Elie Mystal

Justice Correspondent & Columnist

@ElieNYC

Elie Mystal is The Nation’s justice correspondent and the host of its legal podcast, Contempt of Court. He is also an Alfred Knobler Fellow at the Type Media Center. His first book is the New York Times bestseller Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, published by The New Press. Elie can be followed @ElieNYC.

Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic

Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic Chief Justice Roberts Portrays His Court as Heroic

(Rather than a cohort of extremists that ignores judicial precedent and makes up facts to suit its agenda.)

Feb 10, 2023 / Column / Elie Mystal

Congress Shouldn’t Clap for Tyre Nichols’s Parents—They Should Apologize

Congress Shouldn’t Clap for Tyre Nichols’s Parents—They Should Apologize Congress Shouldn’t Clap for Tyre Nichols’s Parents—They Should Apologize

Many of the people rising for Nichols’s parents during the State of the Union didn’t do enough to prevent his death—and quite a few did worse than that.

Feb 9, 2023 / Editorial / Elie Mystal

An Appeals Court Just Ruled to Give Guns Back to Domestic Abusers

An Appeals Court Just Ruled to Give Guns Back to Domestic Abusers An Appeals Court Just Ruled to Give Guns Back to Domestic Abusers

In the United States, the “right” to carry a gun now trumps the right not to be killed by an abusive partner.

Feb 8, 2023 / Elie Mystal

What the Charges Against the Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Really Mean

What the Charges Against the Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Really Mean What the Charges Against the Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Really Mean

Prosecutors chose from multiple potential charges to land on second-degree murder for the five officers who killed Nichols.

Feb 2, 2023 / Elie Mystal

Cops Lynched Tyre Nichols Because They Knew They Could

Cops Lynched Tyre Nichols Because They Knew They Could Cops Lynched Tyre Nichols Because They Knew They Could

All police, regardless of race or background, are employed to uphold a system conceived by white people, for white people, that operates to oppress Black people.

Jan 31, 2023 / Elie Mystal

Conservatives Have a Sketchy New Legal Plot to Ban the Abortion Pill

Conservatives Have a Sketchy New Legal Plot to Ban the Abortion Pill Conservatives Have a Sketchy New Legal Plot to Ban the Abortion Pill

By forum-shopping their way to a hearing before a zealot judge, conservatives hope to win an unwinnable case—and not for the first time.

Jan 26, 2023 / Elie Mystal

The Supreme Court’s Big Investigation Into the “Dobbs” Leak Was a Big Fake

The Supreme Court’s Big Investigation Into the “Dobbs” Leak Was a Big Fake The Supreme Court’s Big Investigation Into the “Dobbs” Leak Was a Big Fake

The institution whose members claim to have the power to see into the minds of dead people couldn’t figure out who leaked the Dobbs draft.

Jan 19, 2023 / Elie Mystal

Does Kathy Hochul Really Want to Go Down With Hector LaSalle’s Sinking Ship?

Does Kathy Hochul Really Want to Go Down With Hector LaSalle’s Sinking Ship? Does Kathy Hochul Really Want to Go Down With Hector LaSalle’s Sinking Ship?

The governor’s stubborn embrace of her pick for chief judge has already revealed some troubling truths about her political instincts—and beliefs.

Jan 19, 2023 / Elie Mystal

An Appeals Court Wants to Bring Back Bump Stocks, Beloved by Mass Shooters

An Appeals Court Wants to Bring Back Bump Stocks, Beloved by Mass Shooters An Appeals Court Wants to Bring Back Bump Stocks, Beloved by Mass Shooters

The decision by the Fifth Circuit is a painful lesson in why one-off weapons bans are doomed to fail in court, if not in practice.

Jan 13, 2023 / Elie Mystal

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts

The Supreme Court Is About to Make It Even Riskier to Strike The Supreme Court Is About to Make It Even Riskier to Strike

The Roberts court is famously anti-union. With Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters, it’s poised to make it easier for employers to sue striking workers.

Jan 11, 2023 / Editorial / Elie Mystal

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