Supreme Court

Plus, when Silicon Valley comes to the farm.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Trump to remake American government, siding with the president again and again. But many of those rulings have lacked something fundamental: an explanation for why the most important judges in the country came to their decision. Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains the justices’ increased use of the so-called shadow docket, and why it has sown confusion — and in some cases frustration — in courts around the country.

A Wisconsin Supreme Court election has become the most expensive judicial race in American history. Democrats are vying to pick up Congressional seats held by Republicans in two Florida special elections. And, investors are bracing for more turbulence, as President Trump prepares to unveil the next phase in his trade war.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Acacia Squires, Russell Lewis, Rafael Nam, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

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In a hearing today, the Senate Judiciary Committee took on the Supreme Court’s lack of ethics standards. ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan explains how his reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas’s history of accepting gifts from a conservative megadonor led to increased scrutiny of the court. This episode was produced by Haleema Shah and Siona Peterous, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Serena Solin, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained   Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sen. Tammy Baldwin managed to rally bipartisan support for a marriage equality bill, but she’s the first to admit the legislation is “humble.” An activist wonders if there’s an overemphasis on the institution of marriage. This episode was produced by Siona Peterous, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained   Support Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chief Justice Roberts orders an investigation into the leaked abortion ruling, crime spikes in major cities, and the Supreme Court delivers a unanimous decision on free speech and religious liberty. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh Dubin is a criminal justice reform advocate and civil rights attorney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's a new fight over abortion at the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts is in the swing position. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment this week. Now, Congress is the only thing standing between the 28th amendment and the Constitution of the United States. (Transcript here.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Across the country, the confirmation of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has set off a highly personal debate among women about credibility and culpability. We sit in on two of those conversations. Guests: A group of teenagers in Brooklyn, who shared with us their reactions to the accusations against Justice Kavanaugh; and the reporters Susan Chira and Ellen Ann Fentress, who spoke to Lovetta Green and Crystal Walls, two friends in Mississippi with very different political views. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Judge Kavanaugh is now Justice Kavanaugh. We look at what the last few weeks mean for the future of the Supreme Court. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Senator Jeff Flake’s last-minute demand for an F.B.I. investigation into Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has single-handedly held up the confirmation vote for the Supreme Court nominee. Here’s the story behind that decision. Guest: Michael D. Shear, who covers the White House for The New York Times, and Ana Maria Archila, one of the protesters who spoke to Mr. Flake on his way to the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Friday. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Conservatives have been deeply split about how to respond to allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. That’s now starting to change. Guest: Ross Douthat, an Opinion columnist for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

On the first day of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, battle lines were drawn around the issues of abortion, the withholding of documents and executive power. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who has been nominated to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, once made the case for impeaching a president. He now says that was a mistake. Guest: Mark Landler, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, who examines why Judge Kavanaugh’s views have shifted. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump has nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Given Judge Kavanaugh’s conservative record and the political math in the Senate, what happens now? Guests: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times, discusses the announcement; Carl Hulse, the chief Washington correspondent for The Times, assesses Judge Kavanaugh’s prospects for confirmation. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

President Trump is scheduled to announce his pick for a new Supreme Court justice at 9 p.m. Eastern. Here’s a look at the top candidates to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

When Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced last week that he would retire this summer, attention immediately turned to the few senators who are willing to break from their parties on major issues — and who may hold the fate of the next Supreme Court nominee in their hands. We speak to one of them. Guest: Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Correction: An earlier version of this episode included a comment from Senator Susan Collins that misstated Americans’ views on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. While Americans are deeply divided on abortion rights, about 69 percent of adults oppose overturning the Supreme Court precedent; it is not “something like a 51-49” issue, as Ms. Collins said.

Tonya Harding had talent, but the world of figure skating wanted nothing to do with her. She was called “white trash.” And when Nancy Kerrigan was bashed in the knee just before the 1994 Winter Olympics, Ms. Harding became a villain. Now, 24 years later, her narrative is being revisited — and she is back in the spotlight. Guest: Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who interviewed Tonya Harding (now Tonya Price) for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Across the United States, the case could be made that American voters are not choosing their representatives so much as representatives are choosing their voters. As the Supreme Court opens a new session, it turns to a question that, until now, it had been unwilling to resolve: Does drawing the perfect election district violate the Constitution? Guest: Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, and Dale Schultz, a former state senator in Wisconsin. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. This episode was updated at 11 a.m. EST.