Episodes

  • High Court Ruling on Nuclear Waste Storage Site Hard to Predict

    High Court Ruling on Nuclear Waste Storage Site Hard to Predict
    Mar 7 2025
    A fight over plans for a privately owned nuclear waste storage facility in Texas seemed to divide the US Supreme Court as the justices wrestled with a federal agency’s regulatory authority and who can challenge it. Cases and Controversies hosts Greg Stohr and Lydia Wheeler unpack Wednesday’s arguments in the dispute over a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license that would have moved as much as 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel to a privately owned facility. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the agency didn’t have the authority to grant the license after Texas and neighboring landowners challenged it in court. It's unclear if the court will affirm that ruling. A decision is due by the end of June or early July. The hosts also chat about the most significant ruling to come from the Supreme Court so far in litigation against actions President Donald Trump has taken since returning to office. A divided court rejected his request to toss out a district court order that forced him to pay $2 billion in federal foreign aid. Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases & Controversies? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    15 mins
  • Supreme Court Confronts Bid to Open Up Gunmakers' Liability

    Supreme Court Confronts Bid to Open Up Gunmakers' Liability
    Feb 28 2025
    The US Supreme Court hears argument March 4 in a case over gun industry protections from lawsuits. The dispute involving Mexico and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. centers on whether exceptions to the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act open manufacturers to court challenges. Mexico alleges gunmakers intentionally trade with suppliers for drug cartels and the law allows suits when industry knowingly violates firearms laws in a way that causes injury. Industry says it's shielded, but the Boston-based US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has said not so fast. Cases and Controversies discusses the case with Georgia State law professor Timothy Lytton. He's filed a brief on behalf of neither party advocating for one of the law's exceptions opening gunmakers to potential liability. Hosts: Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr Producer: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases & Controversies, Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    25 mins
  • Supreme Court Pulled Into First Trump Fight Over Executive Power

    Supreme Court Pulled Into First Trump Fight Over Executive Power
    Feb 21 2025
    The Supreme Court- has been pulled into its first dispute over a Trump administration action with more cases likely coming its way. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices in an emergency request to toss out a temporary restraining order that stopped President Donald Trump from firing the head of the US Office of Special Counsel. Lower courts have issued TROs in response to Trump’s executive actions now testing presidential authority to reshape the federal workforce, government spending, and citizenship rights. Thomas Berry, the director of the Center for Constitutional Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, joins Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler to discuss the first case before the high court. Guest: Thomas Berry, Cato Institute Hosts: Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler Producer: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases & Controversies, Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    19 mins
  • Trump Will Force the Supreme Court to Face its Biggest Fear: Essay

    Trump Will Force the Supreme Court to Face its Biggest Fear: Essay
    Feb 18 2025
    The US Supreme Court is confronting the stark reality that, unlike the other two branches of government, the court has no real power to enforce its decisions. Should someone — whether government official or private citizen — refuse to comply, the justices have no army or constitutional spending power to use as a cudgel, Bloomberg Supreme Court reporter Greg Stohr writes in a new longform essay. That age-old quandary is becoming newly relevant as Donald Trump tries to bulldoze his way through longstanding legal constraints in the opening weeks of his second term as president. As lawsuits over birthright citizenship, spending cuts, and workforce purges make their way to the high court, the cases carry the potential for a genuine constitutional crisis. What happens, Chief Justice John Roberts must ask himself, if Trump loses and then defies the court? A lawsuit filed in 1801 when the Supreme Court was an untested institution posed a similar dilemma for Chief Justice John Marshall — and more recently, danger signs have been growing. Article by Greg Stohr read by Catherine Vassilopolos Do you have feedback on Cases and Controversies? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690
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    14 mins
  • Justices to Weigh Evidence Rule in Reverse Discrimination Suit

    Justices to Weigh Evidence Rule in Reverse Discrimination Suit
    Feb 7 2025
    The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a reverse discrimination case when the justices return to the bench at the end of the month. A heterosexual woman is asking the court to revive her lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Youth Services where she's worked since 2004 after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said she hadn't shown the "background circumstances" necessary to take her case to trial. The court didn't just ask for a little bit more evidence, it asked for a lot more, said Xiao Wang, director of the University of Virginia's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, who's representing Marlean Ames in her case. Wang and co-counsel Edward Gilbert join Cases and Controversies to discuss the case and what's at stake. Hosts Greg Stohr and Lydia Wheeler also chat about Trump's impending trade war and look at the legal doctrine that could stand in the way of his planned tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada. Hosts: Lydia Wheeler and Greg Stohr Produce: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases & Controversies, Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    19 mins
  • Trump Actions Spark Potential Legal Challenges for Supreme Court

    Trump Actions Spark Potential Legal Challenges for Supreme Court
    Jan 31 2025
    President Donald Trump’s executive orders have sparked a flurry of legal challenges that tee-up constitutional questions about the breadth of executive power the US Supreme Court may be forced to settle. Daniel Cotter, a partner at Dickinson Wright who writes a column on the Supreme Court for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, joins Cases and Controversies to talk about which disputes could get Supreme Court review. Hosts Greg Stohr and Lydia Wheeler also chat about new cases the justices tacked on to the term, including one over a taxpayer-funded religious charter school in Oklahoma, and discuss why those challenges may not actually increase the court’s workload. Hosts: Greg Stohr and Lydia Wheeler Guest: Daniel Cotter, of Dickinson Wright PLLC Produce: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases and Controversies? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690
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    18 mins
  • Supreme Court Mulls Test for Reasonable Force in Police Killings

    Supreme Court Mulls Test for Reasonable Force in Police Killings
    Jan 24 2025
    Supreme Court justices seemed to agree courts should look at the totality of circumstances when analyzing whether a police officer's use of deadly force was reasonable. During arguments Wednesday, the US Supreme Court appeared ready to rule the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had used the wrong test when it considered the claims of a mother who argues a Texas police officer unjustly shot and killed her son during a traffic stop in 2016. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler discuss the arguments in that dispute over the officer’s use of deadly force and the likelihood of a future Supreme Court case over President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. The order, which deems denies automatic citizenship to children born of immigrants in the US, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Thursday. Hosts: Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler Producer: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases and Controversies? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690
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    20 mins
  • Justices Mull Scrutiny Test In Porn Site Age Verification Case

    Justices Mull Scrutiny Test In Porn Site Age Verification Case
    Jan 17 2025
    Several justices on the Supreme Court seemed eager this week to debate the constitutionality of a Texas law that requires porn sites to verify the age of users to keep kids from viewing obscene content online. But the court was only asked in the case argued Wednesday to answer whether the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit applied the correct standard when assessing whether the law violated the free speech rights of adults. “I don't know if there is going to be sufficient alignment on how to get to the answers here,” said Mark Brennan, who works with a variety of companies in the online space as a partner at Hogan Lovells. Brennan joins “Cases and Controversies” hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler to discuss Wednesday’s argument. They also break down the court’s decisions earlier this week in disputes over fancy dog food and federal overtime rules. Hosts: Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler Producer: Mo Barrow Do you have feedback on this episode of Cases & Controversies, Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.
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    17 mins