Rightly Decided

What happens when a Texas Supreme Court Justice walks into a podcast studio? You get an episode packed with everything from Monsters, Inc. jokes to hardcore constitutional theory.

Hosts Laura Beth Latimer and Clayton Calvin are joined by Justice James P. Sullivan (aka "Judge Sully") of the Texas Supreme Court to talk life, law, why judicial opinions don’t have to be a snooze fest, and what it takes to display judicial courage – even when it means risking an election.

Also in this episode:
  • The "Judge Sully" Origin Story: How a college football injury (and hitting Drew Brees in practice) accidentally created a Texas Supreme Court Justice.
  • Old School Process: Why he prefers printing hard copies and "drawing mustaches in the margins" over relying on the cloud.
  • Pop Culture & The Law: Why he channels his inner Antonin Scalia to inject wit, zingers, and The Big Lebowski context into legal writing.
  • The Ultimate Law Nerd Debate: Breaking down the real difference between Textualism and "Bloodthirsty Originalism."
  • The Lightning Round: Why he’d keep the even-numbered Bill of Rights amendments, his favorite pre-1950 Justice, and his definitive (originalist) Star Wars take.

Creators and Guests

Host
Laura Beth Latimer
Laura Beth Latimer is an attorney at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for the American Future. Before moving into public-interest work, she spent four years as a felony prosecutor in the Bell County District Attorney’s Office.
Guest
Clayton Calvin
Clayton Calvin is an attorney with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for the American Future. He has worked on a variety of constitutional matters, focusing mainly on separation-of-powers and federalism issues and narrowing the scope of administrative power. Prior to joining the Foundation, he worked with Colorado’s Independence Institute on constitutional and budget issues, and worked independently to limit qualified immunity and to defend the constitutional right to earn a living.

What is Rightly Decided?

Rightly Decided is a legal podcast from the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Center for the American Future, whose attorneys defend the Constitution through legal opposition to government overreach.