On November 4, as the nation watched and waited for election results, the Supreme Court continued business as usual, hearing oral arguments in one of the term’s key cases—Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. This lawsuit was brought by Catholic Social Services (CSS), a foster-care organization that works with the city of Philadelphia to certify prospective foster parents. When the city found out that CSS, due it its religious beliefs, would not certify unmarried or same-sex married couples to be foster parents, the city cut off foster-parent referrals to CSS, and CSS filed suit. To explain the case, recap the arguments on both sides, and explore the major implications a decision may have for how to balance anti-discrimination laws and religious freedom under the First Amendment—host Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Leah Litman, professor at Michigan Law and host of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny, and Jonathan Adler, professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law and contributing editor to National Review Online.
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Jonathan H. Adler is the inaugural Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law and Director of the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he also teaches constitutional law. Professor Adler is the author or editor of seven books, including Business and the Roberts Court. He’s also a contributing editor to National Review Online and a regular contributor to the legal blog, “The Volokh Conspiracy.”
Leah Litman is Assistant Professor of Law at Michigan Law where she teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal post-conviction review, and federal sentencing. She’s also a regular contributor to the Take Care blog, and one of the hosts and creators of the Supreme Court podcast Strict Scrutiny.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
This episode was engineered by Greg Scheckler with editing by Jackie McDermott, and produced by Jackie McDermott. Research was provided by Alexandra “Mac” Taylor, Ashley Kemper, and Lana Ulrich.
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