Podcast Tells History of Courts Bulldozing Property Rights

IJ’s Bound By Oath podcast brings legal history to life with scholars, litigators, and, when possible, the actual litigants behind some of the Supreme Court’s weightiest constitutional rulings. Many of our listeners are lawyers and law students, but the show is produced primarily by a non-lawyer with non-lawyers firmly in mind—and is meant to provide a deep history of the doctrines behind today’s constitutional battles while also making our case for judicial engagement.

Released in December, Season 3 focuses on property rights. Though private property enjoys an exalted status in our constitutional tradition, at critical junctures the Court has cleared the way for government officials to invade private land, to restrict peaceful and productive uses of property, to seize property, and much more. And we’re all less free and less prosperous as a result.

In Episode 1, we head out into the woods in central Maine, where officers ignored No Trespassing signs and ventured far onto private land without a warrant in search of a tiny patch of marijuana. In Episode 2, we go to coal country—where entire cities were said to be literally collapsing into the pits—to unearth the origins of modern regulatory takings doctrine. Plus, there’s an unsolved murder … although we promise we’re not shifting into a true crime podcast! After that, there will be bulldozers and SWAT raids and even a few wins for the little guy. So please join us for Season 3 of Bound By Oath. We have some stories to tell.