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Co-hosts law school deans Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick invite lawyers, authors, law professors, and expert commentators to discuss current challenges to our individual constitutional and civil rights. Educators at heart, this “dynamic dean-duo” believe that the law should be accessible to everyone… and should never be boring!

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Nov 19, 2024

A Rejection of Democrats or a Rejection of Democracy?

Was 2024 a “historic” presidential election? Constitutional historians Lawrence Goldstone and Madiba K. Dennie join Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick to discuss the context, concerns, and questions following the recent re-election of...

Nov 5, 2024

The Future of the Legal Profession Impacts Democracy with Ray Brescia

Since colonial days, the legal profession has been proud of its role in the founding of the republic, the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, and the defense of democracy and the rule...

Oct 15, 2024

Equal Justice for All is Possible with Robert Tsai

Stephen Bright made it his life’s work to unleash social change by representing unpopular clients–namely those on death row.  Remarkably, he succeeded, winning all four cases he argued before the Supreme Court....

Oct 1, 2024

The Return of Legal Vigilantism with David Noll and Jon Michaels

David Noll and Jon Michaels, authors of Vigilante Nation, discuss the reemergence of state-supported vigilantism. Noll and Michaels explain the vigilante methods, from anti-abortion bounties to book bans to the January 6...

Sep 17, 2024

Pardon My Concerns – Should We Put Limits on Presidential Pardons? with Kim Wehle

Like all discretionary authority, the pardon power is only as virtuous as the person who controls it. Kimberly Wehle, author of the new book, Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works –...

Sep 3, 2024

Does Our Current Constitution Provide the Protections and Rights We Need? with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

Berkeley Law Dean, author of No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States asks the provocative question – is it time to consider drafting a new constitution? Is it...

Aug 20, 2024

The Erosion of LGBTQ+ Rights with Roberta Kaplan and Brandon Trice

In the last several years, there have been a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws passed across the country and ACLU is tracking 547 new bills in the 2024 legislative session. Robbie Kaplan and...

Aug 6, 2024

Yes! The Constitution Allows Changes to the Supreme Court – and Other Surprises with Lawrence Goldstone

Award-winning author and historian Lawrence Goldstone explains why what the Constitution does not say – was intentional – so that democracy can evolve. According to Goldstone, author of “Imperfect Union: How Errors...

Jul 16, 2024

Judge Shopping For Me, But Not for Thee with Chris Geidner

Over the past year, the Supreme Court has taken a far more active role in reviewing cases reflecting fringe arguments supported by federal district court judges and appellate circuits. The Western and...

Jul 2, 2024

The Radical Act of Choosing Common Ground with Nisha Anand

Nisha Anand, the Chief Executive Officer of Dream.org, joins SideBar to discuss how she builds bridges across political divides to find real solutions. Nisha employs the “radical act of finding common ground”...

Jun 18, 2024

Justice Bent, Not Broken with Elie Honig

Senior CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig challenges whether the rule of law is under attack when powerful people square off against judges and juries. As author of Untouchable: How Powerful People Get...

Jun 4, 2024

Constitutional Equal Rights – the Time is NOW! with Katherine Spillar

Kathy Spillar, Executive Director of Feminist Majority Foundation and Executive Editor of MS Magazine joins SideBar to discuss why ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is an essential legal tool to...

May 21, 2024

How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back with Madiba K. Dennie

Madiba K. Dennie is an attorney, columnist, author, and professor whose work focuses on fostering an equitable multiracial democracy. Dennie is the author of The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution...

May 7, 2024

Criminalizing Motherhood and Reproductive Health with Dr. Michele Goodwin

Since the Dobbs Supreme Court case was decided, we have gained a heightened awareness of the criminal laws surrounding pregnancies, including the decision to terminate one. But the criminalization of abortion isn’t...

Apr 16, 2024

How Women Influenced the Constitution with Mary Sarah Bilder

Law Professor Mary Sarah Bilder discusses the amazing story of Eliza Harriot, a rare female public lecturer who delivered a University of Pennsylvania program attended by George Washington as he met in...

Apr 2, 2024

We (Who Are Not) the People: Interpreting the Undemocratic Constitution with Milligan and Ross

Law Professors Joy Milligan and Bertrall Ross discuss how we should interpret a Constitution that was not written for or drafted by “We the People”. The original constitution excluded women and racial...

Mar 19, 2024

Are We Living Up to Our Obligations to Protect Native American Rights and Tribal Sovereignty? with John Echohawk

Since the mid to late 1980s, an increasingly conservative federal bench has made it more difficult to defend Indian rights under existing treaties and federal law. John Echohawk is an attorney and...

Mar 5, 2024

Surprise! You Do Not Have the Right to Vote with Rick Hasen

The federal constitution neither explicitly nor implicitly includes the right to vote. Instead, the framers allowed the States to determine the “Time, Places, and Manner of holding Elections.”  Rick Hasen, author of...

Feb 20, 2024

Who Can Hold Judges Accountable? with Aliza Shatzman

Federal judges have lifetime tenure with little to no oversight. Despite employing thousands of new law school graduates as law clerks, they aren’t subject to anti-discrimination or other workplace laws. How is...

Feb 6, 2024

Maintaining Democracy Requires Meaningful Access to Justice with Renee Knake Jefferson

Access to an ethically based justice system not only protects free and fair elections, but also impacts the rights that affect our everyday lives. In this episode of SideBar, Professor and Author...

Jan 16, 2024

How Important is the Diversity of Our Appellate Courts in Defining Justice? with Juvaria Khan

Appellate courts decide what our laws mean and how they affect all aspects of our personal lives: our ability to vote, how we are policed, our religious freedom, the quality of our...

Jan 2, 2024

SideBar 2023 Highlights: Defending Democracy, Challenging the Supreme Court, and Pursuing a Pluralistic Society Free from Bias with Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick

SideBar cohosts and law deans Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick look back over the 29 episodes and 25 guests featured in SideBar’s incredibly successful first season. If you have been a listener,...

Dec 19, 2023

If You Think Democracy is Guaranteed, Think Again! with David Pepper

David Pepper, author of Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American, returns to SideBar to sound the alarm that democracy remains under attack. Although there were shocking lowlights in 2023, David...

Dec 5, 2023

Can We Protect Democracy from AI and Deepfakes? with Drew Liebert and Jonathan Mehta Stein

Disinformation and deepfakes, accelerated by AI, pose an existential threat to our democracy and elections, and as a country, we are simply not ready says The California Institute for Technology and Democracy...

Nov 21, 2023

How Did the Police Become Untouchable? With Joanna Schwartz

Before killing George Floyd, Officer Devin Chauvin had at least 18 misconduct complaints lodged against him. Despite this history, Chauvin was elevated to training new officers. How could this happen?  UCLA Law...

Nov 7, 2023

When Religious Ideology and Public Health Collide – We All Lose! with Wendy Parmet

The COVID pandemic exposed weaknesses in our public health system and exposed the lack of trust in science and government. The change in the Supreme Court’s interpretation of public health law has...

Oct 17, 2023

Are Lies and Liars Protected by the First Amendment? with Jeff Kosseff

Professor Jeff Kosseff, author of “Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation” examines and defends constitutional protection for false speech. “It’s the listener and the reader...

Oct 3, 2023

Why Does the US Criminalize Legal Immigration? with Cesar García Hernández

Nationally recognized immigration law expert, Professor Cesar García Hernández of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law talks about the intersection of criminal and immigration law, including the rights of migrants in...

Sep 19, 2023

The Best Beloved Thing is Justice! with Lisa Kloppenberg

Professor and Dean Emerita Lisa Kloppenberg, author of The Best Beloved Thing is Justice: The Life of Dorothy Wright Nelson, discusses her mentor, colleague, and friend. Judge Nelson was a true trailblazer...

Sep 5, 2023

Has this Supreme Court Lost Its Balance? with NPR Legal Correspondent Nina Totenberg

Supreme Court Correspondent Nina Totenberg discusses her fifty-year career as a reporter covering some of the most important Supreme Court decisions of our time. As a front-row witness to history, with unique...

Aug 15, 2023

Is the Supreme Court Amassing Unconstitutional Power? with Stephen Vladeck

Professor Stephen Vladeck, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, discusses how the Supreme...

Aug 1, 2023

Why Do We (Still) Fail to Respect Women Under the Constitution? with Julie Suk

Professor Julie Suk, author of After Misogyny: How the Law Fails Women and What to Do About It, discusses the legal and economic framework in the United States that fails to fairly recognize...

Jul 18, 2023

Has America Abandoned the Promise of a Multi-Racial Democracy? with Dr. Peniel Joseph

After 200 years of racial and ethnic struggle, including the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Era, and Black Lives Matter, where are we now in the effort to achieve the promise...

Jul 4, 2023

Was the Constitution Ever Really Color-Blind? with Damon Hewitt

Damon T. Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, discusses Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina and the Supreme Court’s...

Jun 20, 2023

Police Reform is NOT the Answer, Only Community Reform Will Create Lasting Change, with Dr. Thaddeus Johnson

Dr. Thaddeus Johnson, former police officer, Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University, discusses his research and unique insights...

Jun 6, 2023

Who is “Whispering” in the Supreme Court’s Ears? with Hazelton & Hinkle

Professors Morgan Hazelton and Rachael Hinkle have published a fascinating book on one of the mysteries behind Supreme Court decision-making. “Persuading the Supreme Court: The Significance of Briefs in Judicial Decision-Making” combines...

May 16, 2023

Technology-Driven Justice: Can Al and Big Data Revolutionize the Courts? with Nicole Clark

Nicole Clark, lawyer, entrepreneur, and CEO of Trellis, discusses how the award-winning technology start-up she founded is democratizing access to the law by making state trial court records more accessible and bringing...

May 2, 2023

Can We Trust this Supreme Court with the Constitution? with Elie Mystal

The indomitable, outspoken, brilliant, and thoughtful Elie Mystal, author, columnist, and commentator, joins cohosts Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick to discuss his book Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to...

Apr 18, 2023

Supreme Court Justices Behaving Badly – What Has History Taught Us? with Judge Margaret McKeown

Judge Margaret McKeown discusses her new book Citizen Justice: The Environmental Legacy of William O. Douglas and her research on the Supreme Court Justice’s controversial approach to advocacy both on and off...

Apr 4, 2023

Is Conservative Christian Discrimination Now a Protected Class? with Nomi Stolzenberg

Law Professor Nomi Stolzenberg discusses the US Supreme Court’s consideration of Conservative Christian ideology as a new protected class under the First Amendment. Seven of the nine members of the Supreme Court...

Mar 21, 2023

Judicial Misconduct – How Should We Respond? with Charles Geyh

Professor Charles Geyh, an expert in judicial conduct, discusses the ethical obligations of judges and the options available (or not) when judges break the rules – including the U.S. Supreme Court justices....

Mar 7, 2023

Who’s Writing All These Crazy State Laws? with Joel Rogers

Professor Joel Rogers describes the rise of American Legislative Council (ALEC), the organization responsible drafting model bills introduced across the country with devastating impacts upon public education, voting rights, and environmental protections,...

Feb 21, 2023

Who Do State Legislatures Actually Represent? with Buffy Wicks

In this SideBar episode, California Assemblymember, Buffy Wicks discusses the power of state legislatures to protect fundamental constitutional rights and the importance of diverse representation.

Feb 4, 2023

Book Bans and Democracy – Can they coexist? with Suzanne Nossel

In this episode of SideBar, Suzanne Nossel, the Chief Executive Officer of PenAmerica, discusses the dangers of book bans and educational gag orders to our core democratic values. She places these laws...

Jan 21, 2023

Artificial Intelligence (Al) – Who do you trust? with Orly Lobel

Can we harness AI to enhance equality?

Jan 7, 2023

Lady Justice with Dahlia Lithwick (part 2)

Legitimacy of the Supreme Court and the Important Role Lawyers Play in Our Society

Jan 7, 2023

Lady Justice with Dahlia Lithwick (part 1)

Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America

Dec 16, 2022

“Vigilante Federalism’ with David Noll (Part 2)

The New Weapon in the Culture Wars

Dec 3, 2022

‘Vigilante Federalism’ with David Noll (part 1)

Is “Vigilante Federalism” the new weapon in battles over abortion, religion, sexuality, gender, and race?

Nov 16, 2022

Reclaiming Democracy, with David Pepper (part 2)

David Pepper returns with a wake-up call to reclaim our democracy.

Your Hosts
Jackie Gardina

Jackie Gardina is the Dean of the Colleges of Law with campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura.  Dean Gardina has...

Mitch Winick

Mitchel Winick is President and Dean of the nonprofit law school system that includes Monterey College of Law, San Luis...

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