Sunday Preview

This week we'll cover two major SCOTUS decisions, two foundational Article texts, and two big stories behind the Constitution

This week’s Sunday Preview is here! As always, the Sunday Preview is free, and so is the audio narration from me above. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber and helping to support the time and effort it takes to do these, and in return, you’ll get access to all issues, be able to listen to my narration for every lesson, have the ability to join our chat thread, and get occasional pictures of my murderous dog Goose hiding in suspicious places around my house.

---

Welcome back to our crash course in the U.S. Constitution — everything you need to know to better debate those aunts and uncles of yours on Facebook, without the law school price or the weird professors. Each issue tackles a different big idea that’s shaped American life: free speech, due process, equal protection, search and seizure, etc.. Expect real-world examples, understandable explanations, and the occasional lawyer joke (now you’ve been warned, so you can’t be upset). Whether you're a news junkie, a student, or just someone who wants to finally understand what “strict scrutiny” actually means, you’ll leave each issue a little smarter — and way more equipped to fight mistruths. The law was meant to be understood by the people. This series is here to prove it.

Here’s a preview of what we’ll be covering this week.

---

📝 But First: What We’ve Covered So Far

Y’all are doing fantastic. Constitutional law can feel overwhelming and impossible sometimes, even if learning it makes you feel accomplished and better for it — a lot like parenting, yeah? Hopefully the combination of the two has helped you understand at least one of those things a little better. Preferably the first. But hey, if you’re leaving each issue with new tips on how to solve sibling rivalries and get out of the house on time during school days…hold up, are you sure you’ve been reading the right Substack?

Here’s what we’ve covered so far in On Law & Littles, the Substack (ranked in the top 25 in Parenting and #1 On the Rise publication this past week!) that teaches you constitutional law through parenting metaphors and real-world breakdowns.

Core Concept Lessons

Article I: The U.S. Congress (available here)

Article II: Presidential Power (available here)

Article III: The Federal Courts (available here)

Article IV: This Part of the Constitution is Holding The Country Together Right Now (available here)

Article IV: Texas v. New York and $100,000 to Change the Constitution (available here)

Article IV: Does the Constitution Prevent ‘Hunger Games America’? (available here)

Article IV: Are We Having Another Baby, America? (available here)

Article IV: Utah Invades Idaho: What Happens next? (available here)

Article V: How to Change the Constitution (available here)

Fifth Amendment/Fourteenth Amendment: Due Process (available here)

Application of Core Concept Lessons to Current Events

What’s A Constitutional Crisis — And, Umm…Are We There Yet? (available here)

Martial Law: Yesterday’s Executive Order (available here)

Immigration Nation: What Just Happened in Texas (available here)

Is Sesame Street Doomed? (available here)

Secession: Is It Legal? (available here)

Stephen Miller’s “We Might Suspend Habeas” Tantrum (available here)

Thanks for the $400 Million Jet (available here)

Birthright Citizenship Comes to the Supreme Court Again (available here)

---

🗓️ Sunday Preview: Babysitting the Constitution (and Other Founding Documents)

Hey friends,

This week in On Law & Littles, we’re diving into two foundational Articles, two historical documents that laid the groundwork for America and constitutional law, and two major Supreme Court decisions from the last few days. If the Constitution were a parenting handbook (which, let’s be honest, it kind of is), this week we’re getting to the back pages and the prelude — the “oh by the way” section, the stuff they thought was self-explanatory (spoiler: it wasn’t), and the stuff they wrote before they figured out how to co-parent a country.

Here’s what’s coming:

---

🚔 Monday: The Supreme Court And A Landmark Decision on Police Use of Force

In a unanimous ruling this week in Barnes v. Felix, the Court clarified that when evaluating whether police used excessive force against a suspect, courts have to consider the full context of the situation, not just the split second when the officer pulled the trigger. It didn’t create a new standard, but it did clarify how courts should apply existing law in a way that makes it more favorable for the victims and less favorable for the police.

It’s a big shift that:

• Overturns a narrower “snapshot” test used in some circuits,

• Opens the door for current and future lawsuits in lower courts against officers when the lead-up matters, as well as raises questions about previous appeals involving the standard,

• And reinforces the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable force.

👉 We’ll break down what this ruling means for policing, accountability, and why “What led up to it?” is now a constitutionally relevant question — not just a parental one.

---

🧹 Tuesday: “Whose Rules Win When Everyone’s Yelling?” – Article VI

This is the “Because I said so” clause of the Constitution — the one that declares federal law is the Supreme Law of the Land, even when states think they can do their own thing. It’s caused unimaginable chaos over the years at both the state and federal levels, and a lot of confusion over the difference between a floor and a ceiling. And, no, we’re not talking about houses. More on that Tuesday. Along with…

Article VI does a few important things:

• Reaffirms pre-Constitution debts

• Bans religious tests for public office

• Requires the Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution, and

• Establishes federal supremacy — like the parenting equivalent of when both adults give different answers and one of you has to say, “Okay but seriously, my decision wins.”

👉 We’ll explore why this article still gets invoked in major fights (think abortion, guns, marijuana, immigration), and why it’s the quiet engine that keeps the federal government from getting steamrolled by the states.

---

⛪ Wednesday: The De-Separation of Church and State?

The Court is currently weighing a case out of Oklahoma where a Catholic charter school was approved for public funding. Yes, a religious school got approved for government dollars. Aside from the obvious question (“HUH?!) it also raises a different, slightly more nuanced one — is the divorce of Church and State…heading back to the chapel to get married?

This one’s a spicy cocktail of:

• The Establishment Clause vs. Free Exercise Clause,

• School choice politics, and

• What happens when “neutrality” means either funding all religions…or none.

👉 We’ll untangle the arguments and explore what this could mean for the future of public education, taxpayer dollars, and that whole “separation of church and state” idea we like to fight about every 20 years.

---

✍️ Thursday: “Sign Here If You Want a New Government” – Article VII

This is the fine print. The “just one sentence but changed the course of human history” article. Article VII explains how the Constitution actually became valid — once 9 of 13 states said, “Sure, let’s try this thing.”

It answers questions like:

• Why nine states? Why not all thirteen?

• What happened to the ones who dragged their feet?

• And is this even a legally sound way to replace a government?

👉 We’ll dig into the ratification debates, the shady deals that helped it pass, and why Rhode Island is the kid who didn’t sign the birthday card but still wants cake.

---

📜 Friday: “It’s Not Us. It’s You.”

Starting next week, we’ll be diving into the Amendments. That’s where things get really interesting with a whole lot of crazy caselaw. So before we get there…let’s talk about the moments before the Framers wrote the Constitution. The breakup letter, if you will. The Declaration of Independence is 1776’s ultimate mic drop: a list of 27 grievances that sound suspiciously like “You never listen to me and also you keep sending troops to sleep on my couch.”

We’ll tackle:

• What the Declaration actually says (beyond “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”),

• Whether it carries any legal weight today (spoiler: not much),

• And why it still shapes American identity, perhaps more than any other founding document, and why it laid the groundwork for so many of the constitutional amendments

👉 It’s emotional. It’s rebellious. It’s the part of the process that gets quoted at weddings and protests but never shows up on the bar exam. But it still matters — and we’ll explain why.

---

🧩 Saturday: Oops, We Forgot Rights

Before launching into the wild world of the first ten amendments, we need to have a conversation about them generally. These ten, known as the Bill of Rights, are what happens when you launch a parenting plan without agreeing on bedtime first. The original Constitution didn’t list any individual rights. People freaked out. James Madison did damage control. Everyone went to bed OK. For like a night. And then…it’s been 200+ years of toddler nighttime terrors, babies teething, and first graders asking about the legality of ghost contracts (if you know, you know).

The result?

• The first ten amendments — a crash course in “rights” (kind of)

• An historic compromise that made ratification possible,

• And a source of constant legal battles over what government can and cannot do.

👉 We’ll walk through what’s in there (yes, speech, guns, and religion, but also less sexy stuff like quartering soldiers), what’s not (privacy, equality), and why this document is the foundation for about 90% of what people think “constitutional rights” mean.

---

🔔 Subscribe So You Don’t Miss This Week!

Please consider subscribing for full access! I spend a lot of time developing these materials and writing these pieces, and I would love to have you join along for the journey!