Each week on The Term, Supreme Court reporter Jimmy Hoover and co-host Natalie Rodriguez break down all the high court action.
This week begins with a discussion of Thursday's opinions. Natalie explains how the court's decision in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District — allowing product liability lawsuits to proceed against the automaker — represents a significant "blow" to corporate defendants hoping to escape similar litigation.
Next, Jimmy talks through the court's 5-3 decision in Torres v. Madrid, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the liberals to hold that an officer's failed attempt to restrain a suspect by force can still constitute a "seizure" under the Fourth Amendment. The ruling came as a victory to a woman who was shot twice by New Mexico police before evading capture.
Jimmy breaks down Justice Gorsuch's fiery dissent, in which he attacked the majority's "schizophrenic" reading of the amendment and suggested that his colleagues simply had an "impulse" to side with the plaintiff, regardless of the historical precedent.
Next, the hosts discuss interesting items from Monday's orders list, including what Chief Justice Roberts said about a simmering debate concerning whether the president has the authority to create offshore national monuments in order to protect aquatic wildlife. And Jimmy walks through the broader implications of U.S. v. Tsarnaev, in which the government is fighting to reinstate the death penalty of Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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