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 US Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.

We Just Witnessed the Biggest Supreme Court Power Grab Since 1803 We Just Witnessed the Biggest Supreme Court Power Grab Since 1803

The court has given itself nearly unlimited power over the administrative state, putting everything from environmental protections to workers’ rights at risk.

Jun 28, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Justice Amy Coney Barrett speaks at the Federalist Society's 2023 Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner.

The Supreme Court’s Latest Abortion Ruling Is a Cynical Ploy The Supreme Court’s Latest Abortion Ruling Is a Cynical Ploy

While the court voted to allow emergency abortions in Idaho, conservatives made it clear that this is only a temporary victory—one they will overturn after the election.

Jun 27, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Demonstrators carry signs of the six conservative Supreme Court justices during a protest in New York in 2022.

The Supreme Court Just Took Its First Swipe at Marriage Equality The Supreme Court Just Took Its First Swipe at Marriage Equality

Last week, the conservative justices buried a soft repudiation of Obergefell in an immigration case, likely laying the ground for more attacks.

Jun 25, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Activists rally outside the US Supreme Court Building before the start of oral arguments in the “United States v. Rahimi” Second Amendment case on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

The Supreme Court Just Got a Gun Ruling Right—for Completely Bonkers Reasons The Supreme Court Just Got a Gun Ruling Right—for Completely Bonkers Reasons

The court’s Rahimi ruling seems like a victory for gun regulation but is actually an attempt to pave the way for future extreme gun rulings.

Jun 21, 2024 / Elie Mystal

A makeshift memorial for the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting who were killed when a gunman opened fire on them in October 2017

The Supreme Court Wants More People to Die in Mass Shootings The Supreme Court Wants More People to Die in Mass Shootings

This is the only possible conclusion after their decision striking down the federal ban on bump stocks.

Jun 14, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Under Trump, the DOJ Will Become the Legal Wing of the MAGA Movement

Under Trump, the DOJ Will Become the Legal Wing of the MAGA Movement Under Trump, the DOJ Will Become the Legal Wing of the MAGA Movement

Should Trump win, conservatives have a plan to use the DOJ to make their darkest desires legal, while removing the legal means to stop them.

Jun 7, 2024 / Feature / Elie Mystal

Policeman with his gun drawn.

Police Can Be Held Liable for Killing a Dog but Not a Black Person Police Can Be Held Liable for Killing a Dog but Not a Black Person

In back-to-back rulings on when cops should be afforded qualified immunity, an appeals court came to radically different conclusions.

Jun 6, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Harriet Miers, former White House counsel to George W. Bush and onetime nominee to the Supreme Court.

An Apology to Harriet Miers An Apology to Harriet Miers

I was among those who derided Miers’s failed nomination to the Supreme Court in 2005. Then she was replaced by Samuel Alito.

May 30, 2024 / Elie Mystal

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

Samuel Alito’s Opinions Are Just As Upside-Down as His Flag Samuel Alito’s Opinions Are Just As Upside-Down as His Flag

In a majority opinion rubber-stamping South Carolina’s racist congressional map, Alito made it effectively impossible to contest racial gerrymanders.

May 24, 2024 / Elie Mystal

The US Supreme Court Building at night.

What Was That Bizarro Louisiana Voting Rights Decision All About? What Was That Bizarro Louisiana Voting Rights Decision All About?

In a topsy-turvy ruling, the conservatives on the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use a VRA-compliant congressional map while the liberals dissented.

May 17, 2024 / Elie Mystal

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