Amicus: The Politics of Law

In anticipation of big decisions on marriage equality and Obamacare, many are talking about the balance of political power on the Supreme Court. Is that fair?

Listen to Episode 15 of Slate’s Amicus:

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With hugely consequential decisions coming down the pike from the Supreme Court later on this spring, there’s been a lot of speculation about how certain key members of the court will vote. A lot of this speculation suggests that the justices are just as motivated by political and psychological concerns as they are by legal doctrine and case law.

On this week’s episode of Amicus, Dahlia speaks with Georgia State University law professor Eric Segall and New York Times legal correspondent Adam Liptak about how much stock we should place in this line of analysis.

You can read professor Segall’s recent piece on the subject here, and Adam Liptak’s analysis here.

Please let us know what you think of Amicus, our legal affairs podcast. Our email is amicus@slate.com.

Podcast production by Tony Field.