The Grand Finale
Case in Point: The Legal Show on the Hottest Legal Cases in Politics and Culture
The Heritage Foundation
4.5 • 527 Ratings
🗓️ 9 July 2020
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The term has ended with a bang! In this final episode of the season, GianCarlo and Amy discuss the blockbuster cases handed down this week, which addressed whether the President must release his tax returns, whether nearly half of Oklahoma is, in fact, an Indian reservation, whether the Little Sisters have to provide contraceptives in violation of their religious beliefs, and more. Amy interviews our dear friend and colleague, Paul J. Larkin, Jr., and he talks about his career, his mentors, and how he prepared for SCOTUS oral arguments.
Here's Amy's article about the Little Sisters' case: https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/08/little-sisters-of-poor-win-big-at-supreme-court-but-the-fight-isnt-over/
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ scotus101 and send comments, questions, or ideas for future
episodes to scotus101@heritage.org. Don't forget to leave a 5-star rating!
Stay caffeinated and opinionated with a SCOTUS 101 mug:
https://shop.heritage.org/products/scotus-101-mug.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Mr. Chief Justice, may it please the court. |
| 0:05.4 | I'm Amy Swearer. And I'm John Carlo Conoparo. And welcome to SCOTUS 101, where we break down what's happening at the Supreme Court, what the justices are up to, and other things related to our favorite branch of government. |
| 0:19.8 | Welcome to another episode of SCOTUS 101 and what will probably be our last show of this term. |
| 0:26.6 | Yes, welcome back. As always, we're delighted to have you join us again. We had a very busy week. |
| 0:32.8 | The court has now resolved all of its pending cases and the term has officially ended roughly a week or so later than normal. |
| 0:41.4 | But all things considered, this was remarkably close to an on-time closing. |
| 0:46.8 | There were eight opinions this week, and they're some of the biggest of the term. |
| 0:50.6 | So let's get to it. |
| 0:51.9 | Amy, take us away. |
| 0:53.2 | We are going to start with the case I know you've all been waiting for. |
| 1:00.2 | McGirt, be Oklahoma. Is one-third of eastern Oklahoma actually not Oklahoma? Well, we finally have an answer, |
| 1:10.4 | and it is, shockingly, no. In a 5-4 opinion by Justice Gorsuch, |
| 1:17.9 | the court held that at least for purposes of the Major Crimes Act, land reserved for the |
| 1:23.4 | Creek Nation since the 19th century remains Indian country. |
| 1:29.3 | If you recall, the petitioner in this case was convicted in Oklahoma State Court of various |
| 1:34.4 | felonies. He argued unsuccessfully in the lower courts that the state lacked jurisdiction |
| 1:39.3 | to prosecute him because he is a member of the Creek Nation and his crimes took place on what he argued is |
| 1:46.3 | actually a Creek reservation. So under this argument, a large portion of Oklahoma has actually |
| 1:52.3 | always been Indian country. Well, the court this week agreed. Justice Gorsuch was joined by |
| 1:59.0 | Justice's Breyer, Ginsburg, Hagen, and Sotomayor. |
| 2:02.6 | They reasoned that even though early treaties did not refer to Creek lands as reservations, |
| 2:08.2 | similar language in treaties from the same era has been held sufficient to create a reservation. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Heritage Foundation, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Heritage Foundation and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.