Law School 101 at SCOTUS?!—Seriously???

Quick Overview

The speaker critiques Justice Kagan's dialogue during the Supreme Court oral argument for Little v. Hecox (24-38), finding her insistence on identifying specific individuals to establish standing for facial challenges frustrating because it ignores the established remedy framework, which the Court has previously deemed sufficient even when a statute is overbroad.

Key Points: The speaker critiques Justice Kagan's questioning during the Little v. Hecox oral argument regarding standing for facial challenges to the statute. Kagan pointed out that the law, if overbroad, could still be challenged on an as-applied basis, suggesting the petitioners could read some lines of cases either way. The speaker argues that the Court previously held in Nguyen and Michael M. that justification put forth for the law need not be proven for each and every person the law applies to, which the Court deemed 'fine because' of the remedy. Justice Kagan seemed to struggle with the concept of tailoring laws, stating, 'So making exceptions is tailoring your law. That's literally what it means, to tailor your law.' The speaker notes Kagan's apparent difficulty understanding why someone who cannot bring a facial challenge (due to lack of remedy) cannot bring that challenge. The discussion highlights the tension between strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny (applied to sex classifications), and rational basis review. The speaker reveals that the oral argument concluded around 1:07:21, with Justice Alito noting that Nguyen is the most recent case addressing this issue.

Context: The video features Andrew Branca, a SCOTUS Bar Attorney, analyzing the oral arguments for the Supreme Court case Little v. Hecox (24-38), argued on January 13, 2020, which concerned challenges to a state law regarding transgender athlete participation based on equal protection grounds. Branca focuses specifically on the line of questioning from Justice Kagan and the subsequent exchange with the advocate, Hashim M. Moopaan.