When Alito’s Jurisprudence Is Kavanaughs All the Way Down
Opening Arguments · May 18, 2026 · 58:48
Opening Arguments · May 18, 2026 · 58:48
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OA1262 - How are a car accident in California, a tax fraud case in Nevada, and two bus accidents in New York and Pennsylvania all connected to the Dobbs abortion case? Find out on this week’s accidental too-deep dive into state sovereignty. Jenessa read a bunch of extra cases just to be thorough, and accidentally uncovered Kavanaugh planting the seeds that would grow into the “egregiously wrong” “rule” for ignoring stare decisis. But also mostly we’ll talk about the weird world of state sovereignty, Clarence Thomas being obnoxious and ahistorical while accusing everyone else of being ahistorical, and Sotomayor getting some peace for a change to write a pleasant little 9-0 decision about some non-partisan procedural legal nerdery that benefits injured plaintiffs.
Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979)
Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 587 U.S. 230 (2019)
Listen to oral arguments on Oyez: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2018/17-1299; Timestamp for Kavanaugh dropping the “egregiously wrong” bomb: 50:47
Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83 (2020), Kavanaugh concurrence
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp., 607 U.S. ___ (2026)
The “major questions doctrine” Kavanaugh inception timeline :
U.S. Telecom Association v. F.C.C., 855 F.3d 381, 422-423 (D.C. Cir 2017), Kavanaugh dissent
Repeal of the Clean Power Plan, 84 Fed. Reg. 32520, 32529 (proposed Jul. 8, 2019) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 60).
West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
Additional sources :
Episodes 1229 & 1230 for an in-depth explanation of immunities, including state and federal sovereign immunity: “The complicated web of immunities that makes accountability so difficult”
Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793)
Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890)
Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908)
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