SUPREME DICTA

SUPREME DICTA

The majority and the dissent, side by side. One landmark Supreme Court decision at a time: the facts, the strongest case for the majority, the strongest case for the dissent, and what happened next, straight from the opinions.

Latest episode

Gideon v. Wainwright: Where the Right to an Appointed Lawyer Came From

No justice dissented in Gideon. So the strongest case for the other side comes from the case the Court overruled. Justice Black's opinion for the Court, and the other side from Betts v. Brady and Justice Harlan, side by side.

Read the side-by-side summary · Full transcript

More episodes

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Almost everyone knows the Miranda warnings. Almost no one knows that four justices dissented.

Side-by-side summary · Full transcript

All cases

How the show works

One decision

Each episode takes a single Supreme Court case, from the facts that started it to the opinion that decided it.

Both sides, at their strongest

The majority and the dissent get the same fair hearing, in the justices' own words, so you can weigh them yourself.

Straight from the opinions

Every quote is checked against the official U.S. Reports and cited by page, with links to read the full opinion.

Watch on YouTube

Full episodes and 60-second Shorts are on the Supreme Dicta YouTube channel.