Ep. 487 - Constitutional Law Professor Caroline Mala Corbin

Friendly Atheist Podcast

Caroline Mala Corbin is a professor at the University of Miami School of Law. She teaches classes involving the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment, the Religion Clauses, the Free Speech Clause, Feminism and the First Amendment, and Reproductive Rights. Her scholarship focuses on the First Amendment’s speech and religion clauses, particularly their intersection with equality issues.

We spoke about the Supreme Court's recent decisions, the fear of the legal challenges that lie ahead, what could happen when non-Christians use "religious freedom" arguments in court, and more.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast

0:00 Intro

1:36 How bad are things right now?

2:42 What was the "303 Creative" case?

7:05 Does it matter that no gay couple asked Lorie Smith to design a wedding website for them?

10:30 How worried should we be about the ruling in 303 Creative?

15:26 Can Colorado do anything to circumvent this ruling?

17:25 Should atheists or Satanists use this ruling to discriminate against Christians?

20:30 Why did Neil Gorsuch compare this case to the 1940s' Barnette case involving the Pledge of Allegiance?

28:55 How do you teach Constitutional Law when this Supreme Court continues to ignore precedent and distort existing law?

30:38: What was the Groff v. DeJoy case all about?

33:44: What does it mean that SCOTUS changed the previous minimum standard to one that requires substantial costs to a company?

42:30 What religious liberty issues are coming down the pipeline? What should we be paying attention to?

45:05 Do teachers have a First Amendment right to refuse to call students by their pronouns? Is the government controlling their speech by forcing them to acknowledge trans identities?

49:33 Why do students in Texas and Florida need their parents' permission to get out of saying the Pledge of Allegiance?

53:22 Will the expansion of "religious liberty" rights be a useful tool for non-Christians pushing for progressive interpretations of the law?

58:06 What's your prediction for the next big change to SCOTUS, barring an unexpected death?

58:53 When you meet with constitutional lawyers, what do you all talk about?

Professor Corbin's website: https://people.miami.edu/profile/f8a9f100455e712842ae5c0a6ab128ff

Her paper on the Pledge of Allegiance: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3941233

Her paper on whether teachers should have to use students' pronouns: https://www.journaloffreespeechlaw.org/corbin.pdf

Her other papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=797431

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