Rendell Center Podcasts

Grab the Gavel Ep5: Guest Judge Mariam Bazzi

Podcast host, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia welcomes Judge Mariam Bazzi. Judge Bazzi was appointed to the Wayne County Circuit Court in 2017 after working as an assistant prosecutor in Wayne County for more than eleven years. She currently handles criminal cases and oversees a Mental Health Court docket.

Grab the Gavel Ep4: Guest Judge Goodwin Liu

Podcast host, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, welcomes Judge Goodwin Liu, an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court. Nominated by Governor Jerry Brown. Justice Liu was sworn into office in 2011 and retained by the electorate in 2014. Before joining the state’s highest court, Justice Liu was Professor of Law and Associate Dean at the UC Berkeley School of Law. His primary areas of expertise are constitutional law, education law and policy, and diversity in the legal profession.

Grab the Gavel Ep 3: Guest Judge Laurel Beeler

Podcast host, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, welcomes Judge Laurel Beeler, a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In 2006, Beeler received the Northern District of California Judicial Conference’s Public Service Award. In 2012, she was also named one of The Recorder’s Women Leaders in Law. She additionally received BASF’s Barristers Choice Award in 2015 and the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association’s Magistrate Judge of the Year award in 2018. In this episode, learn more about Judge Beeler’s early years and the path that led her into the law.

Grab the Gavel Ep 2: Guest Judge Ellen Judith Huvelle

Podcast host, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, welcomes Judge Ellen Judith Huvelle, an inactive Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. During her career she has overseen several significant cases. In a case decided in May 2001, Huvelle upheld federal regulations that restrict the sale of consumers' names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers.

Grab the Gavel Ep 1: Guest Judge Theodore McKee

Podcast host, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, welcomes Judge Theodore Alexander McKee, a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In this episode they discuss their childhood years and the mentors and influencers they met along the way to and during their judicial careers.

Ep 6: Elections

Rendell Center co-founder and Federal Circuit Court Judge Marjorie "Midge" Rendell moderates a discussion about policies and practices pertaining to the 2020 election in November. Joining Judge Rendell is David Thornburgh, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy in Philadelphia, PA.

This podcast will give you timely civics insights about the 2020 election process, mail-in balloting, and other related topics. These perspectives are ideal for educators, government policy students and professionals, and those interested in the voting process.

Ep 5: Executive Power and the Judicial Branch

Rendell Center co-founder and Federal Circuit Court Judge Marjorie "Midge" Rendell moderates a discussion about Executive Power and how it impacts the Judicial Branch of government and the Supreme Court. Joining Judge Rendell is Judge John Jones, the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

This podcast will give you actual perspectives on how judges judge. These are invaluable civics insights for educators, law students, and those interested in the judiciary process.

Ep 4: Legal Principles Regarding Police Accountability

Rendell Center co-founder and Federal Circuit Court Judge Marjorie "Midge" Rendell moderates a discussion about legal principals regarding police accountability. Joining Judge Rendell is Judge Kent A. Jordan, Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

This podcast will give you actual perspectives on how judges judge. These are invaluable civics insights for educators, law students, and those interested in the judiciary process.

Ep 3: First Amendment Rights vs Laws Prohibiting Discrimination

Rendell Center co-founder and Federal Circuit Court Judge Marjorie "Midge" Rendell moderates a discussion on First Amendment rights and rulings on laws that prohibit discrimination. Judge Rendell discusses the the Masterpiece Cake case and the Fulton v. the City of Philadelphia case with Thomas L. Ambro, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

This podcast will give you actual perspectives on how judges judge. These are invaluable civics insights for educators, law students, and those interested in the judiciary process.

Ep 2: The Impact of COVID on the Courts

Rendell Center co-founder and Federal Circuit Court Judge Marjorie "Midge" Rendell moderates a discussion on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the U.S. court system. Joining Judge Rendell is U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg.

This podcast will give you actual perspectives on how judges judge. These are invaluable civics insights for educators, law students, and those interested in the judiciary process.