Gutting the Voting Rights Act | Interview: Judge Roy K. Altman

In this episode of Advisory Opinions, hosts Sarah Isger and David French analyze two major Supreme Court decisions from the week: First Choice Women's Resource Centers Inc. v. Davenport and Calais v. Louisiana. The former, a unanimous 9-0 decision authored by Justice Gorsuch, affirms that a state's investigatory subpoena can be challenged in federal court before enforcement if it chills First Amendment rights, particularly regarding donor privacy. The court reaffirms precedent protecting free speech and association, even in cases involving conservative groups like crisis pregnancy centers. The second case, Calais, involves Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and results in a 6-3 decision that significantly narrows the scope of racial gerrymandering claims by requiring proof of discriminatory intent rather than relying on impact alone. Justice Alito’s majority opinion emphasizes that the Constitution generally prohibits racial discrimination, even in the context of remedying past discrimination, while Justice Kagan’s dissent warns of catastrophic consequences for minority representation in deeply polarized states like Louisiana. The hosts debate the practical implications, noting that the ruling may effectively gut Section 2 in the South, where racial and partisan voting patterns are nearly indistinguishable. The episode also covers two controversial indictments: the Southern Poverty Law Center for allegedly funding KKK informants (which the hosts dismiss as legally weak), and James Comey for allegedly threatening the president via a shell arrangement on Instagram—deemed a joke and a chilling attack on free speech. The episode concludes with a powerful interview with Judge Roy K. Altman, author of *Israel on Trial*, who applies courtroom legal methodology to six key allegations against Israel, arguing that Israel is not colonialist, not an apartheid state, and not occupying land it doesn’t have a right to govern. He frames Israel’s existence as a legitimate, indigenous decolonization effort and defends the jury system as a vital democratic institution. The hosts express deep admiration for Altman’s civic engagement and call for a cultural reinvigoration of jury duty.