The U.S. Supreme Court has vastly reshaped American democracy — rolling back voting rights, enabling secret money in politics and expanding presidential power. These decisions have a real impact on all Americans by making it harder for citizens to exercise their freedom to vote, easier for wealthy interests to sway elections and more difficult to hold leaders accountable.

In this episode, host Simone Leeper speaks with law professor and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny Podcast Leah Litman, Campaign Legal Center Senior Vice President Bruce V. Spiva and Campaign Legal Center Campaign Finance Senior Counsel David Kolker. Together, they unpack the real-world impact of landmark Supreme Court decisions — from voting rights cases like Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. DNC to campaign finance rulings like Citizens United — and explore what reforms could restore balance, accountability and trust in the Court.

Timestamps:

(00:05) — What do Americans really think about the Supreme Court?

(02:18) — Why does the Supreme Court’s power matter for democracy?

(07:01) — How did Shelby County v. Holder weaken voting rights?

(16:39) — What was the impact of Brnovich v. DNC?

(23:39) — How has the Supreme Court reshaped campaign finance?

(29:24) — Why did Citizens United open the floodgates for money in politics?

(32:37) — How have super PACs changed elections?

(34:02) — How have wealthy special interests reshaped U.S. elections?

(35:44) — What does presidential immunity mean for accountability?

(37:30) — How do lifetime seats protect the Supreme Court from accountability?

(39:22) — What role can Congress play in restoring trust and democracy?

Host and Guests:

Simone Leeper litigates a wide range of redistricting-related cases at Campaign Legal Center, challenging gerrymanders and advocating for election systems that guarantee all voters an equal opportunity to influence our democracy. Prior to arriving at CLC, Simone was a law clerk in the office of Senator Ed Markey and at the Library of Congress, Office of General Counsel. She received her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2019 and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2016.

Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan and a former Supreme Court clerk. In addition to cohosting Strict Scrutiny, she writes frequently about the Court for media outlets including The Washington Post, Slate, and The Atlantic, among others, and has appeared as a commentator on NPR and MSNBC, in addition to other venues. She has received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg award for her “scholarly excellence” from the American Constitution Society and published in top law reviews. Follow her on Bluesky @LeahLitman and Instagram @ProfLeahLitman.

Bruce V. Spiva is Senior Vice President at Campaign Legal Center. He is an attorney and community leader who has spent his over 30-year career fighting for civil rights and civil liberties, voting rights, consumer protection, and antitrust enforcement.

Over the past three decades, he has tried cases and argued appeals in courtrooms across the country, including arguing against vote suppression in the United States Supreme Court in 2021. In 2022, in his first run for public office, Bruce mounted a competitive run in the primary election for Washington, D.C. Attorney General.

In addition to founding his own law firm where he practiced for eleven years, Bruce has held several leadership and management positions as a partner at two national law firms. Most recently, Bruce served as the Managing Partner of the D.C. Office and on the firm-wide Executive Committee of Perkins Coie LLP, where he also had an active election law practice. He first-chaired twelve voting rights and redistricting trials across the country, and argued numerous voting rights appeals in U.S. circuit courts and state supreme courts during his tenure at Perkins.

David Kolker is Campaign Finance Senior Counsel at Campaign Legal Center. He focuses on both short- and long-term strategies to improve campaign finance laws across the country, and precedent interpreting those laws. David has spent decades litigating cases in both the public and private sectors.

He worked for nearly 20 years at the Federal Election Commission, where he litigated cases on federal campaign finance law and for several years led the agency’s Litigation Division. He represented the government in dozens of oral arguments, including the government’s defense in SpeechNow.org v. FEC before the D.C. Circuit sitting en banc. He litigated many cases decided by the Supreme Court, including the landmark cases of McConnell v. FEC and Citizens United v. FEC. David joined CLC from the Federal Communications Commission, where he served as the deputy bureau chief, Enforcement Bureau. He previously was a partner at the law firm Spiegel and McDiarmid in Washington. Early in his career, David worked as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Links:

The Supreme Court Needs to Start Standing Up for Democracy – CLC

The Supreme Court's Role in Undermining American Democracy – CLC

Supreme Court’s Impact on Voting Rights Is a Threat to Democracy – CLC

Why the Current U.S. Supreme Court Is a Threat to Our Democracy – CLC

U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Illegal Virginia Voter Purge at the Eleventh Hour – CLC

What Does the U.S. Supreme Court’s Recent Arizona Decision Mean for Voters? – CLC

Alito Flags the Fatal Flaw of the Supreme Court Ethics Code – CLC

U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Illegal Virginia Voter Purge at the Eleventh Hour – CLC

Improving Ethics Standards at the Supreme Court – CLC

Supreme Court tossed out heart of Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules – The Hill

U.S. Supreme Court Significantly Limits Restraints on Unconstitutional Presidential Actions – CLC

Campaign Legal Center Responds to SCOTUS Ruling Limiting Court Restraints on Unconstitutional Presidential Actions – CLC

Protecting the Promise of American Citizenship – CLC

Bringing the Fight for Fair Voting Maps to the U.S. Supreme Court – CLC

The Supreme Court Must Uphold Fair Voting Maps for Fair Representation – CLC

About CLC:

Democracy Decoded is a production of Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy. Campaign Legal Center fights for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process. Learn more about us.

Democracy Decoded is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

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