A jury convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of perpetuating the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and imposed the death sentence. Tsarnaev argued the trial court judge made two legal errors. The first during the jury selection process and the second when it excluded mitigating evidence in the penalty phase. The court of appeals agreed, and it reversed Tsarnaev's death sentence. The United States government then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who agreed to hear the case.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast.

America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. In this case, the government brought criminal charges against two physicians accused of running “pill mills.” The criminal charges arise under the Controlled Substances Act, a federal narcotics statute aimed at combatting drug abuse. The government argues the Act calls for an objective standard to determine if the physicians are guilty of writing illegitimate prescriptions: Would a hypothetical reasonable physician believe the prescription was illegitimate? The two doctors argue the Act imposes a subjective standard: Did they personally have the knowledge and intent to write illegitimate prescriptions?

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast.

The only abortion provider in Mississippi sued the state over passage of the Gestational Age Act that prohibited abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation. Pro-life and pro-choice forces battled it out through friend of the court briefs, media appearances, and oral argument at the high court. The final decision of the court marked the beginning of a new front in the pro-life movement. Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. 

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

A coalition of pro-lifers strategized and worked together to bring a direct challenge to Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, the decisions that resulted in over 63 million abortions across fifty states. Long-term planning and also the hand of Providence worked together to end Roe and Casey and send the matter back to the states. Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

Virginia Prodan lived and worked in communist Romania. When she defended Christians against unjust persecution, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu declared her actions treasonous and ordered her assassination. Just seconds away from being shot, Prodan spoke to her assassin of God’s love for him and changed the course of history.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

William J. Hennessy, Jr is one of the best known artists to work in the field of courtroom artistry. From the presidential impeachment trial of Bill Clinton to Iran Contra, the DC snipers, through the man suspected of trying to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Hennessy has a front row seat to history in the making.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District: Joe Kennedy was a football coach for Bremerton School District, a public school in Washington. He had a practice of praying on the 50-yard-line at the end of each game, sometimes with students. He also held pre-game locker room prayers with players and spoke about faith in motivational talks. When the school learned of his practices, it feared those practices violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause. Kennedy stopped his locker room prayers and religious references in talks, but continued his midfield prayers. When he lost his job for that, he sued, claiming the school violated his First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion. 

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

Robert Nash is a law abiding citizen of New York. When crime started to rise in his neighborhood, he sought a license to carry a gun outside his home. But state law left it to the discretion of a judge as to whether a citizen’s reasons to carry were good enough. Nash took the case all the way to the US Supreme Court. 

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

Robyn Morgan is a former Taco Bell employee who sued her employer for unpaid wages. Her employment contract contained an arbitration clause, an agreement to resolve disputes privately, out of court. Morgan's employer tried to enforce that clause, but Morgan claims her employer relinquished its right to do so. Here, the Supreme Court must resolve a circuit split to determine when a party waives it right to force arbitration.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

John Henry Ramirez murdered Pablo Castro in 2004. He’s been on death row since 2013 and avoided execution twice before. The family of his victim are tired of the delays, but Ramirez asserts his rights under the US Constitution.

Legal Docket is made possible in part by Samaritan Ministries, a Biblical and affordable solution to health care, connecting more than 280,000 Christians across the nation who help pay one another’s medical bills. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. 

Abortion, guns, religion—our third season covers it all. Get personal with a Supreme Court artist. Understand how the latest decisions from our nation's highest court shape our immediate futures.