Coast to Coast

I went to (Journalist) Law School

Last week while Donald Trump was making an appearance in a DC courtroom after being indicted again, I was in California learning all about the law. Well, not all about the law - because as my spouse and other actual lawyers will remind me, you have to go to actual law school for that - but as much as you could reasonably hope to fit in during a four-day crash course called Journalist Law School at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

Constitutional Law was one of many subject areas we covered at Journalist Law School. I've been fortunate to receive two fellowships for journalists this summer, sponsored by Loyola Law School and the UN Foundation, and I even got tote bags (which I thought were the sole purview of public radio, but what do I know?!)!

I learned a lot, hung out with journalists from around the country, and was reminded yet again that our justice system was designed with checks and balances that ultimately only work if We The People make them work. I heard concerns from several speakers, all working in various aspects of our legal system, about over-stressed, under-staffed courts and declining trust in institutions, including the justice system.

Ironically, or perhaps totally unsurprisingly, I found myself writing a story during one of my lectures (shhh, don’t tell the prof!) after news broke from Texas that a judge had ruled in favor of a group of patients and doctors who’d sued the state, arguing that medical exceptions in Texas’ abortion bans are dangerously vague. That victory for the plaintiffs was quickly put on hold, however, after the Texas attorney general’s office filed an appeal. I was sitting in a lecture on the overturning of Roe v. Wade when I saw that update, and started writing again.

A sign for Culver City, CA, along the Los Angeles-area freeway - or as my 16-year-old says, “That place the guy from NPR is always reporting from” (aka our West Coast headquarters).

It wasn’t all work, though! Over the course of the week I was able to reconnect with several friends and colleagues and even some family members in California. My husband, oldest son and I made a week of it, heading out a few days early and making several stops along the way.

My oldest sees the Pacific for the first time; I meet a cute pup in Morro Bay, CA;, and take in the scenery there; and we check out the vertical train in Los Angeles. Also, signs of the writers' strike were all over LA.

And now, it’s back to the East Coast and specifically to D.C., where I’m guest hosting Morning Edition this week. Among other things, I really enjoyed this interview today with a nurse practitioner from Rutgers University who explained what the first FDA-approved treatment specifically for postpartum depression could mean for new moms.

Always great to hang out in-studio with my colleague Steve Inskeep!