I wish for the day where we don't wake up and have to file another lawsuit, but until we see the president in his administration stop doing things that are illegal, unconstitutional, then we're just going to continue to have to see him in court.

Hi, and welcome to Amicus Slate's podcast about the courts and the Supreme Court and the rule of law.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick.

I cover all those things for Slate.

And this week has been one of those relatively quiet times between the end of oral arguments at the court last month and the

monster decisions soon to drop. And so on this week's show, we decided to turn back to the

states and their lawyers, particularly with the allegations that have come out this week of

sexual violence and

misconduct by Eric Schneiderman, New York's Attorney General. We wanted to think a little bit

about what state AGs do and why they may matter at this moment. So one of my favorite shows

last year actually was a conversation we had with Virginia's Attorney General, Mark Herring, right after the filing of the travel ban litigation.

I love the show because he talked about how he and the state AGs had been hard at work, just bringing lawsuits to protect immigrants and the environment and women and other interests that find themselves suddenly

imperiled by federal actions in the Trump era. The state AGs have been co-plaintiffs on so many

suits against the Trump administration with remarkable success. And we sometimes lose track

of all that with everything else that's going on in the world.

Morah Healy became the Attorney General of Massachusetts in 2015, and she quickly gained a national

reputation for taking on the pro-gun groups by enforcing that state's existing assault

weapons ban. She also co-chairs the Democratic Attorney's General Association's 1881 initiative, which is an effort to elect more female state AGs.

And in an incredibly freighted times up atmosphere, there was just nobody I wanted on the show more to talk about what the lane is for attorneys general, what women bring to office. So with that huge windup,

welcome to Amicus, Mora Healy, Attorney General of Massachusetts. Great to be with you, Dahlia.

And I wonder if you would set the table. I think I did this last year in the show with Mark Herring.

But for listeners who are used to having a show about the

...