By the People | For the Children
Summary
In this Amicus episode, hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern interview legal scholar Lyle Chernath about "popular constitutionalism," focusing on the 1867 case In re Turner. Chernath details how freed Black parents in Maryland used habeas corpus petitions to challenge fraudulent apprenticeship laws that re-enslaved their children. The discussion draws parallels between these historical efforts and recent mass habeas filings in Minnesota against ICE raids, arguing that ordinary citizens actively shape constitutional meaning through direct action and legal claims.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Popular constitutionalism and reclaiming the Constitution
Learned helplessness and the forgotten history of Reconstruction
Negro apprenticeship laws and the re-enslavement of Black children
Letters from freed parents and the meaning of family sovereignty
The story of Elizabeth Turner and the In re Turner case
Mass petitions to Union generals and the use of habeas corpus
Judge Hugh Lennox Bond and the power of habeas petitions
Chief Justice Chase's ruling and the end of apprenticeship laws
Why these stories were forgotten and the value of ordinary voices
Parallels to 2026: Mass habeas petitions in Minnesota
Habeas corpus as a shared civic language for ordinary people
Community resistance in Minneapolis and high-trust civic culture
Demystifying law and the threat of suspending habeas rights
Forcing courts to reckon with reality through public action
Preview of next episode and bonus content on gun rights
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