Amna Akbar, Benjamin N. Berger Professor in Criminal Law, and Emmanuel Mauleón, associate professor of law — two leading scholars of critical legal thought — join Dean William McGeveran in a discussion about policing, social movements, abolition, and the tensions between state power and grassroots movements for justice — including the most pressing federal–state conflicts unfolding in Minnesota today.

From the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents into Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of Operation Metro Surge to state-level investigations into federal conduct and pushback against federal funding actions, Minnesota has become a key battleground over law, coercive power, and democratic resistance. Recent events have included confrontations between federal agents and protesters, widespread protests against ICE operations, and legal action by Minnesota officials challenging federal tactics and seeking accountability for alleged misconduct by federal officers. These tensions highlight deep questions about the limits of federal authority, civil liberties, community self-determination, and the law’s role in both upholding and resisting state violence.

Amna Akbar, Benjamin N. Berger Professor in Criminal Law, and Emmanuel Mauleón, associate professor of law — two leading scholars of critical legal thought — join Dean William McGeveran in a discussion about policing, social movements, abolition, and the tensions between state power and grassroots movements for justice — including the most pressing federal–state conflicts unfolding in Minnesota today.

From the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents into Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of Operation Metro Surge to state-level investigations into federal conduct and pushback against federal funding actions, Minnesota has become a key battleground over law, coercive power, and democratic resistance. Recent events have included confrontations between federal agents and protesters, widespread protests against ICE operations, and legal action by Minnesota officials challenging federal tactics and seeking accountability for alleged misconduct by federal officers. These tensions highlight deep questions about the limits of federal authority, civil liberties, community self-determination, and the law’s role in both upholding and resisting state violence.

In this episode of Minnesota Law Now, Professor Jill Hasday, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor of Law, and Professor Charlotte Garden, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law, sit down with Dean William McGeveran to break down the constitutional stakes of the SAVE Act — from voting access and equal protection to its disproportionate impact on women, particularly those navigating name changes. They also explore the law’s broader ripple effects, including potential consequences for labor and employment rights, workplace verification systems, and economic participation.

Dean William McGeveran sits down with Professor Emeritus of the University of Vermont E. Thomas Sullivan and former White House ethics counsel, Minnesota Law Professor Richard W. Painter, to discuss their book, The U.S. Presidency: Power, Responsibility, and Accountability. The conversation explores how presidential power in the United States has expanded through crises and political change, where constitutional and ethical limits still apply, and what meaningful accountability looks like in a modern presidency. Grounded in history, the book offers a clear framework for understanding the evolving balance between executive authority and the Constitution’s system of checks and balances.

Who defines presidential power — and how do responsibility and accountability shape it?