo, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School

Guest: Mary Kelly Persyn, Founder and Principal, Persyn Law & Policy

Link: LGBTQ+ Legislative Tracker

Link: "Extradition Post Roe," by Alejandra Caraballo, et al

Link: "We Are All Transgender Now: On Resisting Tyranny," by Mary Kelly Persyn

Link: The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enApril 04, 2023

Episode 95: Why The ERA Is More Important Than Ever

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first introduced in 1923. 100 years later, with 38 states having ratified it, should it be considered the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Lindsay Langholz speaks with Kathleen Sullivan about the status of the ERA and why the ERA is more important than ever.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Sr Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Kathleen Sullivan, Senior Counsel, Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan

Link: Video of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, "The Equal Rights Amendment: How Congress Can Recognize Ratification and Enshrine Equality in Our Constitution"

Link: The ERA Coalition

Link: "We the Women," by Julie Suk

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMarch 28, 2023

Episode 94: When Forced Birth Becomes a Banality

We've hosted several episodes about Dobbs and its aftermath. On this episode, Lindsay Langholz is joined by Khiara M. Bridges for a broader conversation about forced birth in America and what it means for pregnant people, families, and the law when forced birth becomes a banality.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Sr Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Khiara M. Bridges, Professor, UC Berkeley School of Law

Link: "Race in the Roberts Court," by Khiara M Bridges

Link: National Network of Abortion Funds

Link: Sister Song

Link: "Reproductive Justice," Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMarch 21, 2023

Episode 93: How Powerful Should America's Chief Executive Be?

As we await the fate of the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program before the Supreme Court, we take a look at the evolving use and existence of executive power. How powerful should the executive branch be? How would we go about reducing executive power? Jeanne Hruska speaks with Peter M. Shane about the evolution of executive power, with a close look at the last 40 years.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, ACS Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Peter M. Shane, ACS Board of Directors, Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law

Link: Democracy's Chief Executive Podcast

Link: "What Ford’s Pardon of Nixon Means (and Doesn’t Mean) for Trump," by Garrett M. Graff

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMarch 14, 2023

Episode 92: Student Loans, SCOTUS, and All that Talk of Standing

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in two lawsuits related to the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program. Beth Binczik and Luke Herrine (Alabama Law) dissect all the talk about whether any of the plaintiffs had standing, the merits of the cases, and what the Biden administration could do if the Court thwarts the program.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Beth Binczik, ACS Director of Policy and Program for Economic Justice

Co-Host: Jeanne Hruska, ACS Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Luke Herrine, Assistant Professor of Law, Alabama Law

Link: SCOTUS Oral Argument in Biden v. Nebraska

Link: Student Borrower Protection Center

Link: "How the Government Cancelled Betty Ann’s Debts," by Eleni Schirmer

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enMarch 07, 2023

Episode 91: The Supreme Court Has an Ethics Problem

There are nine judges in our federal judiciary who are not bound by a code of ethics, and they just so happen to be the nine most powerful judges in the country. Jeanne Hruska speaks with Mark Joseph Stern (Slate) and Chris Kang (Demand Justice) about the U.S. Supreme Court's "just trust us" approach to ethics, the problems this continues to create, and what a code of ethics for our highest court might look like.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, Sr Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Chris Kang, Chief Counsel, Demand Justice

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Senior writer at Slate

Link: "Why the Supreme Court Doesn’t Want You to Hear Its Opinion Announcements Live," by Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern

Link: "Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach," by Joki Kantor and Jo Becker

Link: "The Supreme Court Can’t Even Agree on a Code of Ethics for Itself," by Elie Mystal

Link: Statement by Russ Feingold re: “Undue Influence: Operation Higher Court and Politicking at SCOTUS”

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enFebruary 28, 2023

Episode 90: Pulling the Curtain Back on the Anti-Abortion Movement

This week, Lindsay Langholz speaks with Jessica Mason Pieklo from Rewire News Group to pull the curtain back on the anti-abortion movement. They discuss the pending lawsuit in federal district court that could result in abortion pills being banned, the concerted effort to target hormonal birth control, and much more.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director for Policy and Program

Guest: Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, Rewire News Group

Link: "Biden administration braces for ruling that could ban abortion pills," by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Adam Cancryn

Link: "Is the Right to Birth Control Next on the Chopping Block?" by Thalia Charles, Rewire News Group

Link: "‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Are Deceptive. Why Aren’t There More Alternatives?" by Garnet Henderson

Link: "Childbirth Is Deadlier for Black Families Even When They’re Rich, Expansive Study Finds," by Claire Cain Miller, Sarah Kliff, and Larry Buchanan

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enFebruary 21, 2023

Episode 89: Section 230 Goes to the Supreme Court

Passed in the infancy of the world wide web, Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act has been called the “26 words that created the internet.” On February 21, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, the Court's first case about Section 230 and the immunity it confers on providers of interactive computer services. Christopher Wright Durocher speaks with Dariely Rodriguez and David Brody from the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law about the lawsuit and its potential impact on civil rights protection and censorship of people of color.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Dariely Rodriguez, Deputy Chief Counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Guest: David Brody, Managing Attorney, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Link: Brief of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Five Civil Rights Organizations as Amici Curiae in Support of Neither Party

Link: "A Supreme Court Case Could Decide the Fate of the Modern Internet," by Lizzie O'Leary

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enFebruary 14, 2023

Episode 88: Closing the Justice Gap

If you are charged with a crime, you have a right to counsel. But what about a right to counsel if you are at risk of being evicted or losing custody of your children? How might a right to counsel in those situations close what is known as the “justice gap”? Jeanne Hruska speaks with Yael Cannon (Georgetown Law School) and John Pollock (Public Justice Center) to answer these questions and to explore the equity benefits of a civil right to counsel.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director for Policy and Program

Guest: Yael Cannon, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown Law

Guest: John Pollock, Attorney and Coordinator, Public Justice Center

Link: National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel

Link: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enFebruary 07, 2023

Episode 87: Is Dobbs a Canary in the Coal Mine?

Is there a correlation between the status of reproductive rights and the health of our democracy? Lindsay Langholz speaks with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf about this question and her recent article in Ms. Magazine and Rewire Magazine that asks if women's rights are the canary in the coal mine in the backsliding of democracies.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director for Policy and Program

Guest: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, Executive Director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network

Link: "Are Women’s Rights the Canary in the Coal Mine of a Democracy in Decline?" by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

Link: "Periods Gone Public," by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

Link: "Abortion Rights Are Essential to Democracy," series by Brennan Center

Link: Birnbaum Women's Leadership Network

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enJanuary 31, 2023

Episode 86: Building an Equitable Economy

This week, we are talking about Law and the Political Economy, or LPE, which seeks to expose how the market and economy are disproportionately shaped by and to serve powerful interest groups and the economically and politically dominant. Christopher Wright Durocher speaks with Amy Kapczynski to better understand LPE, its development, and how it can be utilized to build an equitable economy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Amy Kapczynski, Professor of Law at Yale Law School

Link: The Law and Political Economy Project

Link: "Building a Law-and-Political-Economy Framework: Beyond the Twentieth-Century Synthesis," by Jedediah Britton-Purdy, David Singh Grewal, Amy Kapczynski & K. Sabeel Rahman

Link: "Reviving Progressive Constitutional Political Economy," co-hosted by ACS and Georgetown University Law Center

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enJanuary 24, 2023

Episode 85: Pedal to the Metal on Judicial Confirmations

Senate Majority Leader Schumer has said judges will be a priority for the new Senate. If that's the case, there are three changes to the Senate's rules and norms that should be immediately made to expedite confirmations and prevent obstruction of the confirmation process. Jeanne Hruska speaks with ACS President Russ Feingold about those three changes and why the Senate should not wait to make them.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, Sr Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Russ Feingold, ACS President

Link: "This is no time for games. The Senate needs to amend its rules," by Russ Feingold

Link: Tracking the Diversity of the Federal Bench

Link: "Inside Chuck Schumer's Long Game On Judges," by Jennifer Bendery

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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enJanuary 17, 2023

Episode 84: All Eyes on DOJ

This week, we build on our previous episode about the January 6th Select Committee's final report by taking a closer look at the corresponding investigations underway at the Department of Justice. Jeanne Hruska speaks with returning guest Mary McCord (Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection) about how DOJ investigations operate, what to expect going forward, and the importance of accountability in safeguarding democracy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Today's Host: Jeanne Hruska, Sr Advisor for Communications and Strategy

Guest: Mary McCord, Visiting Professor of Law; Executive Director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection

Link: "Dangerous Devotion: Congressional hearing examines threat of white Christian nationalism," (includes testimony from Mary McCord)

Link: The January 6th Select Committee's final report

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Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media