Accessibility links
Law NPR stories on legal issues, court rulings, Supreme Court hearings, new laws and government investigations. Download the NPR Justice Talking podcast and subscribe to the Legal Affairs RSS feed.

Law

We The People: Equal Protection
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Equal Protection

The Fourteenth Amendment. Of all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 14th is a big one. It's shaped all of our lives, whether we realize it or not: Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bush v. Gore, plus other Supreme Court cases that legalized same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, access to birth control — they've all been built on the back of the 14th. The amendment was ratified after the Civil War, and it's packed full of lofty phrases like due process, equal protection, and liberty. But what do those words really guarantee us? Today on Throughline's We the People: How the 14th Amendment has remade America — and how America has remade the 14th (Originally ran as The Fourteenth Amendment).

We The People: Equal Protection

Listen · 49:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198909103/1257292109" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
We The People: Legal Representation
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Legal Representation

The Sixth Amendment. Most of us take it for granted that if we're ever in court and we can't afford a lawyer, the court will provide one for us. And in fact, the right to an attorney is written into the Constitution's sixth amendment. But for most of U.S. history, it was more of a nice-to-have — something you got if you could, but that many people went without.

We The People: Legal Representation

Listen · 49:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198909075/1256920217" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
What to do when you're in a class action
krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images

Planet Money

What to do when you're in a class action

Maybe you got a boring slip of paper in the mail. Maybe you got a spammy-looking email promising you money. Surprise! You're in a class action. If you've done any commerce in the last decade, there's a good chance that someone somewhere was suing on your behalf and you have real money coming your way... if you know what to do.

What to do when you're in a class action

Listen · 25:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961271/1256669090" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
We the People: Gun Rights
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

Throughline

We the People: Gun Rights

The Second Amendment. In April 1938, an Oklahoma bank robber was arrested for carrying an unregistered sawed-off shotgun across state lines. The robber, Jack Miller, put forward a novel defense: that a law banning him from carrying that gun violated his Second Amendment rights. For most of U.S. history, the Second Amendment was one of the sleepier ones. It rarely showed up in court, and was almost never used to challenge laws. Jack Miller's case changed that. And it set off a chain of events that would fundamentally change how U.S. law deals with guns. Today on Throughline's We the People: How the second amendment came out of the shadows. (Originally ran as The Right to Bear Arms)

We the People: Gun Rights

Listen · 48:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198909056/1256519622" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
We The People: Free Speech
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Free Speech

The First Amendment. Book bans, disinformation, the wild world of the internet. Free speech debates are all around us. What were the Founding Fathers thinking when they created the First Amendment, and how have the words they wrote in the 18th century been stretched and shaped to fit a world they never could have imagined? It's a story that travels through world wars and culture wars. Through the highest courts and the Ku Klux Klan. Today on Throughline's We the People: What exactly is free speech, and how has the answer to that question changed in the history of the U.S.? (Originally ran as The Freedom of Speech)

We The People: Free Speech

Listen · 48:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198909039/1256166447" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Trump's classified documents case has been dismissed by judge

The Alto Lee Adams Sr. United States Courthouse, where hearings took place for former President Donald Trump's bid to dismiss the charges he faces for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Trump's Trials

Trump's classified documents case has been dismissed by judge

For this episode of Trump's Trials, All Things Considered's Ailsa Chang speaks with NPR's Greg Allen and Carrie Johnson.

Trump's classified documents case has been dismissed by judge

Listen · 9:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1255588370/1255727397" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Disabled students are struggling to get what they need at school

Tabitha (l) helps Sam (r) remove his socks and leg braces. Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 in Georgia, United States. Cindy Elizabeth/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Cindy Elizabeth/NPR

Consider This from NPR

Disabled students are struggling to get what they need at school

Students with disabilities often face a tough time getting the services they need at school. When they can't get them, many families seek help from the federal government. And, right now, the Department of Education is swamped with a record number of discrimination complaints. The backlog is leaving families across the country waiting months, even years, for help.

Disabled students are struggling to get what they need at school

Listen · 12:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912816/1255267067" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How well did the Civil Rights Act live up to its promise?

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. waves to supporters on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington, where King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

How well did the Civil Rights Act live up to its promise?

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law on July 2, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson called it a way for America to honor its promise of liberty. But 60 years on, how well has it lived up to that promise?

How well did the Civil Rights Act live up to its promise?

Listen · 11:14
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912770/1255134859" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Supreme Court rules Trump is immune from prosecution for certain official acts

The US Supreme Court on July 1, 2024, in Washington, DC. DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Supreme Court rules Trump is immune from prosecution for certain official acts

On Monday the Supreme Court issued its most anticipated decision of the term — expanding the power of the presidency, and calling into question whether former President Trump will ever face a trial in federal court for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Supreme Court rules Trump is immune from prosecution for certain official acts

Listen · 14:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912764/1255078898" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Gun violence is getting worse. Can a shift in perspective be the solution?

Participants hold signs during March for Our Lives 2022 on June 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for March For Our Lives hide caption

toggle caption
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for March For Our Lives

Consider This from NPR

Gun violence is getting worse. Can a shift in perspective be the solution?

The surgeon general's office has declared gun violence a national public health crisis.

Gun violence is getting worse. Can a shift in perspective be the solution?

Listen · 10:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912739/1254914271" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Fouling Caitlin Clark; plus, a shoplifting panic!

Caitlin Clark. Deodorant locked up in a drugstore. Elsa/Getty Images; Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Elsa/Getty Images; Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Fouling Caitlin Clark; plus, a shoplifting panic!

First up, there has been a media frenzy around the fouls made against rising basketball star and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Commentators and fans have called her fellow WNBA players bullies, jealous, and catty. But Code Switch co-host Gene Demby and Defector's Maitreyi Anantharaman say a lot of the people commenting misunderstand the WNBA. Host Brittany Luse learns what the new fans might be missing and how racism, sexism and homophobia could be fanning the flames of the latest hot takes. Brittany also leads Gene and Maitreyi through a game of "But Did You Know."

Fouling Caitlin Clark; plus, a shoplifting panic!

Listen · 39:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956699/1254502944" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Lavender Scare (Throwback)
Kay Tobin/New York Public Library

Throughline

The Lavender Scare (Throwback)

One day in late April 1958, a young economist named Madeleine Tress was approached by two men in suits at her office at the U.S. Department of Commerce. They took her to a private room, turned on a tape recorder, and demanded she respond to allegations that she was an "admitted homosexual." Two weeks later, she resigned.

The Lavender Scare (Throwback)

Listen · 51:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908935/1254372039" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Should we stop using the word "felon"?

What the reaction to Trump's felony conviction tells us about the word "felon" Jackie Lay hide caption

toggle caption
Jackie Lay

Code Switch

Should we stop using the word "felon"?

This week, we're turning our sights on the word "felon", and looking into what it tells us (and can't tell us) about the 19 million people in the U.S. — like Donald Trump and Hunter Biden — carrying that designation around.

Should we stop using the word "felon"?

Listen · 33:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956590/1254007047" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Republicans really want revenge; plus, can AI take a chill pill?

Artificial Intelligence and Trump on trial. David McNew/AFP; Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
David McNew/AFP; Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Republicans really want revenge; plus, can AI take a chill pill?

What is our justice system for? Many Republicans over the past week have suggested it's for revenge, calling for the prosecution of Democrats across the country following Trump's guilty verdict. Brittany looks at how the justice system can be politicized with NPR's national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

Republicans really want revenge; plus, can AI take a chill pill?

Listen · 34:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956544/1253798236" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What will life look like for jurors after the Trump trial?

The 12 jurors who served on former President Trump's hush money trial can choose whether or not to remain anonymous. Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

What will life look like for jurors after the Trump trial?

The 12 New Yorkers who served on the jury for former president Donald Trump's trial, and voted to convict him om 34 counts of falsified business records, have not had their identities disclosed publicly to protect their privacy.

What will life look like for jurors after the Trump trial?

Listen · 8:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912513/1253635085" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Trump was found guilty on all counts. What comes next?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives with attorney Todd Blanche. Photo by Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Photo by Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Trump was found guilty on all counts. What comes next?

After a trial that lasted 21 days and a deliberation that took less than ten hours, a Manhattan jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on all 34 criminal felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump was found guilty on all counts. What comes next?

Listen · 8:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912475/1253481539" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Rules of War
Bas Czerwinski/AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

The Rules of War

International courts investigating alleged war crimes have made headlines often in recent months. An arrest warrant has been issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin; arrest warrants have also been requested for senior Hamas and Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The Rules of War

Listen · 51:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908856/1253341878" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Closing arguments for Trump's trial have been made. What now?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024 in New York City. Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Pool/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Closing arguments for Trump's trial have been made. What now?

Nearly two dozen witnesses and 21 days of court later, Donald Trump's New York hush money trial is coming to a close.

Closing arguments for Trump's trial have been made. What now?

Listen · 9:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912438/1253282844" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Consider This: Who made the most compelling case to jurors in Trump's trial?

Former US President Donald Trump raises his fist as he leaves the courtroom during a break in his criminal trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 28, 2024. ANDREW KELLY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
ANDREW KELLY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Trump's Trials

Consider This: Who made the most compelling case to jurors in Trump's trial?

For this episode of Trump's Trials, we hand the mic over to Consider This. Host Juana Summers speaks with Fordham law professor Adam Shlahet.

Consider This: Who made the most compelling case to jurors in Trump's trial?

Listen · 9:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1249797796/1253282777" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Here are three possible outcomes in the Trump hush money trial

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan listens as Emil Bove, a member of former President Donald Trump's legal team, argues for his client during Sandoval's hearing. Jane Rosenberg/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jane Rosenberg/AP

Consider This from NPR

Here are three possible outcomes in the Trump hush money trial

We bring you a special episode of Trump's Trials.

Here are three possible outcomes in the Trump hush money trial

Listen · 16:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912411/1253150066" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans

Anti-abortion activists who describe themselves as "abolitionists" protest outside a fertility clinic in North Carolina in April 2024. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Sarah McCammon/NPR

Consider This from NPR

Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans

Abortion Rights has been a motivating political issue for generations, and this year might be the most intense for those on both sides of the issue.

Anti-abortion hardliners want restrictions to go farther. It could cost Republicans

Listen · 11:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198912380/1253082679" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Hershey's lawsuit argues the company uses 'deceptive' packaging in Reese's products

Four customers in Florida have filed a federal lawsuit against The Hershey Company alleging that designs displayed on some Reese's Peanut Butter cups were misleading to customers. Plaintiffs v. The Hershey Company hide caption

toggle caption
Plaintiffs v. The Hershey Company

Hershey's lawsuit argues the company uses 'deceptive' packaging in Reese's products

Four plaintiffs in Florida say Hershey falsely represented several Reese's Peanut Butter products by showing "explicit carved-out artistic designs" on the wrappers being sold.

Browse archive or search npr.org