Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)

Following what the Supreme Court is actually doing can be daunting. Reporting on the subject is often only done within the context of political narratives of the day -- and following the Court's decisions and reading every new case can be a non-starter. The purpose of this Podcast is to make it as easy as possible for members of the public to source information about what is happening at the Supreme Court. For that reason, we read every Opinion Syllabus without any commentary whatsoever. Further, there are no advertisements or sponsors. We call it "information sourcing," and we hope that the podcast is a useful resource for members of the public who want to understand the legal issues of the day, prospective law students who want to get to know legal language and understand good legal writing, and attorneys who can use the podcast to be better advocates for their clients. 

*Note this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

Recent Episodes

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Recent Reviews

Sharpassesthebar

Love this podcast!

This podcast is exactly what I was looking for to be able to easily access new US Supreme Court decisions. Thank you!
aericagirard

Covers a hard to find genre

Great podcast in a scarce genre of journalism that covers the judicial branch of government. I would recommend giving listeners the full decision breakdown before reading the full opinion, or at least giving the author of the opinion before reading it. I find myself either getting confused or losing interest or losing interest because I’m confused about the opinion before the end. Knowing the opinion author at the end is unhelpful. This term has several topics with 2 or more similar cases which I find difficult to distinguish. Given more relevant opinion details as context would help me follow the law through a story given by the author and deepen my understanding the opinion.
AkaDimix_

Thanks for this service!

Podcast does what very few others do. It peels back the curtain on what the Supreme Court is doing in a very easy to access and understand way. Thanks!
Civics Geek

No discussion, just the straight reading of the opinion - YAY!

RJ Dieken is not a professional voice actor, or reader, so there are a few little mistakes here and there, but I LOVE this podcast because Mr. Dieken just reads opinions without any fluff, or explanation. For lawyers, law students, it’s perfect. Thank you for taking the time to do these readings. I would not be keeping up with these cases if I had to read them myself - but I will listen to RJ while I’m walking my pups, or doing the dishes. Brilliant!
JR7777777788

The perfect way to listen to SCOTUS decisions

The podcaster has a clear and soothing voice. Cases are read in a professional and impartial manner. There is no speculation nor drama, just the facts.
LLFauntleroy

So Convenient!

I love being spoon fed the law by an uterly impartial voice.
Samanthatwiggy

Very interesting

Great content for those who love the law!
joelaready

Quick and to the Point

I appreciate this podcast as everything I want in a podcast: good audio quality, a simple reading of something I would otherwise want to read, and no additional frills or excessive windup or commentary. As a practicing attorney, I try to read every case that SCOTUS releases. This podcast’s reading of the syllabi helps me to review after reading, making case holdings stand out in my mind a bit more. If you’re looking for a time saver while keeping up with the Court, this is it.
BigDeke

better audio

you can tell the audio has improved significantly in three separate steps in the past year — the “running lawnmower” referenced by auggie is gone, but yes for the entire 2017 session the reader was sitting in a big rig at a truck stop, sometimes with a trip pak running, but — with a $300 mic, sitting inside of a felt cowboy hat. 2018 session is being recorded at the new studio in a sound isolated room, in Missoula, MT. Quality should be pretty good now.
auggieeEsq.

Masterpiece Cake

All of these podcasts sound like the reader is sitting on a running lawnmower. It is sooooooo annoying.