This is why Bill Barr can't order any state governor to decide when to end a public health emergency.

The states have that authority.

It's the police power of the state.

And whatever the state's going to do, the state governor and the state legislature need to be accountable for it.

Hi, and welcome back to Amicus.

This is Slate's podcast about the law and the courts and the Supreme Court and the rule of law and all things legal, especially now in the time of COVID as we podcast from under our beds and in our closets surrounded by towels and sheets.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick. I cover the courts for Slate. And this week, remarkably, saw the Supreme Court handing down decisions

from home, including a few that we will discuss in a very special Slate Plus segment with our

own Mark Joseph Stern. Let me just take a minute to say that this is a tough time. You probably

know that. Lots of media companies are

struggling. Slate is no exception. So if you can pitch in and support Slate through a Slate Plus membership,

you will really be supporting all the work we do here at the magazine. You'll get access to all

sorts of bonus segments for your favorite shows,

including our deep dives with Mark on the Supreme Court. And you will have add free access to all

of our podcasts. And I should note parenthetically that a whole bunch of you signed up this week

for my birthday, which I really appreciate. So look, we know money is tight,

but if you have some to spare, we appreciate your support. If you can manage it, go to slate.com

slash amicus plus to find out more and know we are really grateful. So the courts are learning to take their proceedings online. This is very exciting. We're going to have arguments in May that we can listen in to for the first time in history. And there's also just a big old string of blockbuster cases that will be coming down in the next few weeks. We are going to be

here to chew over them, I promise. But there's this other story that has bubbled up this

week and we thought we should spend a little time with it. And it's this question of federalism

and the 10th Amendment. And this burgeoning war, not just between red states and blue states over coronavirus, but actually between the states and the federal government.

And you can hear echoes of it in Governor Cuomo's press briefings. You can hear echoes of it when Donald Trump smacks down state governors.

...