U.S. Supreme Court

Archibald Cox, Watergate prosecutor who was fired under orders from President Richard Nixon when he asked for the release of secret White House tapes.

Michael Kinsley, editor of The New Republic, the weekly liberal journal whose influence extends far beyond its circulation. Kinsley is the author of the TRB column, the widely read and discussed column that appears at the front of the magazine. Kinsley is the past editor of Harper's Magazine.

Dr. Irving Rust's Planned Parenthood clinic in the South Bronx challenged a ban on federally funding family planning clinics giving information on abortion. The case went to the Supreme Court last week, and the court upheld the lower court decision. Terry talks with Dr. Rust about his work at the clinic and his experience going before the Supreme Court.

We look at the recent nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, with Duke University law professor Walter Dellinger. Dellinger's written several articles on how the nomination process has evolved throughout the nation's history. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

We discuss the upcoming confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court with New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis. In the late 50s and early 60s, Lewis covered the Supreme Court for the Times. His new book, "Make No Law," examines one of those cases, the Sullivan libel case against the Times. (It's published by Random House).

The U.S. Senate begins debate today on confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; and Senator Biden has called for hearings examining the confirmation process. Duke University Law Professor Walter Dellinger gives his critique of the confirmation process.

We get several views on this weekend's Clarence Thomas proceedings...
First, feminist and Time magazine essayist Barbara Ehrenreich (air-rike) gives her views.

Then Terry talks with Wall Street Journal reporter Michel McQueen about what African Americans think of the hearings.

Finally, we talk with Philadelphia's two editorial cartoonists: Tony Auth (rhymes with "broth") of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, and Signe Wilkinson of the Philadelphia Daily News.

News anchor Dan Rather. As anchor of the CBS Evening News, Rather's probably the most visible journalist in America. He has a new memoir called "I Remember." (It's published by Little, Brown).

We take one last look back at the Clarence Thomas confirmation process, and look ahead to what future confirmation's may be like, with law professor David Kairys (pronounced "carries"). Kairys has a long history in personal freedom and civil rights issues.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg has some thoughts on the literal meaning of "the body politic."

William Rubenstein ("steen," not "stine"), the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. He'll discuss yesterday's court decision that granted guardianship of a woman left brain-damaged by a car accident to her lesbian companion. This is the first case that has granted rights equal to a spouse to a gay or lesbian partner.

Pennsylvania's abortion law places restrictions on a woman's ability to get an abortion. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the law. Their ruling is expected to be an referendum by the court on the Roe versus Wade decision. On this edition of Fresh Air, we hear from both sides. Terry Gross talks with...
1) Kathryn Kolbert, the attorney who will be arguing against the Pennsylvania law before the high court, and

Duke law professor Walter Dellinger talks about the Supreme Court; big cases coming up in the next few months, Clarence Thomas' early performance on the Court; and how who wins the presidential election in November will effect the future of the court.

David Savage is the Supreme Court reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He's just written a book called "Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court," (John Wiley and Sons) about how the Supreme court turned conservative in the 80s, and what future decisions the court will make.

Two views of the Supreme Court's decision on "Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania V. Casey," the latest case that brought Roe V. Wade, and a woman's right to an abortion, into question. They'll react to the Court's decision to uphold most of the Pennsylvania restrictions, including parental notification for minors, a 24-hour waiting period, and provision of information about the development of the fetus and alternatives to abortion. The Supreme Court felt that notification of a husband was an undue burden, and that the precedent set by Roe V.

Phelps is the Supreme Court reporter who broke the Anita Hill story (along with NPR's Nina Totenberg) in New York Newsday. He's co-written an account of the Clarence Thomas hearings, called "Capitol Games," which looks at how the press failed to see the whole story of now-Justice Thomas, including just how conservative he really is.

Weddington is the lawyer who represented Jane Roe in the Supreme Court. Weddington was in her 20s when she argued the landmark abortion case. She has a new memoir called "A Question of Choice."

Incumbent Republican Senator Arlen Specter for the State of Pennsylvania. He's up for re-election this year, running against Lynn Yeakel. Yeakel has never served in public office, but says she was inspired to run after Specter's questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

NPR and NBC legal affairs corespondent, Nina Totenberg. In covering the Thomas/Hill Judiciary Committee hearings some conservative senators accused Totenberg of ruining the lives of both Thomas and Hill. Totenberg also brought the fact that Judge Douglas Ginsburg had smoked marijuana into the public eye, costing him a Supreme Court nomination. Totenberg's reports regularly for "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition," and "All Things Considered."

"Wall Street Journal" senior writer Jane Mayer is co-author of "Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,: She and fellow journalist Jill Abramson, investigated sexual harassment allegations against Thomas made by Anita Hill. They found other women who had had similar experiences with Thomas, but who were never called to testify. They wanted to write an objective account of the process, and they bring their harshest criticism on the Senate Judiciary Committee.