Against the Rules · October 15, 2024 · 34m

Alison LaCroix on How History Rhymes at the Supreme Court

Michael Lewis speaks with legal historian Alison LaCroix about the long, winding road to the 2018 Supreme Court decision that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and opened the door to legalized sports gambling. The conversation reveals how the ruling wasn't a sudden shift but the culmination of decades of lobbying, evolving legal arguments, and a historical ebb and flow in the Court's approach to states' rights. LaCroix draws on her research into the "interbellum" period of the Constitution to show how the struggle between state and federal power has shaped American law since the nation's founding.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Highlights

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The Winding Road to Overturning PASPA

Michael Lewis and Alison LaCroix trace the unlikely, decades-long path that led the Supreme Court to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, legalizing sports gambling.

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The Supreme Court's Shifting Embrace of States' Rights

LaCroix explains that the Supreme Court's reliance on 'states' rights' arguments has not been constant but has surged and receded depending on the political context of different eras.

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The Interbellum Constitution as a Laboratory of Federalisms

LaCroix's book highlights the period between the adoption of the Constitution and the Civil War—the 'interbellum'—as a time when multiple competing visions of federal power clashed, foreshadowing later legal battles like the one over sports gambling.

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References

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The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms — Alison L. LaCroix — Referenced as essential framework for understanding the legal history of federalism and states' rights debates.

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