Tag Archives: Courts

Scholars’ Circle – Alien Enemy’s Act invoked to deport people from US without due process on civil charges – April 6, 2025

The Trump Administration is using the Alien Enemies Act to seize Venezuelans and ship them to a notorious prison El Salvador without due process. What can be done to protect and uphold the rule of law and human rights in the face of the Trump Administration’s rejection of them? What are some means of legal and political resistance when human rights are being violated? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Title IX history and compliance struggle for women’s equality in higher education – March 9, 2025

Title IX, the landmark legislation on women’s equality in higher education, was passed to equalize funding between men’s and women’s athletics. What has it achieved? Where does it fall short?

When some schools failed to implement Title IX for athletics, activists sued. We look at the landmark cases and what they have achieved. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Link to report on Title IX compliance by Champion Women Advocacy:  https://titleixschools.com/

This interview was recorded March 2024.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s violations of US Constitution – March 2, 2025

Is the US in a Constitutional crisis? Is the constitution itself a crisis? What are the specific actions of the Trump Administration that has led to this? How will the courts respond? And what is the unitary executive theory and how has it undermined the checks and balances of the system? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Deep State, Public Services in a democracy – February 16, 2025

The Trump Administration is actively seeking to destroy the public service and the protections offered by government. What does this mean for the future of the democracy and for the future of the country? Who will will stand up for public services that we’ve long come to rely on for public safety, clean water, air, health and financial protections? What is the role of the courts in preventing Trump’s complete takeover of the government. Can the courts slow down the the destruction of the public service? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Why voters should strike down Dark Money in politics – December 22, 2024

Money can distort politics. And the lack of transparency where this money comes from can further distort politics and invite corruption. Since much of the money in campaign finance is not subject to transparency laws, it has taken the name dark money. This specifically references spending by nonprofit organizations created for political spending. How much has dark money skewed American democracy? What role does transparency in spending play in ensuring the legitimacy of democracies? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This interview was recorded October 2022.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Abortion/reproductive rights & access post presidential election – November 17, 2024

In the 2024 election, voters reaffirmed the right to abortion in many states while the nation still elected an anti-abortion president, and anti-abortion majority in both the senate and the house of representatives. What does this mean for abortion rights in the US.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Reforming Supreme Court of United States ; How proxy wars are dominating international relations – August 18, 2024

With the upcoming election Democrats have proposal to reform Supreme Court with term limits, ethics oversight and many more. Our panel look at how and why people are concerned over the influence peddling related to recent decisions. Hosted by Maria Armoudian. [ dur: 35mins. ]

Why do states choose to use third parties to intervene in other nation’s civil wars and political conflicts? On today’s show we interview Andrew Mumford on the legality, efficacy, and implications of the waging of proxy warfare. Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 21 mins. ].

This interview was recorded in February 2020.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – When democracies prosecute corruptions of its former political leaders – July 7, 2024

The criminal indictments of former President Trump have created a political crisis in their unprecedented nature. Historically, U.S. presidents have not faced criminal charges, even in cases where there is a high likelihood of guilt, in large part due to respect for the office. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon embodies this norm.

What can the U.S. learn from other countries that have prosecuted former presidents? And what can we learn from American history about the prosecutions of political figures? Is the prosecution of former heads of state simply the weaponization of justice mechanisms? And how common is this political charge? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This interview was recorded August, 2023.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – SCOTUS overturns Colorado State Supreme Court decision to bar insurrectionists from its state ballot – March 10, 2024

The US Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s State Supreme Court decision to remove Donald Trump from its ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on insurrectionists holding office. What might this signal about the court and its role in the 2024 election and in electoral politics more generally?

Polls suggest that voters want to know if Donald Trump is a criminal before voting in November. But the Supreme Court’s decisions make it less likely that this occurs before the election. What does this mean for the future of the US and for democracy and the constitution? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – 14th Amendment of the US constitution, it’s history and enforcement today – February 18, 2024

Colorado disqualified former president Donald Trump from running on its ballot for President, arguing he violated the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on insurrectionists from holding public office. What do history and law say about this amendment and its purpose? What would so-called originalism mean as applied to the case? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.