Author: Stephen Rohde

An author and social justice advocate, Stephen Rohde hosts the Ms. limited series podcast, Speaking Freely: a First Amendment Podcast, in which he explores some of the most controversial free speech and free press cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced civil rights and constitutional law for over 45 years, including representing two men on California’s death row. He is the former chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and former national chair of Bend the Arc, a Jewish Partnership for Justice. He is also a board member of Death Penalty Focus. Rohde's articles and book reviews can be found at Muck Rack | For journalists and public relations.

We Can No Longer Tinker With the Machinery of Death: New ACLU Report Exposes Fatal Flaws in Capital Punishment

On the first day of his second term President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order entitled Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety. In doing so he chose to ignore the mounting and irrefutable evidence, recently highlighted in a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), that the death penalty is riddled with human error and poses the undeniable risk of executing innocent people.

At least 150 countries have abolished the death penalty, by law or by practice. Resisting the humanitarian trend around the world, the United States remains part of a gruesome club, along with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Prop 50’s Resounding Victory Shows Activism Can Be Transformed Into Voting

California voters have rebuked Republican-led efforts to gerrymander future elections by passing Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act, a temporary redistricting measure designed to create five additional Democratic seats in Congress.

If Democrats secure control of Congress next year, they will choose the House speaker, who appoints all committee chairs. Those chairs could issue subpoenas to members of the Trump administration and launch oversight investigations, which can be broadcast live for the press and the public. Democrats could pass legislation reversing the budget bill enacted by Republicans and signed by Trump on July Fourth. They could also pursue measures to rebuild and expand social and economic protections, and begin the work of healing the country.

Buoyed by this and other victories, grassroots movements are proving that the power of the people is resilient … and growing.

Democracies Die in the Shadows: How the Conservative Supreme Court Is Abusing Its Emergency Docket to Give Trump a Law-Free Zone

Today, not only are all three branches of the federal government under the control of the Republican party, they are all acting in obedient servitude to a single individual, President Donald J. Trump. To compound the problem, the U.S. Supreme Court is employing a rarely used procedure to create a law-free zone to help Trump aggressively implement his executive orders despite the fact that they have already been found unconstitutional by numerous federal judges.

A Podcast for Our Constitutional Crisis: ‘Speaking Freely’ Provides Echoes of History—and Warnings for Today

As threats to free speech continue to escalate under the Trump administration, we must do our part to defend First Amendment rights for all.

In an illuminating new 10-episode series, Speaking Freely: A First Amendment Podcast, Stephen Rohde, who has litigated and written about freedom of expression for decades, explores some of the most controversial free speech and free press cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court—looking at hot-button issues like hate speech, defamation, incitement, social media, obscenity, flag burning, espionage and academic freedom.

Listen to Speaking Freely on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or iHeart. All 10 episodes available now.

‘With Sorrow, We Dissent’: The Three Justices Who Rejected Dobbs

In their dissent, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan systematically refuted the arrogant, cruel and legally unsound majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminating a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. For the first time in American history, the Supreme Court has rescinded a constitutional right and conferred it on the states where it may be regulated, abolished and criminalized.

The dissent blasts the conservative justices for overruling Roe and Casey “for one and only one reason: because [they have] always despised them, and now [have] the votes to discard them.”

The Feminist Case for Ending the Death Penalty

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Feminists have every reason to be suspicious of capital punishment. Death penalty laws in the U.S. were enacted by legislatures dominated by men; death sentences are sought by prosecutors who are predominately men; juries that condemn defendants to death have historically been mostly male; and judges who sentence defendants to death are overwhelmingly male.

The Constitution Supports the Impeachment of Trump and Disqualification From Office

The Constitution Supports the Impeachment of Trump and Disqualification From Office

The U.S. Constitution, historical precedents, and the undisputed facts offer clear, compelling reasons to hold Trump accountable and disqualify him from ever holding federal office again.

Based on the facts we all saw with our own eyes, Trump is guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” And no elected official gets a free pass to commit impeachable offenses and then resign or leave office and escape liability for his misdeeds.