FiveThirtyEight’s top politics stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular In Politics] Thursday, March 22, 2018 [1. Chief Justice Roberts Is Reshaping The First Amendment]( [0320_RobertsSpeech 4×3]( It’s been a big year for free speech at the Supreme Court. Two of the most high-profile cases argued before the court so far have revolved around free speech rights, four other cases on the docket this term involve free speech questions, and yet another case where the issue is paramount greets the court on Tuesday. [Read more]( [2. Are We Seeing The Start Of A Liberal Tea Party?]( [Illinois3rd-4×3]( It’s hard not to compare the 2018 midterms to the 2010 midterms. A controversial president sits in the Oval Office. Resistance to his major policies spurs protests and grassroots activism. Special-election results portend a massive electoral wave that threatens to kneecap his ability to govern. So with the first primaries of 2018 taking place this month, will another 2010 phenomenon, the tea party, reappear? Quite possibly, only this time on the left. [Read more]( [3. Is President Trump Above The Law?]( [President Donald Trump]( UPDATE (March 20, 2018, 3:50 p.m.): On Tuesday, a New York judge rejected President Trump’s attempt to use presidential immunity to dismiss a lawsuit connected to sexual harassment claims from “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos. Trump’s attorneys had argued that the president was immune from lawsuits in state court, but Judge Jennifer Schecter ruled that the president doesn’t have protection from state lawsuits for unofficial conduct. Though the decision is likely to be appealed, it's the first to clarify that presidents can be sued in state as well as federal court. [Read more]( [4. Which U.S. House Race Is The Best 2018 Bellwether?]( [0322_Chat 4×3]( Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited. [Read more]( [5. The 4 Types Of Constitutional Crises]( [constitution-4×3]( People have been talking about the possibility of a “constitutional crisis” since before President Trump’s election. And in the wake of Trump’s executive order restricting the ability of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations to travel to the U.S., we’re once again hearing that term a lot. Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, used the phrase to describe reports of Customs and Border Protection officials snubbing members of Congress and refusing to abide by a judge’s ruling delaying the enforcement of the order. And the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake investigated whether Trump’s disparaging remarks about a federal judge who ruled against the administration could be considered a constitutional crisis. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Forecasts How popular is Donald Trump? [How popular is Donald Trump?]( [See all polls]( Who is winning the race for congress? [Who is winning the race for congress?]( [See all polls]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: What If Trump Fires Mueller?]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ESPN]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 147 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023.