In this episode, we take you through Jeremy Bentham's reply to the Declaration of Independence. We'll explain why Bentham neither approves of, nor understands, the concept of "rights," why he simultaneously hates kings but thinks you have to do whatever they say, and why his reading comprehension skills are a bit suspect.If you missed it, please check out our last Independence Day episode (episode 11 of season 1) discussing the Declaration: https://rss.com/podcasts/lexrexpod/542617/
In this episode, we talk all about Jeremy Bentham: Who is he? A weird guy obsessed with round buildings, and also one of the most influential social theorists of the modern era (for the worse, in our opinion). Why should you care about him? Because he fundamentally changed the way people understand politics and law, in a really stupid way. What kinds of things did he do? Write lots of unwanted letters and have his body stuffed so no one would miss him when he died. This is the first part of our three part series on Bentham, so be sure to check back next time for his take on the Declaration of Independence!
In this episode, we bring you up to speed on a couple of important happenings at the Supreme Court, including a retrospective on the COVID-era of emergency powers and the Court's divided response to a key commerce clause case. After that, we give you a glimpse at the always thrilling, never confusing world of legal jurisdiction.Finally, we return once again to Captain Kangaroo Court, where David tests Alexander's knowledge of some of the most, uh, "creative" legal strategies around.0:03:00 - Arizona v. Mayorkas0:14:10 - National Pork Producers Council v. Ross0:39:20 - varieties of jurisdiction in American law1:04:00 - Captain Kangaroo Court
In this episode, we bring you up to speed on the latest activities of the Lex Rex Institute before diving into Groff v. DeJoy, a Title VII religious discrimination case that produced some... interesting... questions from certain Supreme Court justices. We'll explain why religious obligations aren't just a nice bonus you get for being a good person and, for the umpteenth time, explain how stare decisis works and wonder why Justice Elena Kagan seems to struggle with the concept.After that, we'll take a minute to address David's biggest pet peeve in legal interpretation: acting like the Constitution is just another law. Finally, we return to Captain Kangaroo Court to discuss a bankruptcy judge who writes pulp fiction and hear from a Twitter user impersonating the mistress of King Louis XV about why you don't have rights at school.0:01:45 - Lex Rex updates0:12:50 - Groff v. DeJoy0:45:10 - statutory law vs. constitutional law1:01:35 - Captain Kangaroo CourtLinksLRI's primer on paper ballotsAmicus brief on voting in San Francisco county
In this episode, we take a look at the 1924 "Lenin Constitution" and the 1936 "Stalin Constitution" of the Soviet Union. We'll discuss why communists love committees, how saying a right is guaranteed isn't enough, and the fact that the Soviet system was openly configured to focus power into the hands of a tiny elite. All this, plus an update on some of our cases and the story of a man who sued his date for the cost of her ticket to a superhero movie. Latest on LRI cases - 0:01:15 1924 Lenin Constitution - 0:06:55 1936 Stalin Constitution - 0:49:20 Captain Kangaroo Court - 1:13:00