Search a title or topic

Over 20 million podcasts, powered by 

Player FM logo

Andrew And Gina Leahey Podcasts

show episodes
 
Artwork

1
Minimum Competence

Andrew and Gina Leahey

icon
Unsubscribe
icon
icon
Unsubscribe
icon
Daily
 
Minimum Competence is your daily companion for legal news, designed to bring you up to speed on the day’s major legal stories during your commute home. Each episode is short, clear, and informative—just enough to make you minimally competent on the key developments in law, policy, and regulation. Whether you’re a lawyer, law student, journalist, or just legal-curious, you’ll get a smart summary without the fluff. A full transcript of each episode is available via the companion newsletter at ...
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
This Day in Legal History: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr’s Kid Sworn in as Justice On December 8, 1902, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning one of the most storied judicial careers in American history. Appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, Holmes brought not just legal brilliance but …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: 21st Amendment Ratified On December 5, 1933, the United States ratified the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution, officially ending the era of national Prohibition. This amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which had banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors since 1920. Prohibi…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Skidmore On December 4, 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Skidmore v. Swift & Co., a case interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The plaintiffs were firefighters employed by a private company who sought overtime pay for time spent waiting on the employer’s premises, even when not actively figh…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Morgan v. Virginia On December 3, 1946, the NAACP filed the pivotal case Morgan v. Virginia, challenging state-enforced segregation on interstate buses. The case arose after Irene Morgan, a Black woman, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Greyhound bus traveling from Virginia to Maryland in 1944. Arreste…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: John Brown Assassinated On December 2, 1859, abolitionist John Brown was executed by hanging in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), following his conviction for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and inciting a slave insurrection. Brown had led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in Oc…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Rosa Parks Arrested On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated city bus. Parks, a 42-year-old Black seamstress and longtime activist, had been sitting in the “colored” section when the driver demanded she move. Her quiet but …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Free Speech at the Movies On this day in legal history, November 25, 1915, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio, holding that motion pictures were not protected under the First Amendment. The case arose when Ohio enacted a law requiring films to be approve…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Lee Harvey Oswald Shot On November 24, 1963, two days after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the nation watched in shock as Lee Harvey Oswald—the alleged assassin—was gunned down on live television. The shooter, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, entered the basement of the Dallas police headquarters and fatally …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Mississippi Burning On November 21, 1964, a federal grand jury convened in Meridian, Mississippi, and indicted 19 men in connection with the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner—three civil rights workers abducted and killed by the Ku Klux Klan during Freedom Summer. The brutal killings had shock…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Ratification of the Bill of Rights by New Jersey On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights, a landmark moment in American constitutional history. Just months after the U.S. Constitution went into effect, debate over its lack of explicit protections for individual liberties sparke…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Gettysburg Address On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, months after the blood-soaked Civil War battle that left over 50,000 dead or wounded. The speech nearly didn’t make it—Lincoln’s draft was re…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Statute of Marlborough On November 18, 1267, the Statute of Marlborough was enacted during the reign of King Henry III of England. It is the oldest piece of English statute law still partially in force, with four of its original twenty-nine chapters remaining on the books. The statute emerged from a period of intense baro…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: US Capitol Opens On November 17, 1800, the United States Congress convened for the first time in the new Capitol building in Washington, D.C., marking a foundational moment in American legal and political history. The relocation came after a decade of Congress meeting in temporary quarters, most recently in Philadelphia, …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon On this day in legal history, November 14, 1922, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, a foundational case in American property law. At issue was a Pennsylvania statute—the Kohler Act—that prohibited coal mining beneath certain structures to prevent surface sub…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Happy Brandeis Day On November 13, 1856, Louis Brandeis was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He would go on to become one of the most influential jurists in American legal history. Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson, Brandeis was the first Jewish justice and brought a deeply progressive a…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 On November 12, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 into law, enacting one of the most ambitious environmental regulatory packages in U.S. history. The amendments addressed a broad range of air quality concerns, including acid rain, smog in urban ar…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Armistice Day On November 11, 1918, World War I came to an end with the signing of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany. While not a legal instrument in the treaty sense, the armistice was a binding agreement that had massive legal and geopolitical ramifications. Its terms, including a cessation of hostilities, wi…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Social Security Amendments On November 10, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1983, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at addressing a looming fiscal crisis in the Social Security system. At the time, the program was projected to run out of funds within months, threatening b…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: 2000 Presidential Election On November 7, 2000, the United States held a presidential election that would evolve into one of the most significant legal showdowns in American history. The race between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore came down to a razor-thin margin in Florida, where just hundreds of votes se…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: John Jay First SCOTUS On November 6, 1789, John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States, marking a foundational moment in the development of the federal judiciary. Appointed by President George Washington, Jay was a prominent figure in the American founding, having co-authored The Federalist Paper…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Saddam Hussein Sentenced to Death On November 5, 2006, Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq, was sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity. The charges stemmed from the 1982 massacre of 148 Shiite men and boys in the town of Dujail, an act of collective punishment after an assassination attempt on …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Massachusetts Institutes Death Penalty for Heresy On November 4, 1646, the Massachusetts General Court enacted a law that imposed the death penalty for heresy, marking one of the most extreme expressions of religious intolerance in early American colonial history. The law required all members of the colony to affirm the B…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Elk v. Wilkins On November 3, 1884, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Elk v. Wilkins, ruling that Native Americans were not automatically U.S. citizens under the Constitution. The case involved John Elk, a Native American who had left his tribal affiliation and tried to register to vote in Omaha, Nebraska. He argued that by …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Nevada Admitted as 36th State On October 31, 1864, Nevada was officially admitted as the 36th state of the United States, a move driven as much by wartime politics as by the territory’s readiness for statehood. With President Abraham Lincoln seeking re-election and needing support for the proposed 13th Amendment to abolis…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: October Manifesto On October 30, 1905, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia issued the October Manifesto in response to mounting unrest and revolutionary fervor sweeping the Russian Empire. The 1905 Revolution had erupted earlier that year following the Bloody Sunday massacre, in which unarmed protesters were gunned down by imperia…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Black Tuesday On October 29, 1929, the United States experienced one of the most catastrophic financial events in its history—Black Tuesday, the climax of the stock market crash that helped trigger the Great Depression. While primarily remembered as an economic crisis, this day also had profound and lasting legal conseque…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Volstead Act On October 28, 1919, the Volstead Act was passed by the U.S. Congress over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, laying the legal foundation for Prohibition in the United States. Formally titled the National Prohibition Act, the law was intended to provide for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment, which had been …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Copyright Act of 1976 On October 27, 1978, key provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 officially took effect, modernizing U.S. copyright law for the first time in nearly 70 years. Although signed by President Gerald Ford in 1976, the Act delayed implementation of its core provisions until this date to allow for public an…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Nixon Vetoes War Powers Resolution On October 24, 1973, President Richard Nixon vetoed the War Powers Resolution (H.J. Res. 542), a landmark piece of legislation passed by Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over decisions to deploy U.S. armed forces abroad. The resolution came in the wake of growing public …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: PATRIOT Act Introduced On October 23, 2001, just six weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States House of Representatives introduced H.R. 3162, the bill that would become the USA PATRIOT Act. Officially titled the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: US Naval Blockade of Cuba On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a televised address announcing that the United States would impose a naval “quarantine” on Cuba. This action followed the discovery of Soviet nuclear missile installations on the island, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. The announcement mark…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Abrams v. United States Argued On October 21, 1919, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Abrams v. United States, a seminal case in the development of First Amendment jurisprudence. The case arose during the post–World War I Red Scare, when the government aggressively prosecuted speech perceived as dangerous or subve…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Saturday Night Massacre On October 20, 1973, a pivotal event in American legal and political history unfolded: the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox was fired by Solicitor General Robert Bork at the direct order of President Richard Nixon. Nixon’s decision came after both Attorney General Elliot …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Al Capone Convicted On October 17, 1931, notorious gangster Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion in federal court, marking a pivotal moment in American legal history. Capone, who had risen to national infamy during Prohibition as the head of a sprawling Chicago crime syndicate, had long evaded prosecution for his violen…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Nuremberg Executions On October 16, 1946, ten prominent Nazi war criminals were executed by hanging in the aftermath of the landmark Nuremberg Trials, held to prosecute key figures of the Third Reich for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes against peace. The executions marked the culmination of months of legal…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Clayton Antitrust Act Passed On October 15, 1914, Congress passed the Clayton Antitrust Act, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at strengthening U.S. antitrust law and curbing anti-competitive business practices. The Act was designed to build upon the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which had proven inadequate in addres…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: John Marshall Harlan Dies On October 14, 1911, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan I died, closing the chapter on one of the Court’s most powerful voices of dissent. Appointed in 1877 by President Rutherford B. Hayes, Harlan served for 34 years and left an indelible mark on constitutional law—not through majority o…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Supreme Court Denies Cert for Rosenbergs On October 13, 1952, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who had been convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage by passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The couple had been sentenced to death in 1951 following a high-pr…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Spiro Agnew Resigns On October 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned from office after pleading nolo contendere (no contest) to a charge of federal income tax evasion. This marked the first time in U.S. history that a sitting vice president resigned due to criminal charges. Agnew, who had been under investigati…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Martial Law Post-Great Chicago Fire On October 9, 1871, in the immediate aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire, the city’s mayor, Roswell B. Mason, declared a form of martial law by handing control of the city to U.S. Army General Philip Sheridan. Though no formal martial law order was issued, Sheridan exercised sweeping au…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Bruno Hauptmann Indicted On October 8, 1934, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was indicted for the murder of 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr., the son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. The case, often referred to as the “Crime of the Century,” began in March 1932 when the child was kidnapped from the Lindbergh home in Hopewell…
  continue reading
 
What’s a Government Shutdown and Why Are We In One? A government shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass annual spending bills or a stopgap continuing resolution (CR) to keep agencies funded. No funding = no authority to operate = federal workers furloughed, services paused, and chaos for agencies and contractors. The House has passed a CR tha…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: O.J. “Not Guilty” On October 3, 1995, a Los Angeles jury returned one of the most controversial and widely watched criminal verdicts in American history: O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. The trial, which lasted more than eight months, captiv…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Earl Warren Appointed On October 2, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, setting in motion one of the most transformative periods in Supreme Court history. Warren, who had previously served as Governor of California and was the Republican nominee for Vi…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: First Governmental Recognition of Same-sex Relationships On October 1, 1989, Denmark became the first country in the world to legally recognize same-sex relationships through its Registered Partnership Act. The law allowed homosexual couples to enter into civil unions that granted nearly all of the same legal protections …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: Woodrow Wilson Supports Women’s Suffrage On September 30, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson took the unprecedented step of addressing the U.S. Senate directly to urge passage of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The House of Representatives had already approved the amendment earlier that year, …
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: John André Convicted On September 29, 1780, Major John André of the British Army was convicted by a Continental Army court martial for his role in a conspiracy with American General Benedict Arnold. André had been captured behind American lines near Tarrytown, New York, carrying incriminating documents that detailed Arnol…
  continue reading
 
This Day in Legal History: John Jay Commissioned On September 26, 1789, John Jay was commissioned as the first Chief Justice of the United States, marking a foundational moment in the establishment of the American judiciary. Nominated by President George Washington and swiftly confirmed by the Senate, Jay took the helm of the newly formed Supreme C…
  continue reading
 
Loading …
Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play