Sidebar: Sober Sundays

Blue laws. They are quirky and annoying outdated restrictions on activities to ensure Sunday is a day of rest and worship. Some go beyond dictating when you can or cannot get a drink, and sometimes they leave you scratching your head wondering, why in the world are they still on the books?

In this season’s fourth episode, we dive into the history and impact of the laws. We explore the story of a Brooklyn nightclub suing New York for refusing to issue a special event permit for extended hours on New Year’s Eve and the ongoing debate surrounding blue laws and their place in modern society. And we also look at the upside: how these laws give some workers the reprieve they need from a long work week.

Prepare for a joyride through a legal antique shop, just hope the lawman doesn’t catch us!

Special guests:

• Polina Buckley, art director and partner at nightclub Eris Evolution
• Jonathan Corbett, partner at Eris and a civil rights attorney
• Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University

Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro and Nina Pullano as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.

Kirk McDaniel produced this episode. Intro music by The Dead Pens. A transcript of this episode is available.

Editorial staff is Bill Dotinga, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

For more from Courthouse News:

• Let there be barbering: NY takes Sunday shave law off the books
• Postal worker brings Sabbath day-off case to high court
• Christian postal worker fighting for Sundays off loses appeal