1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,620 Thank you. 2 00:00:33,740 --> 00:00:38,280 much for joining us. It has been a busy week. The Pope met with Marco Rubio amid 3 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,700 ongoing tension between the Trump administration and God. 4 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:45,540 A judge released this alleged Jeffrey Epstein suicide note showing penmanship 5 00:00:45,540 --> 00:00:46,700 still worth teaching in schools. 6 00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:50,920 And around the country, Republicans scrambled to redistrict in the wake of 7 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,360 Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act ruling. In Tennessee, they convened a 8 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,480 session to carve up the state's only majority black district. Now, under the 9 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,000 law, they still can't intentionally redraw districts to disempower people 10 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,980 on race, which led to this incredible exchange between one Democratic state 11 00:01:06,980 --> 00:01:11,020 senator and the bill's sponsor, who was desperately trying to play dumb. 12 00:01:11,300 --> 00:01:12,300 To the sponsor. 13 00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:17,000 Are you aware that Memphis is predominantly African -American? 14 00:01:19,140 --> 00:01:20,820 Senator Stevens to respond. 15 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,360 Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not. 16 00:01:30,340 --> 00:01:31,400 Senator Lamar. 17 00:01:31,940 --> 00:01:33,140 Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 18 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:38,180 So to my sponsor, who went to law school at the University of Memphis and lived 19 00:01:38,180 --> 00:01:41,600 there for three years, you're telling me you're not aware that Memphis is 20 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,520 predominantly African American. Am I correct? 21 00:01:44,340 --> 00:01:46,200 Senator Lamar, he's answered that. 22 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:48,340 Next question, please. 23 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:49,680 No, no, no, no. 24 00:01:49,780 --> 00:01:53,180 Don't let him move on to the next question, unless that is the next 25 00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:57,280 to the sponsor. And who do you think Elvis stole his music from exactly? 26 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:01,360 And while there will obviously be much more to say about redistricting going 27 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,700 forward, we're going to turn to our ongoing war with Iran. Trump is still 28 00:02:04,700 --> 00:02:08,180 claiming his actions prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, even when the 29 00:02:08,180 --> 00:02:10,300 audience for that message is not ideal. 30 00:02:11,020 --> 00:02:17,860 So we would have had an Iran with a nuclear weapon, and maybe 31 00:02:17,860 --> 00:02:20,880 we wouldn't all be here right now. I can tell you the Middle East would have 32 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,240 been gone, Israel would have been gone, and they would have trained their sights 33 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,380 on Europe first, and then us, because... 34 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:28,840 They're sick people. 35 00:02:29,020 --> 00:02:33,200 What the fuck are you doing? You're surrounded by kids. 36 00:02:33,940 --> 00:02:37,820 That event was part of Trump's push to restore the presidential fitness test in 37 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:41,300 schools. You are supposed to be giving them nightmares about gym class, not 38 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:42,620 nuclear war. 39 00:02:43,340 --> 00:02:47,700 Last week marked 60 days since Operation Epic Fury began, and that is 40 00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:51,420 meaningful. Given by law, within 60 days of informing Congress of the start of a 41 00:02:51,420 --> 00:02:55,180 military conflict, the president must terminate any use of the U .S. armed 42 00:02:55,180 --> 00:02:59,320 forces unless Congress has formally declared war or enacted a specific 43 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,780 authorization for the use of the military. Now, the administration has 44 00:03:02,780 --> 00:03:06,800 they simply don't need to comply with that, and on Tuesday, Marco Rubio made 45 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:07,840 this big claim. 46 00:03:08,300 --> 00:03:09,660 The Operation... 47 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:11,280 Epic fury is concluded. 48 00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:13,280 We achieved the objectives of that operation. 49 00:03:13,700 --> 00:03:18,800 I'm not going to, you know, we're not cheering for an additional situation to 50 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,240 occur. We would prefer the path of peace. But look, the message to Iran, 51 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:27,700 guys are facing, they are facing real catastrophic destruction to their 52 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,120 generational destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the 53 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,300 wealth of their country, imposed on themselves by the actions that they're 54 00:03:34,300 --> 00:03:36,960 taking. They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the 55 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:37,960 direction that they're going. 56 00:03:38,890 --> 00:03:43,510 Marco Rubio declared epic fury was over before sending a message to Iran's 57 00:03:43,510 --> 00:03:45,910 leadership in the weirdest possible way. 58 00:03:46,250 --> 00:03:51,050 As if there's one group of people who identify with lyrics from a 90s Ice Cube 59 00:03:51,050 --> 00:03:56,970 song, it is definitely fundamentalist Islamic clerics. They love decades -old 60 00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:57,970 hip -hop references. 61 00:03:58,070 --> 00:04:02,510 Before his assassination, Ayatollah Khamenei would famously walk the streets 62 00:04:02,510 --> 00:04:04,970 Tehran wearing his favorite Run DMC shirt. 63 00:04:06,030 --> 00:04:09,710 So the administration seems to be announcing the end of this conflict. But 64 00:04:09,710 --> 00:04:14,090 very next day, Trump posted, assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed 65 00:04:14,090 --> 00:04:17,810 to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary epic fury will be 66 00:04:17,810 --> 00:04:21,390 at an end and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to 67 00:04:21,390 --> 00:04:24,890 open to all, including Iran. If they don't agree, the bombing starts, which 68 00:04:24,890 --> 00:04:28,750 isn't great. And while it is not the most important part there, assuming Iran 69 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:33,310 agrees to give what has been agreed to is just an insane phrase. 70 00:04:34,430 --> 00:04:38,070 I usually can't stand AI, but in Trump's case, it might not hurt if you 71 00:04:38,070 --> 00:04:42,090 occasionally ask chat GBT, can you rephrase this so it doesn't sound like 72 00:04:42,090 --> 00:04:43,750 earlier version of you wrote it? 73 00:04:44,210 --> 00:04:47,910 And in the midst of trying to figure out whether we can refer to Operation Epic 74 00:04:47,910 --> 00:04:51,950 Fury in the past or present tense, we were suddenly dealing with a whole new 75 00:04:51,950 --> 00:04:52,950 operation this week. 76 00:04:53,470 --> 00:04:58,590 President Trump has directed US Central Command to restart the free flow of 77 00:04:58,590 --> 00:05:02,310 commerce through the street of Hormuz under the umbrella of Project Freedom. 78 00:05:03,180 --> 00:05:09,140 To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. 79 00:05:09,340 --> 00:05:15,520 Yeah, we're now involved with Project Freedom 2, which is legally distinct 80 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,500 Operation Epic Fury. You know, much like this Halloween costume called Kid's 81 00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:23,820 Chocolate Factory Worker Costume is legally distinct from any association 82 00:05:23,820 --> 00:05:26,700 Oompa Loompas while looking very much like the same thing. 83 00:05:27,450 --> 00:05:30,590 The aim of Project Freedom was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by having the U 84 00:05:30,590 --> 00:05:33,970 .S. military essentially guide commercial ships through, by, among 85 00:05:34,090 --> 00:05:37,610 locating mines and passing along that information to the ships. But after just 86 00:05:37,610 --> 00:05:42,250 day and a half, and only two ships making it through out of the roughly 1 87 00:05:42,250 --> 00:05:45,790 which were waiting, Trump suddenly reversed course, leading to the 88 00:05:45,790 --> 00:05:51,030 headline, Trump announces pause on Project Freedom, which is, if nothing 89 00:05:51,090 --> 00:05:52,590 on the fucking nose. 90 00:05:53,530 --> 00:05:56,870 But I actually want to focus on a small moment from Hegseth's press conference, 91 00:05:56,950 --> 00:05:59,890 because he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs were asked about some of the 92 00:05:59,890 --> 00:06:03,850 weapons potentially at Iran's disposal, and one of them was pretty striking. 93 00:06:04,230 --> 00:06:08,550 Are there still concerns about mines in the Strait? And can you kind of clarify 94 00:06:08,550 --> 00:06:12,210 these reports of kamikaze dolphins that we've heard about? 95 00:06:13,330 --> 00:06:15,050 Yeah, you heard right. 96 00:06:15,630 --> 00:06:18,630 She just said kamikaze dolphins. That sounds... 97 00:06:18,970 --> 00:06:22,190 Less like a real thing and more like something Alex Jones would mutter in his 98 00:06:22,190 --> 00:06:23,190 sleep. 99 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,780 Or maybe the name of a bar trivia team full of aquarium adults. 100 00:06:26,980 --> 00:06:30,380 But incredibly, the Wall Street Journal did report last week that Iranian 101 00:06:30,380 --> 00:06:34,000 leaders were considering deploying previously unused weapons to attack US 102 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,280 warships, including mine -carrying dolphins. 103 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,060 And at this point, I'm just going to pause, because that claim prompted us to 104 00:06:40,060 --> 00:06:42,580 a bit of a deep dive. Pun very much intended. 105 00:06:42,940 --> 00:06:47,120 And apparently, military dolphins are an actual thing. In fact, since 1959, the 106 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,020 US Navy has trained dolphins and sea lions to help guard against threats 107 00:06:50,020 --> 00:06:53,400 underwater. Early experiments reportedly tested more than a dozen. species, 108 00:06:53,420 --> 00:06:57,160 including sharks, rays, and sea turtles, before the program settled on dolphins. 109 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,460 But I could have told you from the jump that dolphins would be the standout 110 00:07:00,460 --> 00:07:04,480 there. Turtles too slow, sharks too stupid, rays too difficult to take 111 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,600 once you see their mouths. Look at this idiot. 112 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,200 That is not a warrior. That is nature's most slippery dweeb. 113 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,360 Dolphins are apparently used by the military because they naturally possess 114 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,320 most sophisticated sonar known to science, with technology being no match 115 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,900 them. And it turns out they're good at a lot of things. 116 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,500 We train Navy animals to do simple things under extraordinary 117 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:32,840 For them, detecting enemy divers and swimmers or UUVs or enemy mines, finding 118 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,160 the target is easy. 119 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,320 The animals are natural hunters. We just change what they're hunting for. 120 00:07:37,580 --> 00:07:41,060 Yet dolphins are natural hunters, but don't naturally hunt for explosives. 121 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,640 Typically, they hunt for mackerel or squid, or a scientist will jerk them 122 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,560 don't have time to get into it right now. Just Google that yourselves. 123 00:07:48,820 --> 00:07:52,200 But according to one expert, actually, you know what? I will just tell you 124 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,080 quickly. In the 1960s, this woman, Margaret Lovett, tried to teach a 125 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,300 speak English and thought the best way to do that was to live with the dolphin 126 00:07:58,300 --> 00:08:01,960 24 hours a day. But her lessons kept getting derailed by the dolphin's sexual 127 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,720 urges, and the solution to that problem was to relieve those urges for him. 128 00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:09,600 Long story short, the dolphin never learned to speak English and was sent to 129 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,470 live in an abandoned bank in Miami. And I'll be honest with you, if that dolphin 130 00:08:13,470 --> 00:08:18,250 didn't learn to speak English, I'm not sure it can be done. But again, we don't 131 00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:21,590 have time. The point is, there are military dolphins. And over the years, 132 00:08:21,590 --> 00:08:25,470 put them to work. We've brought a team of five dolphins to Vietnam to guard an 133 00:08:25,470 --> 00:08:28,670 ammunition pier because that war didn't have enough going on. 134 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,100 In the run -up to the first Gulf War, a team of six dolphins patrolled the 135 00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:35,059 harbour in Bahrain and escorted Kuwaiti oil tankers through dangerous waters. 136 00:08:35,179 --> 00:08:38,559 And during the Iraq War, a team of dolphins helped disarm more than 100 137 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,760 -ship mines and underwater booby traps planted by Saddam's forces. Meaning 138 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:46,660 dolphins have objectively done more frontline military service than anyone 139 00:08:46,660 --> 00:08:47,680 the last name Trump. 140 00:08:48,020 --> 00:08:53,360 Now, the USA is consistently maintained it only uses dolphins for defensive 141 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,380 purposes and not to attack the enemy. 142 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,800 pointing out that since dolphins cannot discern the difference between enemy and 143 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,020 friendly vessels, it would not be wise to give that kind of decision authority 144 00:09:03,020 --> 00:09:07,300 to an animal. It's also claimed that rumours to the contrary arise from media 145 00:09:07,300 --> 00:09:11,780 speculation, thanks in part to a popular movie in 1973 which reinforced those 146 00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:15,320 ideas. And specifically, they are talking about this movie. 147 00:09:18,940 --> 00:09:23,420 He had trained a dolphin to kill the President of the United States. 148 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:26,220 Can you find B? 149 00:09:28,300 --> 00:09:32,260 Stop B. The thing on B's back will hurt man. 150 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,780 Stop B now. 151 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:45,980 George C. Scott in a Mike Nichols film, The Day of the Dolphin. 152 00:09:52,140 --> 00:09:53,520 Yes, yes, yes. 153 00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:59,880 Now, okay. For the record, unwittingly, he had trained a dolphin to kill the 154 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:04,020 President of the United States is, from the bottom of my heart, the funniest 155 00:10:04,020 --> 00:10:05,060 sentence in history. 156 00:10:05,540 --> 00:10:09,160 It is such a perfectly direct summary of the plot, they even put it on the 157 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:14,400 actual poster for this actual movie that was, again, directed by Mike Nichols. 158 00:10:14,420 --> 00:10:18,920 You know, of The Graduate, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and The Day of the 159 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:19,920 Dolphin. 160 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,060 A few fun facts. Mike Nichols apparently referred to this film as the fish movie 161 00:10:24,060 --> 00:10:27,980 and had a hard time during its production as innumerable delays were 162 00:10:27,980 --> 00:10:31,460 the dolphins who tended to make a game out of rearranging the underwater lights 163 00:10:31,460 --> 00:10:34,720 once they had been set up because, of course they did, well done dolphins. 164 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,980 According to the screenwriter, on the last day of the shoot they apparently 165 00:10:37,980 --> 00:10:41,620 three takes of the dolphins swimming off and after take three, they never came 166 00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:46,240 back. Again, well done dolphins. And finally, Nichols repeatedly claimed he 167 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,100 that movie as a favour to Roman Polanski. 168 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:53,980 Just in case you thought that movie couldn't get any fucking weirder. Now, 169 00:10:53,980 --> 00:10:58,200 this point, you might understandably be wondering, wait, if dolphins don't carry 170 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:02,640 mines to enemy ships, then why is the US government being asked about Iranian 171 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,940 kamikaze dolphins? Good question. Well... 172 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,160 The US Navy insists that we don't use dolphins to do that, but other countries 173 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,420 apparently have trained them to attack. The Soviet Union's Navy reportedly 174 00:11:12,420 --> 00:11:16,700 developed its own marine mammal program, as part of which dolphins and other 175 00:11:16,700 --> 00:11:20,000 aquatic mammals were trained by Russian experts to attack warships and enemy 176 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,540 frogmen. Now, after the dissolution of the USSR, the program fell into neglect 177 00:11:24,540 --> 00:11:27,880 in the 1990s, and when funding for the project ceased, many were moved to a 178 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,660 private dolphinarium to perform for tourists in Ukraine. 179 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:35,640 Eventually, the tourist trade dried up, and sadly, their trainer was then forced 180 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,840 to sell those military -trained killer dolphins, leading to the immortal 181 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,560 headline, Iran buys kamikaze dolphins. 182 00:11:42,300 --> 00:11:46,800 Now, admittedly, that was 26 years ago, and some reports have speculated that 183 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:50,620 those particular dolphins would now be too old for Iran to use in the straight 184 00:11:50,620 --> 00:11:53,260 -up Hormuz, which is a bit rude, but even if that is true... 185 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,060 Iran may have gotten new dolphins from Russia since then, given it's reportedly 186 00:11:57,060 --> 00:11:59,000 revived its killer dolphin program. 187 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:03,820 Oh, and one more thing here. A few years ago, Hamas apparently claimed Israel 188 00:12:03,820 --> 00:12:07,900 had a dolphin weapons program too, leading to the real headline in the 189 00:12:07,900 --> 00:12:11,900 Post, killer Zionist dolphins, Hamas claims they exist. 190 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:17,500 And that headline is a minefield even the best trained military dolphin could 191 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:18,640 not navigate safely. 192 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:24,100 Anyway, I think we've all heard a lot more about bomb dolphins this week than 193 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:27,500 thought we were going to on Monday. Which brings us back to the Iran war. 194 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:29,400 Because who knows what is coming next? 195 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,420 We're taping this on Saturday as the US awaits Iran's response to its proposal 196 00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:36,880 to end the war. But it's definitely not a great sign that both sides have now 197 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,720 resumed attacking each other. And Trump's even floated the idea of 198 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:44,760 Project Freedom if no deal is reached. Though in his screaming next to a 199 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,700 helicopter time on Friday, he added a little twist. 200 00:12:55,980 --> 00:12:57,380 Look. 201 00:13:00,330 --> 00:13:04,230 I think it's pretty clear this guy has got absolutely nothing. 202 00:13:04,730 --> 00:13:09,890 Because Project Freedom Plus is the most ridiculous series of words I have seen 203 00:13:09,890 --> 00:13:12,430 this week, which is really saying something. Because I'll remind you that 204 00:13:12,430 --> 00:13:16,350 tonight, you've repeatedly heard the phrase, unwittingly, he had trained a 205 00:13:16,350 --> 00:13:18,890 dolphin to kill the President of the United States. 206 00:13:19,230 --> 00:13:20,390 And now, this. 207 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:26,490 And now, people on TV are not excited about Star Wars Day. 208 00:13:27,070 --> 00:13:30,730 May the 4th be with you. Yes, today is May the 4th. Are you a Star Wars person? 209 00:13:30,990 --> 00:13:32,850 No. I've never seen Star Wars. 210 00:13:33,870 --> 00:13:36,730 He's a classic. Baby Yoda, and he's a classic. Yeah, exactly. 211 00:13:37,090 --> 00:13:39,610 Okay, all right. Well, that's enough about Star Wars. 212 00:13:39,890 --> 00:13:43,130 But this annual day is very important, I know, to my older brothers and some of 213 00:13:43,130 --> 00:13:44,630 the other Star Wars fans. 214 00:13:45,010 --> 00:13:47,430 Some people call them nerds, but they call themselves fans. 215 00:13:47,730 --> 00:13:49,130 You know, I'm going to be honest with you guys, okay? 216 00:13:49,530 --> 00:13:51,830 My stepdad used to make us watch Star Wars as punishment. 217 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,720 If we got in trouble, it was not my thing. He probably liked it. He was 218 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,280 obsessed. He was looking for friends. 219 00:13:59,620 --> 00:14:04,660 I'm just going to stay right here. Hello, Darth. Nice to meet you. I never 220 00:14:04,660 --> 00:14:05,660 into it. 221 00:14:05,820 --> 00:14:07,920 You never watched a single Star Wars? 222 00:14:08,300 --> 00:14:09,300 Nope, never did. 223 00:14:09,780 --> 00:14:13,320 We're happy to be doing some trending again today. May the force be with you. 224 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,860 Yes, there you go, Devin. And also with you. There you go. 225 00:14:20,780 --> 00:14:21,780 Moving on. 226 00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:26,620 My story tonight concerns the Supreme Court. It's been in the news a lot 227 00:14:26,660 --> 00:14:29,680 especially thanks to last week's Voting Rights Act decision, if you haven't 228 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,520 heard. It was a 6 -3 decision in the case of white people versus everybody, 229 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,960 you'll never guess who they ruled in favour of. 230 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,540 But I actually want to talk about a pattern you may have noticed recently. 231 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,240 Basically, Trump comes out with a new executive order or action. A bunch of 232 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,280 legal experts say, I'm not sure he can do that. 233 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,580 Some courts weigh in and say, yeah, he definitely can't do that, and he needs 234 00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:50,340 stop. And then this happens. 235 00:14:50,860 --> 00:14:55,380 Looks like the Supreme Court is allowing President Trump to implement his ban on 236 00:14:55,380 --> 00:14:57,460 transgender people serving in the military. 237 00:14:57,700 --> 00:15:01,060 The U .S. Supreme Court is letting the Trump administration move forward with 238 00:15:01,060 --> 00:15:05,740 freezing $4 billion in foreign aid. The justices ruling that the president can 239 00:15:05,740 --> 00:15:11,040 indeed proceed with his plan to try to dismantle the education department with 240 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:12,040 vast layoffs. 241 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,980 Right, the court has been repeatedly jumping into ongoing cases and saying, 242 00:15:15,980 --> 00:15:19,540 know what, while this works its way through the courts, Trump should get to 243 00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:22,980 the thing that he wants to do anyway. It's basically a football referee 244 00:15:23,060 --> 00:15:27,240 pending a final ruling on the legality of the quarterback having a gun, I'm 245 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,720 going to stand back and see where he's going with this. 246 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,040 And that is possible thanks to the rise of what's known as the shadow docket. 247 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,420 And to explain what it is, it's probably useful to remember how regular Supreme 248 00:15:37,420 --> 00:15:38,640 Court cases are decided. 249 00:15:39,230 --> 00:15:42,930 When you think of a Supreme Court case, you're thinking of a case on the merits 250 00:15:42,930 --> 00:15:46,970 docket. A case starts in a district court, is appealed to a circuit court, 251 00:15:46,970 --> 00:15:50,410 called an appeals court, and then it's petitioned to be heard by the Supreme 252 00:15:50,410 --> 00:15:54,810 Court. From there, briefs are written, arguing each side, then oral arguments 253 00:15:54,810 --> 00:15:59,210 where the justices can ask questions, and then they meet privately in person 254 00:15:59,210 --> 00:16:00,930 discuss the case and vote on it. 255 00:16:01,530 --> 00:16:05,770 They spend months writing long opinions and dissents, and then we know who won 256 00:16:05,770 --> 00:16:07,330 and who lost and why. 257 00:16:07,550 --> 00:16:11,890 And that detailed explanation helps these lower courts understand how to 258 00:16:11,890 --> 00:16:13,690 it to similar cases going forward. 259 00:16:14,190 --> 00:16:18,990 Yeah, that is very basically it. Although one small thing there, saying 260 00:16:18,990 --> 00:16:22,150 think of the Supreme Court case, you're thinking of the merit docket, excuse me, 261 00:16:22,170 --> 00:16:25,090 you don't know what I'm thinking of when I think of the Supreme Court, 262 00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:28,270 especially as what I'm actually thinking about is how the sequel to Legally 263 00:16:28,270 --> 00:16:31,970 Blonde, Legally Blonde 2, Red, White and Blonde, dropped the ball by not having 264 00:16:31,970 --> 00:16:34,930 Elwood's arguer case in front of it. Come on, guys! 265 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,880 The best part of the first movie is the murder trial and the sequel has no trial 266 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,420 scenes. You set the movie in DC and don't let Elle show what she can do in 267 00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:48,200 of the highest court in the land. That is madness. Anyway, that is what I'm 268 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,240 always thinking of when I think of a Supreme Court case. The one I'm 269 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,120 going to bring against the producers of Legally Blonde 2 for not putting Reese 270 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:56,780 in a position to succeed. 271 00:16:58,260 --> 00:17:01,680 But admittedly, the second thing I'm thinking of is that process. 272 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,540 The regular, established path to the Supreme Court. District courts, circuit 273 00:17:06,540 --> 00:17:07,880 courts, Supreme Court. 274 00:17:08,140 --> 00:17:11,339 But if a litigant is in a hurry and they think the Supreme Court is going to be 275 00:17:11,339 --> 00:17:14,440 extra friendly to them for some reason, then the shadow docket of the much 276 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,060 speedier way to get your case there. Basically, any litigant in a federal 277 00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:22,440 can ask the Supreme Court to step in and provide a temporary ruling on what 278 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,500 should happen while their case works its way through the system, which can take 279 00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:26,619 years, by the way. 280 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:30,680 Five votes among the nine justices are needed to grant a request for the court 281 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,360 to intervene, and that request must meet certain criteria, including that the 282 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,080 applicants would suffer, quote, irreparable harm if it's not granted. 283 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:42,360 term, irreparable harm, is really important because it sets a very high 284 00:17:42,460 --> 00:17:46,600 which is why for years the docket's main use was in one particular type of case, 285 00:17:46,700 --> 00:17:47,940 as this law professor explains. 286 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:53,340 If someone's going to be executed the next day, and the person's lawyers are 287 00:17:53,340 --> 00:17:58,460 saying, listen, my client was convicted or put on death row for the wrong 288 00:17:58,460 --> 00:18:01,800 reasons. He's innocent or there's some problems in the process. The Supreme 289 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,920 Court might say, okay, we're going to stay the execution order under this 290 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:12,240 emergency process because once this person's executed, we can't fix the 291 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:13,780 right? Right. 292 00:18:14,780 --> 00:18:19,200 Once someone is executed, it is generally too late to do anything about 293 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,300 Besides maybe sending them a card from Hallmark's belated exoneration section. 294 00:18:23,820 --> 00:18:27,860 But Trump's now using the shadow docket for a lot more than just death penalty 295 00:18:27,860 --> 00:18:31,340 cases. Because if a lower court issues a ruling that he doesn't like, say 296 00:18:31,340 --> 00:18:36,100 pausing an executive action until it's been fully litigated, he'll now run to 297 00:18:36,100 --> 00:18:40,260 the Supreme Court and ask them to rule in his favour on the shadow docket. And 298 00:18:40,260 --> 00:18:42,300 recently he's been doing that a lot. 299 00:18:42,860 --> 00:18:46,240 This is every time the federal government had a case there, back to the 300 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:47,240 Trump administration. 301 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,320 And here's just eight months into his second term. 302 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,840 It's being used in record numbers. 303 00:18:53,180 --> 00:18:56,840 Yeah, Trump keeps claiming he needs an emergency ruling and the court keeps 304 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,040 agreeing with him. That chart is pretty striking. 305 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,060 Though, to be fair, you could probably use it for any number of things in the 306 00:19:02,060 --> 00:19:06,400 second Trump administration, from measles cases to gold shit nailed to the 307 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:07,400 of the White House. 308 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,560 to use the phrase, when it happens. 309 00:19:09,860 --> 00:19:12,360 And this strategy is paying off. 310 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,400 As in the last year alone, the court issued decisions via the shadow docket 311 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,440 allowed this administration to cut hundreds of millions of dollars worth of 312 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,400 grants to universities, dismiss every transgender service member from the 313 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,860 military, cut a third of the Department of Education, fire hundreds of thousands 314 00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:30,440 of federal employees, and refuse to spend $4 billion in congressionally 315 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:31,460 appointed foreign aid. 316 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,580 And look, there are clearly a lot of problems with the current Supreme Court. 317 00:19:35,660 --> 00:19:36,660 Six of them, to be precise. 318 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,620 The five boys and this preschool teacher who still hits. But their work on the 319 00:19:41,620 --> 00:19:45,720 shadow docket has empowered some of Trump's worst policies to the point it's 320 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,040 become his go -to method to get his way. 321 00:19:48,260 --> 00:19:51,820 One former solicitor general has even said of the docket that it swallowed the 322 00:19:51,820 --> 00:19:55,000 court, both in terms of workload and even practical importance. 323 00:19:55,220 --> 00:19:59,660 So given all that, tonight, let's look at the shadow docket. What it is, why it 324 00:19:59,660 --> 00:20:01,660 exists, and how it's being abused. 325 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,840 And let's start by acknowledging the term itself is a bit bitchy. 326 00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:10,020 It was first coined by a law professor criticizing the practice, and some 327 00:20:10,020 --> 00:20:14,060 justices do not care for it. Amy Coney Barrett said she prefers emergency 328 00:20:14,060 --> 00:20:17,700 docket, and Brett Kavanaugh reportedly pushed for calling it the interim 329 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,600 Samuel Alito actually gave a whole lecture to Notre Dame law students about 330 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,900 misunderstood the docket is. And fun fact, his lecture wasn't supposed to be 331 00:20:24,900 --> 00:20:27,300 recorded, but we got the audio of it, and here's a taste. 332 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,160 The term is memorable and suggestive. 333 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,500 Journalists and some political figures have found it useful. 334 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:41,680 It brings to mind something sneaky and dangerous. And I'm sure when ordinary 335 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:46,900 people who don't follow the work of the Supreme Court closely hear it, they're 336 00:20:46,900 --> 00:20:50,700 disturbed. They say, what are these people trying to do? What are they 337 00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:55,340 hide in the middle of the night? Let the sun shine in. That's exactly what I'm 338 00:20:55,340 --> 00:20:57,120 going to try to do this afternoon. 339 00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:03,440 Set aside the bad -faced claim of saying, let the sun shine in during a 340 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,640 at an exclusive law school that you've explicitly asked not to be recorded. 341 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:11,080 Alito argued that day that there's absolutely nothing wrong with deciding 342 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:15,180 on the shadow dock, and anyone who says different is just a sore loser. 343 00:21:15,700 --> 00:21:20,700 The real complaint of these critics is that we should have granted relief when 344 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:25,600 they think it should have been denied, and we have denied relief when they 345 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:26,600 it should have been granted. 346 00:21:27,290 --> 00:21:31,630 If they want to criticise us on those grounds, fine, let them make their case. 347 00:21:31,890 --> 00:21:37,790 But attempting to disguise their real complaint with a lot of talk about a 348 00:21:37,790 --> 00:21:41,530 secretive, sinister shadow docket is unworthy. 349 00:21:42,090 --> 00:21:47,830 OK, Samuel, but you can not like a decision and also not like how it came 350 00:21:47,910 --> 00:21:50,510 Things can suck for more than one reason. 351 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,980 You know, like when Jeopardy was looking for a new host and the producer in 352 00:21:53,980 --> 00:21:57,320 charge of the decision said, guess what, we found him, it's me. 353 00:21:57,860 --> 00:22:01,860 Congratulations to me on winning my contest. I look forward to working with 354 00:22:01,860 --> 00:22:02,900 guy who I am. 355 00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:07,260 People had a lot of concerns about that and this guy sucks at hosting Jeopardy 356 00:22:07,260 --> 00:22:08,360 was only one of them. 357 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,260 And it is not unreasonable to have complaints about the shadow docket's 358 00:22:12,260 --> 00:22:15,000 given the damage some of these rulings have done. 359 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,300 Because in many cases, it has sure seemed like the court's intervention 360 00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:24,040 lot more irreparable harm to people than Trump would have suffered simply by 361 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:25,440 waiting for a regular ruling. 362 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:28,960 Take their decision to allow Trump to dismiss every trans member of the 363 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,900 military. That had immediate consequences, as this service member 364 00:22:33,540 --> 00:22:36,640 It's going to be devastating should that occur. 365 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,220 I will lose the core component of my identity that's been with me my entire 366 00:22:41,220 --> 00:22:45,970 life. I will lose the single source of income right now for my family, the 367 00:22:45,970 --> 00:22:49,490 health care, the benefits associated with that, the on -post housing that we 368 00:22:49,490 --> 00:22:50,490 have. 369 00:22:51,570 --> 00:22:53,290 We'll lose everything at that point. 370 00:22:53,690 --> 00:22:57,770 Yeah, and when one part of the case stands to lose everything, while the 371 00:22:57,770 --> 00:23:02,370 will just... have the exact same military he did yesterday, it seems 372 00:23:02,370 --> 00:23:06,690 party would need emergency relief before the case was decided on its merits. But 373 00:23:06,690 --> 00:23:11,050 to be fair, I am not a Supreme Court justice, am I? I just occasionally try 374 00:23:11,050 --> 00:23:12,090 bribe one on TV. 375 00:23:13,010 --> 00:23:16,830 And while a shadow docket decision is technically temporary, while the case 376 00:23:16,830 --> 00:23:20,910 makes its way through the system, once an administration has a ruling that lets 377 00:23:20,910 --> 00:23:22,190 them do what they want, they have... 378 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,320 every incentive to drag their feet and delay a case's appeals, all of which 379 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,960 makes it incredibly frustrating when you hear Amy Coney Barrett blithely defend 380 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:31,960 the docket like this. 381 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:34,900 We're not resolving a case finally. 382 00:23:35,380 --> 00:23:38,980 We're just saying it's a kind of a for now. 383 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:44,120 This is our best judgment about the merits, about the likelihood of success 384 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:46,480 the merits, and then you're considering other factors too. 385 00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:48,620 Yeah, it's just a for now. 386 00:23:49,310 --> 00:23:53,090 So that soldier losing her job really shouldn't complain. She's only losing it 387 00:23:53,090 --> 00:23:54,090 for now. 388 00:23:54,490 --> 00:23:58,110 All she has to do is not need money or housing until the court eventually gets 389 00:23:58,110 --> 00:24:00,410 around to deciding whether or not it should have been taken away from her in 390 00:24:00,410 --> 00:24:01,329 first place. 391 00:24:01,330 --> 00:24:04,890 But that is just the beginning of the problem here, because justices are also 392 00:24:04,890 --> 00:24:09,690 frequently making sweeping decisions without fully understanding a whole 393 00:24:10,410 --> 00:24:14,290 Cases are decided on the shadow docket without oral argument, and sometimes 394 00:24:14,290 --> 00:24:17,810 without the full picture of the evidence that lower court proceedings might 395 00:24:17,810 --> 00:24:22,110 provide. Take the case of Nones v Vasquez Podomo. It involved immigration 396 00:24:22,110 --> 00:24:26,790 in LA, where federal officials conceded they were using race and ethnicity as a 397 00:24:26,790 --> 00:24:31,390 factor in deciding who to stop, which is, this is true, racial profiling. 398 00:24:31,710 --> 00:24:35,330 A lower court told the government correctly to cut that shit out. 399 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,880 But the government then appealed via the shadow docket, and the Supreme Court 400 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,580 ruled that they could proceed. And in a rare move, Brett Kavanaugh actually 401 00:24:42,580 --> 00:24:45,900 wrote a brief explanation of why he reached that conclusion, saying 402 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:49,460 stops were typically brief, and that individuals may promptly go free after 403 00:24:49,460 --> 00:24:52,740 making clear to the immigration officers that they are U .S. citizens or 404 00:24:52,740 --> 00:24:54,460 otherwise legally in the United States. 405 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,280 But that is bullshit for a bunch of reasons. First, the notion that any 406 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,540 interaction with law enforcement is typically brief is something only a 407 00:25:03,540 --> 00:25:05,620 guy named Brett would confidently assert. 408 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:11,480 But also, that's not even what the details of the case he was ruling on 409 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,780 As Justice Sotomayor pointed out in her dissent, two plaintiffs in the case had 410 00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:17,760 actually tried to explain that they were US citizens. 411 00:25:18,060 --> 00:25:22,040 One was then pushed against a fence with his arms twisted behind his back, and 412 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,700 the other was taken away from his job to a warehouse for further questioning. So 413 00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:29,380 Kavanaugh's opinion wasn't even based on the facts on the ground. 414 00:25:29,980 --> 00:25:33,340 And whether that's because he was moving too fast to read up on the case, which 415 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:37,500 is kind, or simply didn't care, which feels way more true, it doesn't really 416 00:25:37,500 --> 00:25:39,840 matter because the court had already ruled. 417 00:25:40,060 --> 00:25:43,860 And that ruling is actually one of the key reasons why earlier this year, 418 00:25:43,940 --> 00:25:47,280 federal agents in Minneapolis felt empowered to do shit like this. 419 00:25:47,940 --> 00:25:51,040 American citizens are getting stopped and questioned. 420 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:54,160 including a woman walking down the street. 421 00:25:54,460 --> 00:25:55,920 Ma 'am, where were you born? 422 00:25:56,260 --> 00:25:59,240 It doesn't matter where I was born. I belong here. I am your citizen. 423 00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:01,220 And this Uber driver. 424 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,780 I can hear you don't have the same accent as me. Oh, so you're going by 425 00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:11,160 now? People have been stopped for simply appearing to be Somali or appearing to 426 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:16,040 be Latino or appearing to be foreign. And it's concerning because we also know 427 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,580 we're not getting these stories from... 428 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,560 Irish folks and Norwegian folks here. 429 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:24,780 Yeah, I bet you not. 430 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,880 And look, I'm not saying they should have done it, but it would have at least 431 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,440 been a change of pace if the feds in Minneapolis had done some throwback anti 432 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,600 -European racism too. You know, signs in diner windows saying things like no 433 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,560 spaghetti eaters and water fountains reading Swedes only, just to balance 434 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:42,560 out a bit. 435 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:47,080 But the fact you can now be targeted for just speaking with an accent has given 436 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,180 rise to some truly striking exchanges. 437 00:26:50,169 --> 00:26:51,169 You're not allowed. 438 00:26:51,290 --> 00:26:52,290 I don't care. 439 00:26:52,730 --> 00:26:53,730 You're not allowed. 440 00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:55,390 I'm from this country. 441 00:26:56,330 --> 00:26:59,990 You know what, sir? Now, talking to you, hearing that you have an accent, I have 442 00:26:59,990 --> 00:27:02,810 reason to believe that you are not born of this country. You just made an 443 00:27:02,810 --> 00:27:04,210 accent. Do you have documentation? 444 00:27:04,690 --> 00:27:07,930 I do have my documentation. And you present it to me. Why are you asking me 445 00:27:07,930 --> 00:27:08,930 my paperwork? 446 00:27:09,390 --> 00:27:10,410 Because of your accent. 447 00:27:11,750 --> 00:27:13,050 You have an accent, too. 448 00:27:13,530 --> 00:27:15,770 Where were you born to? Where were you born at? 449 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:19,600 That is madness. 450 00:27:19,980 --> 00:27:24,100 No one should ever be arrested for speaking in an accent, unless, of 451 00:27:24,140 --> 00:27:28,480 that person is Chet Hanks. But even then, I think we can probably just let 452 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:29,900 talk it down to a large fine. 453 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,200 Now, it's worth noting that thanks to Kavanaugh's opinion, what you just saw 454 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,440 now commonly referred to as a Kavanaugh stop. 455 00:27:36,820 --> 00:27:39,980 Arguably the worst thing to bear Brett Kavanaugh's name, other than Brett 456 00:27:39,980 --> 00:27:40,979 Kavanaugh himself. 457 00:27:40,980 --> 00:27:45,960 But the thing is, we only know about Kavanaugh's... faulty reasoning, because 458 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,580 actually bothered to explain his logic. Something, again, on the shadow docket, 459 00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:51,880 the court doesn't technically have to do. 460 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:56,200 Decisions can come down with no public discussion and no guidance to lower 461 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,460 judges on how to analyse similar cases. 462 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,780 That's a practice Samuel Alito has strongly defended, saying, when we issue 463 00:28:02,780 --> 00:28:05,740 opinion, we are aware that every word that we write can have consequences, 464 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,920 sometimes enormous consequences, so we have to be careful about every single 465 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:10,920 thing that we say. 466 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:14,320 And on her book tour last year, Amy Coney Barrett made a similar case. 467 00:28:14,780 --> 00:28:19,460 Well, the emergency orders present a challenge because they do require the 468 00:28:19,460 --> 00:28:22,540 of the court to proceed far more quickly than it normally does. 469 00:28:22,780 --> 00:28:26,920 You know, I pointed out in the book that there are turtles all over the court 470 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:32,040 because normally the court moves slowly, it changes slowly, justice moves slowly 471 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,160 at the court because we are very deliberate. 472 00:28:35,020 --> 00:28:39,240 The emergency docket moves much more quickly, and it is a much more recent 473 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,380 phenomenon. The emergency docket is newer, and so I would say those 474 00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:45,200 are still being shaped and sorted out. 475 00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:50,660 Okay, first and least importantly, I am frankly furious that I'm only just 476 00:28:50,660 --> 00:28:53,680 learning that the Supreme Court apparently has a turtle thing. 477 00:28:54,460 --> 00:28:59,200 That is now my second favorite fact about turtles. Just below, some turtles 478 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,440 breathe through their butts. Yet more proof... 479 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:06,260 that God occasionally drank on the job. But if your argument is we're not really 480 00:29:06,260 --> 00:29:09,860 built for emergency docket decisions, then maybe you shouldn't be choosing to 481 00:29:09,860 --> 00:29:11,440 them all the fucking time. 482 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:17,040 And unexplained decisions can also be frustrating to lower court judges who 483 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,940 argue it can diminish their credibility when their rulings against the 484 00:29:19,940 --> 00:29:23,240 administration get overturned on the shadow docket with little or no 485 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,500 because it makes it seem like they did shoddy work and are biased against 486 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,800 And that's not the only problem, because there's also the question of whether 487 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:32,560 shadow docket rulings set precedent. 488 00:29:32,780 --> 00:29:37,640 Basically, are they, for now, temporary decisions about one case, or are they 489 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,880 meant to be guideposts in how judges are to interpret the law going forward? 490 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:45,780 Interestingly, just five years ago, Alito argued the former, saying that 491 00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:49,080 docket decisions do not make precedent on the underlying issue. 492 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,700 But lately, other justices have argued the opposite. Both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh 493 00:29:53,700 --> 00:29:57,180 at one point issued a ruling reprimanding a lower court for not 494 00:29:57,180 --> 00:30:00,540 shadow docket decision as precedent, saying lower court judges may sometimes 495 00:30:00,540 --> 00:30:05,020 disagree with this court's decisions, but they are never free to defy them. 496 00:30:05,020 --> 00:30:09,220 it is pretty shitty to admonish someone for not understanding rules that are not 497 00:30:09,220 --> 00:30:12,280 only unclear, but seem to be constantly changing. 498 00:30:12,780 --> 00:30:16,960 It's the judicial equivalent of getting yelled at in the TSA line. Hey, shoes 499 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:21,460 off. No, just the left shoe. It's right shoe on and left shoes off, like it has 500 00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:22,339 always been. 501 00:30:22,340 --> 00:30:26,700 Keep your belt on. No, not like that. Tied around your head like Quail Man. 502 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:27,780 Nickelodeon's dog. 503 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:29,140 It's not that complicated. 504 00:30:29,460 --> 00:30:31,860 You are not free to defy me. 505 00:30:33,740 --> 00:30:34,960 All this confusion. 506 00:30:35,500 --> 00:30:39,260 It's understandably frustrating to lower court judges who would be more than 507 00:30:39,260 --> 00:30:43,380 happy to defer to the Supreme Court if it would just tell them what the fuck 508 00:30:43,380 --> 00:30:44,380 they're deferring to. 509 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,620 Here is one judge venting about that exact problem. 510 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,580 That's why we need an opinion from the Supreme Court because we don't need a 511 00:30:52,580 --> 00:30:55,320 future Supreme Court that says, well, we didn't really say that because we 512 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:57,020 didn't give any reasoning behind it. 513 00:30:57,340 --> 00:31:00,960 People need to understand and give confidence to an opinion. 514 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,120 We need to understand why you did it. We judges would just love to hear your 515 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:10,240 reasoning as to why you rule that way. Then we, it makes our job easier. 516 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,160 We will follow the law. We will follow the Supreme Court, but we'd like to know 517 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:15,460 what it is we are following. 518 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,120 Exactly. 519 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:22,920 Judges would be happy to follow directions if the court just gave them 520 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,080 you bought an earthen slurp bookcase from Ikea and the instructions were just 521 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:31,120 little guy shrugging and pointing at a bookcase, you'd be justifiably pissed. 522 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:35,680 Hey, get off your abstract Swedish ass and give me some directions. That's the 523 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,600 only reason that you are here. 524 00:31:38,700 --> 00:31:42,320 But maybe what will hurt the Supreme Court the most in the long run is that 525 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,820 these decisions seem nakedly political. 526 00:31:45,260 --> 00:31:49,020 Because it turns out the best predictor of how this court will rule in shadow 527 00:31:49,020 --> 00:31:53,060 docket cases seems to be who is president at the time. For instance, the 528 00:31:53,060 --> 00:31:56,400 administration brought far fewer cases to the shadow docket and one just over 529 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,780 half the time. But the Trump administration, which uses it far, far 530 00:31:59,980 --> 00:32:05,600 prevails 84 % of the time. And look, maybe the justices have nuanced 531 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,140 for voting the way they did. But if they do, they're not saying so. 532 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,080 And that is a big problem. 533 00:32:11,660 --> 00:32:15,800 And I know that for some Trump supporters, all of this may be 534 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:20,420 short term, but as this law professor explains, over the long term, this 535 00:32:20,420 --> 00:32:23,640 approach poses real risks to the court's very legitimacy. 536 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,720 You know, 20 years ago, when all the court was doing through emergency 537 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,920 applications was last -minute stays of execution, I don't think there was a big 538 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,300 clamor for the justices to provide lengthy explanations. 539 00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:40,640 But now that these orders are having these profound effects on the ground... 540 00:32:40,940 --> 00:32:46,400 The fact that we see the court intervening, oftentimes undoing hundreds 541 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:50,840 of analysis from lower court judges and providing no explanation of its own, I 542 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:52,280 think is a real part of the problem. 543 00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:56,320 And it deprives all of us, the lower courts, the relevant government decision 544 00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:01,520 makers, the public, of any ability to assess why the justices ruled the way 545 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:03,520 did. Exactly. My son is right. 546 00:33:05,340 --> 00:33:06,920 Quick side note on that. 547 00:33:07,780 --> 00:33:11,420 Come home, Nathaniel, your mother is ill and for her sake our feud must cease. 548 00:33:12,860 --> 00:33:13,860 But he is right. 549 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:18,860 As the legal director of the ACLU put it, if the justices can make significant 550 00:33:18,860 --> 00:33:22,720 decisions without giving any reasons, then there is really no limits to what 551 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,840 they can do, which is not good. 552 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,140 So what can we do? Well, there are a bunch of fixes Congress could impose, 553 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,640 especially given it controls the Supreme Court's budget. 554 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,760 including simply requiring the court issues written explanations whenever 555 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,940 on the shadow docket, which really doesn't seem too much to ask. 556 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,440 And if that burden means that they won't be able to do as many shadow docket 557 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,020 cases as they currently are, all the better. But that is just the beginning. 558 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,420 Significant Supreme Court reforms have to be on the table now. And I know that 559 00:33:52,420 --> 00:33:55,700 many balk at that, including members of Congress. But think of it like this. 560 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,760 When the Supreme Court... allows the president to act in ways contrary to 561 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:04,200 statutes, like, say, not spending congressionally appropriated funding, 562 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,100 seizing power from Congress. 563 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,060 And maybe it is time for Congress to start taking a little power back. 564 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:15,600 And I know the court itself will object to the idea that it's a political body. 565 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:20,360 Just this week, Chief Justice John Roberts whined that people think we're 566 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:21,360 policy decisions. 567 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,880 I think they view us as truly political actors, which I don't think is an 568 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:29,580 accurate understanding of what we do. But to be clear, this is a mess of the 569 00:34:29,580 --> 00:34:30,679 court's own making. 570 00:34:30,940 --> 00:34:35,540 Because there's something both frustrating and deeply patronising about 571 00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:39,199 choosing to issue unexplained rulings in the middle of the night, only popping 572 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:42,260 their heads out for fawning interviews whenever they've got a shitty book to 573 00:34:42,260 --> 00:34:45,659 sell, and then scolding us for not understanding what's going on inside 574 00:34:45,659 --> 00:34:47,460 gorgeous, pristine minds. 575 00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:51,480 And look, as we have discussed before, when they do write their reasoning down, 576 00:34:51,659 --> 00:34:55,739 it often exposes the degree to which they can seem to reach for predetermined 577 00:34:55,739 --> 00:34:59,600 conclusions before working backwards to fill in a legal rationale. But at least 578 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:01,300 they have to put the work in. 579 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:05,920 And I know that some will say no substantive court reform is likely to 580 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:08,220 during this administration, which is obviously true. 581 00:35:08,580 --> 00:35:11,520 But it is still worth starting the conversation now. 582 00:35:12,030 --> 00:35:16,290 Because there are lots of ideas for court reform, from adding justices to no 583 00:35:16,290 --> 00:35:20,050 longer allowing the court to set its own docket. They always seem to get kicked 584 00:35:20,050 --> 00:35:21,830 down the road for a later discussion. 585 00:35:22,170 --> 00:35:26,010 You may remember Joe Biden came into office and handed the idea of court 586 00:35:26,010 --> 00:35:27,150 off to a blue -ribbon commission. 587 00:35:27,370 --> 00:35:30,170 And if you're thinking, oh yeah, what the fuck became of that? 588 00:35:30,970 --> 00:35:34,210 He actually released a set of proposals in July of 2024. 589 00:35:34,550 --> 00:35:37,230 You might have missed it, not only because it was around a month after he 590 00:35:37,230 --> 00:35:38,510 imploded on the debate stage. 591 00:35:39,260 --> 00:35:42,280 But also because it was the week after he withdrew from the race. 592 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:45,660 And nobody was going to be reading that report then. 593 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,700 The only thing people were reading that week were 500 different tweets about how 594 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:50,700 Kamala was brat. 595 00:35:50,980 --> 00:35:54,220 It was a weird time, but you know, it all worked out. 596 00:35:54,460 --> 00:36:00,280 The point is, we have two and a half years between now and the next election 597 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:01,700 lay the groundwork for change. 598 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,760 And I'd argue that it's worth doing. 599 00:36:04,300 --> 00:36:07,780 Because this court has eroded people's confidence to the point it's now 600 00:36:07,780 --> 00:36:11,980 considered a political arm instead of a necessary check on political power. 601 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:16,640 And if you ask me, that qualifies as, if I may borrow a phrase, actual 602 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:18,640 irreparable fucking harm. 603 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,480 And now, this. 604 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:26,440 And now, for Mother's Day, just leave mom the fuck alone. 605 00:36:27,100 --> 00:36:29,880 As we mentioned this morning, it is Mother's Day weekend, a time where we 606 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,020 and give credit where credit is certainly due and celebrate our mothers. 607 00:36:33,020 --> 00:36:36,060 people get their mom's cards, maybe some flowers, always a good one, and some 608 00:36:36,060 --> 00:36:38,840 goodies. Maybe you can even take her to brunch Sunday morning. Another good one. 609 00:36:39,140 --> 00:36:41,120 Another good one is to be left alone. 610 00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:44,800 The answer to the question, what will moms get on Sunday? 611 00:36:45,340 --> 00:36:46,340 Rest, relaxation. 612 00:36:46,380 --> 00:36:47,920 We can only hope. Be left alone. 613 00:36:48,350 --> 00:36:51,430 And being a mom, I'm telling you what we appreciate the most is alone time. 614 00:36:52,290 --> 00:36:54,330 I'm just saying. Some peace and quiet. Yeah. 615 00:36:54,570 --> 00:36:56,710 Maybe he'll give me some peace and quiet finally. 616 00:36:57,990 --> 00:37:00,410 Okay, well, we'll see. 617 00:37:00,650 --> 00:37:03,710 You probably don't have a clue what's going on, and that's a good thing. Oh, I 618 00:37:03,710 --> 00:37:06,750 have a clue. I told him, leave me alone, let me sleep in bed, and relax. 619 00:37:07,130 --> 00:37:08,130 I want sleep. 620 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:12,040 And peace and quiet. For me, I say it every year. My husband knows, just leave 621 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:16,780 me alone. That's all I want. I'm down to do like a breakfast or a lunch and then 622 00:37:16,780 --> 00:37:17,780 leave me alone. 623 00:37:17,940 --> 00:37:20,920 She wants a hotel room and to be left alone. 624 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,620 Yeah, just let mom stay in the bed and that might do it. That might be all you 625 00:37:24,620 --> 00:37:28,000 need. Put the note under the door. I like handmade cards or anything 626 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,280 because it puts thought into it and it's sweet. You can keep them. And leave me 627 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:33,280 alone. 628 00:37:35,100 --> 00:37:37,640 That's our show. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you next week. 629 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:39,080 Goodnight!