Elie Mystal

Justice Correspondent & Columnist

@ElieNYC

Elie Mystal is The Nation’s justice correspondent and the host of its legal podcast, Contempt of Court. He is also an Alfred Knobler Fellow at the Type Media Center. His first book is the New York Times bestseller Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, published by The New Press. Elie can be followed @ElieNYC.

The Supreme Court vs. the Earth

The Supreme Court vs. the Earth The Supreme Court vs. the Earth

The conservatives on the Supreme Court are increasingly inserting themselves into the climate fight—and you guess which side they’re on.

Jan 26, 2022 / Elie Mystal

John Roberts Gets an F on His Annual Report

John Roberts Gets an F on His Annual Report John Roberts Gets an F on His Annual Report

The chief justice’s year-end appraisal of the federal judiciary reads as innocuous at first glance—it’s anything but.

Jan 24, 2022 / Column / Elie Mystal

Mitch McConnell frog face

Mitch McConnell’s Klanian Slip Mitch McConnell’s Klanian Slip

In saying the quiet part out loud, McConnell confirmed what many of us already knew: White people think they’re the only true Americans.

Jan 21, 2022 / Elie Mystal

What’s Really Behind the Microsoft-Activision Deal

What’s Really Behind the Microsoft-Activision Deal What’s Really Behind the Microsoft-Activision Deal

It isn’t the end of the console wars but the start of the metaverse wars.

Jan 19, 2022 / Elie Mystal

Lani Guinier Taught Me Almost Everything I Know About Voting Rights

Lani Guinier Taught Me Almost Everything I Know About Voting Rights Lani Guinier Taught Me Almost Everything I Know About Voting Rights

A brilliant professor, she showed me how the old Confederacy never really gave up—not after the Civil War, not after the Voting Rights Act, not ever.

Jan 12, 2022 / Elie Mystal

Why Doesn’t the Supreme Court Want Workers to Be As Safe From Covid as They Are?

Why Doesn’t the Supreme Court Want Workers to Be As Safe From Covid as They Are? Why Doesn’t the Supreme Court Want Workers to Be As Safe From Covid as They Are?

The court’s conservative justices are opposed to vaccine “mandates” not because they’re anti-vax but because they’re anti-labor.

Jan 10, 2022 / Elie Mystal

Will Garland Do What It Takes to Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice?

Will Garland Do What It Takes to Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice? Will Garland Do What It Takes to Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice?

A lot is riding on the attorney general’s prosecution of January 6 insurrectionists—including whether future coup plotters think they’ll be able to get away with it.

Jan 5, 2022 / Elie Mystal

My Journey Into the Land of the Unmasked

My Journey Into the Land of the Unmasked My Journey Into the Land of the Unmasked

I headed to Florida as a hardcore Covid-avoider, but after just three days, I was singing karaoke with strangers, throwing all caution to the wind.

Dec 16, 2021 / Elie Mystal

Gavin Newsom’s Gun Stunt Is Inspired—and Doomed to Fail

Gavin Newsom’s Gun Stunt Is Inspired—and Doomed to Fail Gavin Newsom’s Gun Stunt Is Inspired—and Doomed to Fail

There is little chance the conservatives on the Supreme Court will let California treat gun manufacturers the way it’s letting Texas treat pregnant people.

Dec 14, 2021 / Elie Mystal

The Supreme Court’s Texas Abortion Ruling Isn’t the Victory Many Want It to Be

The Supreme Court’s Texas Abortion Ruling Isn’t the Victory Many Want It to Be The Supreme Court’s Texas Abortion Ruling Isn’t the Victory Many Want It to Be

Sonia Sotomayor said it best: “The Court should have put an end to this madness months ago.… It failed to do so [earlier], and it fails again today.”

Dec 10, 2021 / Elie Mystal

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