SCOTUS Squabbles Go Public
April 20, 2026
1 hr 37 min
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29
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404 of 414
Episode 29 · April 20, 2026
SCOTUS Squabbles Go Public
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Strict Scrutiny Episodes Around April 20, 2026
Episode 404 of 414 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
SCOTUS Squabbles Go Public
Summary
<div>
<p>Melissa, Kate, and Leah break down an absolute boatload of beefs: Trump vs. Pope Leo, Sonia Sotomayor vs. Coach Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas vs. progressives, and Ketanji Brown Jackson vs. the shadow docket, before covering some of the week’s other legal news, including the Harvard Crimson’s <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/4/14/federal-clerkships-earlier-timeline/">reporting</a> on conservative judges’ ideological litmus tests for clerkships. Then, they break down the Court’s opinion in <em>Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana,</em> before previewing some upcoming oral arguments at One First Street, including the “crimmigration” case, <em>Blanche v. Lau</em>.</p><p>Favorite things:</p></div><ul>
<li>Leah: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/rfk-jr-road-kill-raccoon-new-book">RFK Jr. and the raccoon penis</a>; Her talk with Steve Vladeck in DC on her upcoming paper, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6302722">The Passive Vices</a>, on Monday, April 20 at 12:45pm - RSVP <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd898pap9piwwc62ADI6T313GBSibsfIbEJgilRIo9LKQrwxQ/viewform">here</a>.</li>
<li>Melissa: <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/lady-tremaine-rachel-hochhauser/22515233?ean=9781250396341&next=t">Lady Tremaine</a>, Rachel Hochhauser; Lily Allen’s West End Girl <a href="https://lilyallenmusic.com/tour/">tour</a>; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uFU79MGj00&list=RD-uFU79MGj00&start_radio=1">Rumours</a>, Fleetwood Mac </li>
<li><p>Kate: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysQl74R_Tog">What I Want</a>, MUNA; <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/playground-a-novel-richard-powers/0a48da6e4729f111?ean=9781324123736&next=t">Playground</a>, Richard Powers; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/us/politics/labor-secretary-text-messages.html">Labor Dept. Investigates Texts Among Secretary’s Family and Staff</a>, Rebecca Davis O’Brien (NYT) </p></li>
</ul><div><p>Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026! </p></div><ul><li><p>6/20/26 – New York City</p></li></ul><div>
<p>Learn more:<a href="http://crooked.com/events"> http://crooked.com/events<br /><br /></a>Preorder Melissa’s book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-constitution-annotated-for-the-contemporary-reader-melissa-murray/8e7f0dfa472fc3ca?ean=9781668221938&next=t&">The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader<br /><br /></a>Preorder a signed paperback of Leah’s book, Lawless, <a href="https://literatibookstore.com/book/signedlawless">here</a>.</p><p>Follow us on<a href="https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en"> Instagram</a>,<a href="https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast"> Threads</a>, and<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strictscrutiny.bsky.social"> Bluesky</a></p></div>