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Democracy Decoded: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Campaign Legal Center
Our system of government is rooted in the Constitution and designed to ensure that power is shared, not concentrated in any one branch. But what happens when the institutions that were meant to hold one another accountable are tested in new and unprecedented ways? Season 6 of Democracy Decoded examines some of the defining constitutional questions shaping American democracy today. From the separation of powers and the role of the Department of Justice, to presidential pardons, political dissent, citizenship, voting rights, and safeguarding our elections, each episode explores the legal principles, institutions, and people at the center of today's most consequential debates. Through conversations with leading legal experts, advocates and policymakers, we'll unpack what's happening, why it matters and what these developments could mean for the future of our democracy. Going beyond the headlines, we also examine the constitutional framework behind the news; the checks and balances designed to protect our freedoms; and the challenges facing the rule of law in a rapidly evolving political landscape.
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- 3 days ago30 min
How is the Supreme Court undermining the freedom to vote?
For 60 years, the Voting Rights Act stood as the most powerful tool for protecting voters of color from discrimination at the ballot box. But in a single decision earlier this year, the Supreme Court gutted it and opened the door for states to enact discriminatory voting maps and laws.On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper is joined by Gilda Daniels, University of Baltimore law professor, former DOJ attorney, and Of Counsel at Campaign Legal Center;, George Washington University law professor Spencer Overton; and Campaign Legal Center senior vice president Bruce Spiva to examine how the court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais weakened Section 2 of the VRA, and how President Trump's redistricting push is undoing districts that gave communities of color a voice. They also discuss what solutions — from state-level voting rights acts to proportional representation — could help preserve our country’s true, multi-racial democracy.Episode Highlights:5:00 – What is the history of America’s multiracial democracy?7:35 – What made the Voting Rights Act the most successful civil rights law in history?9:26 – How did Section 2 become the VRA's most vital and embattled protection?11:27 – What did the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais actually do?12:50 – How has partisan gerrymandering been positioned as a loophole for racial discrimination?16:17 – How did Trump's redistricting push trigger an arms race across states?18:46 – What happens when voters ban gerrymandering and lawmakers do it anyway?20:21 – Could proportional representation be the structural reform our democracy needs?22:03 – Can Americans still reform their democracy when institutions fail to protect it?25:40 – Does the power to change democracy still belong to the people?27:06 – What's at stake in the fight for the freedom to vote?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Gilda Daniels is a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She teaches Election Law, Appellate Advocacy, Federal Courts, Civil Procedure, and Critical Legal Theory, which includes jurisprudence, critical race theory, socioeconomics, and access to justice. Daniels, an expert on voting rights, has served as a deputy chief in the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section, in both the Clinton and Bush administrations. She has more than twenty years of voting rights experience, bringing cases that involved various provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and other voting rights statutes. Before beginning her voting rights career, Daniels was a staff attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights, representing death row inmates and bringing prison condition cases. She also serves as Of Counsel at Campaign Legal Center.Spencer Overton is the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor of Law and the founder and faculty director of the Multiracial Democracy Project at GW Law School. The Project is currently working on the implications for multiracial democracy of: 1) proportional representation (particularly in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act); 2) artificial intelligence; and 3) court reforms. Spencer served in senior democracy policy positions on the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and transition team, and he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Policy in the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served for nine years as president of and rebuilt the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies—America’s Black think tank—where he established programs in technology, the future of work, economics, and diversity among congressional staff and presidential appointees. His work on national election reform commissions resulted in Iowa restoring voting rights to over 80,000 returning citizens and Democrats moving diverse states like South Carolina and Nevada to the
- 1 weeks ago30 min
Can a president control who votes in America?
When the Trump administration barred non-governmental groups from administrative naturalization ceremonies in August of 2025, the League of Women Voters was forced to cancel voter education efforts at 166 planned events — cutting off a pathway to voter registration that new citizens had relied on for decades. It was one front in a broader campaign to reshape the American electorate.On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper examines how the administration is using citizenship itself as a tool to suppress voting. Marcia Johnson of the League of Women Voters describes the human cost of shutting down registration at naturalization ceremonies and the chilling effect on new citizens. Campaign Legal Center's Anna Baldwin details the legal fight to restore access, challenge the SAVE Act's documentary proof requirements, and stop faulty voter purges in states like Ohio and Texas. And Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar recounts his state's refusal to hand over sensitive voter information. Together, they raise a question that cuts to the heart of our democracy: What happens when a president tries to choose his voters instead of the other way around — and how far can he go before the system pushes back?Episode Highlights:1:07 — What happened when USCIS shut down voter registration at administrative naturalization ceremonies?3:23 — What does the rule of law mean for every American citizen?4:48 — How does barring civic groups from administrative naturalization ceremonies harm new citizens' right to vote?6:17 — Can the president unilaterally end birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment?8:36 — Would the SAVE Act protect elections or disenfranchise eligible voters?10:40 — How do state voter purges falsely target naturalized citizens?13:20 — What does it mean when a president tries to choose his voters?14:18 — Can the federal government force states to hand over sensitive voter data?16:42 — Could armed federal agents show up at your polling place this fall?19:10 — What guardrails are needed for federal election observers at the polls?23:11 — Does America need structural reform to rebuild the separation of powers?24:37 — Can the courts stop the government from barring civic groups from administrative naturalization ceremonies?27:19 — Does American citizenship have membership tiers or is every citizen equal?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Marcia Johnson is the chief counsel and chief of Activation & Justice for the League of Women Voters. She leads the organization’s advocacy and litigation and mobilization and engagement teams, overseeing the strategic direction of their policy, litigation, programmatic and organizing efforts. Before joining LWVUS in October 2024, she was the co-director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for 20 years, where she managed the organization’s voting rights advocacy and voter engagement portfolios including building the nationwide nonpartisan Election Protection program. Marcia also oversaw research into the impact of the Voting Rights Act on American democracy including organizing two nationwide commissions to document this impact. Marcia also coordinated the Lawyers’ Committee’s international human rights initiatives, including monitoring US compliance with its treaty obligations. Marcia is a nationally recognized leader on voting rights, has testified before Congress, and never turns down an opportunity to advocate for voting rights across all forms of media, national and international. Marcia received her juris doctor from Villanova University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Linguistics from Georgetown University.Anna Baldwin is a member of CLC's voting rights team working to protect the freedom to vote, litigating cases in state and federal courts, from filing through appeal to the Supreme Court. Prior to joining CLC, Anna spent 14 years in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prior to joining CLC. In North Ca
- 2 weeks ago31 min
Is the Trump administration trying to undermine our elections?
On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper sits down with Campaign Legal Center’s Jonathan Diaz and Chad Dunn, head of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, to discuss the Department of Justice's escalating seizures of 2020 election materials in Georgia, Arizona, and beyond. They also unpack the executive orders President Trump has issued to reshape voter eligibility and mail-in voting, which have been repeatedly blocked by federal courts. Dunn goes on to detail his fight against the Riverside County sheriff's illegal ballot seizure and explains how election misinformation erodes public trust even when systems remain secure. As we get closer to the 2026 midterms, this episode explores what it will take to keep American elections safe, secure, and accurate — and who's responsible for making sure they stay that way.Episode Highlights:2:59 – Is the Trump administration laying groundwork to undermine the 2026 midterms?3:46 – Why does the president still refuse to accept his 2020 loss in Georgia?5:14 – How far has the DOJ's ballot subpoena campaign spread beyond Georgia?6:55 – What happens when a sheriff decides he can seize ballots from a special election?9:30 – Why are ballot seizures like this often self-defeating?12:00 – How does election misinformation spread even when systems remain secure?13:55 – Why does election misinformation make people lose faith in democracy itself?15:58 – Can the president legally nationalize elections or cancel the midterms?17:48 – Why have federal courts repeatedly blocked Trump's election executive orders?21:42 – Can the president legally nationalize elections?24:14 – What happens when election deniers are put in charge of federal agencies?26:45 – What can be done to protect the freedom to vote going forward?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Jonathan Diaz manages CLC's work to protect election results and defend against election sabotage and works directly with CLC's litigation, communications, and policy teams to help set organizational strategy on voting rights and elections advocacy. He also works directly with election officials at the state and local level to improve election administration processes, and represents CLC in democracy reform coalitions to coordinate legal, advocacy, and messaging strategies with partner organizations across the country.Jonathan has also litigated voting rights cases in federal courts across the country, including LULAC v. Executive Office of the President (challenging the President's unconstitutional executive order on voting), LUCHA v. Fontes (challenging Arizona's burdensome and discriminatory proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration), VoteAmerica v. Raffensperger (challenging Georgia's restrictions on the distribution of absentee ballot applications) and Raysor v. Lee (challenging Florida's conditioning of rights restoration for voters with past felony convictions on the payment of legal financial obligations).Chad Dunn is a Lecturer in Law at UCLA School of Law for the Voting Rights and Law Practicum that proudly equips emerging lawyers to confidently serve as powerful courtroom civil rights advocates in any court in the country. His research lies in civil rights, with a specialization in voting rights. He also serves as the Legal Director of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, a joint project of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, the UCLA School of Law, and the UCLA School of Social Science, where he directs all litigation, appeals, and legal scholarship for the Voting Rights Project. In addition to his scholarship and teaching, Dunn co-founded and is a partner of the law firm Brazil & Dunn, LLP, where he continues to try cases and handle appeals in numerous areas of civil rights including redistricting, race discrimination under Title VII, sex discrimination under Title IX, prison conditions, police conduct, and government ethics as well as other civil and criminal legal matters.Links:<a href="https://campaignlega
- 3 weeks ago31 min
Who Gets a Pardon in Trump's America — and Why?
A crypto billionaire convicted of laundering money walks free after his company enriches the president's family by billions. A congressman expelled for defrauding voters gets his slate wiped clean for staying loyal. A tax fraudster owing investors $700 million never repays a dime before receiving clemency. These aren't isolated instances— they're a pattern. On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper is joined by Liz Oyer, former head of the DOJ's Office of the Pardon Attorney, and Brendan Fischer, director of strategic investigations at Campaign Legal Center, to break down how President Trump has reshaped executive clemency into a marketplace. Oyer draws on her firsthand experience reviewing pardon applications to explain how the traditional, merit-based process has been sidelined, while Fischer lays out three distinct categories of abuse — reward pardons, corrupt pardons, and brokered pardons — each backed by real cases of donors, loyalists, and lobbyists cashing in. Together, they explore what recourse remains, from proposed legislation like the No Payoffs for Pardons Act to the limits of congressional oversight, including a sobering look at what's lost when clemency serves power instead of justice.Episode Highlights:2:46 – How have executive clemency powers been used by President Trump?3:11 – Can clemency give deserving people a real second chance?5:16 – How is a presidential pardon supposed to work?6:32 – Are there any legal limits on who a president can pardon?7:35 – How has President Trump turned pardon power into a reward system?9:17 – What is a reward pardon?12:59 – Did a $1 million donation really buy a nursing home executive's clemency?15:28 – Why did an expelled, unrepentant congressman get pardoned anyway?18:47 – How do wealthy individuals use brokers for pardons?23:14 – Could legislation actually stop this corruption?27:25 – Is America left with a two-tiered system of justice?28:01 – What effect does President Trump’s abuse of the pardon power have on applicants without money or connections?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Liz Oyer is an experienced attorney and justice advocate. She most recently served in the Department of Justice as United States Pardon Attorney (April 2022 to March 2025), overseeing the Office of the Pardon Attorney. In that role, Liz was responsible for reviewing applications from individuals across the country seeking pardons and commutations of sentence and preparing recommendations for the President concerning the exercise of his constitutional clemency power.Liz’s tenure as Pardon Attorney was focused on making second chances through clemency available to all deserving Americans without consideration of status, resources, or politics. Liz and her team completely overhauled the clemency application process to make it more accessible, transparent, and user-friendly, including streamlining and improving the application forms for the first time in decades. Liz conducted extensive community outreach and education, including visits to federal prisons around the country. During her three years as Pardon Attorney, Liz and her team made recommendations to the President in over 15,000 clemency cases, prioritizing those involving overly harsh sentences imposed under outdated laws and policies.Brendan Fischer is Director of Strategic Investigations, working to support legal actions, policy reform and public accountability by exposing how money influences politics and providing stakeholders with the information needed to protect the freedom to vote.Brendan brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of law, investigative journalism and democracy reform. Prior to his current role, he served as Deputy Executive Director at the investigative watchdog group Documented, and before that, he built and ran Campaign Legal Center's Federal Reform program, where he directed legal strategies to address dark money, illegal coordination and foreign interference. He earned his J.D.
- Sep 29, 202633 min
What happens when political dissent is suppressed?
It was a dramatic scene that made headlines across the country; Senator Alex Padilla lying on the floor in handcuffs for simply trying to ask a question to the former head of the Department of Homeland Security. But it turns out dissent isn't a threat to democracy, it's actually the mechanism that makes democracy work. On this episode of Democracy Decoded, Host Simone Leeper sits down with Yale Law School professor Robert Post to trace how the printing press gave rise to public opinion — and why that history explains why losing an election doesn't mean losing your voice. Then Campaign Legal Center's Danielle Lang takes over with the receipts: law firms strong-armed into pro bono deals, ICE protesters flagged in retaliation databases, and federal employees' auto-reply emails hijacked for partisan messaging. Together, Post and Lang make the case that a government that punishes its critics isn't protecting order — it's undermining the very system it claims to defend.Episode Highlights:3:22 - Why does the First Amendment protect dissent as the foundation of self-government?5:12 - How did the printing press create the public opinion democracy now depends on?6:21 - Why does democracy make citizens accountable to the judgment of total strangers?8:49 - How does free political debate shape which candidates and coalitions voters choose?11:16 - Why is losing an election still compatible with governing yourself democratically?14:53 - How is the Trump administration infringing on Americans' First Amendment rights?17:16 - Why are universities and law firms being pressured to fall in line?17:47 - How have law firms been targeted by the Trump administration?26:05 - How did shutdown emails violate federal workers’ First Amendment rights?28:38 - What must Americans do now to defend their First Amendment rights?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Robert Post is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He served as the School's 16th dean from 2009 until 2017. Before coming to Yale, he taught at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.Post specializes in constitutional law, with a particular emphasis on the First Amendment. Post has written and edited numerous books, including The Taft Court: Making Law for a Divided Nation, 1921-1930 (1924), which is Volume 10 of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States; Citizens Divided: A Constitutional Theory of Campaign Finance Reform (2014), which was originally delivered as the Tanner Lectures at Harvard in 2013; Democracy, Expertise, Academic Freedom: A First Amendment Jurisprudence for the Modern State (2012), which was originally delivered as the Rosenthal Lectures at Northwestern University; For the Common Good: Principles of American Academic Freedom (with Matthew M. Finkin, 2009), which has become a standard reference for the meaning of academic freedom in the United States; and Prejudicial Appearances: The Logic of American Antidiscrimination Law (2001), which was originally delivered as the Brennan Lectures at Berkeley.Danielle Lang has worked as a civil rights litigator for her entire career and as a voting rights litigator for over a decade. At CLC, she has led dozens of case teams challenging state and federal laws and policies that unlawfully restrict access to the ballot. These matters include successful challenges to the second Trump administration's illegal executive order on elections; a last-minute error-ridden voter purge in Alabama in 2024; Arizona's burdensome registration documentation of citizenship requirements; North Dakota's voter ID law targeting Native communities; Texas's discriminatory voter ID law; and numerous successful challenges to signature match policies for absentee ballots.Under her leadership, CLC's Voting Rights team not only fights in court to protect voters, but also advances pro-voter policies at the local, state and federal level across the country. In 2018, alongside CLC’s Blair Bowie, she founded CLC's unique Restore Your Vo
- Sep 22, 202635 min
Are political loyalty and partisanship replacing the rule of law at the DOJ?
An FBI counterintelligence agent loses his career over a friendship. A prosecutor gets fired by email because of who her father is. A civil rights attorney quits rather than betray her oath. On this episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper explores how the Trump administration's second term has undermined the rule of law at the Department of Justice. She speaks with former FBI agent Michael Feinberg, who describes being forced out after being flagged for a friendship with a former colleague who criticized the president. She also hears from law professor and former U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, who details the DOJ leadership's willingness to pursue politically motivated prosecutions, shield presidential allies, and erode judicial trust. And Campaign Legal Center’s Dana Paikowsky recounts an exodus of career officials at the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, plus a troubling pattern of failed prosecutions against protesters, and efforts to shield political appointees from bar discipline. Episode Highlights:3:45 – How are the principles of the nonpartisan civil service demonstrated in practice at the FBI?6:21 – How did new FBI leadership dismantle protections against political influence?9:41 – Why was a friendship with an ex-colleague enough to end a 16-year career in counterintelligence?13:00 – Is loyalty to the president now more important than a career record?16:14 – How far will DOJ leadership go to shield the president from accountability?19:17 – What happens to the rule of law when three of Trump's own lawyers run the DOJ?22:50 – Why are career officials resigning instead of doing work they no longer believe in?25:59 – What does it mean when a federal prosecutor is fired by email?29:20 – Can DOJ attorneys really be shielded from ethics accountability?32:33 – Why does Campaign Legal Center say civil servants can't be fired as political retribution?35:44 – Why does everyday life depend more on the rule of law than most of us realize?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Michael Feinberg is a former Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he spent the overwhelming majority of his career combating the PRC’s intelligence services. He is a recipient and multiple times nominee of the FBI’s highest recognition, the Director’s Award for Excellence, as well as numerous other Bureau honors and ODNI commendations. Prior to his service with the FBI, he was an attorney in both private and public practice.Joyce White Vance is a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law. She served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017. She was nominated for that position by President Barack Obama in May of 2009 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in August of 2009. Professor Vance served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and was the Co-Chair of its Criminal Practice Subcommittee. As U.S. Attorney, she was responsible for overseeing all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions in north Alabama, including matters involving civil rights, national security, cybercrime, public corruption, health care and corporate fraud, violent crime and drug trafficking. She was also responsible for affirmative and defensive civil litigation on behalf of the government and for all federal criminal and civil appeals. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Vance served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Birmingham for 18 years. She spent ten years as a criminal prosecutor, before moving to the Appellate Division in 2002, becoming Chief of that Division in 2005. Prior to her work as a federal prosecutor, she spent six years as a litigator in private practice. She received a B.A. from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, magna cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of law.Dana Paikowsky graduated from Oberlin College and Harvard Law School. She joins Campaign Legal Center from the Ci
- Sep 15, 202634 min
What happens when the balance of power becomes unbalanced?
When President Trump fired a Federal Trade Commission commissioner in 2025, it sparked a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court — and ended up re-shaping the American government. In Trump v. Slaughter, the Court's conservative majority struck down nearly a century of precedent protecting independent agency heads from at-will presidential removal, handing the executive branch sweeping new authority over agencies Congress had designed to be nonpartisan.On this season premiere episode of Democracy Decoded, host Simone Leeper explores what this ruling means for the separation of powers and the rule of law. Joined by NYU law professor Melissa Murray, retired federal judge Michael Luttig, and Campaign Legal Center's Brent Ferguson, Leeper examines how an increasingly emboldened executive, a passive Congress, and a compliant Supreme Court are eroding the constitutional safeguards that protect American democracy — and what citizens can do to push back before it's too late.Episode Highlights:2:01 — Why is the rule of law the foundation of democracy that rarely gets the headlines it deserves?5:06 — Which traumas were the Framers responding to when they designed the Constitution?6:05 — How fragile was the early American government before the Constitution was written?10:53 — What is impoundment, how did Nixon weaponize it, and why is Trump bringing it back?12:10 — What is the "shadow docket" and how has the Supreme Court been using it to side with Trump?13:40 — What would Judge Luttig say to his old friend Chief Justice John Roberts if given the chance?15:41 — Why does Judge Luttig say Trump v. United States destroyed a critical part of the structural Constitution?19:03 — Has the Constitution itself failed — or have the people responsible for upholding it?21:30 — What does the Trump v. Slaughter ruling actually mean for independent federal agencies?23:10- — Why are the FEC and EAC uniquely vulnerable — and what is Campaign Legal Center doing to protect them?25:52 — What did a 1952 Supreme Court justice foresee about executives who move too fast — and who was he really warning about?31:13 — Who ultimately holds the power in American democracy, and what are they being called to do?Host and Guests:Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, where she teaches constitutional law, family law, and reproductive rights and justice. She is a co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary, and The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader. Her other writing has appeared in a range of legal and lay publications, including the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Nation. Before joining the NYU Law faculty, Murray was the Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of Law at the University of Califor
- Sep 1, 20262 min
Democracy Decoded, Season 6: The Rule of Law Under Threat
Our system of government is rooted in the Constitution and designed to ensure that power is shared, not concentrated in any one branch. But what happens when the institutions that were meant to hold one another accountable are tested in new and unprecedented ways? Season 6 of Democracy Decoded examines some of the defining constitutional questions shaping American democracy today. From the separation of powers and the role of the Department of Justice, to presidential pardons, political dissent, citizenship, voting rights, and safeguarding our elections, each episode explores the legal principles, institutions, and people at the center of today's most consequential debates. Through conversations with leading legal experts, advocates and policymakers, we'll unpack what's happening, why it matters and what these developments could mean for the future of our democracy. Going beyond the headlines, we also examine the constitutional framework behind the news; the checks and balances designed to protect our freedoms; and the challenges facing the rule of law in a rapidly evolving political landscape. Whether you want to better understand the political events of the day or the Constitution itself, follow Democracy Decoded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, to get the context, clarity, and insight required to make sense of this pivotal time for our country. About CLC: Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan legal organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. We fight for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process, particularly Americans who have faced political barriers because of race, ethnicity or economic status. Learn more about us. Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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About Democracy Decoded
Our system of government is rooted in the Constitution and designed to ensure that power is shared, not concentrated in any one branch. But what happens when the institutions that were meant to hold one another accountable are tested in new and unprecedented ways? Season 6 of Democracy Decoded examines some of the defining constitutional questions shaping American democracy today. From the separation of powers and the role of the Department of Justice, to presidential pardons, political dissent, citizenship, voting rights, and safeguarding our elections, each episode explores the legal principles, institutions, and people at the center of today's most consequential debates. Through conversations with leading legal experts, advocates and policymakers, we'll unpack what's happening, why it matters and what these developments could mean for the future of our democracy. Going beyond the headlines, we also examine the constitutional framework behind the news; the checks and balances designed to protect our freedoms; and the challenges facing the rule of law in a rapidly evolving political landscape.
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