Opening Arguments

Liz and Andrew break down several developments in the ongoing effort to hold Trump accountable, including the back-and-forth between Jim Jordan's "Committee on Oversight" and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. Oh, and is Mike Pence going to testify to Jack Smith's Grand Jury? Listen and find out! Along the way we take a deep dive into Congress's power to conduct investigations, the Tenth Amendment, how bad originalism is, and much, much more! Notes OA 708 https://openargs.com/oa708-stormy-daniels-strikes-back/ Politico: Manhattan Trump grand jury set to break for a month https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/29/manhattan-trump-grand-jury-set-to-break-for-a-month-00089422 AMI non-prosecution agreement https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1119501/download Liz Wonkette https://www.wonkette.com/new-house-committee-to-answer-burning-questions-what-did-nancy-pelosi-coup-and-when-did-she-coup-it Jordan 3/20 Letter to Bragg https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-03-20-jdj-bs-jc-to-bragg-re-trump-investigation.pdf Bragg Response Letter March 23, 2023 https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23720988/20230323-letter-response-from-manhattan-da.pdf Jordan Response Letter March 25 https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-03-25-jdj-bs-jc-to-bragg-re-subpoena-and-response.pdf Watkins v. US, 354 U.S. 178 (1957) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=562722361999206621 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew break down (former) Fox News producer Abby Grossberg's lawsuit against Fox, and what implications it may have for Dominion's pending $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox. Notes OA 694: Dominion v. Fox: Defamation Suits Are Hard But Shutting Up is Harder https://openargs.com/oa694-dominion-v-fox-defamation-suits-are-hard-but-shutting-up-is-harder/ OA 705: Can Dominion Really Take Down Fox News?? https://openargs.com/oa705-can-dominion-really-take-down-fox-news/ FMLA https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/chapter-28 Upjohn v. US, 449 U.S. 383 (1981) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5153750416071396937 Front, Inc. v. Khalil, 24 N.Y.3d 713 (2015) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12991806128851668843 Dominion MSJ https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/redacted-documents-in-dominion-fox-news-case/dca5e3880422426f/full.pdf Fox TRO Motion v. Abby Grossberg https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=qP3YkE2tdjchZ45eMXvjLA== Fox Emergency Motion to Seal https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940.9.0.pdf Order Denying Motion to Seal https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940.11.0.pdf Grossberg Amended Complaint v. Fox https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940.12.0.pdf Grossberg Original Complaint v. Fox https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940/gov.uscourts.nysd.595940.1.0.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Liz and Andrew break down the strange criminal indictment of Guo Wengui a.k.a. a lot of other names, grifter to the stars and patron to Steve Bannon, and discuss the larger implications of the far-right merger with anti-CCP grifters. You won't want to miss it! Notes OA700 https://openargs.com/oa700-rumors-of-trumps-testimony-in-strzok-suit-may-be-greatly-exaggerated/ Steve Wynn indictment https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63317117/attorney-general-of-the-united-states-of-america-v-wynn/ Guo Wengui bankruptcy docket (CT) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ctb.307068/gov.uscourts.ctb.307068.78.0.pdf Guo Wengui indictment https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1574491/download -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

With a slight break from Trump, Liz and Andrew turn to the pernicious effects of Trump's many, many appointments to the federal judiciary and how it's almost impossible to distinguish nonsense from reality any more. Specifically, the two break down Missouri v. Biden, an absolutely insane lawsuit that somehow has convinced the attorneys general of two states to sign on with a cavalcade of weirdo anti-vax COVID deniers and losers. We talk about what that development means for the future of the rule of law. Notes OA 25 https://openargs.com/oa25-jill-stein-decide-presidency-no/ OA 689 https://openargs.com/oa689-lawsuit-or-interpretive-dance-why-not-both/ OA 707 https://openargs.com/oa707-peter-navarro-gets-spanked-by-government-in-presidential-records-case-with-major-implications-for-trump/ OA 708 https://openargs.com/oa708-stormy-daniels-strikes-back/ OA 710 https://openargs.com/oa710-lock-him-up/ Doughty opinion in Louisiana v. Becerra (COVID vaccine mandate injunction) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.185837/gov.uscourts.lawd.185837.28.0_1.pdf Missouri v. Biden Complaint https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.84.0.pdf Missouri v. Biden Order Denying Motion to Strike https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.219.0.pdf Missouri v. Biden Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief Supporting PI https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.214.0.pdf Missouri v. Biden Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 1 (Proposed Findings of Fact) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.214.1_1.pdf Defendants’ Motion to Strike in Missouri v. Biden https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.219.0.pdf Order in Missouri v. Biden Denying Motion to Strike https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.224.0.pdf Washington Post debunking Media Research Center and “The Polling Company” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/21/lawmakers-cite-fishy-poll-suggest-laptop-tale-would-have-swayed-vote/ Pew Research 2021 survey https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2021/06/14/facebook-posts-in-early-days-of-biden-administration-reflect-ideological-divide/ -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

In our third of three episodes about potential criminal charges against Donald Trump, Liz and Andrew break down recent developments in the Jack Smith grand juries, including an order by Judge Beryl Howell requiring one of Trump's lawyers to testify against him, as well as an update on those other cases. In the Patreon bonus, Liz and Andrew break down the recent Report and Recommendation by Special Master Barbara Jones in the search warrant of James O'Keefe and Project Veritas. Notes OA 710 https://openargs.com/oa710-lock-him-up/ OA 711 https://openargs.com/oa711-lock-him-up-2-the-secret-of-the-ooze/ NY Article 175 https://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article175.php NY CPL 30.10(2)(b) https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10 Bobb certification https://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022.08.30-DOJ-Exhibits.pdf DC Circuit Notice on Preferred Typeface https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/Announcement+-+Notice+-+Preferred+Typefaces+for+Briefs/$FILE/noticePreferredTypefacesForBriefs.pdf FRAP 35 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frap/rule_35 Special Master Barbara Jones Report and Recommendation https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.52.0.pdf NYT on Manhattan GJ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/nyregion/trump-grand-jury-delay.html?smid=tw-share -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Yesterday, Liz and Andrew brought you a bit of a bummer - but an accurate one - regarding the pending indictment of Donald Trump in New York. Today, they bring you the good news about yet another pending indictment in Fulton County, Georgia and Trump's desperate (and likely failing) attempts to stop it. You won't want to miss it! Notes Anna Bower Lawfare explainer https://www.lawfareblog.com/everything-you-ever-wanted-know-about-georgia-special-purpose-grand-juries-were-afraid-ask Atlanta Journal-Constitiution interview with foreperson https://www.ajc.com/politics/exclusive-behind-the-scenes-of-the-trump-grand-jury/6CXLKTFMKNDU7O6TER4B7UTZPE/ Georgia RICO statute, Title 16, Chapter 14 https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-16/chapter-14/ Ga. Code 16-14-3 https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-16/chapter-14/section-16-14-3/ Ga. Code 16-10-20 https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2021/title-16/chapter-10/article-2/section-16-10-20/ Trump motion to quash https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23718113-ex-parte-fulton-county-grand-jury-03-20-2023-102331-37306996-f8b43da6-144b-4544-ab53-4095c1c5f36d State v. Lampl, 770 S.E.2d 629 (Ga. 2015) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13555564276998303856 Connally v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391 (1926) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9143673394692693115 Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1557224836887427725 Skilling v. U.S., 561 U.S. 358 (2010) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6709078768346680936 State v. Bartel, 479 S.E.2d 4 (1996) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2075548165303328436 Kenerly v. State, 715 S.E.2d 688 (Ga. App. 2011) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3363311285530927015 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com  

THIS IS IT! Liz and Andrew answer all your legal questions regarding the anticipated imminent indictment of Donald Trump. Notes OA 708 https://openargs.com/oa708-stormy-daniels-strikes-back/ OA 621 https://openargs.com/oa621-the-fbi-goes-to-mar-a-lago-this-is-big/ 18 U.S.C. § 2071 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2071 NY Section 570  https://ypdcrime.com/cpl/article570.php  CPL 190.50 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/190.50 18 U.S. Code § 3056 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3056 Tekni-Plex v. Meyner & Landis, 674 NE 2d 663 (NY 1996) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10926959041167260833 Liz ATL on Tacopina https://abovethelaw.com/2023/03/trump-lawyer-joseph-tacopina-formerly-consulted-with-stormy-daniels-whoopsie/ Rice and Nuzzi New York Magazine article https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/hunter-biden-laptop-investigation.html Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Who Can Be President of the United States?: Candidate Hillary Clinton and the Problem of Statutory Qualifications,’ 5(1) British Journal of American Legal Studies 95 (2016) (peer review) Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Secretary Clinton Can Relax Because Section 2071 Disqualification Does Not Apply to the Presidency: A Response to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Cause of Action (with a Short Reply from Attorney General Mukasey)’ (2015) -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law –Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew take a break from the world of politics (except for Patrons) to bring you the history and law surrounding "March Madness," including whether it was legal to fill out your bracket and how the NCAA approaches its trademarks. Along the way, we'll learn how the current right-wing Supreme Court is going to use a gambling decision to further its activist agenda. If you like basketball -- and even if you don't! -- you won't want to miss it! The Patreon bonus is all about Jenna Ellis and Trump's legal team, and Liz brings the funny. Notes NBC Sports, History of March Madness https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/where-did-march-madness-name-come NCAA Trademarks https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2013/12/2/ncaa-trademarks.aspx 15 U.S.C. § 1125 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 Kizzang lawsuit https://dlbjbjzgnk95t.cloudfront.net/0899000/899955/https-ecf-insd-uscourts-gov-doc1-07315826374.pdf Mitchell Stabbe https://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2023/03/articles/march-madness-and-advertising-use-of-ncaa-trademarks-2023-update-part-1/ NCAA Brackets guidelines https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2021/10/12/2021-22_Use_of_NCAA_Championship_Brackets_and_Limits_on_Advertising.pdf 28 U.S.C. § 3701 et seq. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/part-VI/chapter-178 49 U.S. Code § 41713 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/41713 Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, 138 S. Ct. 1461 (2018) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6336903476694992840 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law –Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew tackle the rumors swirling around the Manhattan DA's office that Donald Trump is about to be indicted in connection with the 2016 payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Will Stormy indeed be the one to take down Trump? Listen and find out! In the Patreon bonus, Liz and Andrew update you on Alex Jones's bankruptcies. Notes OA 154: Stormy Daniels is a Legal Genius! https://openargs.com/oa154-stormy-daniels-is-a-legal-genius/ DB Story https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-an-offer-to-testify-before-a-new-york-grand-jury-signals-trouble-for-trump Karen McDougal story https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/23/596257288/former-playboy-model-spills-alleged-affair-details-trump-tried-to-pay-her AMI non-prosecution agreement https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1119501/download 52 U.S.C., Subchapter I https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/subtitle-III/chapter-301/subchapter-I  NY Penal Law 175.05 https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2022/pen/part-3/title-k/article-175/175-05/ New York Penal Law 65.10 https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/chapter-penal/part-2-sentences/title-e-sentences/article-65-sentences-of-probation-conditional-discharge-and-unconditional-discharge/section-6510-conditions-of-probation-and-of-conditional-discharge N.Y. Penal Law 255.17 https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2022/pen/part-3/title-o/article-255/255-17/ NY CPL 30.10 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10 11 USC § 523 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/523 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew break down the DOJ's sweeping win "in replevin" against Trump loyalist goon Peter Navarro. What's replevin? Why do we care? Listen and find out for this case that has significant implications for the Presidential Records Act, which in turn may have significant implications for any former Presidents who have refused to give back their Presidential records. We begin with a terrifying development in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, currently on the desk of Liz's sworn enemy, Judge Kacsmaryk. Notes Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. the FDA https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65768749/alliance-for-hippocratic-medicine-v-us-food-and-drug-administration/?order_by=desc Cato Institute on Navarro https://www.cato.org/commentary/spectacular-economic-ignorance-peter-navarro Presidential Records Act, 44 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/chapter-22 Stern Letter to Navarro  https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941.1.4_1.pdf DOJ Civil Division Letter to Navarro https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941.1.6_1.pdf Irving Letter https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941.1.5_3.pdf US v. Dean, 989 F.2d 1205 (D.C. Cir. 1993) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1562611946262688408 Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391 (1976) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10520682160164643446 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Liz and Andrew break down the latest LOLsuit from Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. You may recall Gen. Flynn from screeching "Lock Her Up!" on the campaign trail while surreptitiously serving as an unauthorized lobbyist for Turkey's brutal authoritarian regime. You may recall him as a pro-Russian stooge who lied about being a pro-Russian stooge. And you may recall him as having been pardoned by Donald Trump after Bill Barr tried to rig the Department of Justice in his favor. However you remember this bozo, you'll be shocked to discover that he now thinks he deserves FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS for... having friends in high places. Fortunately, his lawsuit doesn't stand a chance in hell of succeeding, as Liz and Andrew make clear. Notes Flynn complaint https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.411523/gov.uscourts.flmd.411523.1.0.pdf OA Amicus Brief http://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020.06.09-Amicus-Brief.pdf OA Amicus Show (Episode 394) https://openargs.com/oa394-the-amicus-show/ OA 689 https://openargs.com/oa689-lawsuit-or-interpretive-dance-why-not-both/ 22 U.S.C. § 618 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/618 18 U.S.C. § 371 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/951 2019 DOJ Report on Crossfire Hurricane https://www.justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf 28 U.S.C. Chapter 171 https://t.co/sFiQAXafWI 28 U.S.C. § 2401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2401 Form 95 https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/claim-damage-injury-or-death 28 U.S.C. § 2675 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2675 Sconiers v. US, 896 F.3d 595 (3d Cir. 2018) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8262809632148475317 Flynn v. Pelosi https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61634816/flynn-v-pelosi/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc OA 696 https://openargs.com/oa696-in-which-james-okeefe-pretends-to-be-a-journalist/ -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

THIS IS AN EPISODE YOU'LL WANT TO SHARE! Today, Liz and Andrew break down the latest developments in Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News. You know some of the salacious details that have been leaked, but you don't know just how badly Fox has mangled the law. You won't want to miss it! Notes Bartiromo-Fratto emails https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23697625-bartiromo-fratto-summary-redacted Exhibits - Delightfully mad emails https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23698221/redacted-149-200.pdf Dominion MSJ https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/redacted-documents-in-dominion-fox-news-case/dca5e3880422426f/full.pdf Dominion Reply Supporting SJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-08-PUBLIC-Dominion-SJ-Reply-Brief-Fox_Redacted.pdf Fox News Reply Brief Supporting SJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/25-FNN-SJ-Reply-Brief.pdf Edwards v. National Audobon Society, 556 F.2d 113 (1977) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=515638952298472646 Hogan v. Herald Co., 84 A.D.2d 470 (N.Y. 4th App.Div. 1982) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14598091554089425482 Brian v. Richardson, 660 N.E.2d 1126 (N.Y. 1995) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15437079674012061938 BONUS! Page v. Oath Inc., 270 A.3d 833 (Del. 2022) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3804284272223089234 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today, Liz and Andrew break down how the Democrats are playing offense with respect to Republican efforts to gaslight America and whitewash the findings of the January 6th Committee. Specifically, they tell you about the 316-page report on GOP Witnesses that Jim Jordan is trying (and failing) to call whistleblowers. You won't want to miss this breakdown! But first, Andrew has to update you on the latest right-wing lies about that dingus Raland Brunson and his nonsense pleadings in the Supreme Court. Notes OA 668 https://openargs.com/oa668-a-new-case-right-wing-sources-are-blatantly-lying-about/ OA 692 https://openargs.com/oa693-mike-pence-cant-testify-against-trump-cause-hes-a-senator-now/ AP, “Supreme Court Will Not Hear Case to Oust Biden, Reinstate Trump” https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-supreme-court-trump-biden-election-850929590422 House Judiciary Report on GOP Witnesses https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2023-03-02_gop_witnesses_report.pdf 5 U.S.C. § 2303 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/2303 18 U.S.C. § 1752  https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752 D.C. Code § 10–503.16 https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/10-503.16 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today, Liz and Andrew provide an update on the new Republican broadside against Fani Willis in Georgia before breaking down the law around bad April Fool's Day jokes. Notes New York Times article on Indiana legislation https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/us/republicans-district-attorneys-trump.html Georgia SB 92 https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/216780 GA Constitution Art. VI, Sec. VIII, Paragraph II https://law.justia.com/constitution/georgia/conart6.html McLaughlin v. Payne, 761 S.E.2d 289 (Ga. 2014) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18437690967547452063 29 U.S. § 216 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/216 Fast v. Cash Depot, Ltd. http://hr.cch.com/ELD/FastCash110718.pdf Gill lawsuit https://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/100-Grand-lawsuit.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com  

Today, Liz and Andrew break down the latest developments in Blassingame v. Trump, a set of consolidated cases pending in the DC Circuit that will affect whether Donald Trump will have to compensate the victims of his attempted January 6th coup. You won't want to miss this one! Notes US amicus brief in Blassingame v. Trump https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510.1218497852.0_4.pdf 42 U.S.C. 1985 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1985 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew break down two stories that are all over the news: a proposed new bill in Texas that is an assault on both marriage equality and families. And then we have an update on how Dominion is doing in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News. You won't want to miss it! Notes Texas HB 2889 https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/HB02889I.htm TX Biennial Property Tax Report 2020-2021 https://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/Biennial-Property-Tax-Report-Texas.pdf 2005 IRS bulletin - Frivolous Tax arguments https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb05-14.pdf 2007 IRS bulletin - more frivolous Tax arguments https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb07-14.pdf Flora v. US, 362 U.S. 145 (1960) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13305625317215905 Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391 (1938) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1082206999326140100 US v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15904210835021146815 Equal Dignity for  Married Taxpayers Act https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3833/text?r=98&s=1 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today, Liz and Andrew take a deep dive into Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, a case that the Supreme Court just granted certiorari to review. Is the conservative Roberts court going to gut Liz Warren's signature accomplishment, the CFPB? Listen and find out! (Yes, Andrew screwed up the numbering so you got episode #700 before #699... now everything should be good!) Notes CFPB v. CFSAA cert petition and 5th Circuit opinion https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-448/246429/20221114155607407_No.%20CFPB%20et%20al.%20v.%20CFSA%20et%20al.pdf Responsible lending https://www.responsiblelending.org/research-publication/fact-v-fiction-truth-about-payday-lending-industry-claims The Victims of Payday Lending https://www.responsiblelending.org/issues/victims-payday OA 126 https://openargs.com/oa126-mick-mulvaney-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/ 12 C.F.R. § 1041.8 https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1041/8/ 12 U.S.C. § 5511 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/5511 Seila Law, LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 207 (2020) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14557349188638541514 12 U.S.C. 5497 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/5497 OPM v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414 (1990) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1013607894853666546 Kate Stith, Congress’s Power of the Purse, 97 Yale L.J. 1343 (1988) https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/16554/62_97YaleLJ1343_June1988_.pdf?sequence=2 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

You may have seen the news accounts that a court ordered Donald Trump (and FBI director Chris Wray) to be deposed in connection with a lawsuit. Well, today, Liz and Andrew break down the DOJ's ongoing battle with Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. Why is the government still fighting this? Will they really get to depose Trump? Listen and find out! Notes 5 U.S.C. 552a https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/552a Lisa Page's story to Molly Jong-Fast https://www.thedailybeast.com/lisa-page-speaks-theres-no-fathomable-way-i-have-committed-any-crime-at-all Hatch Act https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2015-title5/html/USCODE-2015-title5-partIII-subpartF-chap73-subchapIII.htm#:~:text=%C2%A77321.,political%20processes%20of%20the%20Nation Strzok response https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963.88.0.pdf EO 13233 https://sgp.fas.org/news/2001/11/eo-pra.html Strzok opposition https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963.100.0.pdf Strzok filing re motion to quash subpoenas for Trump and Wray, apex doctrine https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963/gov.uscourts.dcd.209963.88.0.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Liz and Andrew break down a much-requested case, Gonzalez v. Google, that the Supreme Court just heard on oral argument. Will it break the Internet? Listen and find out! Notes Legal Eagle video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzNo5lZCq5M&ab_channel=LegalEagle  OA 390 https://openargs.com/oa390-trumps-war-on-twitter-a-deep-dive-on-section-230/ OA 451 https://openargs.com/oa451-section-230-and-tulsis-transphobia/ 47 U.S.C. § 230 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230 Malwarebytes, Inc. v. Enigma Software, 5902 U.S. ____ (2020) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-1284_869d.pdf Google Opp. Brief https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1333/252127/20230112144706745_Gonzalez%20v.%20Google%20Brief%20for%20Respondent%20-%20FINAL.pdf Petitioners’ Brief https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1333/247780/20221130182721608_GonzalezPetMerits.pdf Respondents’ Brief https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1333/252127/20230112144706745_Gonzalez%20v.%20Google%20Brief%20for%20Respondent%20-%20FINAL.pdf Petitioners’ Reply https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1333/254251/20230207191257813_GonzalezRepyMeritsPrinted.pdf Government Brief https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-1333/249441/20221207203557042_21-1333tsacUnitedStates.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today is one of those good news/bad news episodes. In good news, Arizona has shined some light on a report that election denier Mark Brnovich tried to bury regarding (nonexistent) voter fraud and the 2020 election. In bad news, Florida is trying to overturn the Supreme Court because Ron DeSantis hates the press. And in great news... well, you'll just have to listen and find out! Notes OA 688 https://openargs.com/oa688-oh-no-the-privilege-is-mine/ Florida HB 951 https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/951/BillText/Filed/PDF Florida HB 991 https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/991/BillText/Filed/PDF Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1972)https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11598860258825518787 Federal flag bill https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-120/pdf/STATUTE-120-Pg572.pdf#page=1 FL flag bill http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.304.html AZ Appellate decision in Lake v. Hobbs https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Lake-COA-Ruling.pdf  Liz Wonkette on Kari Lake and Ryan Heath https://www.wonkette.com/breaking-kari-lake-still-not-governor Executive Summary https://mcusercontent.com/cc1fad182b6d6f8b1e352e206/files/4ca5c5d9-3254-2b94-dbd8-bd2a6ea8b7c3/Election_Review_Summary.pdf Email draft correcting Brnovich https://mcusercontent.com/cc1fad182b6d6f8b1e352e206/files/8295e52f-b336-c17e-8cbd-3c0255c99ab6/Kanefield_Fann_Document.01.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew visit the strange world of James O'Keefe and his agitprop outfit, Project Veritas. Along the way we'll learn about a bunch of cases, the law of prior restraint, and much, much more! Notes Project Veritas $22 million https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/272894856 Federal Docket O'Keefe v. Twitter https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59899639/okeefe-iii-v-twitter-inc/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc NY Appellate docs - O’Keefe v. Twitter https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=OihBJQsmc7aFb4qIIdOKeA== Liz ATL on O’Keefe-CNN https://abovethelaw.com/2021/04/project-veritas-gonna-sue-twitter-for-defamatory-section-230-censorship-and-first-amendment-assault-or-something/ Project Veritas Docket (00813) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61377333/parties/in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021/ Project Veritas Board of Directors https://www.projectveritas.com/news/statement-from-the-project-veritas-board-of-directors/ -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today, Liz and Andrew tackle some listener feedback, resume their discussion of the crime-fraud exception, and end with perhaps Ken Paxton's craziest lawsuit (and that's saying a lot)! Notes Federalist Papers No. 68 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp Crime/fraud NYT story https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/us/politics/trump-lawyer-classified-documents-investigation.html Liz ATL of Paxton’s ethics and counter-investigation https://abovethelaw.com/2022/05/tx-ag-ken-paxton-launches-bogus-investigation-of-state-bar-still-winds-up-with-ethics-lawsuit/ Texas v. Garland https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.373284/gov.uscourts.txnd.373284.4.0_1.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today is one of those shows you'll want to share around. EVERYONE is talking about the bombshell revelations from Fox News, but only Liz and Andrew can help you understand how we got here and what it all means! Notes Original Dominion-Fox Complaint https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20527880-dominion-v-fox-news-complaint Dominion lawsuit against OAN https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21039565/dominion-oan-complaint.pdf Dominion Motion for Summary Judgment (MSJ) https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/redacted-documents-in-dominion-fox-news-case/dca5e3880422426f/full.pdf DE State docket https://courtconnect.courts.delaware.gov/cc/cconnect/ck_public_qry_doct.cp_dktrpt_docket_report?case_id=N21C-03-257&begin_date=&end_date=#dockets Fox Corp MSJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Redacted-Public-Version-Fox-Corp-Opening-MSJ-Brief.pdf Fox News MSJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Redacted-Public-Version-FNN-Opening-MSJ-Brief.pdf Fox News anti-SLAPP counterclaim https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PUBLIC-VERSION-FNNs-First-Amended-Counterclaim-Accepted.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today is a Rapid Response Friday, and Liz and Andrew break down all the developments with the two grand juries convened by Jack Smith to investigate Donald Trump's various crimes. Oh, and we also analyze the released portions of the Fulton County grand jury report which reveals a bit more than you might think! We've also learned that a bunch of Trump lawyers have been subpoenaed to testify or otherwise the subject of grand jury questions, and you may be wondering how that's possible, and we walk you through when privilege is.. not privilege! Notes Unredacted portions of Fulton County SPGJ Report https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23683158/2022-ex-000024-ex-parte-order-of-the-judge-5.pdf FRE 501 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_501 Bobb says she’s not a lawyer in documents case https://www.salon.com/2022/10/03/attorney-lawyers-up--and-says-shes-willing-to-cooperate-with-doj-in-mar-a-lago-case-report/  NYT Epshteyn story https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/us/politics/trump-lawyer-classified-documents-investigation.html -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

In today's episode, Andrew and Liz briefly discuss the breaking news that Mike Pence intends to assert the "speech or debate clause" as a reason to protect insurrectionists, delve into Ken Paxton's latest settlement, and update you on the World's Dumbest Supreme Court litigants! Notes Paxton settlement https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23607998-211027_mtn-to-abate Whistleblower Petition https://thetexan.news/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Paxton-Whistleblower-Lawsuit-Documents-Through-Feb.-9-Filing.pdf Appellate court decision https://cases.justia.com/texas/third-court-of-appeals/2021-03-21-00161-cv.pdf?ts=1634818950 Paxton bar complaint https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D8OH23E-E4hD7Bgn0cY_zEQxdqFtF8u5/view Webster dismissal https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/executive-management/SBOT%20v.%20BW%20Letter%20Ruling.pdf Raland J. Brunson cert petition https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-380/243739/20221027152243533_20221027-152110-95757954-00007015.pdf Petition for Rehearing https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-380/253190/20230126114616761_rehearing%2022-380.pdf Supreme Court Rule 44 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/supct/rule_44 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

Today, Liz and Andrew break down a number of stories, all of which are bad news for Donald Trump, and we put all of them into the context of Trump's crimes. We also preview the forthcoming release of part of the Fulton County, GA special purpose grand jury report. Phew! First, Liz continues to update us on the E. Jean Carroll litigation, this time focusing on Trump's post-discovery stunt in which he now is willing to offer his DNA. Find out why this is a disingenous stunt and find out all the law explaining why. Then we learn more -- much more -- than you ever wanted to learn about Trump's document retention and destruction policies. Hint: it involves nightlights and toilets, and no, we are not making that up. Notes Carroll II Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65895581/carroll-v-trump/?order_by=desc Jan 6 Committee Report https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf Feb 10 Trump "Truth" https://truthsocial.com/users/realDonaldTrump/statuses/109844321125474837 McBurney order https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23608438/2022-ex-000024-ex-parte-filing-12.pdf -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

In today's episode, Liz and Andrew break down all the developments in the two federal criminal investigations pending about former President Donald Trump that have been delegated to Special Counsel Jack Smith. First, in the documents case, Liz and Andrew discuss why -- all of a sudden -- Trump's team seems to be voluntarily turning over documents, along with a grand jury appearance by Trump's lawyer, Evan "the Cork" Corcoran. Is this normal? (No.) Then, Andrew and Liz break down the bombshell news that Mike Pence has been subpoenaed to appear before Smith's grand jury, presumably to discuss 1/6-related issues. Liz brings her journalistic instincts to bear and Andrew tells us all about that other executive privilege case involving a certain former President who also definitely was not a crook. Notes CNN Trump handover of docs https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/politics/trump-classified-records-laptop/index.html 18 USC § 793 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793 Washington Post on Judge Howell https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/08/trump-contempt-mar-a-lago-records/ Trump Subpoena Issued https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/12/trump-was-issued-subpoena-for-folder-marked-classified-evening-briefing-discovered-at-mar-a-lago OA13 https://openargs.com/oa13-hillary-clintons-damned-emails/ NYT Article on Pence Search ​​https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/politics/pence-fbi-home-search.html Bloomberg article on Evan the Cork testifying https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-11/trump-lawyer-in-mar-a-lago-search-appeared-before-grand-jury Washington post on Trump’s hiring of Evan the Cork https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/23/trump-records-mar-a-lago-fbi/ Order appointing Jack Smith - Appointment Order 5599-2022 https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1552896/download Pence subpoenaed https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/us/politics/pence-subpoena-trump.html US v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5132513257326080850 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's episode begins with a brief mention of the breaking news about Mike Pence that we will be covering in depth as soon as we know more! Then, we look at a couple of lawsuits and learn why Liz isn't always a fan of the OA "read the complaint backwards" method. Does she convince Andrew? Listen and find out! We break down the latest conspiracy counterclaims from One America Network News, while learning the difference between the conservative persecution complex worldview -- that Big Tech is censoring conservatism because reasons -- and the reality: that big companies are funding and propping up garbage conservative outlets like OANN. After that, we move on to arguably the Worst People in the World: anti-vaxxers. Specifically, we look at a lawsuit by RFK, Jr. and a whole bunch of weirdos against All the Media for kicking them off YouTube and Twitter. It's... something, all right. But! At least we learn a little something about the Trusted News Initiative anti-trust and the media along the way. Notes SOTU Fact-check https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/us/politics/fact-check-biden-state-of-the-union.html Dominion complaint against OAN https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.234315/gov.uscourts.dcd.234315.1.0.pdf OAN California Lawsuit https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21410177/oann-lawsuit.pdf RFK lawsuit https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.371829/gov.uscourts.txnd.371829.1.0.pdf Liz Backgrounder at Wonkette https://www.wonkette.com/antivaxx-loons-rfk-jr-jim-hoft-other-idiots-sue-news-outlets-for-booting-them-off-twitter J.W. Howard Attorneys: We Have A Big Pirate Ship! https://jwhowardattorneys.com/ Trusted News Initiative https://www.bbc.co.uk/beyondfakenews/trusted-news-initiative/ Associated Press v. United States, 326 U.S. 1 (1945) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12116214944985887583

Today, Liz and Andrew have two stories for us, each touching on executive privilege. We begin with a quick fun Liz story where what comes around, goes around, particularly in Georgia. Then, for the first main story, Liz gives us a detailed update in the E. Jean Carroll litigation, where Trump has finally replaced Alina Habba with an actual lawyer. How's that going to go for him? Hint: probably still not great. After that, Andrew picks up a story involving the January 6th Committee, the New York Times, Politico, Judge Beryl A. Howell, executive privilege, and the world's longest minute order. It's a deep dive and a breaking news story all in one! Notes It's okay to vote while black in Georgia! https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/02/08/black-volunteers-passing-out-water-at-2020-albany-voting-site-cleared-of-wrongdoing Facts about Georgia's restrictions https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/29/josh-holmes/facts-about-georgias-ban-food-water-giveaways-vote/ Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1768307810279741111 The world's longest minute order https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65636836/application-of-the-new-york-times-company-and-charlie-savage-for-access-to/?order_by=desc Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_6 McKeever v. Barr, 920 F.3d 842 (D.C. Cir. 2019) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3726944855474329424&q=mckeever+v+barr&hl=en&as_sdt=2006 -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

This is my apology for recent events.

A new record for him! Today Liz Dye has two stories for us. First, Trump has sued Bob Woodward for profiting off of his voice in his new book. Does he have a case? Well, almost assuredly not. But he happens to come close to a real argument, and you know, that's like really impressive! Then, Liz breaks down new news on Hunter Biden's laptop. It's still so confusing but Liz helps us make sense of it!

It's Liz ThursDYE! Lots has been made of the robots coming for the lawyer jobs... But is it all it's cracked up to be? Should a human use a lawyer to argue in front of the Supreme Court? Or is that... the single stupidest idea in history? Find out, with Liz Dye!

It's the return of Mo's Poplaw Lawpod! Ace associate Morgan Stringer breaks down the tragic death of up-and-coming cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Charges were filed against Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Some people are pissed about this, but should they be? What's happening and will Trump be charged in Georgia over his "perfect phone call?" Find out! Click here for full links and show notes!

Lots of news today! Secret documents found in Mike Pence's house and also in your house and your spouse is actually secret documents. Then Andrew brings us some really interesting speculation on why Ken Cuccinelli was called in to before Jack Smith's grand jury that no one else has talked about. And finally, asshole Peter Navarro has pulled out all the stops in pursuit of his executive privilege claim, including now... time travel? Click here for full links and show notes!

It's Liz WednesDye! Liz brings us the delightful schadenfreude of Trump's many vexatious lawsuits blowing up in his face, resulting in paying a lot in legal fees for other people's lawyers. But is it enough?

Action packed show today! The House Jan 6 Committee still has effects from beyond the grave. Fireball whiskey is making knockoffs of itself? And yeah, those new Republican House Rules are garbage and should feel like garbage. Click here for full links and show notes!

THEY DIDN'T EVEN ASK ALITO about the allegations of him leaking a prior decision. These weren't like, tabloid Occupy Democrats allegations either. These were in the New York gdamn Times. Didn't even look into it. Then, Reynal not sanctioned in CT but like, he might as well have been. And Dersh is STILL lying his ass off. This isn't a repeat. It's a new more pathetic set of lies every episode almost. Click here for full links and show notes!

Plus, commingling secret documents with personal things: bad when Trump does it, but not when Biden does it? Is the left being hypocritical on that? And, EVEN MORE lawyer sanctioning as Reynal gets slapped down in Texas. Here are the entire show notes and links.

It's just so bad and so dumb. Somehow these people are lawyers. Their arguments make T3BE look like a legal master class. Listen in for the hilarious details! Here are the show notes!

Hooo boy! Lots of very energetic feedback on our DnD episode. Spoiler: many, many people think Andrew totally biffed the analysis. So, he's gone through a ton of it and has some fresh analysis for you. Is this an Andrew was wrong? Find out! Here's the fb thread where you can insult Andrew. Here are the original show notes!

The story of the classified documents found in various Biden related locations is still developing, but National Security Counselors Executive Director Kel McClanahan joins us to give his expert opinion on what we know so far! For full links and show notes, go here! To find Kel on whatever Mastodon is, go to https://mstdn.social/@NatlSecCnslrs

The internet is aflame over a leaked draft of Wizards of the Coast new licensing agreement for Dungeons and Dragons. But, should they be? Our resident legal expert Andrew says no and calls the Gizmodo piece that started all of this "irresponsible fear mongering." Listen in to find out why! For full links and show notes, click here!

You know the deal, Liz Dye Wednesday! Wednesdye! Liz breaks down Norm's little mandated vacation...

Definitely not anyone that we know of's Ethics Professor Alan Dershowitz has responded to his sanctions motion with a bunch of feeble lies. In other words, more unethical stuff. Listen in for why his defense is terrible. For full links and show notes, click here!

Andrew takes us back into Citizens United to illustrate for the umpteenth time just how glaringly dishonest originalists are, and the rabbit trail takes us all the way to 1910's Montana and elections bought and paid for at $750 a pop. In the first segment, is Clint Curtis f@cking crazy? Yes. So, despite what Andrew said in a past episode, he will NOT be following up with him. Then, Thomas AND Chat GPT take the bar exam! For full links and show notes, click here!

Sorry this is just so funny and we all deserve to enjoy it. We recorded this early due to a cyclone that wasn't very bomb, and yet everything Andrew said and researched remains perfectly timely as of release due to the fact that McCarthy has failed EVEN MORE VOTES. It's so great. But Andrew has for us a deep-dive on the history of this, and just how unprecedented it really is. PLUS an update – Elon Musk is still an idiot. And SO bad at business. Just... so, so bad. For full show notes including links, click here!

Liz Dye joins us to break down the J6 bombshell news that Cassidy Hutchinson's own lawyer was apparently... not her lawyer. It's some extremely unethical stuff. Possibly criminal? Listen in! For full links and show notes, click here!

So much more from the Jan. 6th committee is out, and that means our esteemed Andrew Torrez stole away from holiday cheer to read hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents. What do they reveal? If Trump is indicted, who will actually make a good witness against him? The answers MAY surprise you. For full links and show notes, click here!

Calling all Uncles Frank for a frank but respectful breakdown of how your right wing media sources are simply not telling you the truth. A laughably terrible "Supreme Court Petition" is going to "Rewrite the History of American Politics." Except... it will do no such thing. So if you've got an Uncle Frank in your life who you are seeing over this holiday break, point them to this episode and maybe we can start finding a tiny bit of common ground! For full show notes and links, click here.

Andrew gives us that signature OA approach, having read every case relevant to the law Trump has potentially violated. What does the case law tell us about how to convict him? For full links and detailed show notes, go here.

Alright look we forgot it was episode 666. But Trump has sued the Pulitzer committee and it is HILARIOUS. And... satanic? Ok no but we can pretend. Liz Dye is here with the breakdown!

Andrew breaks down several lawsuits that threaten Democracy, albeit incredibly ineptly and feebly. They are hilariously terrible. Links: Kari Lake's Lawyers Lose Election Suit, Win Sanctions, Lake v Hobbs, Lake v Hobbs.... again, Christina Bobb, Trump Lawyer Christina Bobb Promises Kari Lake Lawsuit Is First Step Back To White House For Trump - Wonkette, This Pro-Trump Lawyer Was a Rising 'Stop the Steal' Star, His Firm Erased Him, New Documents Show Trump Repeatedly Pressed DOJ to Overturn Election, Kurt Olsen complaint, ARS 16-672, Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in $1.6 billion Dominion defamation case, nutjobs v dominion

Andrew untangles the vast web of Alex Jones's bankruptcy and uses it as an opportunity to educate us on bankruptcy law! Chapter 7 vs 11 vs... 5? Find out what it all means and why no one is buying Alex Jones's maneuvering. Links: The Small Business Reorganization Act: Big Changes for Small Businesses, Understanding the Purpose of the Subchapter V Trustee – NCBarBlog, Jones arguments, US Trustee, subchapter V trustee, Alex Jones personal bankruptcy and motion

and does other totally normal things that indicate everything is completely awesome with him. Why is he offloading so much stock? And he isn't the only one. What does it say about Tesla? (btw we recorded this before he started banning journalists on Twitter for... sharing publicly available info about his flights.) Also, Trump replies to the Tish James injunction in Florida, and NBC files its answer to the Devin Nunes v Rachel Maddow suit! Links: Trump reply in Tish James suit, NBC Answer in Nunes/Maddow defamation case, SEC Form 4s - November 4, 2022, November 7, November 8, December 12-14, original CMO Dearie

It's another Lizisode! Liz Dye takes us through the very insidious lying nonsense that is the Twitter files. It's infuriating.

Once upon a time, there was a company that sold incredibly overpriced cables... When that well went dry, they moved onto patent trolling. This is the story of when they attempted to patent troll the wrong guy... Links: Monster Cable - Wikipedia, Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff: 80% Markups – Consumerist, Do Coat Hangers Sound As Good Monster Cables? – Consumerist, HDMI cable scam used to fool in-store customers? | Engadget, Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics | Engadget, Monster patent C&D, exhibits, Blue Jeans Cable response, Blue Jeans Cable Strikes Back - Response to Monster Cable | Audioholics

We here at Opening Arguments enjoy documenting just how many different ways Alex Jones is financially f@cked. He added another bankruptcy to his collection, and like the previous ones, this one is likely part of a devious plan to get out of paying people stuff. Will it work? Links: Derkach Charged with Fraud and Money Laundering, Jones Bankruptcy, personal bankruptcy and motion

So many good news episodes lately! The Trump Org found guilty on like a lot of counts, No 11th circuit appeal on the special master bullsh, more classified docs found, Jack Smith issues subpoenas... so much! in the first segment we talk about the likely disaster that is Moore v. Harper, but Andrew thinks oral arguments suggested a less bad outcome. Get the breakdown! Links: Matt Taibbi Twitter thread, Moore v. Harper, Trump org convicted, New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 155.40, PEN § 175.35, PEN § 175.10, Trump Org Guilty Of Criminal Tax Fraud, Trump lawyers found items with classified markings in his storage unit, Bobb certification

Hey folks, The auto ad tehcnology is what makes the 4 episode a week schedule possible. However, it's also something that I have no control over. There seems to be some issue on the server side. The episode was cut off at the place where the second ad slot was supposed to go. There is absolutely nothing I can do beyond submitting a support ticket, which I have. Apologies for this. As always, the patron feed has no ads and therefore this episode was obviously fine over there. In the meantime, I'm just releasing it without ads so that people can still listen. We'll give up ad revenue for this one, no big deal! Thanks for your understanding and sorry for the inconvenience! Thomas.

Yikes... We're once again joined by the great Liz Dye! This time, she's here to breakdown the absolute shellacking Dershowitz and co. recieved for being horrible lying pieces of sh!t and terrible lawyers. They're not sending their best!

Everyone's favorite 1st Amendment understander Devin Nunes has sued cow after twitter cow and it obviously has all gone nowhere. BUT, his defamation lawsuit against Rachel Maddow has survived a motion to dismiss... So... HOW?!?! Is this a big deal? What happened? Did Maddow f up? Andrew T's got the full breakdown! Links: Nunes complaint, Devin Nunes’ Cow Account Won’t Quit, Andrii Derkach Wikipedia

Wow it's almost like there really was an armed coup on January 6th on our nation's Capital. Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Megs have been found guilty of sedition. But when it comes to their sentencing... it's actually not very clear how much time they will do. That's because there really isn't much precedent for this. Andrew has the breakdown! Before that, though, we have a follow-up on the music episode. We share further thoughts inspired by some of the response we got. And we got a lot... Links: 18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy, 18 U.S. Code § 3553 - Imposition of a sentence, Sentencing_Table.pdf, trump-lawyers-sanctioned.pdf, Trump sanctions stayed?

It's a bit of a good news show! The Respect for Marriage Act has passed the Senate! Justice Alito was ratted out by a Rev. Schenck. And, the 11th Circuit delivered a whopper of a decision putting an end to the Judge Cannon Naro Lago nonsense. Links: Respect for Marriage Act (HR 8404) passes, 42 U.S. Code § 416 - Determination of Family Status, NY Times Schenck-Alito story, Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach, response from Supreme Court Legal Office, Gift Regulations (Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 2C, Ch. 6), Trump motion for disclosure, Media motion for access

We're once again joined by the incredible Liz Dye to update us (and remind us of the backstory...) on the E. Jean Carroll suit. Or now, SUITS! She has been able to file another suit against Trump due to a new law that has been passed. It's good news for justice, bad news for Trump!

What happens when Thomas preps a music law episode but Andrew also preps a music law episode? You get basically 2 episodes in 1! Given that we just moved to our more frequent schedule, we definitely did not intend to create such a behemoth, but there was just too much to cover! In the first half, Andrew sketches out the legal landscape in music copyright law and it's pretty severe limitations. We analyze the Blurred Lines/Got To Give It Up lawsuit, and the Sam Smith/Tom Petty case, complete with clips! Then in the second half, we FINALLY get to the actual case at hand, which is Grigson v Lopez. Thomas takes Andrew on a bit of a musical tour discussing different elements of the songs with even more clips!

... and his terrible f*cking attorneys. You love to see it.

The fact that Garland has appointed a Special Counsel means an indictment is not coming in the very immediate future. HOWEVER, everything we know about Jack Smith tells us that this is a very serious step that is not good for Trump. Listen in and find out why! Also, the 11th Circuit AGAIN slapped down Judge Cannon's horrendous ruling. The oral arguments could have been a Law'd Great Media. Andrew brought some quotes and they are great. This is the first episode of our new format, so there is no T3BE! There will be 4 episodes next week, the two smaller ones will have the T3BE question and answer. Exciting! Links: 28 U.S. Code § 510 - Delegation of authority, 28 CFR Part 600 - GENERAL POWERS OF SPECIAL COUNSEL, 28 CFR § 600.7 - Conduct and accountability, Smith Appointment order, 28 CFR § 600.8 - Notification and reports by the Special Counsel, 11th-circuit-grants-stay.pdf, 11th-circuit-grants-stay.pdf, Trump still filing to Cannon, Another Eastman Loss, SCOTUS declines to intervene for Trump taxes

A viral meme claims that a fake Eli Lilly tweet declaring insulin to be free tanked the stock to the tune of billions and billions. Ignoring for a moment the fact that it seems incredibly unlikely that an easily debunkable fake tweet on fake tweet day would send a bunch of investors into a frenzy, could Eli Lilly sue the tweeter? Or the Twitter? It's another Section 230 deep dive! Links: 47 U.S.C. § 230, Malwarebytes, Inc. v. Enigma Software Group, Gonzalez v. Google LLC - SCOTUSblog, Trump 9th Cir. brief

...despite Mitch McConnell voting against codifying his own marriage into law... This is good news! Is it perfect news? As usual, no! But is it still very good? Yes! Would this have happened without Democrats controlling congress even by the slimmest possible majority? NO! Also, MAJOR show announcement! And it's a good one! Then Liz Dye joins to talk about a judge slapping down the Stop Woke Act. Links: Remaining House Election Results and Race Calls - The New York Times, Bipartisan senators revive effort to pass bill codifying same-sex marriage protections, U.S. v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013), 28 U.S. Code § 1738C - Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof, H. R. 8404 To repeal the Defense of Marriage Act

Today we get a breakdown on a few cases in which right wing goons are seeking to shut down free speech and freedom of the press in a pretty major way. AND they are finding success in our broken courts. Dershowitz v. CNN and Trump v. CNN. It also gives Andrew a chance to fawn over the Onion Amicus Brief that so many of you requested us to go over! Links: Dersh v CNN motion for summary judgment, Novak v. City of Parma, Novak v. City of Parma, 33 F.4th 296 6th circuit opinion, Novak cert petition, Onion's amicus brief

It's a good news show! Of course you know by now that Democrats over-performed in the midterms. So it's time for Andrew to take a bit of a victory lap and discuss what happened, what races are still left to be called, how the balance of power might change, and what that will mean for Democrats and, you know, the future of our democracy!

Andrew has done exhaustive research on all the key midterm elections to deliver to you a definitive guide on what to look for on election night. How soon will we know if things are good? Or if they are terrible? Which election outcomes should we be surprised about and which should be completely not surprising? Find out! Also, patrons gain access to Andrew's entier notes on this one, which you may want because there is a lot here!

Hooooo boy. Ok, Elon Musk officially owns Twitter. Does that mean a big "Andrew was wrong?" Well.... kinda but it's complicated. We really just did not fathom how irrational Elon is. His wealth has taken a perhaps unprecedented hit as a result of this terrible deal. Listen for the details! Then, Liz Dye joins us for an update on Jan 6! Links: Shareholder vote twitter, How Elon Musk financed his $44bn Twitter takeover, SC 13D, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, SEC form 4 Elon, SEC filing AMENDMENT NO. 12 to  SCHEDULE 13D, Banks prepare to hold $12.7bn Twitter debt on books until early 2023, U.S. exploring whether it has authority to review Musk’s Twitter deal - The Washington Post, Tesla latest 10-Q, Eastman 9th cir brief, Liz Dye Trump coverage

Just wanted to clarify right off the bat in case the very sight of Seidel's name on our feed might send you into a panic that some fresh church/state separation obliterating hell was dealt to us by the court. That hasn't happened at LEAST in the last few days. No, Andrew Seidel joins us to talk about his brilliant new book, American Crusade!

Sorry things are a bit hectic with me being in Manchester for QED. Here is the t3be featuring Andrew Seidel!

This wild story has been on my radar for a while, but now that there's a lawsuit involved, I've convinced Andrew to give us a breakdown! But Andrew doesn't just take us through the lawsuit. We go through the accusations, and what it might take to try to prove a low frequency event to a jury. Along the way, there's a poker cheating accusation scandal as well!

But who will investigate the investigators? John Durham, as it turns out. And what will he find? F*ck all. Trump tried to have his own Mueller Probe to get to the bottom of all the deep state corruption that must have led to the Russia Investigation only to find that there wasn't any of that. But the whole affair was a massive corruption of justice that has not been covered enough. Get the full OA breakdown! Links: Judiciary Committee Releases Transcripts of Interviews Conducted During Oversight of Crossfire Hurricane Investigation, REPORT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, Mueller Report, 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States, 52 U.S. Code § 30121 - Contributions and donations by foreign nationals, FISA Warrant Application for Carter Page, Durham probe: Trump team says Americans should be 'waiting for the next shoe to drop', Durham says Steele dossier source lied. But the FBI long valued him, Review of Four FISA Applications, Igor Danchenko Indictment

Big news! The smockingest of smocking guns was revealed by a judge who was so alarmed he had to share it with us! Get the full breakdown as to why this is final nail in the case against Trump. In the first segment, we talk about Republicans efforts to undermine student loan forgiveness. Since, you know, they can just be evil and someone that's ok and they're still going to win the midterms. Then a quick wildcard on Trump being subpoenaed by the Jan 6 committee. Links: Student Loan forgiveness, SC challenge on the shadow docket, Eastman phone, Eastman emails, 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States, Trump subpoena, OLC memo, 2 U.S. Code § 192 - Refusal of witness to testify or produce papers

Today we bring you another SCOTUS deep dive involving campaign finance. Money is speech, and people with a crapload of money just deserve to speak way more than us pleebs and that's a great thing that has fantastic results in our political system and I for one welcome our monopoly man overlords.

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Alex Jones owes Sandy Hook victims' families... so much money. So, so much. But should we be worried that it will get appealed or reduced or some legal shenanigans will happen? Find out! Then, Andrew breaks down an interesting False Advertising case making waves. Should companies have to be honest about where their products are produced? Or is it ok to engage in a little puffery? Links: Alex Jones Case: How the Jury Divided Nearly $1 Billion in Damages, Peacock v Pabst

Make sure you listened to part 1, episode 636 before you proceed! It's part 2 of the long-awaited Citizens United deep-dive. In this one, we finally get to... Citizens United... Links: McConnell v. FEC, 540 U.S. 93 (2003), Citizens United, SCOTUS decision

I mean it isn't really ok that Clarence Thomas is on the Supreme Court, and he definitely should recuse himself from any of this (he won't), HOWEVER, there is no need to freak out about this particular thing. Andrew has the breakdown. Plus, Ken Paxton avoided a deposition... until he didn't. Because he's an idiot. And finally, is Elon Musk going to buy Twitter? And therefore was Andrew wrong? Well.... no. Links: Fund Texas Choice v. Paxton, DOJ motion 11th circuit, Trump opposition, Trump asks SC for stay, why Justice Thomas has the decision, Elon Musk letter, Trump v CNN, The Onion's Amicus Brief

Look it seems impossible, but someone Andrew insists that we've never done a deep-dive on Citizens United! It's obviously one of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history, but do you know the details of just HOW terrible it was? Listener Thomas S. certainly didn't. So listen in and be dumbfounded at how tf we got here. Links: Wealth Inequality in the U.S. by Household Type, Has Wealth Inequality in America Changed over Time, Trends in U.S. income and wealth inequality, Unequal gains: American growth and inequality since 1700, founding fathers wealth inequality, United States v. Int’l Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO), 352 U.S. 567 (1957)

You can't quite call it f around and find out, since Judge Cannon has bent over backwards and around and through the 4th dimension and back in time for Trump. But Trump got his hand picked Special Master and quickly found out... he's just a Reagan Republican. Not a Qanon shaman. Trump has been caught it 11 different traps. OR WOULD HAVE BEEN except for the absolutely Cannon ball that dropped right after we recorded. Links: Lunn v. Commonwealth (2017), Arizona v. U.S., 567 U.S. 387 (2012), 18 U.S. Code Chapter 77 - PEONAGE, SLAVERY, AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, “A-M-P” Model, Justice Manual, the appointment order, order following partial stay, case management order, motion to stay, revised filing, Trump opposition to Dearie’s CMO, Rule 53. Masters, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, DOJ;s reply, Trump opposition to extension of time

Some transphobic and racist a$$holes stole a DnD-like game from Wizards of the Coast and tried to use it for their own racist transphobic purposes with a really stupid "one weird trick." They got busted and dueling lawsuits followed. Andrew has the breakdown! Links: complaint against wizards, answer and counterclaim, TSR Online Store, Wizards of the Coast files lawsuit against TSR LLC, Schuh affidavit, Rainwater affidavit

No doubt you've heard the huge news – Adnan Syed has been released. So what happened? Is there really new evidence? New suspects? Does this mean he didn't actually kill Hae? Find out! Then, big news in the Nara-Lago case! We recorded a breakdown before the 11th Circuit granted DoJ's appeal, and then Andrew was able to record a follow up after! So, tons of stuff in today's show! Links: Other Postconviction Review, OA107: Adnan Syed Obviously Did It, State v. Syed 2019, Motion to vacate, DOJ Trump reply

Despicable a**hole Alex Jones is getting properly destroyed in court once again. You might be thinking, what is it Groundhog Day? But no, this is not the Texas trial in which he got suitably destroyed. This is yet another trial over his disgusting lies about Sandy Hook. This one is being tried in Connecticut, which you may recognize as the state where Sandy Hook happened. If you thought his lawyers botched the last one, wait until you hear some clips from this one! Presented brilliantly by Ace Associate Morgan Stringer!

Listen as local attorney P. Andrew Torrez attempts to beat the Guinness World Record for most bullet points covered in an OA episode! From candid golf shots, to mystery DC tarmac photos, to subpoenas and sh*t rulings by a sh*t judge, this week brings 8 Trump Treason items to update you on! And of course, plenty mini-dives on the way! Links: NY Attorney General May Sue Trump, Eastman Emails, Mark Meadows complied with DOJ subpoena, Save America PAC FEC disclosure, About – Conservative Partnership Institute, Trump Makes Conveniently Timed Donation To Mark Meadows's Employer, Reinhart Mar-a-Lago less redacted affidavit, DOJ reply in support of relief

Reason number a billion why we need to prevent right wing Christian Nationalists from ever having any power at all in this country – Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Becerra. Under Republican rule, if I have a 'sincerely held belief' that bats are birds, no one is allowed to question that or tell me I'm wrong, and I can refuse to pay for any healthcare I want if I can link it to my stupid belief. Listen as Andrew breaks down this horrible f*cking decision. Also, we some more updates on the DoJ's appeal to the 11th circuit. Links: Appeal to 11th Cir docketed, DOJ motion for stay pending appeal, Judge Cannon ordered Trump response, Trump Cannon media brief, Special master joint brief, 42 U.S. Code § 300gg - Fair health insurance premiums

The napkin with crayon scribbling on it that Trump's lawyers submitted was somehow... granted? by Judge Cannon, whom we now know to be a complete MAGA hack. This ruling was such an embarrassment to the rule of law that even Republican judges will recognize it. So what comes next? What will an appeal look like? Also Andrew covers the brilliant strategy undertaken by DoJ lawyers that will give them an advantage in this next step. Before that, more on the Alaska ranked choice election, and can states charge income tax on student loan forgiveness? Links: Kel McClanahan article, 28 U.S. Code § 1292 - Interlocutory decisions, Hoosiers will be taxed hundreds of dollars on student loan forgiveness, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF 2021, 26 U.S. Code § 108 - Income from discharge of indebtedness, 42 U.S. Code § 300gg - Fair health insurance premiums

It's a situation as confusing as it is incredible – Sarah Palin, who won an open primary for the AK House Seat, has LOST. The Democrat, Mary Peltola, despite coming in LAST in the primary, has WON! How did this happen? Ranked choice voting! But is that good? Does this make sense? Imagine if this were the Democratic equivalent, would we be happy? Or would it not happen? Then, Better Call Saul is being sued by a tax company that is virtually identical to the dirtbag one portrayed in the show. Is the lawsuit credible? Links: Alaska's Better Elections Initiative, Al Gross for Congress, JTH Tax, LLC d/b/a Liberty Tax Service v. AMC Networks

The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, took a large toll on America’s sense of security. In the dawn of this new era, Congress moved to take swift action by creating the Patriot Act. The stated goal was to identify and strike back against terrorists, but in practice, the law had much wider-reaching effects. But everything changed in 2013 when an intelligence contractor named Edward Snowden decided to expose the truth, leaking more classified documents than any whistleblower in American history. This four-part series from American Scandal follows Edward Snowden’s transformation, from a respected intelligence officer, to the most wanted whistleblower in the world.    This is just a preview of Edward Snowden from American Scandal, but you can listen to the rest of this episode at wondery.fm/AS_OpeningArguments

The more we learn, the worse it gets for Trump. It's almost like he's a pathological narcissist without any regard for laws. Today Andrew breaks down two ways to convict Trump, using two different provisions of the law. Links: motion opposing special master, DOJ exhibits, United States v. Gonzalez, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, Proving Intent at Mar-a-Lago, The Trump Warrant Had No Legal Basis - WSJ, 44 U.S. Code § 2201, 44 U.S. Code § 2202 - Ownership of Presidential records, 44 U.S. Code § 2203 - Management and custody of Presidential records, 44 U.S. Code § 2205 - Exceptions to restricted access, 44 U.S. Code § 2204 - Restrictions on access to Presidential records

For real, things are not going well for Trump. We get that he's Teflon Don, but even those teflon pans get messed up if you scratch them with a knife or if they steal a bunch of top secret documents. Listen and enjoy as Andrew details the many ways Trump is having a very bad law thingy. Links: Response to Media Queries About Presidential Records, Redacted warrant affidavit, Trump's terrible motion, Cover sheet, rule 41g, Judge Slapdown, trump response, "Anomalous" Federal Jurisdiction, Rule 65. Injunctions and Restraining Orders, letter from archives, Navarro reply brief

Biden not only kept his campaign promise, but expanded on it! Andrew breaks down the history of the student loan debt problem and what Biden's plan is. It's good news!

Perhaps we can have good things? Andrew breaks down Williams v. Kincaid, a 4th Circuit case that actually sets a positive precedent for trans rights! After that, we interview Jalessah Jackson, Executive Director of ARC Southeast - one of the abortion funds that OA listeners raised an incredible amount of money for! Links: 42 U.S. Code Chapter 126 ADA, 42 U.S. Code § 12211 - Definitions exception

There's still SO much to talk about in the Mar-a-Lago Treason Trove! Lots of updates on that, plus the Weiselberg plea, Trump passports, and more! We also squeeze in a wildcard on Alex Jones's loser lawyers. Links: The Atlantic article that is wrong, 42 U.S. Code § 2274 - Communication of Restricted Data, Jonathan Toebbe case, 10 CFR Part 1045 -- Nuclear Classification and Declassification, Classification of Nuclear Weapons-Related Information, Dep’t of the Navy v. Egan, Trump’s passports returned, Norm Pattis Sanctions order, Reynal order, Pattis "moved to dismiss", Alex-Jones-Kyng-S.-Lee-Affidavit

The unfortunate answer is... yes. BUT. There may be a one weird trick that actually could sidestep this! Listen in for the breakdown and why there is a sliver of hope on this really terrible nonsense. After that, we talk about our Matthew Hoh interview and the response we have gotten. Links: Texas bill, More TX statutes, Texas Constitution, Hanna v. Sweeney, 78 Conn. 492,  NCSBE certified GP as a political party, new Demw lawsuit

So much breaking news, we did an extra episode for you!

If you're anything like me, you've been waiting for the Andrew breakdown of the FBI warrant service on Mar-a-Lago. Well, here it is, PLUS breaking news while we were recording! We didn't yet have the info that it might be nuclear documents, which makes everything Andrew said EVEN MORE right. Links: 18 U.S. Code § 3109, 18 U.S. Code § 3103a - Additional grounds for issuing warrant, List of attorneys who tried to steal your 2020 vote, What were FBI agents looking for in Trump's Mar-a-Lago? : NPR, Dep’t of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518 (1988), Basic Laws and Authorities | National Archives, The FBI Just Raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home, Justice Dept. using grand jury to probe Trump's Mar-a-Lago documents, National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago, 44 U.S. Code Chapter 22 - PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS, 44 U.S. Code § 2202, 18 U.S. Code § 1924 - Unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, “Lock Her Up” | Law Offices of P. Andrew Torrez, 18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally, Jan. 6 committee tees up 20 witness transcripts for DOJ Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Who Can Be President of the United States?: Candidate Hillary Clinton and the Problem of Statutory Qualifications,’ 5(1) British Journal of American Legal Studies 95 (2016) (peer review) Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Secretary Clinton Can Relax Because Section 2071 Disqualification Does Not Apply to the Presidency: A Response to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Cause of Action (with a Short Reply from Attorney General Mukasey)’ (2015)

Listeners will know we have been incredibly hostile to the idea of voting for or running as a third party candidate. Despite that, Matthew Hoh, Green Party candidate for Senate in NC, accepted Andrew's invitation to come on the show. So why is he running? Can we convince him it's a bad idea? Listen and find out!

This is... wow. Just wow. Jones's lawyers accidentally handed over his entire cell phone and didn't remedy it when they could have. Just staggering. Get Andrew's full breakdown of this glorious happening. Also, GOOD NEWS FROM KANSAS! The people of Kansas did a good thing. And Pat Cipollone was subpoenaed by the Justice Dept! All in all just a really good news episode. Links: Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, House Concurrent Resolution No. 5003, Justice Dept. Subpoenas Pat Cipollone, Justice Dept. Asking Witnesses About Trump, U.S. v. Nixon, Cassidy Hutchinson kept working for Donald Trump for 9 weeks, Jones video, Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)

In today's doom coverage, Andrew breaks down Moore v. Harper and how it is completely outrageous that the Supreme Court granted cert. It's bad. It's real bad. But guess what! It's also worse. In the first segment, we talk about the likelihood that the Secret Service texts were lost accidentally. Lots of tech people contacted us about prior coverage. Links: Cert petition, Amicus by the national Republican redistricting trust, Bush v Gore, McPherson v Blacker, Smiley v Holm, opposition brief

There was a truly amazing moment in the Alex Jones trial that we can't wait to share with you. And, it's a chance for some law talkin'! Jones' lawyers are completely inept and we should all enjoy nice things. Then, Andrew takes us through an interesting election situation in North Carolina involving the Green Party. Guess what, they still suck and are helping Republicans win! So much so that Republicans are literally fighting legal battles for Green Party candidates. Links: Rule 801, Strickland v. Washington, Matthew Hoh, NC § 163-122, NC Stat. § 163.96:  create a new party, Candidates - North Carolina Green Party, Docs from state board meeting on Green Party, Matthew Hoh tweet, Republicans financed Montana Green Party

The 8th and final(???) Jan 6. Hearing happened in prime time on Thursday. We saved our Monday deep dive for it! As usual, Andrew breaks it down with clips! Also, Bannon found guilty! and Jeff Clark hit with disciplinary hearings! What a great day! Links: 2 U.S. Code § 192 - Refusal of witness to testify or produce papers. Jeff Clarke proceedings, Opening Arguments live tweet thread, 18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense, 18 U.S. Code § 1512 - Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant, Hearing video

You may remember the ripoff scam that is Christian Health Share Ministries from such episodes as OA497: Christian Health Sharing Is a Scam and OA530: Andrew Testifies to Congress on Christian Healthshare Ministries! Well, as a direct result of Andrew's House testimony, Rep. Jared Huffman has sponsored and introduced a new bill to fight back against this scam! It's H.R.8324 - Health Share Transparency Act of 2022. Rep. Huffman is also a co-founder of the Congressional Freethought Caucus! He joins us today to explain the bill. Before that, I grill Andrew on the Secret Service deleted texts, with such questions as "what the f?" and "how the h?" There's a lot we can't know yet, but Andrew explains what we do know. Finally, we go through the first gun control legislation passed in two decades. It's good!

If you or anyone you know is President Biden, please dear god listen to this episode and then get the word out. The FEC has been broken and corrupted by Trump appointees. Biden could have easily done something about it from day 1 of his administration and he just... hasn't. Listen to the full story and see example #9,576 of why Trump and Republicans can never be trusted in office. In the first segment, we get a big update on the Musk Twitter deal. Andrew nailed another one! Links: 52 US Code § 30106 - FEC, 52 US Code § 30107 - Powers of Commission, 52 US Code § 30108 - Advisory opinions, 52 US Code § 30104 - Reporting requirements, Hillary campaign FEC, FEC ruling, conciliation

We haven't gotten a chance to pat Andrew on the back enough for nailing the Cipollone prediction, so let's do so! Tuesday was the first hearing since that bombshell news, and it featured a little bit of Cipollone testimony, but also teased much more to come. Andrew takes us through the hearing, with some clips. And, he has another prediction! Given his track record, we'd better take note! Links: Meadows docs, Cleta Mitchell docs

In the wake of the Dobbs decision, Andrew gave a brilliant talk to the Houston Oasis group on how we got here and what we can do. Note in the QnA section, the questions were not recorded, sorry. They are reasonably easy to figure out with context clues though! Check out his slides here. 

Today's episode pays off a bet Andrew made last month that the January 6 Committee would eventually secure the testimony of White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. Find out why that's such a big deal! In addition to explaining how the J6 Committee came to secure Pets of Belonging's testimony, Andrew answers your questions regarding whether this is some kind of elaborate con (No), how Cipollone's answers are likely to interact with executive and attorney-client privilege (frequently), and the likelihood that he will help round out the successful case for prosecuting Donald Trump for crimes in connection with the 1/6 Insurrection (EXTREMELY!). It's a big deal! After the main breakdown, we share a thoughtful and informative letter from a listener who helps put the Supreme Court's recent (atrocious) decision in Carson v. Makin (that we broke down in Episode 608) permitting direct government aid to expressly religious schools into a fuller context. It's an Andrew Was Wrong (About Rural Maine) and an important object lesson that you can never trust the fact section in a SCOTUS case involving religion these days. Links: The brilliant and hilarious Merrill Markoe captured the live-captioning of Pat Cipollone's name as Patsy Baloney (and others) on Twitter. For the background for the crime-fraud exception, check out Rule 1.2 and Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. You can check out the Senate Judiciary testimony of Jeff Rosen as well as Richard Donohue for all sorts of new goodies, some of which we covered on the show! Click here to read the Supreme Court's opinion in Carson v. Makin., which we previously broke down in Episode 608 with Andrew Seidel. Finally, secret link! CLICK HERE to read the Kurt Olsen draft complaint for the DOJ, which we discovered in all its madness after the end of the record. Remember you can still donate to the Opening Arguments Foundation at OAfund.org!

As Andrew flagged for us before any other sources (that I saw), Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter was never a guarantee. Well, now it's moved from not a guarantee to very unlikely. Today, we look at what happened. Also, there are two interesting possibilities being debated online. For one, that he'll be able to get out of it because of the "bots," and on the other side, that he may be forced to buy Twitter by a judge. Are either of these possible or even likely? Find out! In the first segment, we talk about our amazingly successful fundraiser ($160,000+ raised!) and what's going on in Texas right now. hint: it's not good. Links: Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe, 1925 Texas abortion law, ACLU TRO, Ken Paxton Writ of Mandamus, TX supreme court says no, Twitter agreement 4/22, Twitter 10-Q 3/31/22, Musk SEC letter, IN RE IBP INC. v. TYSON FOODS INC

Wow. What a hearing! BUT FIRST!!! We have an incredibly exciting announcement which we spend the first 11 minutes talking about! Feel free to skip it if you would like to be dead to us, it's completely up to you. But we worked our butts off to get you this episode an entire day early to give you a little more heads up that you need to... Join us Friday for the Aiding and Abetting Abortion fundraiser, presented by our friends, Cognitive Dissonance! The event starts at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern, but our time slot is 6:30! Here's the link to sit there and wait for it to start streaming! To donate, head to OAfund.org! And after all that, we still have an amazing breakdown of the hearing, and lordy there are tapes!

The hits just keep on coming with this disgraceful, illegitimate Supreme Court. Andrew Seidel joins us to break down Carson v. Makin, and explains why precedent is meaningless, and the only thing that matters to this court when it comes to Church/State cases is: Christians win. Then, Ace Associate Morgan Stringer joins us to explain why the entire internet is wrong about Biden "banning Juuls and cigarettes."

If you watched Tuesday's hearing, you saw the heartbreaking story of how these two amazing women were viciously slandered by Rudy Giuliani and other members of the big lie insurrectionists. Their lives were absolutely turned upside down by complete racist fabrications. Do they have recourse? What will happen? Then, Andrew breaks down the complete breakdown of the legal fabric of our society. Say goodbye to any meaningful sense in which you have the right to remain silent! The Supreme Court has gutted Miranda rights, because why the f not, apparently. Oh but they make up for it by eroding states' ability to restrict open carry of guns. So that's cool. Links: environmental lawyer quote, Freeman and Moss v Giuliani, Giuliani idiot motion to dismiss, Maryland Code, Public Safety § 5-306, Vega v. Tekoh, 42 US Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights

You may have recently seen people posting about a disturbing Supreme Court decision (what else is new) with images of how much of the US is within 100 miles of a border, and how federal agents can basically get away with anything in most of the country. What was that about? Was it overblown? Welp. Attorney Matt Cameron is here to tell us no, actually. It was underblown, if anything. Not blown enough. Listen for the full breakdown, including classic Bivens. Before that, Andrew does a quick refresher on pocket pardons and why they... are not a thing.

Today is two entire show's worth of things somehow crammed into one! First, Jan 6 hearing #3 is in the books. Some amazing bombshells! Also, I grill Andrew on intent and how it could possibly be that we have to prove what Trump had going on in his dumb brain. It's an extended cross examination but hopefully it will provide more understanding! THEN, you've likely seen the headlines: GEICO has to pay $5.2m for car sex? Really? Well, we might have another McDonald's coffee lawsuit on our hands! Get the break down! Links: Geico ordered to pay $5.2 million for STD in a car, RMCo 537.065, GEICO opinion

Surprise! An early episode for everyone! Here's why: the first Jan 6 hearing is in the books. The next one is Monday AM. Listen for Andrew's breakdown of hearing 1, and what to look for in hearing 2!

Given that the Jan 6 hearing is AFTER we record, we're doing a little switcheroo! Today is a Tuesday-esque deep dive! What's with this California court ruling that bees are fish? Is Elon Musk right to mock it? Find out all about it and how it relates to when Reagan designated ketchup as a vegetable! Links: Reagan cuts eat into school lunches - CSMonitor.com, 46 CFR 44452, California Endangered Species Act, § 2070, State and Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California, Forestry Ass’n v. Fish & Game Commission

About a week ago, there was yet another smoking gun document trove delivered to us by the Jan. 6 Committee in relation to the Eastman trial. Andrew gives us the full breakdown, including a couple new insurrectionist characters we haven't yet been introduced to. All of this, plus the first primetime Jan 6. Committee hearing is this Thursday! Listen and be primed for what's coming.

The way you know the Supreme Court is ruining the law in this country is if their lips are moving. Well, this time they've decided that a 10 year old precedent is already too old for them, and that if you were given a terrible lawyer by the state, you should have thought of that before you decided to be poor. Shinn v. Ramirez Also, check out Thomas's new podcast Dear Old Dads, with Eli Bosnick and Tom Curry!

In the wake of the pathetic police response to the Uvalde shooting, you have likely come across posts and memes talking about how police don't actually have any obligation to protect you or really do anything. Is this true or is it overblown internet leftist hyperbole? Well, it's true, and it's infuriating. Andrew breaks down the case in question. THEN! A special episode 600 celebration!!! We asked our patrons what terms/phrases/references/inside jokes they wanted us to explain, and we've got a fun list of 20! It's a fun stroll down memory lane as we talk the oranges of motions in lemonade, clownhorning, Konrad Michaels, and more! Links: Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005)

Another horrific mass shooting has us all asking WTF can we actually do about this? There is plenty of reason for pessimism, but Opening Arguments is here to break down what might realistically be done. This is part 1, focusing on why gun companies are immune from civil actions and what we should do about that. Part 2 will be about the police response. In the first segment, we give an update on Elon Musk. There was a filing that went virtually unnoticed but sheds more light on the Twitter situation. Links: Musk SEC filing, letter to himself, 15 US Code § 7902, Definition: qualified civil liability action from 15 USC § 7903, Database Amasses Details of a Half Century of US Mass Shootings

Some folks on the internet have been trying to "one weird trick" our way to saving Roe by claiming that tribal sovereignty could help ensure abortion access. Well, not only is this wrong, it's offensively wrong. OA brings you the deep-dive on Indian Law (yes, that's what it's called...) with a refresher on McGirt v. Oklahoma, and why none of that equals an instant abortion rights fix. After that, a wildcard question – now that Roe is being overturned, does that mean justices committed perjury in their confirmation hearings? Links: McGirt v. Oklahoma, 18 US Code § 1153 - Offenses committed within Indian country, The Hyde Amendment, Indigenous Women's Reproductive Rights: The Indian Health Service and Its Inconsistent Application of the Hyde Amendment

The 5th Circuit has never been in the top 10 circuits in terms of not being insane, but now it has gone even more off the rails. Andrew takes us through the deep dive on a terrible decision that will decimate the SEC's ability to do anything, and why the logic will be applied elsewhere. Before that, a quick update on how much Elon Musk sucks and has completely blown it with the Twitter deal. And a quick word on primaries. Links: Twitter says it will 'enforce' Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition deal, 28Patriot” v. SEC, 15 US Code § 78u–2 - Civil remedies in administrative proceedings, Jellum & Tincher, “The Shadow of Free Enterprise”, Are the SEC's Administrative Law Judges Biased? An Empirical Investigation, Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, 138 S.Ct. 1365 (2018), Summary of Administrative Law Judge Responsibilities

By popular demand, we old out of touch guys have invited Ace Associate and Poplaw Expert Morgan Stringer on to explain to us just what in the h is happening in the Depp v. Heard lawsuit. Who is suing whom and for what? Can we take what we're seeing on TikTok at face value? Also who is Amber Heard? All these answers and more(gan)!

According to a lawsuit filed by some shareholders, Twitter may have failed to disclose important information about the Musk deal, and it might be Musk's doing! Get the full breakdown on this very interesting lawsuit that isn't getting much coverage elsewhere! Also, a Connecticut Bill paves the way for how other states might fight against abortion restrictions. Something to fight for in your state! Also, why Andrew is definitely right about Clarence Thomas. Links: Code of Conduct for US Judges, 2011 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, WHPA fails, CT bill, Orlando Police Pension Fund v Twitter, 8 Del. Code § 203, disclosure in merger agreement

It's a breakdown I've been begging Andrew to do for months and it's finally here! The case for why the House should start impeachment proceedings for Clarence Thomas. Links: Ginni's texts, Trump v. Thompson, Ginni apologized to clerks, Justice Samuel Chase - Impeachment, How Ginni Thomas jockeyed for influence in Trump's orbit

It is absurd to say "point to where in the Constitution it says you have a right to an abortion." Legally speaking, there's something a lot deeper and more basic going on. As we all already know, this leaked decision makes a mockery of the law. Andrew has some further deep-diving for us on how the court, a mere 20 years ago, ruled in the opposite direction on similar legal questions. Many of the same Justices were a part of that ruling. Listen and learn! Links: Court press release, Draft Dobbs opinion, Abortion Policy in the Absence of Roe | Guttmacher Institute, Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, 87(R) SB 8, Arkansas SB 149 (2019), Lawrence v. Texas, Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), Carey v. Population Services Int'l, 431 U. S. 678 (1977)

Just stunning. Despite OA warning you about this for years, it still is, and should be, utterly shocking to see in print. Andrew has somehow already read the opinion and has a preliminary breakdown. This is an emergency, unfiltered, unedited, uncensored episode.

Andrew Seidel joins us to commiserate over both how much the Supreme Court is butchering State-Church Separation, and also how irresponsibly The Daily podcast covered the case involved. The NYT decided to devote an entire episode to a man who a Bush-appointed federal judge called out for being dishonest in his presentation of facts. Please yell at them with us, because this is garbage and we should expect better.

We continue the fascinating deep-dive into the NOT FINAL deal for Musk to buy Twitter. This part goes more into the financing and highlights even more ways the deal might not go through. Then, we've got some updates in key stories! Trump has been held in contempt! And briefs for the MTG case are due today. Links: Musk Loses $32 Billion in Tesla Wealth, proxy statement (shareholders vote), TrumpContemptOrder4_26_22

The answer may surprise you! When it was announced that Elon Musk bought Twitter, I had a billion and one questions for Andrew about it. Andrew being Andrew, he commenced deep-diving and turned up a ton of interesting info about this deal and the legality around deals like this. And to his surprise... it's FAR from a done deal! Listen in for the dive so deep that it actually will require a surprise bonus episode! This is part 1, part 2 will be out as soon as thomasly possible to edit and release it! Links: Surely We Can Do Better Than Elon Musk, Elon, you have no idea what the hell you're talking about, 15 US Code Chapter 2B - SECURITIES EXCHANGES, 17 CFR Part 240, 17 CFR § 243.100 - General rule regarding selective disclosure, 17 CFR § 243.101 - Definitions, Form 8-K, 17 CFR § 240.10b-5 - Employment of manipulative and deceptive devices, Basic, Inc. v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224 (1988), Twitter's 8k, material agreement with Musk

Past OA guest Sarah Henry is running for the Florida House in the 38th district! We talk about the absolute hell that is Florida Republicans, and what she intends to do about it. Then, a breakdown of the civil contempt motion against Donald Trump for never complying with anything. Will he get those Alex Jones type contempt fines? Find out! Links: Make sure to support Sarah! Trump contempt motion, SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL VERIFIED PETITION, AG James Files Motion to Hold Donald J. Trump in Contempt

As you've no doubt already heard, a totally unqualified, Trump appointed, 34 year old Florida Judge has completely destroyed the national travel mask mandate with the stroke of a pen. Andrew breaks down how dumb the opinion is, and Thomas laments that Democratic leaders are somehow still pretending we live in a society. After that, we've got a deep-dive into bankruptcy, inspired by both Alex Jones and the Health Care Sharing Ministry Sharity. Sharity declared bankruptcy leaving 10,000 members holding the bag for $50 million in unpaid bills. Who could have possibly predicted this except oh yeah see OA497: Christian Health Sharing Is a Scam. Links: 86 Fed Reg 8025, The Opinion, 42 US Code § 264, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Sharity Leaves 10K Families with Millions in unpaid bills, Infowars Bankruptcy Petition, Infowars form 202, Jones thinks he set up a trust, 28 US Code § 1334 - Bankruptcy cases and proceedings, 28 US Code § 1452 - Removal of claims related to bankruptcy cases, CT bankruptcy removal, Sharity Plan, Objection, Summary

In these troubled times, we cling tightly to the small amounts of good news we get. One source of good news who keeps on giving is Alex Jones. He is so unambiguously screwed that it’s our pleasure to cover the screwage in even more depth today. This time, it’s about a few new cases against him, as well as his obviously illegal plan to try to hide his assets from the plaintiffs who absolutely deserve his money more than he does. Before that, we have some very significant news on the Jan. 6th front — very proud boy Charles Donohoe seems to be cooperating and his “reduced” sentence is still satisfyingly high. Listen for the details! Links: Donohoe plea agreement, level 27 70-87 months, statement of offense, default judgment against Jones 11/15/21, response to motion to recover the $75k, motion for extension of time, new TX fraud case, Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, Heslin v Alex Jones

It's a question a lot of you posed after Texas banned abortion by completely cheating the Constitution: what if a liberal state did the same thing but for gun control? Well, CA has done exactly that. Hear the breakdown and Andrew prediction for what will happen to this bill. After that, we've got really bad news. Remember how Democrats had almost forced a level playing field nationally by gerrymandering aggressively in Maryland and New York? Well, some fair minded judges just undid that. Links: 36 QAnon candidates, QAnon supporters running for Congress, How QAnon Became Obsessed With 'Adrenochrome,', MD Redistricting injunction, revised map approved, NY order stayed in the 4th appellate division

Frequent OA guest, Professor Randall Eliason recently wrote an article for the Washington Post called "Forget what you heard. The DOJ's Jan. 6 probe is moving at a good pace." So, we thought we'd have him on the show for a conversation around just that. Is justice for Jan 6 taking too long? Are prosecutors being "chicken shits?" Will Trump get away with everything?

Amazon workers in Staten Island overcame extensive union busting efforts and won a vote to unionize! This is great news, and we can only hope it has a snowball effect. Listen as Andrew breaks down the journey, the conditions that led to the effort and the disgusting lengths Amazon went to to punish the employees who started organizing. In the A segment, we get a delightful little Alex Jones update. He finally showed up for a deposition! Links: Docket, Jones moves to purge contempt, small wrinkle, NLRB order on bogus Amazon election, Smalls fired, Exhibit 13, Amazon racist comments, 29 US Code § 157 - Right of employees as to organization, 29 US Code § 158 - Unfair labor practices

The devastating consequences of Texas HB 8 and the Supreme Court's cowardly shadow docket ruling on it are reverberating not just through Texas, but around the country. Not to be outdone, Republicans in Idaho produced a copycat bill. Andrew gives the breakdown and we discuss some truly shocking NPR coverage of how Republicans are ruining lives. But it's not all bad news! In the B segment, Andrew takes us through the Equality Florida Lawsuit, a well-argued lawsuit attempting to fight back against the Don't Say Gay Bill. Also, we're not bothering to cover Trump's idiotic flop of a lawsuit against Hillary. Links: Hazelwood School Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, US v. Alvarez

The court has nothing BUT contempt for Alex Jones. Like, half a million dollars worth of contempt. He has dodged depositions for an eternity and Thomas's new favorite judge ever has had enough of it. Get the breakdown! Links: docket, Knowledge Fight 649, Ex A and B, motion for contempt, offer of compromise, conn. gen. stat. 52-193, plaintiffs rejected, oral argument on contempt motion, court grants, motion to reconsider, court denies THAT EVENING, motion for emergency stay, appeal to cr supreme court, Puff v. Puff, eastman not appealing

If you're a regular listener you've heard us break down the ongoing weirdness between DFEH and EEOC over the Activision-Blizzard misconduct. It's been... unprofessional, and bad for basically everyone involved. Unfortunately, it looks like the pitifully inadequate settlement that EEOC negotiated with Activision-Blizzard is going to go through. Get the details, and what if anything can still be done about it. Before that, Andrew gives us an update on Eastment. He's still slow walking the documents, but now wants early discovery? What? Get the breakdown! Links: Eastman motion for early discovery, Chapman opposition, Eastman reply brief, DFEH motion to intervene denied 12/20/21, 1/4/22 amended decree substantively the same, 1/18 DFEH objections, 3/4 employee moves to intervene, attachment C to amended decree, 3/22 motion to intervene denied, 3/22 order on PACD

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars. On live television. It's less than a day old and yet you've likely already been inundated with hot takes about it. BUT, we offer you zero more annoying hot takes. This podcast takes you through the actual legal implications, both criminal and civil, of an event like this. Chris Rock might not be "pressing charges," but does that matter? If he sued civilly, what would happen? Find out the actual, researched answers to these questions in a free bonus pod, just because we love you!

Our main segment today is a breakdown of Google's massive scheme to keep tons of documents privileged inappropriately. It's a fun deep-dive full of bad documents! Before that, we quickly go over the disgusting attempts to discredit KBJ by Senate Republicans. And, believe it or not, a GOOD NEWS segment about Lia Thomas! Links: Hawley Refutation, Trump v Clinton, Utah HB 11, Indiana HEA 1041, Google antitrust complaint, google status report, Google's Communicate with Care, Google response

After accidentally suing themselves and then re-filing, some anti-vaxers then went on to file a complaint that, I can't believe I'm saying this, is actually something we need to take seriously. It may be the new blueprint for anti-vax grift and we need to call it out. Andrew has the full breakdown! Links: complaint, Jefferson W. Gross, Davillier Law Group, LLC, 86 FR 61555, background to Biden v. Missouri / OSHA, Biden v. Missouri, Vaccine: Mandate for Health Care Settings (deadlines vary by state), Great Barrington Declaration

It's a CNN headline that the MAGA Media is jumping all over. Is this a vast conspiracy to persecute the "political prisoners" of 1/6? Or... is it a normal thing? Get the breakdown. ALSO - man buys Tom Brady's "final" touchdown ball for $518k. Brady unretires THE NEXT DAY. Does the man have any legal recourse against anyone? And finally, an update on John Eastman's never ending quest to not turn over his insurrectiony documents. Links: Brady auction, All About Bidding with Lelands, Prosecutors admit they violated a Capitol rioter's rights CNN, actual filing, govt response to motion to release, United States v. McLendon

It's time to cover these disgusting 'Don't Say Gay' Bills. There's some small good news, though. None of them are actually law YET. Find out what they are about, and which ones will and won't likely become laws. Then, Andrew breaks down how one Republican sought to show how elections are fraudulent by... committing an absurd amount of election fraud. Then, because we've earned it, a nice uplifting wildcard segment! Links: Florida don't say gay bill, GA SB 613, Idaho HB 675, Missouri HB 1677, Peters Indictment, FL goon squad bill, Sidney Powell bar complaint, p 37 of Dominion's defamation lawsuit, Exhibit 6

Last week, you heard us play a few clips of John Eastman lying his ass off on Lawrence Lessig's Another Way podcast. Well, now Professor Lessig is here to give us an expert breakdown of some of the election law issues raised by team big lie. Also, how is our election system vulnerable to the next Republican attack in 2024? Links: Friday eastman pleadings, court response, Opening Arguments on Twitter live tweet thread, Ruling, 1/6 brief, Eastman memo, 3 US Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress, Longer Eastman memo, Eastman reply

The owners refuse to play ball and the starting date for the MLB season continues to slide. Did the players throw a big curveball into the mix? Are their demands out of left field? Not really! The ballpark figures from both sides are actually very close but the owners are playing hardball. The episode on deck may be a little inside baseball, but if you listen in I think you'll agree it's a homerun! Before all the baseball puns, we have an update on the Texas war against trans people and the war on Ukraine. Links: abbott letter, ACLU lawsuit, Ukraine ICJ, Vasani quits Ivanyan in wake of Russian invasion

Andrew spotted a massive, smokiest of smoking guns in a brief filed by the 1/6 Committee! This is HUGE NEWS. It is the first sign we've yet had that Trump is facing ACTUAL criminal charges! This bombshell wiped the whiteboard clean and today's episode is entirely devoted to Andrew's expert breakdown. Don't miss it! And please share! Links: Trump credits lawyer who said Kamala Harris, 55, a US citizen at birth, isn't eligible to be VP, 1/6 Committee Brief, Exhibits, 18 US Code § 1512 - Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant, 18 US Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States, Eastman memo, 3 US Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress, PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL January 6 scenario, Jacob''s depo, Exhibit K, Exhibit L, Exhibit M, Exhibit N, Timeline: How the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol unfolded, Jeffrey Rosen's Dep, Richard Donoghue's dep

A note in the Harvard Law Review suggests we ought to "Remove presidential elections from the Anderson-Burdick Framework." So, just what does that mean and is it a good idea? Listen in as Andrew breaks it down! Also, we've got an update in the Madison Cawthorn situation, and more Kraken sanctions updates! Links: remedial election plan ruling, Special Masters plan, another kraken loss, Judge Parker ruling, 6th Circuit appeal, Removing Presidential Elections from the Anderson-Burdick Framework - Harvard Law Review

Emergency bonus episode! We promised a deep-dive on whoever Biden chose to replace Breyer, and here it is! Ketanji Brown Jackson is immensely accomplished. Listen as we break down what terrible arguments to expect Republicans to try against her appointment, and what some key rulings in her judicial history tell us about her jurisprudence! Links: DC cir questionnaire, Senate Written questions, Judiciary v. McGahn, Meat Inst. v. US. Dep 't of Agric, AFL-CIO v. Trump, In re Air Crash over S. Indian Ocean, 8 US Code § 1103, Make the Rd. NY v. McAleenan, Campaign for Accountability v. US. Dep 't of Just

What does the US's disgusting history of war crimes teach us about international law? We look at the story of how the US screwed over Nicaragua and what the UN did about it. Also, we break down Gov. Abbott's gross attack on trans people. It's despicable, but what will the real life consequences be? Find out. Before that, some good news and very bad news in the efforts to hold Trump accountable for his uncountable crimes. Links: SCOTUS Feb 22 order, Eastman reply, Prosecutors Leading Trump Fraud Investigation in NY Resign, Abbott letter, Paxton letter, UN Charter, Chapter XIV: The International Court of Justice, Statute of the International Court of Justice, Nicaragua v US 1986, ruling

If you don't understand the first part of the title, you're not alone! There was a delightful dust up between Wizards of the Coast and something called a DAO over Magic the Gathering. It turns out you're not just allowed to profit off of other people's IP? Cryto bros were very surprised to learn this. Andrew decodes it for us. Then, we finally get a thorough breakdown of what happened in the Palin v. NYT case. You may have heard it was dismissed, but it may not be over yet! It's a weird story with a lot of twists and turns. Links: Democratic DAO Suffers Coup, mtgodao white paper, Crypto Losers Buy Copy Of Jodorowsky's Dune, Play Themselves, mtgodao twitter, 17 US Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works, Opinion | America's Lethal Politics, Sarah Palin Jurors Said They Saw News Alerts About Case

Today we have two very significant legal settlements in the news to break down! The families of Sandy Hook victims settled with Remington, but based on the terrible state of the law, this wasn't a guarantee. Andrew explains how it happened! In a somewhat parallel settlement, a victim of Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein settled, but only because of an interesting ruling on a motion to dismiss. Before that. we've got updates on oral arguments in the NY AG motion to quash, the NFL hiring Loretta Lynch & other NFL stuff, the bizarre Durham filing, and the 5th Circuit Injunction related to vaccines and airlines. And then, some Cardi B stuff. So much news! Links: Daniel Snyder Alleged Sexual Harassment Details, Giuffre v. Prince Andrew, GIUFFRE v. ANDREW ruling, Sandy Hook Families Reach Settlement With Gunmaker Remington, 15 U.S.C. § 7901 – “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005”, Bernie Sanders voted for it, 15 US Code § 7902, 15 US Code § 7903, Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act Chapter 735a, § 42-110b, Cardi B on Her Unstoppable Rise GQ

We've got a delightful update in the Madison Cawthorn "one totally legitimate effort" to keep him off the ballot! Cawthorn's lawyers made a truly pathetic attempt at an injunction. It's bad law, but good deep dive! Also, a big Opening Arguments was Right about the DHS saga from a few years ago. Don't remember what we're talking about? Don't worry, we've got your back and it is good news! As if that isn't enough, we've got a bonus Wordle Law Wildcard! Just listen, alright! Links: I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, Employment Authorization Document, Federal Court Restores Access to Work Permits for Many Asylum Seekers, Trump Rule final text, AILA - DHS Secretary Ratifies Rule, Judge Beryl Howell says NOPE, Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991), Wordle and IP law, Cawthorn Injunction, State Board Answer, Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), Chavez v. Evans, 446 P.2d 445 (NM 1968)

Andrew Seidel returns to tell us about the report he and Amanda Tyler put together detailing how Christian Nationalism was central to the Jan. 6th Insurrection. The evidence is overwhelming and is often ignored by the media, so now is our chance to help get this vital information out to the world!

You think you know what a "bad document" is? You haven't seen anything like this! Keen listeners should know by now that winning a defamation suit as a famous person is a tough bar to clear. But, if the person you are suing is an absolute trainwreck and is possibly the worst person in the world, that bar can be cleared. Listen as Ace Associate Morgan Stringer tells us what happened and why Cardi B won!

After being fired from the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores has filed a very serious lawsuit against the NFL for racial bias in hiring. This is absolutely huge news. Find out why the NFL is in serious trouble! Links: Flores v. NFL, Douglas Wigdor - New York's Best Employment Lawyer, 42 US Code § 1981 - Equal rights under the law,  Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African American-Owned Media, Palmer v Cook :: 2019, NJ law against discrimination

Check out this one WEIRD trick to.... *record scratch* wait a minute... it's not a weird trick? Wow! Well, check out this one legitimate way in which Madison Cawthorn could be kept off the ballot! It turns out, the Constitution actually isn't a super big fan of insurrections. Also, some additional info on anti-trust law, and a Wild Card (wooooooooo!) on a new bill written by a Democrat AND a Republican that actually has a chance of passing! Links: Cawthorn Complaint, Next day order staying proceedings, Gerard Magliocca, Amnesty and Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, Article 11B. Challenge to Candidacy, GOP Power Lawyer: Congress Said Insurrection Is Cool In 1872, 1872 Amnesty Act, Klobuchar Cotton Bill

Huge news day! BREYER WILL RETEYER! What a relief. Andrew takes us through that and the potential replacements. They're all great! Then we've got, by immense popular demand, coverage of a story in which at-will employees were forced by a court to stay in their job. What happened? Was it reported correctly? Find out! Then finally, it's Stormy Daniels vs scumbag Michael Avenatti in one of the many trials Avenatti is facing for his unethical behavior. Links: Leader of the Oath Keepers, Democrats Can Replace Justice Stephen Breyer on Party Lines, injunction against at-will employees

There was huge news in the gaming industry as Microsoft announced a deal to acquire Activision! You may remember Activision from such episodes as OA513: California v. Activision Blizzard, Inc in which we covered some of the disgusting sexist behavior that has landed the company in hot water. How does that affect this acquisition? Well, you might be surprised! Listen in! Links: 15 US Code § 1 - Trusts, etc, 15 US Code § 2 - Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty, MICROSOFT HALTS MERGER WITH INTUIT - The Washington Post, United States v. Microsoft Corp, United States v. Microsoft Corp., 97, US v. Microsoft, 253 F.3d 34 (2001)

It's a good news/bad news type of day. The bad news - voting rights has failed in the Senate due to... exactly the two Senators you'd think. But here's the great news! First, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump about the Jan 6th documents! Andrew gives us the full breakdown. And the double good news: We've got an interview with House Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi! He reacts to voting rights, Jan 6th, and explains his Ban Conflicted Trading Act! Links: Trump v. Thompson (DC Cir Dec. 9, 2021), SC opinion, Ban Conflicted Trading Act

A juror lied about being a victim of sexual assault. Is that enough for Ghislaine Maxwell to get a new trial? Find out as Andrew brings us the legal deep dive. Also, GOOD NEWS! The Ohio Supreme Court struck down some gerrymandered maps. It's fantastic news and we're here to tell you all about it! Links: Rule 33. New Trial, McDonough Power Equipment v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984), Ramos v. Louisiana – 140 S.Ct 1390 (2020), Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Duncan, 311 U. S. 243, 251 (1940), League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, Article XI - Ohio Constitution

There is a ton of breaking news today, happening just as we went to record. Andrew had time to briefly look over the Supreme Court ruling on the vaccine mandates and it is TERRIBLE. To quote Andrew's live reaction off mic, "Oh they're just lying now." It's that bad. But, we also had some good breaking news! In a nice timely Andrew Was Right, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested on Jan 6 charges despite not even being there, signaling an escalation in the whole consequences thing. This is good. All that PLUS a wonderful deep dive on an alleged "one weird trick" to solve the filibuster. You know by now it probably won't work, but it actually does and it's very interesting! It just doesn't solve the problem people hope it would. Links: Democracy Docket on Twitter, Chuck Schumer's filibuster dodge MSNBC, Congressional Research Service, Secretary of the Senate, Senate Rule IX, McConnell threatens Senate shutdown if Democrats nuke filibuster, Fake Electors

It's another instance of media coverage of the law not quite getting it right! The lawsuit actually will be back, and Andrew is here to explain why and what really happened! But first, meat's back on the menu, boys! The Biden Administration has been finding creative ways to help people, this time with a Meat EO. Andrew takes the opportunity to explain how Federal Rulemaking works and how Democrats are constantly working to improve things in ways that aren't always obvious. Links: The Biden-Harris Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, Lawsuit Accusing Nirvana of Sexually Exploitive Imagery Is Dismissed, nirvana-lawsuit.pdf, MTD filed 12/22, granted for failure to respond, local rules

It's been both an eternity and no time since the disgusting attack on our nation's Capitol one year ago. We've seen some amount of justice dealt to those involved, but mostly at lower levels. Is there more to come? Will those at the top face consequences? Andrew is here reading the tea leaves on Merrick Garland's speech, and they are some interesting leaves... In the second segment, Andrew tells us about the worthless ethics report issued by Chief Justice Roberts. Links: Read Merrick Garland's Full Jan. 6 Speech, 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, "On Sexual Harassment in the Judiciary" by Leah M. Litman and Deeva Shah, Supreme Court order vax case

It's another mini-Law'd Awful Lawsuits! Terpsichore, or should we say, "Terpsehore," is at it again, with one of the worst all time complaints ever covered on the show. Listen in as we have a lot of fun dissecting this atrocity! Then, we've got a really fun baseball law update that you're going to love, even if you aren't a fan! And we cover the Riot Games DFEH settlement, and an actual good complaint filed against OAN and Giuliani. Links: Terpy's new lawsuit, Russell A. Newman, terpy loves 17, MLBTR posts billionaires, Riot games settlement, 100m settlement, Activision employees, Freeman and Moss v Giuliani

Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on 5/6 counts. Andrew takes us through it, as well as how the BBC made an absolutely colossal blunder in inviting Alan Dershowitz on to comment. Then, we go through an update on the Trump lawsuit over documents. It's headed to the Supreme Court! Links: Maxwell Indictment, 18 USC 2423, Dershowitz Epstein history, DC Cir Opinion (Dec. 9th), 3 USC 15, Trump cert petition, Application for stay of mandate, Motion to expedite, Supplemental briefing, Eliason article

No more bringing knives to gun fights! Andrew breaks down the 2022 redistricting in key states. Listen in to find out why gerrymandering is a must for Democrats if we want to achieve any sort of fairness long term. Then, we have an extended mailbag segment with some truly amazing emails from our brilliant listeners! Links: Cal. Code sec. 8521 et seq., Dave's Redistricting

How is the 6th Circuit overruling the 5th Circuit, you ask? Great question. That's just like you, you brilliant legal mind! Well there's some interesting legal quirkery behind that. But also, wait until you get a load of how terrible and embarrassing the 5th Circuit's original decision was... Also, we react to the bad Manchin news last week. And finally, Andrew's got another iteration of what we now call Cargo Cult Lawyering, with a John Eastman update! Links: 6th Circuit Ruling, 28 US Code § 2112, BST Holdings, Eastman - it's my first day

The Supreme Court Commission finished its work early! Probably because, you know, they didn't f*cking do anything useful. Gabe Roth of Fix the Court returns to discuss why the commission failed, what's really wrong with the court, and debate with us how to actually fix it. Court packing? Term limits? Both? Listen in!

Today's show breaks down President Biden's pivot from passing the Build Back Better Act to passing the Joe Manchin-cosponsored Freedom to Vote Act, S. 2747. What's in the bill? Is it Manchin'ed? Listen and find out! In the "B" segment, Andrew points and laughs at insurrection John C. Eastman's doomed attempt to prevent Verizon from turning over his phone records to the 1/6 Commission.. It's funny because they're all dumb. Finally, we have a very brief update on the Activision lawsuit you won't want to miss. Links Here's a link to a Washington Post article that contains additional links showing how you can help victims of the Quad State tornadoes. Here's the text of S. 2747. Eastman's lawsuit is hilariously bad, and don't forget to check out the case he thinks helps him (it doesn't), Yellin v. US, 374 US 109 (1963). Finally, we explain what that denial of DFEH's motion to intervene in the Activision lawsuit really means.

They're busy at work making a complete mockery of the law. To call them howler monkeys is an insult to howler monkeys, who I'm sure would at least try their best. Andrew takes us through a couple recent opinions by Trump Judges that remind us why it was so goddamn important both to elect Biden AND to win those two Georgia Senate seats. Let this episode be a motivator! These are the people who end up deciding the most important cases when we let Republicans back in power. Links: VanDyke ABA rating, Duncan v Bolta, Terry A. Doughty, Louisiana v Becerra, Who Are the Scientists Behind the Great Barrington Declaration?, Peter A. McCullough

In what seems to be an unprecedented but perhaps bold and necessary move, the parents of the Oxford shooter have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Andrew has the breakdown of what happened and if the charges are likely to stick. Is it a slippery slope to... anyone being charged for everything ever? Nah. Before that, we've got an update about the Amazon unionization effort. A new election has been ordered, which is good news! Find out what Amazon is guilty of. Links: Amazon new election order, Michigan Penal Code Section 750.321, jury instructions

Baseball law! This season is in jeopardy because some crusty, probably racist, billionaires don't want to give up any money. The OA message on sports law has always been loud and clear: side with labor over the owners! Listen in and find out why. Before that, we've got some delightful updates on the kraken idiots having to pay legal bills! Links: Kraken order, A letter to baseball fans, List of Major League Baseball replacement players

Warning: this episode contains yelling. But like, why wouldn't it. We break down oral arguments in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health aka the Handmaid's Tale-ification of the US. The conservative buffoons on the court made jaw droppingly stupid arguments, while some brilliant advocates did an amazing job fighting this losing battle. We've got clips and highlights and a whole lot of rage.

Alex Jones has been in the news lately for losing default judgment after default judgment, and might plan on taking the 5th in front of Congress. So, can he do that? The reasoning proves textualism is terrible and wrong. Then, we've got some updates and clarifications on the Arbery verdict, including capital punishment, appeals by the prosecution, and the misconduct by the first two prosecutors. Finally, a probation officer wrote in to expand on the weird "no porn" rule. Links: 18 US Code § 3731 - Appeal by United States, 2020 Maryland Statutes Section 12-302, Jackie Johnson Indictment, McCarthy v. Arndstein, 266 U.S. 34

Wait the system... can work? It did in this instance at least, and it was a very important one. Three pieces of racist trash were found guilty of the horrifying murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Andrew explains the verdict. However, the system also... very much doesn't work. Andrew breaks down the disturbing case of a judge giving a 4 time rapist NO jail time after praying on it. Then finally, we break down an interesting new argument in the Trump records case. Links: Kyle Rittenhouse Legal Eagle, Georgia Code § 16-5-1, Christopher Belter: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, House Brief, Court's 11/23 order, National Coal. to Save Our Mall v. Norton, 44 U.S. Code § 2204, Trump's reply brief

Lots of updates on the 1/6 commission! The Bannon indictment, a debunking on the idea that Holder and Bannon are in any way comparable, the Q Anon Shaman sentencing, and the Bar Complaint against John Eastman reveals stunning new details on the insurrection attempt! Links: Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress, 2 U.S. Code § 192 - Refusal of witness to testify, Terrible Binnall brief, 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley sentenced to 41 months, Eastman bar complaint

Well this f@cking sucks. Lots to cover in this bonus emergency pod. Unfiltered and unedited.

Let's face it - the conspiracy theory/fake news coming from the left on the Rittenhouse Trial is really terrible. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN that the left is as bad as the right or anything like that. However, we on OA have found it to be exhausting and frustrating. So Andrew is here to set the record straight! But first! We've got some activism for ya. Biden's bull crap Supreme Court Commission is filled with Federalist Society conservatives. It's a waste of time and we need to do something about it. Fortunately, there's a meeting that we can crash! Get the details here. Links: Democrats call out Biden Supreme Court commission, motion to dismiss, Wisconsin Legislature: 948.60, Jury instructions, Sentencing Policies and Practices in Wisconsin

It's Morgan Stringer's Pop-Law! But less fun this time. Morgan is here to tell us all about the tragic Astroworld Crowd Crush that happened, and what the legal fallout is likely to be. Also, don't miss our Rittenhouse Trial analysis on patreon.com/law!

Sometimes Andrew tells us the coverage is wrong and actually a thing wasn't so bad. This is not one of those times. This ruling was an absolute disgrace. And wouldn't you know it, Republicans were responsible. We break it all down. Other topics today: we discuss Veterans Day and the Rittenhouse Trial. And, Vulgarity for Charity is back! Make sure to donate! Andrew tells us about a major sentencing in the 1/6 insurrection. And, lots of Trump documents are about to be released to the public! Links: Defense asks for time served, Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement in Jan. 6, 2019 Bench Trial $572 million, overturned by OK Supreme Court, One dissent, Nov 9th Chutkan denies injunction, Nov 10th Chutkan denies stay

After our episode on Cocaine Hippos, we were contacted by previous guest and all-star attorney Monica Miller about the efforts to free Happy the Elephant. Monica works with the Nonhuman Rights Project, and they are utilizing a fascinating legal strategy to try to free certain animals from captivity. She takes us through the case and the law! In the first segment, we've got a number of OA was wrongs and rights, about hippos, Mark Jensen, AMD, and more. Links: Wild New York YouTube, Larry Tribe op-ed, National Geographic coverage, Martha Nussbaum amicus

It's one of the most requested stories for OA to cover – Steven Donziger won billions in judgment against Chevron in an Ecuadorian court in 2011. Then Chevron fought back. Now, 10 years after the original victory, Donziger has been handed loss after loss, been disbarred, and been found in criminal and civil contempt of court. His cause is deeply sympathetic to left wing audiences. But is it as simple as the big bad oil company beating up a poor lawyer? But first, some reaction to Tuesday's election results. And then some much requested analysis of the Rittenhouse Judge's latest actions. So much good info! Links: Rittenhouse judge fumes about media criticism, Juror Tossed from Rittenhouse Trial for Jacob Blake Joke, Rittenhouse Judge Explains the Law by Citing the Bible, The History of the Hearsay Rule, The Mold That Shapes Hearsay Law, Coy v. Iowa, Rittenhouse: Defense Attorney Repeats N-Word in Opening Statement, Chevron v. Donziger, In RE Donziger, Chevron v. Donziger, 2nd Cir affirmation, guilty of criminal contempt, 2nd circuit ruling on bail, Donziger facing jail time for criminal contempt

It's time for a good old fashioned low stakes fun legal deep dive! Get ready to learn what on Earth this episode title even means! Before that, we've got some Thomas was allegedly wrong about duck duck grey duck! And then a wildcard segment about Dan Tana's vs. Dantana's! Links: Animals Recognized as Legal Persons for the First Time in U.S. Court, Pablo Escobar’s hippos, Maldonado Declaration, Rule 45. Subpoena, 28 U.S. Code § 1782, the motion, Intel Corp v. AMD, 542 U.S. 241, Dan Tana v. Dantanna’s, 611 F.3d 767

Yet another packed episode! Our main story is what's really going on with the Rittenhouse Trial Instructions. You might have seen the coverage stating that the victims can't be called victims but can be called rioters and looters. Is reality as bad as the coverage? Andrew explains! Then in what is our co-main segment, Andrew gives us his initial thoughts on the hot off the presses Build Back Better Plan and what Sinema and Manchin have cost us. Links: HCSM letter, Wisconsin Legislature: 940.02, Kyle Rittenhouse back in court today, https://ballotpedia.org/Bruce_Schroeder, Kyle Ritttenhouse trial: Judge Bruce Schroeder to preside, Rittenhouse judge in spotlight after disallowing word 'victims' in courtroom, BBB deal Page 1 Page 2 Page 3, Whitehouse.gov BBB, HR5376 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Build Back Better Act

Another classic deep dive! You might remember California passing AB5, which sought to elevate so-called "gig economy" workers from independent contractors to full on employees. It was not a perfect solution and left some small businesses wondering how they would cope. However, after that was passed, tech companies poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Proposition 22, which would basically take the giant corporations off the hook while still requiring everyone else to obey AB5. This was a terrible result and had everyone angry at California voters. But now there is a happy update to the story! Listen in!

So much in today's episode! First: a Thomas rant on police striking and quitting over the COVID vaccine. Next: a brief look into Striketober and when Reagan ruined unions. Third: Steve Bannon contempt order! Then finally our main segment on the awful story broken by ProPublica of a Tennessee Judge who has ruined childrens' lives over a made up crime. But wait there's more! A wildcard segment on Activision-Blizzard in which Andrew shares the names of the lawyers who moved from the EEOC to DFEH and why this case is still incredibly weird and has only gotten more weird! Links: Strike Support: What Is It and How You Can Help Striking Workers, Trump Bogus Lawsuit, List of attorneys who tried to steal your 2020 vote, Outrage Grows Over Jailing of Children, Tennessee Code :: Title 39, Rule 203: Procedures Upon Taking a Delinquent Child Into Custody, 2010 Tennessee Code :: Title 37 - Juveniles, activision-blizzard-et-als-ex-parte-application-to-stay-the-case, Rule 4.3 Communicating with an Unrepresented Person

This is part 2 of the deep-dive into Griswold v Connecticut. If you didn't catch part 1, make sure to listen! It's OA533! But also, since we love you so much, there's a wildcard on more Sidney Powell terrible lawyering! She's the grift that keeps on giving.

Our own Andrew Torrez broke this news while on vacation, no less! Here's an article referencing the podcast! We had assumed that the DFEH and the EEOC were working in coordination on the Blizzard Activision case, but that turns out to NOT be the case! Listen to Andrew break down this startling development! After that, one (maybe) final look back at the Weird Al episode for an Andrew (and Thomas) was wrong!

Today is part 1 of a much needed but quite dire deep-dive. The case is Griswold v. Connecticut, which may be familiar even to the layperson. It's what gives us the right to buy contraceptives and not have shopkeepers ask us if we're married. How could that possibly be overturned, you might ask? Well, legally speaking, it is justified in the exact same way as Roe. Listen to learn more.

If that's something you've been too afraid to say lately, this is the episode for you! Andrew breaks down the history of the debt ceiling, and why it is as pointless as it is potentially catastrophic! And a wildcard segment on Texas SB 8 being enjoined. Come see Thomas and others (like Ross and Carrie!) for California Freethought Day! It's online this year! Info here. Links: 31 US Code § 3101 - Public debt limit, DOJ motion for injunction

Everyone's favorite Ace Associate, Morgan Stringer, is back for another rousing edition of Morgan's Pop-law! So many of you asked us about the Nirvana lawsuit, so we've got the full breakdown for you. And Jamie Spears is no longer the conservator over Britney! We are one step closer to hashtag freeing Britney! Links: Nevermind That Nirvana Child Pornography Lawsuit, Attorneys Say, Elden v Nirvana, Inside Nirvana's 'Nevermind' Pool Party, 25 Years Later, Born To Swim?, Jamie Spears was removed from Britney Spears's conservatorship

Mr. Torrez went to Washington! Ok ok, not quite as glamorous as all that, but Andrew DID testify via Skype in a closed door congressional hearing about Christian Healthshare Ministries! How cool is that! Andrew breaks down what he talked about, and the new facts he dug up in his preparation! Also, if you or anyone you know has been harmed by a Healthshare, please write into the show! Email is below. In the second half, Andrew goes through the Activision Blizzard settlement and why it is good news! Links: Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries 990, National Coalition of Health Care Sharing Ministries 990, Gospel Light Mennonite Church Medical Aid Plan Inc. 990, Christian Healthcare Ministries 990, Initial Blizzard lawsuit, Activision Blizzard Confirms SEC Is Investigating It, EEOC (federal) – lawsuit filed Monday 9/27

Alright so... we got a lot of emails from our satire-related episode. Like a lot. And it all focused on the same one thing from a quick aside about Weird Al. Since then, a massive debate has taken place in the Facebook group over whether or not satirists like Weird Al would owe royalties. Andrew's previous segment said no; many commenters say yes. So are we issuing an Andrew was wrong? Find out the answer to that and MANY fascinating related issues in our much needed Weird Al deep-dive!

for... revealing the depths of the Trump family tax crimes. This suit has not been reported very well in the media. Andrew has the breakdown, and the main takeaway that should be the headline everywhere this is covered. But that's not all the Trump related news! Indeed we've got two more stories somehow crammed into this episode. They involve two "bad documents" as we call them here on the show. The Dominion letter and the Eastman memo. One reveals the election lies were known bull shit and the other is a blueprint for a coup. Yikes.

When the Tacoma Torch posted this hilarious parody news story, the Olney Community Baseball Team responded in the worst possible way – they had their lawyer try to intimidate the satirical site into silence. What the hell were they thinking? It only got more hilarious from there. Listen in for Andrew's breakdown! In the first segment, we go over some great listener feedback, including an email from the person who unmasked Terpsichore Maras. And several thoughtful, important missives from some of our transmasculine listeners on the language around the Texas Abortion Bill coverage. Then, because Andrew has apparently been taking some time management enhancing drugs or something, we get a WILDCARD segment on some really terrible people involved in the insurrection being allowed back into polite society like nothing ever happened. Links: Women Aren’t The Only Ones Who Need “Women’s Health”, Tacoma Torch brilliant response, Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), Appellate court opinion, Campbell v. Acuff Rose, 510 U.S. 569 (1994), Sidney Powell Claims 70% Of California Recall Voters Were Turned Away From Polls In One County

So many updates, so little time! Listen as Andrew breaks down the developments in five cases: Texas SB8, E. Jean Carroll, Activision Blizzard, Roger Stone, and Pauline Bauer! If you're doubting that he can squeeze all that into one episode, you're not alone! Links: DoJ motion for injunction, Planned Parenthood et al. v. Texas Right to Life, Carroll v Trump reply brief, letter requesting stay, Activision hires new executives, Activision Blizzard NLRB case, Roger Stone interrupted during radio interview to get served, Capitol police complaint, State response to Bauer, motion to revoke pretrial release

It's Andrew's favorite thing in the world! No, not Transformers porn... Ok, it's Andrew's second favorite thing in the world: Sovereign Citizen nutbaggery. Listen as Andrew breaks down the hilarious, nonsensical gibberish that is: the Sovereign Citizen insurrectionist! Links: Pauline fires lawyer, Hernandez still doing her best, motion to dismiss, courts rebut nonsense

Andrew's favorite Constitutional Law expert, Laurence Tribe, has written an op-ed in the Boston Globe arguing that a Massachusetts case called Larkin v. Grendel's Den will "end the Texas abortion law." That sounds too good to be true. So, is it too good to be true? Or is it just true? Find out! But that's not all, infact we've got 2 more segments in this action packed show! There's another glorious Kraken Sanctions update, which includes an itemized bill for $200,000 that Sidney Powell will be picking up. And in the wildcard, we break down an interesting case involving Facebook in Australia. They don't have a pesky Section 230 down under, which leads to some very fascinating results from an American perspective. Also we briefly discuss the Merrick Garland announcement. Links: Whitmer sanctions tab, Fink sanctions tab, Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, States’ Stances on Public Interest Standing, Wis law 5.90(2)

Andrew breaks down the state of the recall, the porked polls, and Clark v. Weber! Paffrath still seems to be some sort of Democratic frontrunner, but how much of that is real and how much is poll pork? After breaking down the interesting arguments in the suit against the recall, we answer a listener who is critical of our critical opinions of the recall. Were we wrong? Find out! Links: Clark v Weber complaint, opposition, the ruling

This is not an exaggeration. Sure, technically speaking the Supreme Court hasn't said the magic words "we overturn Roe v. Wade" but they used the shadow docket to effectively eliminate it. This is bad. Very, very bad. So what exactly happened? What's in the Texas law that SCOTUS allowed to stand? How completely garbage, unprecedented, and counter to the rule of law is this move? Listen the Andrew's expert analysis and find out.

Our friends Dan and Jordan from the Knowledge Fight podcast are here to break down a creative grift being pulled off by Owen Shroyer. Who tf is Owen Shroyer, Thomas asks? He's an Alex Jones wannabe who has raised $250,000 to defend himself against... basically some made up BS. Listen and enjoy this hilarious breakdown! Links: Shroyer indictment, 18 US Code § 1752, 40 US Code § 5104 - Unlawful activities, 2018 Sentencing Guidelines Manual, addendum order, 28 CFR § 50.10 reporter policy

Today's episode is. So. Satisfying. It's not just sanctions against all the Kraken lawyers. That alone would already be amazing. But it's ALSO consequences for world's most punchable douchebag Jacob Wohl. It's so, so good. Take a listen. You've earned it. Ok full disclosure there is a slight amount of bad news regarding Texas Democrats having to return to the state empty handed, since a couple of Democrats refuse to do the right thing and eliminate the filibuster. No sugar coating that one, but we move quickly through that and get to the awesome news! Links: Sanctions order, Texas Dems end quorum-busting efforts, FCC PROPOSES $5 MILLION ROBOCALLING FINE AGAINST JACOB WOHL AND JOHN BURKMAN

It's another edition of Ace Associate Morgan Stringer's Pop Law! The media widely reported that Jamie Spears intends to step down as conservator. BUT.. that's a bad law thingy. He actually isn't. Tune in and hear the real law talkin'! Then, we talk about some great news in the battle for trans rights. Hobby Lobby was dealt a loss by the court. On the bad news front though, the Whole Woman's Health v. Paxton decision was horrible. But Mr. Sunshine himself, Andrew Torrez, has a positive spin for us. Links: Hobby Lobby v. Sommerville, Texas can ban common abortion procedure in second trimester, appeals court rules, prior Fifth Circuit panel opinion, Fifth Circuit en banc

Terpsichore, who also goes by dozens of slight variations on her name, saw the Kraken nonsense that has led to nothing but sanctions hearing after sanctions hearing and figured why not do... more terrible law. She's suing Dominion back for eleventy billion dollars. How is that damages number justified? GFY. What are the alleged counts of defamation? GFY. Where do these horrible lawyers keep coming from and how did they beat Thomas at the bar exam? We'll never know. Hear all about it on today's show! After that, we do some Andrew was wrong, regarding gift taxes and British courts. Plus an email from the one and only Michael Marshall on Telegram and how it does seem to be the app of choice for horrible racists. Links: 26 US Code § 102,  Gift Taxes, House of Lords - Wikipedia, Virginia Governor's Council, Terpsichore affidavit, Terpsichore deleted webpage, Tore Maras-Lindeman bio, complaint if you can call it that, ND vs Terp and all her names, Jones v. Trice, 360 S.W.2d 48 (1962)

It's a consequences episode, our favorite genre! Our first bit of great news is that Cuomo resigned. Andrew has a few follow up thoughts on that and our episode on Cuomo, as well as some introductory information on who will be New York's first ever female Governor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul! Then we get to the great news of the Dominion Lawsuit surviving a motion to dismiss. If you've listened to the show for a while, you might have noticed that defamation suits tend to have a tough time surviving motions to dismiss. That's because our 1st Amendment is very broad. But the Big Liars went so beyond the pale, they're finding out even the 1st Amendment has limits. Yay! Links: NY AG report on Cuomo, Kathy Hochul, Hochul's govtrac, Hochul speaks, Survey USA poll, Emerson Poll, Dominion Opinion

We bring you a somewhat unusual rapid-response Friday episode in which we break down a new startup company, CrowdHealth, Inc., that is apparently engaged in a mass ad buy across the kinds of podcasts you likely listen to. This means that within a few weeks, you'll probably be hearing all sorts of paid testimonials for a product that does not exist right now and bears all the hallmarks of a classic (legal) scam. This company is funded with $6 million -- some (most?) of which will be spent on the advertising blitz we refused to be a part of. Would you trust an insurance company with just $6 million in reserves? (No.) Would you trust an insurance company that offered contradictory promises? (No.) Does it make any sense to pay an underfunded entity for the right to pay your own medical bills? (No.) We explain how this is almost certainly someone who is very familiar with the kinds of Christian Health Share Ministry scams we debunked in Episode 497 and is trying to replicate that -- only worse. Listen and find out why. For service of process purposes, Opening Arguments is a product of and is copyright (c) 2021 Opening Arguments Media, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company with its principle place of business at 28 E. Susequehanna Ave., Suite 206, Towson, Maryland 21287. This episode relied upon the following resources: Links: Websites: crowdhealth.com goes nowhere; crowdhealth.org is an unrelated company selling KN95 masks and other COVID supplies; this product is at the (unfinished) website joincrowdhealth.com. You can read the two-page flyer CrowdHealth sent out here. We explained why Christian Health Sharing Ministries are a scam back in Episode 497. You can search for CrowdHealth, Inc., a Texas corporation organized on April 19, 2021, on the Texas Corporations website's search page (it will pull up in a separate window). Here is a link to CrowdHealth's SEC Form D filing showing it raised $6,025,800 from 23 angel investors; that story was covered in the May 10, 2021 issue of the Austin Business Journal. And if you want to know more about CrowdHealth's founder, CEO, and (possibly?) it's only shareholder, Andy Schoonover, you can check out: a) Andy's LinkedIn page; b) his LinkedIn post soliciting doctors to share pricing information and promising "a bunch of uninsured folks who want to pay you quickly and $$ directly"; c) his stupid unfunny TikTok thing he shared on LinkedIn; d) his Twitter page; and e) his bio at Lion Venture Partners. Legal documents: IRS Publication 16-0051; 26 U.S.C. § 213; and 26 U.S.C § 5000A Appearances None. Invite us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

NY Governor Cuomo was found to have committed criminal sexual harassment. Almost all top Democrats, including Preseident Biden, has said he must resign. But will he? If he doesn't, what options remain for removal? Meanwhile, Governor Newsom of CA is facing a recall election and isn't guilty of any serious misconduct. So what gives? How can Californians be voting to recall a relatively decent Governor, but New Yorkers can't recall a disgusting creep? As usual, Andrew has the full breakdown!

Today's episode tracks recent developments in the two major stories we covered recently: last Friday's Episode 512 regarding the ongoing quest to hold lawyers accountable for the (nonsense) lawsuits they file, and Tuesday's Episode 513 about the California v. Activision Blizzard lawsuit. We begin with an Andrew Was Wrong about language and then describe the developments since the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard for allegations of widespread discrimination in the workplace. Learn what the Activision employees are demanding and other efforts for activism surrounding the lawsuit. After that, it's time to check in on the effect that a late-breaking sanctions order in Colorado may have on the Kraken sanction hearings we know and love. Join us as we break it down for you! Links Click here for the Judge's Order granting sanctions in O'Rourke et al. v. Dominion Voting Systems et al. (D. Colo.). King v. Whitmer docs: (a) transcript of the sanctions hearing. (b) Detroit's reply brief; (c) Lin Wood's reply brief; (d) Emily Newman's reply brief; (e) Donald Campbell's reply brief on behalf of Sidney Powell, Howard Kleinhendler and others; and (f) Gov. Whitmer's reply brief. Appearances None. Invite us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

If you're a gamer, or just very online, you have likely seen a ton of coverage of an explosive lawsuit against Activision. It alleges discriminatory behavior against women, ranging from general pay discrepancies to specific sexual misconduct claims. As usual, law-expert Andrew Torrez has the complete breakdown for us! Before that, we read a very moving email from Jane Doe #12 in the Liberty University suit. Links: The Atari Timeline, Activisionaries: How Four Programmers Changed The Game Industry, 42 US Code § 2000e–2 - Unlawful employment practices, Section 432.6 - Requiring waiver of rights prohibited

Today's episode updates two separate lawsuits related to the 1/6 insurrection: Rep. Eric Swalwell's suit against Trump, Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks and the ongoing drama surrounding sanctions for the Kraken lawyers in King v. Whitmer, the Michigan lawsuit that exposed just how nonsensical all of the Kraken election lawsuits were. In the first segment, we learn that neither Merrick Garland's Department of Justice nor counsel for the House of Representatives believe that "inciting insurrection" is within the scope of your employment if you're a member of the House of Representatives, so... Mo Brooks is on his own on this one. This is all about the Westfall Act, which we last discussed in Episode 498. In the main segment, we check back in now that all the supplemental briefs have been filed after the mammoth 6-hour Michigan sanctions hearing. Learn who had the worst filing (hint: someone did worse than Lin Wood!), who had the... least worst?... and what is in store for all of the Kraken lawyers! BONUS: We've attached the complete six-hour hearing transcript. Links: Swalwell v. Trump: (a) docket report; (b) Swalwell's opposition to Brooks's Westfall Act motion; (c) decision of House counsel to decline to represent Brooks; and (d) DOJ's decision to decline to represent Brooks. We last discussed the Westfall Act in Episode 498. King v. Whitmer transcript of the sanctions hearing. Lin Wood's (a) brief 1 and brief 2; and (b) prior inconsistent brief in the Delaware Supreme Court admitting he represented plaintiffs in Michigan. Donald Campbell's brief on behalf of Sidney Powell, Howard Kleinhendler, and the rest of the Kraken idiots. Hoo boy, the brief filed by Stefanie Lambert Junttila on her own behalf... maybe don't represent yourself, Stef? And just because Stef didn't read it doesn't mean you shouldn't read Mezibov v. Allen, 411 F.3d 712 (6th Cir. 2005). The City of Detroit's (a) Safe Harbor letter and attached motion; and (b) supplemental brief (that's fire)! Remember all of this is about Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Finally, if you search the transcript you'll see Howard Kleinhendler make the "fraud vitiates everything" argument, for which David Fink rightly skewers him in the City of Detroit's supplemental brief. Check out more on this stupid argument here. Appearances None. Invite us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

In a dizzy euphoria at having had a single good interaction with a stranger on Facebook, Andrew decided to listen to an episode of Bari Weiss's podcast featuring a debate between Chris Rufo and David French on Critical Race Theory. Apparently, Andrew has too much free time and not enough things to be mad at. But it inspired part 3 on Critical Race Theory and what the likely next Pokemon evolution of the moral panic will be. Links: The Argument of “Afropessimism”, The Political Economy of Reparations, Black Nihilism and the Politics of Hope, Idaho HOUSE BILL NO.377, AZ HOUSE BILL 2898, AG Knudsen Issues Binding Opinion on Critical Race Theory, SC Bill H.4100

The main segment of today's show is what is known in the industry as a huge bummer. Liberty University is facing a lawsuit filed by 12 women who allege that they were sexually assaulted, and that their assault was handled horribly by the University. They also allege that Liberty's code of conduct made it more likely that they would be assaulted. It's grim, but it's a necessary story to cover and Andrew has the full legal breakdown for us. In our first segment, we hear from some people who are on the ground at the Texas legislature. Links: Abbott vetoes funding, The Liberty Way, lawsuit against Liberty University, 20 U.S. Code Chapter 38, John ED Larkin, 18 US Code § 2255

I'm going to go ahead and say this sanctions hearing was the most popular one in the history of law. It was so good, expect it on a future Law'd Great Sanctions Hearings, available on Patreon! Andrew breaks down some highlights here and lays out what we can expect to actually happen. Then, it's the Cosby case revelation Andrew has teased for weeks. Why is that entire saga even more worse than we originally said? Find out. Links: the hearing, multiple sanctions requests by... everyone, Rule 11, Emily P. Newman - Lawyer working to suppress legally cast votes, Lin Wood in Delaware case, Wood needs sanctions on top of sanctions, Campbell motion to release video, Rule 413, Cosby opinion, Cosby civil suit docket, motion for sanctions, Cosby motion to strike, response, forgotten until 10 yrs, Rule 5.1.5, AP renews motion, granted

Don't mess with Texas Democrats! Governor Abbott called an emergency session, not to fix the failing power grid or anything else important, but to ban knowledge and to restrict voting. Texas Democrats are not having it. They're playing the kind of hardball many of us have been thirsty for in this era. Andrew explains the situation and why it's a very good strategy. Then, Andrew does a victory lap for his accurate predictions in the hilarious lawsuit filed by Roy Moore against Sacha Baron Cohen! Links: 2021 Texas legislative session,  Texas House faces deadline, Anti-trans bill, Abbott 87th Special Session Agenda, Bill Text: TX SB3, Texas House Rules, Ep. 3 Official Clip | Who Is America?, case dismissed, Moore waiver agreement

We are still not done telling you how bad this Supreme Court is. One thing that may help make sense of why this court is portrayed as more centrist than it is is their use of the shadow docket. So, Listener Thomas S. asks, what is a shadow docket? Do you have to fight shadow Link there? Or maybe shadow John Roberts? What cases are moving through the shadow docket and how right wing are these results? Andrew breaks it down. Then, case that has been requested by so many of you! A comic book store is suing a hotel, and they submitted a complaint partially in.... COMIC BOOK FORM! Is that legal? How will it be recieved? Listen and find out! Links: the Knight case, Third Planet Sci-Fi and Fantasy Superstore v. ASDN Houston, Rule 12. Defenses and Objections, Rule 91 - Special Exceptions, Tex. R. Civ. P. 91

And while we're on the topic of sanctions, Rudy Giuliani can no longer practice law ANYWHERE for the time being, and the Kraken lawyers are all set to receive their sanctions as well. Turns out there are consequences for lying your ass off in official court filings, if you do it long enough. So listen in for a detailed breakdown of some truly terrible lawyering! Links: Rudy suspended in DC, DC Rule XI. Disciplinary Proceedings, where to listen to the sanctions hearing, Detroit sanctions motion, Trump sues Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Save the Constitution From Big Tech - WSJ, Yale Professor Jed Rubenfeld Suspended for Sexual Harassment

This easily breaks the record for longest show title. But seriously, we're fed up with this bogus Supreme Court coverage. In our main segment, Andrew has the full breakdown of Brnovich and just how terrible it is for voting rights, AND how much Alito and the conservatives are legislating from the bench. They are simply overwriting laws they don't like to accomplish right wing goals. This is pretty much an Andrew Was Right show, as the first segment is all about the Florida social media law being enjoined exactly the f how Andrew predicted. Then, to make us all feel better, we read some really great listener mail! Trust me, you won't want to miss it. It's delightful! Links: FL SB 7072, injunction

Purely speaking in legal terms, the Cosby release is even WORSE than you have likely heard. It's a complicated breakdown, but that's what Andrew is best at! Listen in to understand just how bewildering this ruling was. After that, Andrew gives us a very quick take on the Trump Org indictments. Links: Cosby opinion, Saylor dissent, Section 3125 - Title 18, Rule 404 - Character Evidence, Commonwealth v. Stipetich

If you've listened to this show long enough, you know that it is seemingly impossible to be dishonest and corrupt enough for the Bar to do something about it. Well, Rudy Giuliani found a way. The NY bar has slapped him down in a way that our esteemed Andrew Torrez has never seen before. Also, we've got an update on how Christian Healthshare Ministries are STILL a scam. Then, we talk about Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, in which the Court badly mangles eminent domain. Having just heard our deep dive in episode 500, you'll be able to spot how terrible this decision is as well! And, Andrew was right on Mahanoy v. BL!

This is a continuation of Episode 501's exploration of a rather arcane bit of legal jurisprudence that has somehow become the target du jour of the right wing, from Matt Gaetz to Newsmax to... well, Matt Gaetz again. That's right, it's an explanation of what critical race theory actually is, and whether it should be banned. (Hint: no) In this episode, you'll learn more about the definitely NOT Marxist postmodern critique of language and legal textbooks, including an in-depth discussion of a case you probably have never heard of -- Johnson & Graham's Lessee v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823). And if you have heard of the case, then a) you're probably a lawyer or law student, and b) you should thank a critical legal studies theorist! We'll also get in depth with two of the founders of the CRT movement, Mari Matsuda and Kimberle Crenshaw. Learn what their unique contributions to legal scholarship were and are, and decide for yourself whether this is too dangerous for grad students to even read. Finally, we'll delve back into the one-man astroturf unit that is Christopher F. Rufo and learn how he's deliberately misleading everyone about what CRT is in order to stoke a moral panic. This is an episode you don't want to miss & might want to share even with your Uncle Frank! Finally, we do an Andrew Was Wrong on Arrow's Theorem as math professors rise up and storm our studio. Links We first discussed CRT in Episode 501; go check that out if you haven't yet. Andrew definitively stated that he was not a CRT theorist & believed there are right answers in the law in Episode 477 critiquing originalism. Florida's latest law is HB 233 on "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity," which kind of contradicts the whole banning CRT thing. Check out Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic's "Rodrigo's Reappraisal" (2021). You can read Johnson & Graham's Lessee v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823) for yourself. The Rufo timeline we mentioned was published in the Wall Street Journal, and you can check out the text of Trump's executive order here. You can also read his garbage article in the NY Post... you know what? I'm not going to link that. He's terrible. You should definitely read Mari Matsuda's Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim's Story (1989) and Kimberle Crenshaw's Mapping the Margins:  Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color from the 1991 Stanford Law Review. Finally, I would also recommend reading Aya Gruber's "Against Carceral Feminism" (2021). Appearances None! Have us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law –Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

If you've heard the buzz about Critical Race Theory lately, you... probably have absolutely no idea what it actually is because the people who have already passed laws in several states banning it don't even know. But if you've heard an informed person talk about it, you may have heard that it has its roots in the law. Well then, what better place to give you a deep dive than on a law show! So what is Critical Legal Studies? How did it pave the way for Critical Race Theory? OA is on the case! Links: Why are states lining up to ban critical race theory?, The Wedge Document, Critical Race Theory Briefing Book, Florida's New Law, Helms Stalls King's Day In Senate, Marxism, Understanding Marx, Understanding Modernism, Postmodernism, The Bridge: Critical Theory: CLS Movement, The skin trade Posner review

It's bonus OA!!! Andrew takes us through whatever the hell Manchin is trying to do with Republicans, then breaks down two Supreme Court rulings for us. Spoiler: they're terrible. Links: For the People Act of 2021, 19-123 Fulton v. Philadelphia, California v. Texas

500!!!! WOOOOOOO! It's time for the deep-dive we've been putting off for 5 years. Eminent domain! Links: Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp, Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, Murr v. Wisconsin, 2017, Kelo v. City of New London, Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, Pfizer To Close New London Headquarters

... and then goes on unhinged Twitter rant full of bad law! We're here to break down just how obviously spurious his allegations are. Then, we address the tremendous amount of feedback we got on Christian Health Sharing Ministries. Some listeners tried to defend them, or at least claimed they got out ahead. Was Andrew wrong? Are they not a scam? Find out! Links: Institute for Christian Conciliation, Access to ICC Guidelines and Rules of Procedure, Commercial Arbitration Rules, weird handbook, cost of uncovered pregnancy, Rule 5. Serving and Filing Pleadings, return affidavit, Mo Brooks raising campaign funds off wife getting served, Alabama Section 13A-7-2, 6-5-262, Rule 4. Summons

This episode is exactly why this show exists. Two stories about Merrick Garland's DoJ came out recently that gave the strong impression that Garland was defending Trump policies and even joining forces with religious bigots against LGBTQ rights. These stories are COMPLETELY misleading. As always with complicated legal stories, the truth faces a steep, uphill battle. Come along as Andrew explains why Garland is doing exactly what he should be, and would be doing even under a Bernie Sanders administration. In the first segment, we discuss the Women's Health Protection Act. Can it save us from the Supreme Court overturning Roe? Find out! Links: Manchin abortion record, Murkowski abortion record, 28 US Code § 2679 Westfall Act, Barr's first brief, E. Jean Carroll's response, CAIR v. Ballenger, 444 F.3d 659 (2006), DOJ Updates Filing, 20 US Code § 1681, Attorney General's Duty to Defend, The Indefensible Duty to Defend, Alliance defending freedom motion to intervene

Andrew stumbled across a Marketwatch article that recommended a Christian Health Sharing company to save money on health insurance. Due to this being a complete scam, Andrew was sent on a Liam Neeson-esque crusade. Let's just say he has a certain set of skills involving documents and research and deep-diving... Listen and find out why this is a scam, and why it still persists and is in fact being incentivized by our government! Yes the Biden one still! Whatever your belief system, PLEASE don't let yourself or anyone you know be taken in by this scam! Links: dumb Marketwatch article, Membership for Health Sharing Ministries Soars, Healthcare Sharing Ministries: Read the Fine Print, Buzzfeed coverage, Member Requirements, § 1501(d)(2)(B), 2016 IRS ruling, Trump EO 13877, 85 FR 35398, 26 CFR Part 1 - INCOME TAXES, NYT coverage

First story on today's show is the Chauvin motion for downward departure. The Judge said up to 30 years, Chauvin countered with "...how about a firm talking-to?" Andrew breaks down the (mostly terrible) arguments. Then, we talk about a conservative cancel culture story – a Stanford Law student put up an obviously satirical and hilarious flier roasting the Federalist Society and then was punished by the school. Listen for the details and some history on campus free speech! Links: The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Campus Hate Speech Codes, California Education Code § 94367, Corry v. Stanford, Stanford Flyer, Fed Society Complaint

Today we have special guest Nick Fish, president of American Atheists! He recently attended a meeting with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Is this administration doing a better job representing the millions of non-believers in the country? Find out! In the first segment, we discuss Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the free speech case you may have heard about on The Daily. Andrew gives us a more complete breakdown and offers a prediction as to how the ruling will go! Links: Tinker v. Des Moines, Hazelwood Indep. School Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, BL v. Mahanoy Area Sch. Dist., 964 F.3d 170, Mahanoy Area School District v. BL oral arguments, Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships EO

I know I say this a lot but... this episode is action packed! So much good stuff to discuss that we had to squeeze in the Trump grand jury news into the announcements slot. Andrew breaks down what it means and what to expect. Then, a listener who actually worked on the NRA case wrote in to give us the final word on Sea Girt. But in our main segment, Andrew gives us the full breakdown on the asinine social media law Florida just passed. Eyes, look your last, because this thing is destined for the trash bin. Find out why! Then, we squeezed in a wildcard segment, if you can believe it. Did Alan Dershowitz win a defamation case against CNN? (no) Links: NRA Annual Matches Move To Sea Girt In 1892, 28 US Code § 1408, FL social media law, 47 U.S. Code § 230, Dershowitz v. CNN Order on MTD

Today Andrew breaks down Fox's motion to dismiss the Dominion lawsuit. Dominion has mountains of evidence of defamation. Fox... disagREES. Find out how their defense holds up! We also talk about the surprisingly high number of delightful emails we got about Seagirt from Australians. And finally an Andrew was slightly wrong about some Asbestos bankruptcy stuff! Links: Dominion complaint, Fox motion to dismiss, NY CPLR Rule 3211, Coomer Colorado lawsuit, Newsmax retraction, another Newsmax retraction, Newsmax Withdraws False Claims About 2020 Election, Powell motion to dismiss, Dominion response

This is not a misleading clickbait headline, this is literally what happened. Mississippi citizens passed a medical marijuana amendment and textualist conservative judges overruled it with a reading of the law so asinine that it rendered constitutional amendments by citizens impossible going forward. You have to hear the breakdown to even believe it. In the second segment, Andrew delivers some more real bad news out of the US Supreme Court. You likely heard about the abortion case, but Edwards v. Vannoy is a decision you didn't hear about that does not bode well.

And two of those names are: Jacob Wohl and the NRA! It's a consequences show! While consequences might be an endangered species these days, Tish James shows us that species still has teeth. You may know Jacob Wohl as that right wing troll who absolutely should be in jail right now for any number of things, like fabricating blackmail material against Elizabeth Warren, for example. He's in big trouble for yet another criminally awful plot. Then, Andrew breaks down the recent bankruptcy decision regarding the NRA, and why it's bad news for them and good news for not them. Links: KKK act v Wohl, court order denying stay, James motion to intervene Wohl, Wohl opposing intervention, OA410: NY AG Files to Dissolve the NRA!, Order dismissing NRA bankruptcy

Big updates in the Derek Chauvin case! First, the judge found four aggravating factors. This is what Andrew predicted, but not exactly the same four! Also, one of the other officers in the case has filed a motion alleging witness coercion. We break down what this means, and how worried we should be. In our first segment, we answer an excellent patron question about an old OA episode: What ever happened to the Arlene's Flowers case? We discussed it back on OA180, and Andrew Seidel made a prediction that held up very well. Finally, apportionmentcalculator.com has been fixed, and a listener gives us great info about Census Blocks! Links: Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, Docket for 17-108, Arlene's Flowers Remand, Thao motion, Federal indictments for all 4 cops, 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law, Former Md. medical examiner's testimony for Chauvin defense leads to call for review of past cases, MINNESOTA SENTENCING GUIDELINES, Aggravating factors filing Appearances None. Have us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Andrew is giggling like a school child right now as we present the deep-dive you didn't know you needed! It's transform...ing robots (not quite Transformers) and some really intricate IP law! It also involves Italian Trump! Before that, we have a correction on trademarking numbers, and some mini-dive into an Ugg lawsuit! Links: Ugg Lawsuit final order, 15 US Code § 1117 - Recovery for violation of rights, USD287037S - Changeable robot toy, 2003 Court Tokyo High Court Case, 2017 Arbitration, Macross Sequels and Films To Be Released Worldwide

You may have seen some alarming headlines about Chauvin's lawyers asking for a new trial over a juror being at a BLM rally, but do those alarming headlines hold up? Should we be concerned? Andrew has the full breakdown! Before that, we tackle a very interesting component of the census called the "differential privacy" method, and why it's the subject of a new lawsuit.

All-star Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is at it again! In a Judiciary subcommittee meeting, Whitehouse laid out the groundwork for how a future Supreme Court could overturn Citizens United and Shelby County v. Holder. These are two atrocious decisions that would make even the Andrewest judge lament stare decisis, but today's episode explains how a court could overturn them without doing damage to court legitimacy going forward! (if you're into that kind of thing...) Before that, Andrew breaks down SCOTUS granting cert in the NYS Rifle & Pistol Assn v Corlett. Then, we tackle a listener email claiming we badly misrepresented defense attorneys in last Tuesday's show. Links: NY State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n. v. City of New York, N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(2)(f), Supreme Court of the United States opp brief, 2nd Circuit NY State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Beach, Cert Peition, Cert granted, Supreme Court Fact-Finding and the Distortion of American Democracy, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Citizens United, Civil Service Commission v. Nat’l Assn of Letter Carriers,

You all probably heard by now that NY lost a House seat by 89 people... But did they? Andrew argues that this has been misreported. Find out why! Along the way, find out way more than you ever wanted to about the math and Al Gore Rhythms behind apportionment! Also, Rudy Giuliani had some things taken in what shouldn't be called a "raid." Couldn't' have happened to a nicer obvious criminal! Then we answer some feedback on the previous episode, OA485: What If Your Client Tells You They’re Guilty? Links: OA307: Apportionment - The Census Fight Is Not Over, NPR 2020 Census Results, 13 US Code § 141 - Population and other census information, Executive Order on the Census, 2020 Census Apportionment Results, 2 U.S. Code § 2b, Method of Equal Proportions, Reapportionment Under the 1950 Census, "Computing Apportionment," US Census Bureau, Model Rule 3.3: Candor Toward the Tribunal

... and other great questions from listeners! We get so many intelligent, thoughtful questions from our amazing listeners and patrons that we decided to do a show about it! Today's episode features 3 listener questions. First, what happens if your client tells you they're guilty? Next, a union leader asks if Janus v. AFSCME completely disregarded Garcetti v. Ceballos? Finally, can electors report fractional votes?

It's good news! Chauvin was found guilty on all 3 counts! Andrew breaks down what to expect with sentencing, and a number of interesting legal quirks along the way. Also, should we be worried about an appeal? What about the Maxine Waters comments? Find out! Links: State v. Martin, 211 N.W.2d 765 (Minn. 1973), MINNESOTA SENTENCING GUIDELINES, Minn. Sentencing Guidelines and Commentary, Sentencing Guidelines Grid, Sample PSI Report Vermont

Andrew Seidel of the FFRF joins us to discuss the absolutely terrible SCOTUS decision in Tandon v. Newsom. As you might expect, it's a complete disgrace that further enshrines Christian Privilege into law, in total contradiction of Church State Separation.

Officer Kim Potter was charged with 2nd Degree Manslaughter in the killing of Daunte Wright. She claims she meant to fire her taser. Could she face more serious charges? Then, Andrew breaks down Maryland's Police Reform Bill. It's pretty good stuff, so naturally Democrats had to override the Republican Governor's veto. And finally, we've got a wildcard in which Sydney Powell responds to charges of incompetence with EVEN MORE INCOMPETENCE. Links: Andrew's Full Baseball Lecture, the slides, Kim Potter Charging Documents, Sec. 609.205 Man 2, MINNESOTA SENTENCING GUIDELINES, Sec. 609.20 MN Man 1, MD SB71, SB178, HB670, Evers' brief, Powell Motion to Strike, Evers response, Powell motion to strike (actual motion)

Governor Tony Evers is not messing around when it comes to Sidney Powell's evidence-free conspiracy nonsense. He has filed a motion for sanctions that just demolishes Powell for being a total hack, liar, and terrible lawyer. It's magnificent, and Andrew breaks it down for us! After that, we've got some follow up on Uzuegbunam v Preczewski (the one where Andrew sided with John Roberts.) Was Andrew wrong? Find out!

Today's show has everything you want from an OA episode! We start with some follow-up on the Originalism episodes. Second is a fascinating mini dive into Graham v. Connor and why both the defense and the prosecution of the Derek Chauvin Trial are citing it. Finally, we squeeze in an amazing wildcard segment about Jordan Peterson being Red Skull in the new Captain America comics!

A recent episode of the Rationally Speaking Podcast featured Originalist Law professor William Baude arguing for why judges should be originalist. Needless to say, it was not a good case and strawman arguments abounded. Andrew is here to give us part 2 of the deep-dive that will set the record straight on why originalism is still bad.

If you're looking for evidence that Joe Biden is ready and willing to play hardball and not give a shirt about Republican votes, his first batch of judicial nominees are a great example. Andrew breaks down for us why they signal that he isn't messing around! Before that, we discuss the 9th circuit decision Young v. Hawaii about open carry. Links: Memorandum on International Transgender Day of Visibility, Biden Announces Intent to Nominate 11 Judicial Candidates, Biden Won't Give ABA Advance Role in Vetting Judicial Nominees, ABA 2019 Report: Lawyer Demographics, Examining the Demographic Compositions of US Circuit and District Courts, Biden borrowed the Federalist Society's tactics

A recent episode of the Rationally Speaking Podcast featured Originalist Law professor William Baude arguing for why judges should be originalist. Needless to say, it was not a good case and strawman arguments abounded. Andrew is here to give us part 1 of the deep-dive that will set the record straight on why originalism is still bad. Then we've got Ace Associate Morgan Stringer on for some pop-law! She gives us the breakdown on the lawsuits filed against DeShaun Watson which allege sexual assault. Links: Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), Gamble Decision with Thomas quote

Sidney Powell's response to the Dominion Defamation suit is too batshirt to miss! Andrew brings us the full breakdown. Also, a jury has been selected in the Derek Chauvin trial so we've got some updates there. And finally, Andrew explains the gun control bills that have passed congress. Links: Dominion response to Powell motion to extend time, Dominion complaint, Powell motion to dismiss, Minn. Sentencing Guidelines, Batson v. Kentucky (1986), Jurors In Derek Chauvin's George Floyd Murder Trial, Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, Texas mass shooting, Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021

It's a no takesies backsies deep dive! We all know the law is pretty reasonable and there's no way you get to keep millions of dollars that a bank wires you by accident, right? Wellllllll ordinarily yes, but sometimes no! Andrew's got the full breakdown on Citibank's big oopsie. Before that, we talk about Alan Dershowitz's (s)hit new podcast and how he's lying about the My Pillow guy. Links: OA198: What Is Alan Dershowitz Thinking?, Former Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz is advising MyPillow CEO

Remember sniveling weasel Brett Kavanaugh and the serious allegations against him by Dr. Ford and how he was "cleared" by an FBI investigation into the matter? Well according to Sheldon Whitehouse, that investigation might have been not just inadequate but perhaps FAKE. In our main story, Andrew breaks down the Ohio lawsuit attempting to block the American Rescue Plan. It involves a deep dive into anti-commandeering doctrine, which might not be what you think it is. Links: FBI facing allegation that its 2018 background check of Brett Kavanaugh was ‘fake’, Whitehouse Releases Letter to Garland on Oversight Matters, OLC Politicization, Ohio attorney general sues Biden administration over $1.9 trillion stimulus

You read that right, and no it's not opposite day! At least... I don't think it is. Anyway, Manchin has said some things about the filibuster that are incredibly encouraging! We've got the full breakdown and a mini filibuster dive for you. Then in our main segment, Andrew breaks down a decision in which Roberts dissented from the entire court... and in Andrew's opinion, he has it right! Links: Brookings.edu, "The History of the Filibuster,", 19-968 Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski

It's here! The 1.9 trillion dollar package is officially passed! If you are one of the many listeners who donated time or money to getting Democrats to 50 seats, you truly did make this happen. Andrew did all the reading so you don't have to! He breaks down what's in this incredibly progressive plan. Before that, we respond to lots of people asking "Didn't Republicans fire the parliamentarian in 2000?" This objection to our minimum wage episode completely falls flat for several reasons. Links: WaPo Parliamentarian Article, Lott to Oust Senate Parliamentarian Who Ruled Against GOP, WaPo How big is the Biden stimulus bill?

At oral arguments before the Supreme Court, a lawyer for Republicans admitted that eliminating voting restrictions would put Republicans at a 'competitive disadvantage.' Will this startling admission jeopardize the case for Republicans? Find out! Before that, we cover some good news and bad news. Bad first - the Texas EO on masking is worse than you thought. Good news - HR1 the Equality Act is amazingly good legislation! It's the jam packed Tuesday deep-dive you've come to expect from us! Links: TX Executive Orders GA-32 and GA-34, TX Code 418, TX Executive Order GA-10, State Voting Bills Tracker 2021, Georgia HB 531, [Brnovich v. DNC] Consolidated Oral Argument, 52 U.S. Code § 10301

Leftist publications like Jacobin have been excoriating the Biden administration, and specifically VP Harris, for not simply overruling the Senate Parliamentarian to force the $15 minimum wage through. They argue this is something Republicans definitely would do if the situation were reversed. So... is all that true? Andrew is here to break it down for us! Links: The Hill Cruz: Let's overrule Senate officer to expand ObamaCare bill, Rules Of The Senate, 2 US Code Chapter 17, Byrd Rule 2 US Code § 644, The Tax Legislative Process: A Byrd's Eye View, Andrew's favorite plan

Hooooo boy, have we got some legal craziness for you fine listeners! Disgraced lawyer who Instagramed his participation in an insurrection has filed a lawsuit that is essentially Latinos for Trump and a few other groups v. EVERYONE. Andrew had way too much fun diving into it! Before that, we have quite the deep-dive on hearsay related to a recent T3BE question. Turns out you can't kill witnesses to get away with stuff? Who knew! Links: Rule 801. Exclusions from Hearsay, Rule 802, Rule 803, Rule 804, Find A Lawyer | Paul MacNeal Davis, Goosehead Insurance, Sollenberger Tweet, Gondor has no King nonsense, Court sua sponte motion, amended complaint, Davis fire by basically everyone, LFT asks for more time, LFT motion for fees, supporting exhibit

Normally we're bracing ourselves every time there's SCOTUS news, but this time there's actually some good! Cy Vance HAS TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS. Ok that's pretty much the end of the unambiguously good news. But listen in as Andrew gives us the expert analysis on the anti-affirmative action case and the Title X case! Before that, we talk about what elections actually would have looked like under Lessig's proportional system from last episode. The results are very fascinating! Yay spreadsheets! We finish off with a quick answer to the question, "could the Senate have voted anonymously on impeachment?" Links: 2021 Cornelius Vanderbroek Memorial Essay Competition for Law School Students, Maryland FBA Essay Contest, BBC Facebook v Australia: Who blinked first?, Daily Kos How minority rule plagues Senate, Andrew's Spreadsheet, CNN Trump's tax returns turned over to Manhattan district attorney, Mayor v. Azar, 973 F.3d 258, California v. Azar, 950 F.3d 1067, 42 US Code § 18114 - Access to therapies

Harvard Law Professor and activist Lawrence Lessig joins us to talk about his ongoing efforts to get rid of the Electoral College. It's a war being fought on multiple fronts, but Professor Lessig's current effort is to force states to assign delegates proportionally. The all or nothing system we have now is not actually written into the Constitution. Listen in for the full breakdown! Links: Rodriguez v. Newsom cert petition, Baten v. McMaster, 967 F.3d 345

Why is the OA Facebook page blocked in Australia? Well, it's not just us, it's every news page! We've got the deep dive into why Facebook is blocking us and why Google isn't, even though they were targeted by the same law. Before that, we take a look at a truly terrible bill out of South Carolina that is going to be model legislation in a post-Roe America. It's every bit as anti-choice as you think and then some. Finally, a look at an absurd and pathetic attempt by Georgia Republicans to shield Trump from likely indictment by amending the constitution! Texas Resources: Warming Centers – TDEM, Warming centers in Texas: How to find them, get help and help others, Live Doc with resources, TEXAS WEATHER CRISIS ASSISTANCE Links: Overview of Fetal Development, Abortion Policy in the Absence of Roe, AUS Digital Platforms Inquiry rpt, News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2021 – Parliament of Australia, News Corp and Google Agree To Global Partnership, Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia, Georgia General Assembly - SR 100, 2021 Cornelius Vanderbroek Memorial Essay Competition for Law School Students, Maryland FBA Essay Contest

Today's show is a fascinating deep-dive into one Amazon facility's efforts to unionize, and the implications it has on the entire company! After that, we have an update on the Senate power sharing agreement. Committee assignments galore! Links: Amazon workers begin voting in landmark US union push, Amazon Workers in Delaware Reject Union Effort, Amazon has avoided unions for 25 years, Amazon 18-month non-competes, Amazon's Secret Program to Spy On Workers, Amazon training videos coach Whole Foods staff on how to discourage unions, Amazon: ‘They Work You to Death’, Amazon NLRB Case, National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 151 et seq, Signed RC petition, Amazon response, Amazon has lost its bid to delay Alabama union vote, NLRB petitions report, Res 27 power sharing, 2001 version S. RES. 8

In case you missed it, our 45th president led a violent insurrection about a month ago and now it's up to Democrats to convince a bunch of Republicans... who were there... that it happened. Andrew is here to break it all down for us! Also, some other criminal president updates as the Georgia Sec of State opens an investigation into Trump's election meddling there. Links: NYT Georgia Officials Review Trump's Phone Call to Raffensperger, Georgia Prosecutors Open Criminal Inquiry Into Trump's Efforts to Subvert Election, DA Preservation letters, Christine Resigns, impeachment schedule, Res 47 Adopted 2/9, Donald Trump Speech "Save America" Rally Transcript January 6, 18 US Code Chapter 102 - RIOTS

Ace Associate Morgan Stringer is here to throw some cold water on the cases against Robinhood in the GameStop fiasco. Why are they doomed? Find out! Before that we cover a grab bag of good news items including the DOJ dropping the Yale lawsuit, federal student debt cancelation, and Virginia abolishing the death penalty. Are you tired of positivity yet? Links: OA219: Harvard and Affirmative Action, Warren and Schumer Resolution, 20 US Code § 1082, Virginia Senate passes death penalty abolition bill

This is a jam-packed, extra-length show that covers as many of the pressing stories in the news that we could cover! We begin with the breaking news that Kyle Rittenhouse's lawyers perjured themselves by filing a fraudulent address in defiance of a court order; we tell you why that's bad and what's next for the domestic terrorist. After that, it's time for a lengthy breakdown of the DC Statehood Bill, including a discussion of the potential future legal challenges (and solutions!) as well as the timing for when we can expect 2 new Senators to be seated! Then, it's time to break down former President Trump's (laughably bad) response to the Article of Impeachment. Phew! Links You can check out Rittenhouse's brief in opposition to the bond increase. Here is the full text of the DC Statehood Bill introduced by Tom Carper. You will not believe how bad the lawyering is in former President Trump's (laughably bad) response to the Article of Impeachment, and you can also read the Inquirer article on Trump's new lawyer, Bruce Castor, who seems like a real peach. Appearances None, have us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's episode focuses on two major victories that many on our side have maybe been afraid of cheering on -- first, the agreement between Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell on a power-sharing arrangement that will enable legislation to come out of equally-divided Senate committees, and second, the impeachment vote of 55-45 that the Senate has jurisdiction over Trump's impeachment. We'll tell you why these are real victories worth celebrating and break down some Senate Rules while we're at it! Then, we have an inspiring interview with Ruben Amaya, a 19-year-old running for the Maryland House of Delegates. Links Yes, we're aware of the Latinos for Trump lawsuit; it's crazy and hilarious and we'll be covering it in some way, we promise! On the Senate rules: (a) go read Rules XXV, XXVI 7(a)(3), or any other rule for yourself; (b) check out the 2001 plan (S.R. 8); and then (c) read this CRS report explaining "filling up the amendment tree." On impeachment, you'll want to read Brian Kalt's seminal 2001 Law Review article. Finally, if you'd like to check out Ruben Amaya's campaign, head on over to his website at rubenamaya.org! Appearances None, have us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

We're very proud of this show, in which you can sit down your Uncle Frank who's repeating the kind of nonsense Rand Paul spouted this weekend -- that "all the court cases just dismissed Trump's lawsuits on standing and never evaluated the evidence" -- and show that it is an out-and-out lie. It's not true. And we think even Uncle Frank will have to reluctantly concede that by the end of the episode. Links: This is the terrible Gateway Pundit article by Joe Hoft whose claims we thoroughly debunk. Please don't click on it. Please do feel free to click on the polling averages at 538 or Gallup which show that the "wildly popular" President Trump averaged a 41% approval rating. This is the main spreadsheet Hoft relies on for his "81 cases." Cases (from the spreadsheet): Trump v. Boockvar, 20-00966 (W.D. Pa.): You can check out the CLOSED DOCKET with 574 entries, and then read the 138-page opinion clearly addressing the merits of Trump's voting arguments. Trump v. Way, 3:20-cv-10753-MAS-ZNQ (D.N.J.): Check out the CLOSED DOCKET. In re Canvassing Observation No. 7003 (Penn. Ct. Common Pleas.) -- here's the state court ruling on sneezing; In re Canvassing Observation, No. 1094 CD 2020 (Penn. Comm. Ct.) -- and yes, that's the same case on appeal -- and here's the only Trump win; Trump v. Boockvar, 20-02078 (M.D.Pa.): This is the 11/21 opinion addressing the merits of Trump's efforts to throw out the entire state's vote. In re Canvass of Absentee and Mail-in Ballots (Pa. state consolidated cases): Here's the ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that "no fraud or irregularity has been alleged." Trump v. Boockvar, 20-3371 (3d Cir); here's the docket showing that this appeal was closed on Nov. 27, 2020; and also Here's the Order dismissing out other shenanigans. The case is closed! Trump v. Biden, No. 2020CV007092 (Wis. Super. Ct.) -- this was Trump's challenge to the recount in Milwaukee and Madison; and here's the proof that the docket was closed. Trump v. Biden, No. 2020AP2038 (Wis.) -- you can read the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 82-page consolidated appeal addressing the merits of Trump's voter fraud claims. Trump v. Toulouse Oliver, No. 20-01289 (N.M.) -- you can read Trump's motion to dismiss his own First Amended Complaint. Trump v. Boockvar - you can read Trump's cert petition in the Pennsylvania consolidated cases, and view the Supreme Court's summary rejection of Trump's motion to expedite. Finally, Trump v. Biden -- you can also read Trump's cert petition in the Wisconsin case, and the Supreme Court's similar summary denial of Trump's motion to expedite. And that's it! Appearances None, have us on! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Andrew went through the ENTIRE list of 143 people pardoned by Trump in his final act as president, and he's got the full breakdown for us! He also answers some questions on a lot of people's minds - Can pardons be revoked? And could Trump have 'secret pardoned' himself? Listen and find out! Links: Legal Eagle Can Pardons Be Revoked or Rescinded?, 1937 Fordham article The Pardoning Power, Rose's notes on the Constitution 1904, Trump's Pardons, 44 US Code § 2201, 44 U.S. Code § 2203

In case you missed it, we have a president now! Andrew gives us the full deep dive on his first day in office and all the harm reduction the administration has already achieved! Links: All the Biden Executive Orders, Trump's stupid Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs and Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda and Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees, Board of Scientific Counselors - ATSDR, Trump Promoting the Rule of Law order, Executive Order 13,891 Sub-Regulatory Guidance Document Portal Tops 70,000 Entries, 18 U.S. Code § 207, FACT SHEET: President-elect Biden's Day One Executive Actions

More consequences! This time it's for Lin Wood, absolute clownhorn and terrible attorney responsible for some of the worst election suits. A judge in Delaware issued him quite the smackdown, by lawyer standards. Then we talk with Jamil Favors, who you will remember from our Georgia Election Fundraiser! Jamil was the Deputy Voter Protection Director for the DSCC. We talk about how election night went for him and also what the future holds. Which state might be the next Georgia? Links: Page sues Oath, Inc, Wannabe Biglaw Firm Closes Its Doors, Dallas-Based Attorney To Represent Kenosha Shooter, Lin Wood Argues Kenosha Shooting Was Justified By … Second Amendment?, Delaware Judge sua sponte order, Judge glorious smackdown

Due to recent political victories and incredible hard work, consequences DO exist! First, Andrew breaks down that viral tweet which really misrepresented what the results of an impeachment conviction would be. While there will be consequences if Trump is convicted, the viral tweet doesn't capture it correctly. But that's not all! Many people have been talking about using the 14th amendment to expel traitorous Republicans, but Andrew is here to... CONFIRM THAT WE CAN! It's great news, and the case history is super fascinating. Links: The resolution, 25th amendment resolution, former presidents act, 3 US Code § 102, 14th Amendment history, FORGOTTEN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF TREASON, Morton Stavis, Berger v. U.S., 255 U.S. 22 (1921), Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969), Voting and Vice: Criminal Disenfranchisement and the Reconstruction Amendments, The Forgotten Constitutional Law of Treason, Standard Form 86, @NatlSecCnslrs

Just when you think shows can't get any more positive, we've got another happy one for ya! It's perfect phone call #2 (that we know about) and Andrew thinks there is a rock solid case for Trump for prison! Before that we discuss Marcus's motion to withdraw. He wrote a conspiracy BS article in the Federalist that we can't even link on Twitter because it gets blocked. Links: Trumps full phone call, Turley: It’s legally absurd to claim Trump committed crime in call with Georgia election officials, Georgia Code 21-2-604, 21-2-562, § 45-11-1

We are SO happy about the election results in Georgia that not even that fascist scum who invaded our nation's capitol can keep us down! Today Andrew gives us a refresher on the 25th Amendment, we also discuss the timing of the Senate seats and when they take effect. On the treason side of things, the Gohmert lawsuit was dismissed. Then we gush about the Georgia news and share some tear-jerking stories of how our listeners came through in a huge way for Democracy! Links: Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) publicly called for 25th, OLC memo 1985

This has been a truly disgusting day in American history and we felt the need to do an emergency live stream special. Here's the audio!

Nearly a dozen Republican Senators including Hawley and Cruz are still planning on trying to overthrow the results of the election. The exact same election results that, you know, elected many of them. Andrew gives us the quick breakdown of that and explains why it isn't going to work. We also discuss comparisons to 2004 and 2016. Our main segment is a classic OA Signature Deep-Dive (tm) on litigation hold letters, inspired by the very aggressive one sent by Dominion to star Giuliani witness Melissa Carrone. As much as she may deserve scorn, Andrew argues that Dominion is perhaps crossing a line with this letter. Find out why! Links: 3 US Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress, 2004 Electoral College Results, Democrats challenge Ohio electoral votes - Jan 6, 2005, Dominion lawyers sent this BRUTAL letter to Mellissa Carrone

Tons of info in today's New Year's show! First we take a look at Trump's horrendously corrupt pardons, focusing on his attempt to pardon Paul Manafort's money back to him! Then we give you the breakdown on the latest Sidney Powell "expert" to be unmasked. Hope you're sitting down... she's NOT qualified in any way. Finally we talk about what's going on with the COVID relief bill and the National Defense Authorization Act. Far left publications have been critical of Senate Democrats, but Andrew explains why this is completely bad faith. Links: Legal Eagle The Political Depravity of Unjust Pardons, Manafort Pardon, Ex parte Garland 71 U.S. 333 (1866), Terpsichore Affidavit, WaPo Sidney Powell secret witness is Terpsichore Maras-Lindeman, her prior fraud, Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate, Ohio Senator Brown Joins Sanders in Delaying Senate Holiday Over $2K Stimulus Checks

Today's show involves two bills that Tulsi has introduced... BUT NOT BOTHERED TO WRITE. For real. They are entirely for vice-signaling purposes and contain no substance. However, Andrew is here to give us a deep dive on what the implications and background are. One involves Section 230 (which Andrew has been dying to tell us about!) and the other is about trans-women and sports. It's... no good. We contrast Tulsi's garbage with an important trans-rights decision. So, it's a good news ending! Links: 47 U.S. Code § 230, Reps. Gabbard & Gosar Introduce ‘Break Up Big Tech’ Bill, Tulsi's Bill H.R.8922 has no text, Reps. Gabbard and Mullin Introduce Bill to Ensure Title IX Protections for Women and Girls in Sports, H.R.8932 also has no text.

Andrew and AG from Mueller She Wrote teamed up for a QnA to test a new platform and we thought it would be fun to share here! Note: because Thomas wasn't involved, the audio quality is terrible. Yes this is Thomas typing this. But, it's workable and who doesn't love listening to Andrew and AG! They discuss Trump's corrupt pardons, the NAACP suing Trump for violating the Ku Klux Klan Act, and more!

HO HO HOOOOOOOOOrribly inadequate stimulus checks! The omnibus spending bill is still in limbo as a result of Trump's veto, but Andrew still has the deep dive on what's in this 5600 page monstrosity! It's not great, but there are reasons to be positive on the improvements made over the last bill. Also Andrew tells us what's going on with the "Red Slime" lawsuits against some Fox News personalities who spread misinformation about voting machines. Links: Our amazing fundraiser!, new bill, house amendment to the bill, Red Slime lawsuit filed in CO, The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media

Recently, friend of the show Randall Eliason published an opinion piece for the Washington Post that got a ton of pushback. We voiced our strong disagreement to it on OA443: The (Terrible) Case Against Indicting Trump. We're very pleased to have Randall on the show to have a lively debate on the topic! Make sure to listen to part 1 if you haven't heard it yet! Appearances Andrew did QnA on my new game channel, check it out here! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

COME WATCH OUR LIVESTREAM TO "GRAB 'EM BY THE GAVEL" AND TAKE BACK THE SENATE! Sunday at 4pm eastern! Donate here! In what will surprise no one who listens to this show, Sidney Powell's double secret expert military intelligence witness on election theft is.... a dude named Josh who is actually none of those things. Andrew takes us through the latest from the top notch legal team trying to overturn the election, and how it differs from actual lawsuits filed in Georgia for good reasons. Links: Spyder affidavits, FRE rule 702, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), WaPo: Sidney Powell’s secret ‘military intelligence expert,’ key to fraud claims in election lawsuits, never worked in military intelligence, real law suits: Plaintiff, v. MIKE KAPLAN, SU20CV0594, 20-CV-003112, 2020V123366K, Calendar law: Georgia Code Title 21. Elections § 21-2-385, § 21-2-14

Recently, friend of the show Randall Eliason published an opinion piece for the Washington Post that got a ton of pushback. We voiced our strong disagreement to it on OA443: The (Terrible) Case Against Indicting Trump. We're very pleased to have Randall on the show to have a lively debate on the topic! We went so long that there is a part 2 airing next week! Make sure to become a patron and gain access to part 2 very early!

There aren't words harsh enough to describe how disgusting, anti-American, and undemocratic the Texas v. Pennsylvania complaint is. Believe me, I checked my thesaurus. 18 Republican attorneys general have joined in this horrific, garbage attempt to keep their emperor Trump in power despite the wishes of 80+ million voters. We get Andrew's deep-dive, as he's as angry as he's ever been (which sounds pretty much like normal Andrew.) Before that, we talk about the closing of the Flynn case, and how Opening Arguments is now super famous for having influenced Judge Sullivan! Links: Flynn final order, compare p 21 with our brief, Texas v. Pennsylvania, Arizona v. California, Arizona insane amicus brief, Trump motion to intervene, terrible constitutional attorneys amicus, Foster v. Love

According to the new fundamentalist majority on the Supreme Court, churches have the right to spread COVID as much as they damn well please and no one is allowed to tell them otherwise. Andrew Seidel is back on the show to give the full breakdown of just how terrible Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo is.

Trump is looking poised to pardon everything not nailed down on his way out of the White House. You've got pardons in exchange for bribes, run-of-the-mill corrupt pardons, preemptive pardons(?), family pardons, and god knows what else. Andrew breaks it all down for us! Also an update on state certification (IT'S OVER, BEAST!) Links: Election results certification dates 2020, Court filing on DOJ pardon investigation, Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani, Can Trump Pre-emptively Pardon Allies or Himself? Clemency Power, Explained, Flynn Pardon, Clint Lorance pardon, FIRST BLACK ARMY OFFICER IS PARDONED BY CLINTON

Friend of the show Randall Eliason wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post called "The case against indicting Trump." Both of us on the show strongly disagree with the arguments presented and humbly submit our enthusiastic rebuke of it. Before that, Andrew answers the clickbaity question of whether or not Trump made a major mistake in pardoning Flynn. As with all clickbait, the answer is no. Finally, we briefly touch on the terrible new decision out of the Amy Coney Barrett era that is our new hell. Links: Last election nail, Biden hopes to avoid divisive Trump investigations, Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses Seventh Edition May 2007, REPORT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE UNITED STATES SENATE, 20A87 Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (11/25/2020)

Happy Thanksgiving! Just like the criminals of the Trump era, Opening Arguments never stops. Just as we went to record, Trump pardoned Flynn via Tweet. Andrew gives us his thoughts on that. Then we cover a couple more things Andrew was right about that should reduce your blood pressure a little! (and one thing that might raise it..) Our main segment is about how Lindsey Graham likely broke several laws in his attempts to influence the vote counting in this election. What's more, there are several things we can do about it! Find out! Links: 3rd Circuit letter, GSA ascertainment letter, Election results certification dates, 2020, OA325: Putin's Puppet? The Open Skies Treaty, Trump administration pulls out of Open Skies treaty with Russia, False Positive Rate for Signature Matching, 52 US Code § 10307 - Prohibited acts, 52 US Code § 10308 - Civil and criminal sanctions, 2010 Georgia Code :: TITLE 21 - ELECTIONS, 2010 Georgia Code :: TITLE 45 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, US Senate: About Expulsion, No Senator Has Been Expelled Since 1862

He still lost, folks! It's over. In our main segment today, we discuss the Electoral College calendar and when things are finally set in stone. But what about faithless electors??? We've got an Andrew for that too. This episode should help you feel fine about the fact that Trump still lost. In the first segment we talk about a few things Andrew nailed his predictions on, including Chad Wolf and Kathryn Kimball Mizelle. Links: Chad Wolf not lawfully appointed, Chris Krebs, List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump, OA420: DoJ Defending Trump in Carroll Case?, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on Twitter: "She is also the wife of Chad Mizelle", OA379: Trump's Contempt for the Press & Husch Blackwell, Trump campaign agrees to drop its defamation lawsuit against a tiny Wisconsin TV station, The Electoral College, Election results certification dates, 2020, Arizona Revised Statutes § 16-648 (2019).

Rudy Giuliani is as bad at being a lawyer as he is at wearing a believable human suit. Both of these shortcomings were on full display this week as Trump's top lawyer continued to not only lose case after case, but also display an impressive ability to not have any idea what any legal term actually means. Also in this episode, Andrew tells us about the Kim Davis of this election - GSA Administrator Emily Murphy. Murphy can't seem to understand which number is bigger than the other. Then ace associate Morgan Stringer joins us to provide a few highlights of Giuliani's insane ramblings. She listened so that none of us have to! Links: 3 U.S.C. 102, CFPB Announces Additional Member of Taskforce, The Law of Presidential Transitions and the 2000 Election, Lawsuit tracker: Trump’s battle faces skepticism from judges, Marks v. Stinton.

It's a 97% Trump-free episode! First we have to cover the bullet points Andrew foolishly thought we could get to last week, including questions like: does a 50-50 Senate mean no more Majority Leader McConnell? and what consequences should there be for law firms that take Trump's money and file frivolous election lawsuits? and more! Then we get to the main signature deep dive, and it's not a happy one. ***content note: this episode contains discussion of sexual assault.*** Some Jehovah's Witnesses church leaders emotionally abused a rape victim, who was a minor, and she very justifiably sued them. But the backwards-ass Mormon judges of Utah conveniently decided churches can do... whatever. While this is likely to be overturned by the Supreme Court, it also might damage Church-State Separation along the way. Links: Jones Day Statement Regarding Election Litigation, Snell & Wilmer withdraws from election lawsuit, Jehovah's Witnesses Lawsuit, Court hears case of woman suing Utah Jehova's Witnesses over rape audio.

While it cannot be overstated how disgusting, unpatriotic, anti-American, and anti-Democratic this pathetic coup attempt by Trump and Republicans is, it also has no chance of working. At least, according to our resident optimist, Andrew Torrez! Before that, Andrew gives us the breakdown on the Affordable Care Act case, and why the media might be completely wrong in how they're covering it. Links: California v. Texas, best Trump case still terrible, Montgomery County Election Results, 25 P.S. § 3150.16, 25 P.S. § 3150.14, In re Recount of Ballots (Pa. 1974)

As always, we can't emphasize enough how important it is to win the two Georgia runoffs, but today's show covers why we COULD still win in North Carolina. It involves court thingies. Then in the main segment, Andrew tells us how exactly Biden can play hardball in the event that we don't win the Senate. There's still a lot we can do. Biden's administration had better be show listeners because this is top notch free legal consulting! Links: 4th Cir. on North Carolina Ballots, Wise v. Circosta, OA415: DeJoy's Illegal Dismantling of the USPS, NAACP v USPS, 5 US Code § 3345 - Acting officer, 15-1251 NLRB v. SW General, Inc, 5 US Code § 3346 - Time limitation, 5 US Code § 3349a - Presidential inaugural transitions, 5 US Code § 3349c - Exclusion of certain officers, Fed Figures 2014: Federal Workforce, Demographic Profile of the Federal Workforce, As of September 30, 2010, L.M.-M., et al., Plaintiffs, v. KENNETH T. CUCCINELLI II, Legality of Service of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, OA61: Flyin' the Friendly Skies

Biden is all but assured victory, and despite the election not going nearly as well as we'd hoped, there's still a chance to take the Senate! However, Trump is throwing every terrible legal challenge he's got at the problem. Andrew breaks down why they're all incredibly stupid and doomed to fail. Links: SIO263: Not the Worst Possible Outcome, But Close, Slate - A Large Portion of the Electorate Chose the Sociopath, Georgia Code § 21-2-501, Trump lawsuit Michigan, Trump's lawsuit Pennsylvania, Trump Lawsuit Georgia, OA25: Could Jill Stein Decide the Presidency? (No.), Wisconsin Statutes § 9.01 (2019) — Recount, Georgia Code § 21-2-495 (2019) - Procedure for recount or recanvass of votes, 2019 Georgia Code: Contested Elections and Primaries.

This is an emergency mini-episode in which Andrew breaks down all the events surrounding Hotze v. Hollins, which is the case involving Republican efforts to throw out 127,000 early votes in Harris County, Texas – which has nearly five million people and includes almost all of the city of Houston.  It’s (mostly) good news, and we go through all the appellate stuff, too.  Stay an Optimist Prime today! Links: Hotze v. Hollins order by District Court Judge Hanen. Plaintiff’s request for emergency relief in the 5th Circuit. News story re: 7 Pennsylvania counties that won’t count mail-in votes on Election Night

That's right, EVERY state. So if you, or anyone you know, is doing the "eh my vote doesn't matter because I'm in x state" NO. STOP. Listen to this episode and share it with that person who needs it! It really matters! Links: Congressional Elections in Presidential Years: Presidential Coattails and Strategic Voting, Why Pennsylvania’s Vote Count Could Change After Election Night, How election votes and data for 2020 are collected at NBC news, Head of Fox News Decision Desk: Why results in swing states likely won't be known on election night, Control Of Redistricting Is Up For Grabs In 2020.

Kavanaugh, in a disgrace of an opinion, just signaled that he and enough of his fellow hack justices are willing and able to hand a disputed election to Trump. Andrew has the full breakdown, and what we can do to stop it. But that last part is very obvious: vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote. IT IS NOW TOO LATE TO MAIL IN YOUR BALLOT. So in the first segment, we go over every which way you still are able to vote even if you've got a mail-in ballot you have yet to drop in the mailbox. Links: Even Fox News says results won't be know on election night, I Will Vote.com, Slate - Naked ballots, signature mismatch, and other pitfalls to avoid when voting by mail, NYT How Long Will Vote Counting Take? Estimates and Deadlines in All 50 States, Wisconsin §6.86(6), OA425: 'The Election That Could Break America' ???, Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Very Bad News, Preparing for a Disputed Presidential Election, Supreme Court 2020 Opinions not up currently for some reason, How to Accommodate a Massive Surge in Absentee Voting, Lawfare blog Reducing One Source of a Potential Election Meltdown, North Carolina Injunctive Relief Denied.

It's a Tr*** free day here at OA! Not even one mention of that entity. It's all about some major stories in the law. Google has been sued by the DoJ and a number of individual states for unlawfully maintaining monopolies for search services. And Purdue Pharma has reached a plea agreement involving billions of dollars. One of these is good and the other... isn't... Listen to the Andrew Torrez Mr. Fantastic Signature Breakdown to found out! Links: Google Complaint, 15 US Code § 2 - Monopolizing trade a felony, Purdue Pharma plea deal

In a steroid-induced haze, Trump may have inadvertently declassified all Russia documents by Tweeting: “I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!” BuzzFeed News jumped on the opportunity and took Trump to court. Andrew has the full break down! Before that, we talk about updates in the E. Jean Carroll case. That case centers around the (for some reason) difficult question of whether or not slandering your own sexual assault victim is somehow within your job duties as President. Links: OA420: DoJ Defending Trump in Carroll Case?, Carroll's opposition, Trump reply, Oral argument scheduled for 10/21, BuzzFeed v DoJ, Leopold Reply, ACB responses to QFR, Senate Rule III, Pennsylvania decision, Alabama decision

The Trump administration was given a victory in the courts regarding the census. It's absolutely bad news, but Andrew has a plan for that! Ok, ok, it was Elizabeth Warren's plan, but Andrew breaks it down for us! It's a one weird trick that actually will work, assuming that we win in November. Before that, we've got yet another Mazars update. It's going exactly how Andrew told us it would go, and that's... not great but also not bad. Links: Trump v Mazars application for stay, US v R Enterprises porn case again, Ross v. National Urban League, Warren's Census plan, 13 US Code § 141 - Population and other census information, Mid-Decade Census, 2015 Census.

Andrew watched the hearings so you don't have to! What is super-precedent? And did ACB really rule that an employer using the n-word wasn't hostile or racist? We've got the full breakdown! Before that, we have an excellent listener question on potential federal laws on things like Roe V Wade after the Handmaid's Tale Court takes away reproductive rights Links: McGahn petition, Article 1 sec 8, OA309 Stormy Daniels, CA v Texas, gov't opposition, Sinclair George Mason Law Review Article, Richmond Medical Center v. Gilmore, Smith v Illinois Dep't of Transportation, ACB questionnaire, 42 US Code § 2000e–2 - Unlawful employment practices.

As we say often... there's no sugar coating this one. Alito and Thomas shouted their pathetic homophobia from the bench in a concurrence recently. What was the ruling, you ask? No ruling. It was a concurrence on a denial of cert for a case involving - wait for it - Kim Davis. Yes, that Kim Davis. The case was so stupid that not even Alito and Thomas could get behind it, but they went out of their way to yell the quiet part as loudly as they could. Andrew has the full breakdown of what happened. Oh, uh, apropos of nothing... WE NEED TO WIN THE PRESIDENCY AND THE SENATE BACK. In happier news, Naomi Andrews is here to tell us all about the Access for All Conference Andrew will be speaking in! (Use code: openargs) Links: Obergefell, Kim Davis's Idiot Case, Zablocki v. Redhail (1978).

The government has been caught doing some really absurd things to the benefit of Michael Flynn, including sneaking in post-it notes and lying on Brady material. Andrew's got the full breakdown for us. After that, we talk about Trump losing again in court in Trump v. Vance! Links: Access for All Conference, code: openargs, Whitmer kidnapping complaint, Goelman and gov lying on notes, more lying on McCabe, sticky notes, lying on Brady material, exhibit, yes tweets are official, DC cir en banc ruling, Trump v. Vance 2nd cir, Mazar's briefing schedule, US v R Enterprises.

No matter how many Republicans get COVID, McConnell will still find a way to confirm his new justice. So, Andrew has a signature deep dive on Barrett's most significant cases. The news, as always, isn't good. Links: ACB Questionnaire, ACBarrett supported group that said life begins at fertilization, Doe v. Purdue, Understanding Judge Barrett's Opinion in Doe v. Purdue, Rainsberger v. Benner, 913 F.3d 640 (2019), Grussgott v. Milwaukee Jewish Day School, 882 F.3d 655 (7th Cir. 2018), Wallace v. Grubhub, 970 F.3d 798 (7th Cir. 2020), AF Moore & Associates v. Pappas, 948 F.3d 889 (7th Cir. 2020), Casillas v. Madison Ave Assocs Inc., 926 F.3d 329 (2019), EEOC v. Costco, 903 F.3d 618 (7th Cir 2018).

We're still mad about Breonna Taylor's killing, and you should be too. A juror has come forward to say that the AG misrepresented the deliberations. We're like to get the tapes soon, but as of now we don't have them. We clarify and expand on a few things from our previous Breonna episode. Andrew also does a mini dive on the disproportionate racial breakdown of our prison population. In our main story, we talk about the blockbuster story by the NYT on Trump's tax returns. Andrew answers whether the NYT is in any legal trouble for the article, and we go into the horrifying contents of Trump's returns. Links: Breonna's family's civil suit, BOP Statistics: Inmate Race, Gap between number of blacks, whites in prison narrows, Imprisonment rate of black Americans fell by a third from 2006 to 2018, How to reduce the federal prison population, Trends in US Corrections, Immigration sends more people to federal prison, 21 US Code § 841, OA45: What Could Donald Trump's Tax Returns Tell Us?, OA46: What Could Donald Trump's Tax Returns Tell Us? part 2, Trump Paid $750 in Federal Income Taxes in 2017, 1st Presidential Debate Transcript 2020, trump public disclosure 1, 2, 26 US Code § 172 - Net operating loss deduction, 2017 tax bill, NYT v. US, Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001), OA200: Reporters and Confidential Sources, OA201: Follow Up Friday!, The BALCO reporters shielded a lying lawyer. They are no heroes., Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election.

Let's talk about that Atlantic article that has really been scaring people. Andrew brings us his signature deep-dive, and why he's slightly optimistic that the fears in the article won't ultimately be borne out. Up first, we preview a topic for another time, this really interesting lawsuit against Facebook regarding the Rittenhouse shootings. Links: Trump will see what happens, Presidential Emergency Action Documents, OA370: Can Trump Cancel the Election? and Other COVID-19 Questions!, 19-465 Chiafalo v. Washington (07-06-2020), Faithless Elector State Laws, Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Good News, Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Very Bad News, Vox Will Trump leave office if defeated?, law review: preparing for a disputed election, 3 U.S. Code § 2 - Failure to make choice on prescribed day, 3 U.S. Code § 5 - Determination of controversy as to appointment of electors, 3 US Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress, Atlantic The Terrifying Inadequacy of American Election Law, Bush v. Gore.

The law worked... how it's designed to work. Andrew gives us the breakdown on what happened, and what didn't happen. After that, Andrew has the deepest of dives on Amy Coney Barrett, the odds-on favorite to be the next fundamentalist Justice on the Supreme Court. Links: Your homework for next episode What If Trump Refuses to Concede?, Hankison indictment, Kentucky Penal Code § 508.060, 431.073 Certain felony convictions may be vacated, Coney Barrett cult People of Praise, Catholic Judges in Capital Cases, Transcript: JFK's Speech on His Religion, Kanter v. Barr Addition Coney Barrett stuff: US Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. AutoZone, Inc., 860 F.3d 564, EEOC v. AutoZone, Incorporated – CourtListener.com, Schmidt v. Foster, 891 F.3d 302.

*note that this episode was recorded before RBG's death and the resulting tenfold increase in existential doom feelings* If you're a keen listener, you might remember last time we had Prof. Randall Eliason on, he teased his forthcoming Great Courses Course! Well, it has now forth-come. Here's his new course! It's on White Collar Criminal Law, and boy does that sound relevant to.. *gestures broadly at the entire current administration*. In the first segment we answer whether or not Trump could be charged with manslaughter for all the slaughtering of man he did by lying about COVID-19.

RBG has died. This is terrible. Absolutely, unambiguously terrible. We were already recording something else when the news broke, so we decided to stop that recording, and give you our live, unfiltered reaction to the news. This is not a tribute to RBG. We are going to regroup and make sure we properly honor her immense legacy at a later time. This is a very human, fearful reaction to the awful news. Andrew breaks down the situation, and what is likely to happen. Keep in mind, he successfully predicted the last two Supreme Court appointments before they happened. We hope this episode helps you process. Let's all be a little kinder to each other today. We truly love our OA community and we are so unbelievably thankful for the great work so many of you are doing to fight for a better future.

Certified supervillain Bill Barr has a new plan to arrest protestors for sedition and subversion. How worried should we be about this? What's the legal basis? As always, we've got the full breakdown! Before that, we briefly preview a horrifying story about possible eugenics being perpetrated by ICE. It's horrendous. We hope it's not real, but unfortunately... it might be. We also give some updates on the government taking over for Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case. Links: DC v. Ballenger, 28 US Code § 1447 - Procedure after removal generally, Barr Tells Prosecutors to Consider Charging Violent Protesters With Sedition, Harry Bridges - Wikipedia, 18 US Code § 2385 - Advocating overthrow of Government, Dennis v. U.S., 341 U.S. 494 (1950), Robert G. Thompson, Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), 18 US Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy, US v Rahman, 189 F. 3d 88 (2nd Cir. 1999), Omar Abdel-Rahman.

There's no sugar coating it: the wheel of justice was so f***ing slow it couldn't do anything to Trump in 4 damn years. Come on in and hear the breakdown of the breakdown of justice. In our second segment we discuss even more crimes that Trump was shown to be guilty of in the Mueller Report. Yes, the Mueller Report. It was NOT total exoneration, or really any kind of exoneration, as it turns out. Links: Tatel, weakest emoluments case; covered in OA361: DC Sides with Trump in Emoluments Case?; and OA391: Republicans Are Still Trying To Break the Government, Part Eleven Billion; DOJ opposition to cert; DC & Md v Trump discussed on OA386: The Opening Arguments Amicus Brief!; interlocutory appeal 28 US Code § 1292 - Interlocutory decisions; CREW v. Donald J. Trump; lost initially Case 1:17-cv-00458-GBD Document 103 Filed 12/21/17; won after 1.5 years CERTIFIED COPY ISSUED ON 09/13/2019; Leopold/Buzzfeed FOIA Lawsuit denied; Less Redacted Mueller Report; part 2; OA324: Trump's 9 Crimes and Misdemeanors

You've likely seen the headlines saying the DoJ wants to take over defending Trump against E. Jean Carroll, but you haven't heard it properly explained by our esteemed P. Andrew Torrez! So what's happening and is it normal? The answer might actually surprise you... We also talk a little about Bob Woodward's recordings of Trump and how totally awesome it is that he kept them secret for 7 months to sell his book. Links: Another Trump Judge Rate Not Qualified; Carroll v Trump; SDNY Docket; DoJ Statement for Intervention; 28 USC 2679; 28 U.S. Code § 1446 - Procedure for removal of civil actions.

Did Neil Gorsuch and his 4 flaming liberal friends in the Supreme Court just give away half of Oklahoma? Ted Cruz thinks so, so that should tell you. But if you want to really know what happened, check out this Andrew Torrez Signature Deep Dive! In our first segment, we talk about whether any new information has changed our view of the Rittenhouse killings. Is Rittenhouse a terrorist? Is there any reasonable self-defense claim? Links: U.S. v. Thomas, 34 F.3d 44 (2d Cir. 1994); United States v. Alvarez, 755 F.2d 830, 842-43 (11th Cir.); 474 U.S. 905, 106 S.Ct. 274, 88 L.Ed.2d 235 (1985); Postal Service Has Paid DeJoy’s Former Company $286 Million Since 2013; Did We Give Away Half of Oklahoma? | LegalEagle’s Law Review; Idiot Ted Cruz on Twitter; Plan of action remains unsettled after McGirt decision.

Our main story today is how the DC Circuit Court has helped Trump successfully avoid accountability until after the election. You may remember Don McGahn from such investigations as Robert Mueller's. McGahn refused to cooperate at all with the House's impeachment investigation, under the complete nonsense theory of absolute immunity. Andrew breaks down what happened and gives a signature deep dive on House subpoena power! Our first segment is some good news and "Andrew was right" about the Flynn case. It could mean the Return of the OA Brief! Links: Feb. 2020 McGahn ruling; OA366: Your Guide to the Coronavirus!; Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn; 8-31-20 McGahn ruling; McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927); order staying the mandate.

Be warned, this episode contains explicit language and Trumpian hypocrisy. Given that the RNC was basically a 4-night Hatch Act Violation Spectacular, Andrew is delivering us the Hatch Act deep-dive we need. Joining us to talk about her personal experience with the Hatch Act is Allison Gill of Mueller She Wrote! That's right, now that she was fired from her government job, "AG" is now unmasked! Links: Hatch Act; penalties for violation; 10 U.S.C. § 973 and 18 U.S.C. § 593 pertaining to military; CREW v. OSC on Kellyanne Conway.

17 year old murderer Kyle Rittenhouse was treated as a friend by the police even after he killed two people. Jacob Blake was shot in the back 7 times despite being unarmed. The difference? You already know it. Andrew gives us the breakdown of what happened, and what possible legal defenses we might see from Rittenhouse and the horrible right wingers who are already embracing him. In the first segment, we get a positive update on the USPS from a listener. And in the final segment, we get more positive news, this time from the Gavin Grimm case we've previously covered. References: USPS - 18 U.S. Code § 1703 delay or destruction of mail; House bill to repeal pre-funding mandate; expedited to street/afternoon sortation; New York v Trump; Trump's win rate is terrible. Kenosha - Cop Identified; Wis DOJ update; Kenosha Guard calls for Armed Vigilantes; NYT Kyle Rittenhouse Timeline; Kenosha Cops Silent on Support for Militia Ahead of Kyle Rittenhouse Shooting; Cops "appreciate" militia; Kenosha Police Chiefs blames victims; arrest warrant; Wisconsin Statute: 940.01; Wisconsin Statute 939.50; Federal Charges. Grimm - OA51: The Grimm Reality About Transgender Bathrooms; OA306: From Gavin Grimm to Jeffrey Epstein; 17-1618 Bostock v. Clayton County; OA397: Explaining Bostock v. Clayton County; 4th Circuit Ruling on Grimm.

We're finally getting the deep-dive we've always wanted on the *drum roll* Unites States Postal Service! Questions answered by our esteemed Andrew include: Who is DeJoy? How is he even there? Why is the Post Service losing so much money? What's with the sorting machines and boxes disappearing? All those answers and more!

So much to discuss on today's show! Bannon busted on billionaire's boat by the boys in blue! Leaders Of ‘We Build The Wall’ Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors. Also, Andrew gives us some highlights from the Senate Intelligence Committee Report. Despite being controlled by Republicans, this report was VERY damning.

This is not a happy episode, really, unless you enjoy Andrew completely demolishing racist birtherism crap published in Newsweek about Kamala Harris. The author is the same racist asshole who, curiously enough, wrote this: Ted Cruz's Citizenship Makes Him Eligible to be President. Ted Cruz wasn't born in this country, but Kamala Harris was. I wonder what the difference is? Here to help debunk this racist crap is the 14th Amendment. Also Garrett Epps, The Citizenship Clause: A "Legislative History"; U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898); Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004). The first segment is some things Andrew was wrong about.. and the main segment is a depressing deep dive on how John Roberts has successfully undermined reproductive rights with almost no one noticing. Dahlia Lithwick noticed though and wrote John Roberts' stealth attack on abortion rights in June Medical v. Russo just paid off. Andrew dives deeper into this and explains what happened in June Medical Services LLC v. Russo and how the 8th Circuit has capitalized on this.

Joe has made his pick and it's (predictably) Senator Kamala Harris! Andrew is bringing us an extensive, balanced deep-dive into Harris's record in the Senate, as California AG, and as a prosecutor for San Francisco. Rather than try to condense Andrew's extensive notes for this one, I'm linking them. Find his sources here. Before the main segment we read a listener comment about the census, and later in the episode we bid a fond farewell to Ed Brayton, a friend of the show who passed away this week. Rest in Peace.

Returning to the show is Randall D. Eliason, a law professor, writer and commentator on corporate and white collar criminal law! We discuss the Flynn case in more depth, as well as a bribery angle on the Roger Stone commutation. Check out Prof. Eliason's Sidebars Blog. Before that, Andrew has on voting by mail. Nevada has passed a bill AB4 that Trump in challenging in a truly ridiculous way. Find out why!

In a HUGE breaking news story, the New York Attorney General has sought to dissolve the NRA over rampant corruption! The complaint is nearly a couple hundred pages, but our esteemed Andrew has already read it and has the breakdown for us in a truly rapid response Friday! Questions he answers include: what are the alleged facts? Can NY actually do this? Could LaPierre simply re-form the NRA somewhere else? And more! In the pre-segment, Andrew strongly advocates that you fill out your census! Check out this Statement By Former US Census Bureau Directors.

Jed Shugerman is a Professor of Law at Fordham University. He and his colleague Ethan Leib filed a motion before Judge Amy Berman Jackson regarding Roger Stone's commutation. They argue "that the Constitution limits the pardon power to uses that are in the public interest, not primarily for self-interest, self-dealing, or self-protection." For more information and for links to Jed's law review articles related to these arguments, check out his blog post.

Today's episode takes a deep dive into the Republican proposal to extend the CARES Act, which is (of course) called the HEALS Act. It's a Republican proposal, so you know it's probably terrible, but... how bad is it? (Bad.) Listen and find out! Remember that our LIVE Q&A is THIS SATURDAY, 8/1, at 7:30 pm Eastern / 4:30 pm Pacific! We begin, however, with some good news! The D.C. Circuit has granted en banc review and vacated the prior panel opinion in the Michael Flynn case. That means our amicus brief is (potentially) back in business, baby! From there, we take down Trump's idiotic distract-o-Tweet of the day involving postponing the 2020 Election. No. He can't do this. It won't happen. Trump's a monster, but no. Then it's time for a deep dive on the CARES Act, which includes some mystery provisions we've outsourced to you, our listeners! After all that, it's time for #T3BE, this one a (straightforward?) question about permissible witness testimony. Remember that you too can play along by sharing this episode on social media using #T3BE. Patreon Bonuses Lots of goodies, including the Q&A Questions thread and Andrew's "100 Seconds" talk to the UK Skeptics in the Pub! Appearances Andrew pops in again for an interview on The Daily Beans. And if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links We broke down why Trump can't cancel the election in detail in Episode 370. You can click here to read the McConnell HEALS Act proposal; here for the Rubio/Collins proposal we discussed on a second round of PPP loans; and here for the academic research led by Raj Chetty that PPP loans don't work. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

The very person in charge of Homeland Security is essentially "here illegally." The upside is, though, there is a one weird trick to undo everything he has done while overstaying his tenure! And by "trick" we mean a lengthy A. Torrez deep dive, so tune in! Before that, we talk about updates in the Flynn case and how the government is LYING about a Federal Rule. Links: DOJFlynnEnBancReply, 5 US Code § 3346 - Time limitation, 6 US Code § 551 - Transitional authorities, 22 US Code § 9685 - Transitional authorities, 5 US Code § 3348 - Vacant office, National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview, DHS Under Boss, Trump's New Acting AG Unconstitutional?, Acting Officers and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, List of Bailfunds

Listeners and co-hosts alike have been wanting Andrew to do a breakdown of the situation in Portland. There are big questions like, for example, how? and WTF? and what can anyone do? Andrew answers these and gives us the timeline of what's led to the Trump administration sending out paramilitary troops to abduct people in unmarked vans, like a totally non-fascist president would do. Before that, we talk about the gun wielding couple from St. Louis who threatened BLM protestors, and how they're totally not going to face any justice for their undeniable crimes because they are white. Links: OA307: The Census Fight Is Not Over, St. Louis lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey, 2005 Missouri Revised Statutes - § 571.030. — Unlawful use of weapons, St. Louis Gun Couple Charged, MO Gov Vows To Pardon Gun Couple, Supreme Court Rules - Rule 5 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar, Acting Secretary Wolf Condemns Violence In Portland, Portland Fence To Come Down, Portland City Council votes to defund police by $15 million, Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn't Have Proper Training, Man Shot in Face with Rubber Bullet, Portland Roadside Abduction, Ocasio-Cortez to introduce bill requiring federal officers to identify themselves, Terry v. Ohio, 8 USC 1357, 42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights, Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, In re Neagle, 18 USC 242

You'll never guess which 5 justices were in the affirmative in this case and which 4 dissented... unless you've ever listened to our show, in which case you'll easily guess. Andrew discusses this decision and why the popular idea that Roberts is turning more liberal is a misconception. We also talk about the latest in Trump v. Vance and when we might see Trump's tax returns or possibly an indictment! Links: Trump v. Vance Status Report; Purkey Opinion; OA400: No, John Roberts Is Not Your Friend; Roberts Is The New Swing Justice. That Doesn’t Mean He’s Becoming More Liberal; July 2020 Bar Exam: Jurisdiction Information

AKA the Roger Stone scandal. Trump has overloaded our ability to be angry and made us swallow outrage after outrage like Joey Chestnut eating hot dogs. But don't worry because Andrew is our Upton Sinclair telling us just what the hell is in these things. This one is a doozy. The Roger Stone commutation is absolutely a scandal, and in a just world would result in a swift impeachment and conviction. Before that, we've got updates on the Flynn case. What's happening there, and will the OA Amicus Brief(s) make any difference? Find out! Some links: Rule 35. En Banc Determination | Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure; FRAP rule 40; Sullivan Moves for Rehearing En Banc; Local DC Circuit Rules; Trump Uses Pardon Power Differently Than Other Presidents, Scholars Say; Meet the Acting Pardon Attorney; OA90: Pardon Me? Yes, Donald Trump Can Pardon Himself; 7 13 20 Stone Filing Commutation; 28 CFR § 1.3 - Eligibility for filing petition for commutation of sentence; Roger Stone says McCarthy, Stefanik advocated against preelection clemency

While the SCOTUS news last episode was good, this time around it is... not that. We've had a slew of terrible decisions for anyone who believes that taxpayers should not have to fund Christianity. So, like the Founders. To ease the pain a little, we have everyone's top 2 Andrew -- Seidel! He's the Director of Strategic Response at the Freedom from Religion Foundation, an organization we encourage you to support and become a member of!

Yes, you read that correctly, we've got some good news! You may not quite have seen the two decisions reported that way exactly, but Optimist Prime Torrez believes that 19-635 Trump v. Vance and 19-715 Trump v. Mazars were decided about as well as we could have hoped or better! After that, we tackle the absolutely horrendous move by ICE to try to deport international students, and what schools are doing to try to fight back!

Today we're joined by the Legal Eagle himself, Devin Stone! Devin is suing the Trump administration, with the help of his lawyer Kel McClanahan. Devin and Kel break down for us what the lawsuit is about, and what they hope to accomplish.

Today's show could also be called "the worst good news possible" because, yes, the Supreme Court declined to completely gut Roe v. Wade (despite the fact that Roe is effectively dead in many ways), but this was not John Roberts turning into AOC. Find out why in Andrew's breakdown! Before that main story though, our first segment is about some reallllly bad news out of Florida. Remember when Florida voters came out overwhelmingly in supermajority numbers to restore voting rights to ex-felons? Yeah Republicans said "nah." We last covered this, when we thought the courts scored us a victory, in Episode 363. We also discuss the Supreme Court granting cert for some Mueller Report cases, which is NOT good news. Here are Andrew's links and references: Private Debt Collectors ad 40% to Total, Felons Can't Afford These Fines, Jones v. Governor of Florida, Previous OAs on June Medical: OA249 OA251 and OA251.5, Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt, OA309 Discusses Sheldon Whitehouse, Comprehensive Supreme Court Report by Sen Whitehouse and his amicus brief, Roberts Narrow Concurrence vs. stare decisis in Casey.

We've got a special treat for you fine folks today! This is the Law'd Awful Movies from last month where Thomas delivers his Amicus Brief in the Flynn case and Andrew and Morgan discuss the process of writing their brief! Heads up, this episode contains explicit language. Hope you enjoy!

Plus, Andrew breaks down (or has a breakdown over) the viral photo of a card that purportedly allows the holder to enter any business without wearing a mask. Is it real or... really stupid? Then we take a deep dive into DHS. v. Thuraissigiam, the asylum case recently decided by the Supreme Court.

This episode breaks down exactly what happened in the Supreme Court's surprising 6-3 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County holding that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity is discrimination "because of sex" under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It's a great decision, we tell you why, and we give you some additional insights about Neil Gorsuch. We begin by diving into the case! We tell you exactly what it does (and doesn't) mean, figure out why this case took so long to get to a decision, and how it's exactly the ruling we thought might have been possible ever since the 7th Circuit's en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech that we discussed way back in Episode 60. In figuring that out, we discuss the narrow differences between "texualism" and "originalism," even though this show tends to lump them together. As part of the analysis, we take a look into Neil Gorsuch's voting patterns to see if he's a secret liberal. Hint: he isn't. After all that, it's time for the #T3BE answer on Constitutional law. Can the university fire a professor for her political views? Listen and find out! Patreon Bonuses All patrons get a special behind-the-scenes deep dive into our amicus brief! Appearances None! But if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Go ahead and read the Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County for yourself if you haven't yet. We discussed the 7th Circuit's en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech back in Episode 60, with specific emphasis on the Flaum & Ripple concurrence. We also discussed R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes in Episode 167. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's bonus episode takes a deep dive into the lawsuit brought by the Trump Administration to try and block the publication of John Bolton's tell-all book. We break down the legal arguments and tell you whether you can look forward to getting that copy you ordered or not. (And seriously, you shouldn't give money to John Bolton. He's still a scumbag.) We begin, however, with a quick Andrew Was Right! in that PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter; we told you PG&E was likely criminally liable way back in Episode 241! Then, it's time to break down the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 which just passed the House Judiciary Committee and is an unambiguously good bill. Listen and find out why! After that, it's time to dig in to both the Complaint and the motion for TRO filed by the United States on behalf of Donald Trump because John Bolton's book made Trump feel bad. Do we really live in a society in which that happened? Yes. Do we live in one in which the court will grant injunctive relief? No. Listen and find out why. No #T3BE in this bonus episode but there's lots and lots of great content! Patreon Bonuses All patrons get a special behind-the-scenes deep dive into our amicus brief! Appearances None! But if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Although the plea agreement isn't available, this Ars Technica article is a good timeline of PG&E's criminal activities; we told you PG&E was likely criminally liable way back in Episode 241! Click here to read the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 which just passed the House Judiciary Committee. You can read the Supreme Court's decision in Snepp v. U.S. 444 U.S. 507 (1980), the decision in the Pentagon Papers case, and also read the Complaint and the motion for TRO filed by the U.S. against Bolton. Injunctive relief is governed by Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Finally, check out the NSA's pre-publication procedures. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's episode might have been titled "Andrew Was Really, Really Wrong," as we break down this rather surprising week in the Supreme Court, including the Title VII cases, the Court's refusal to grant cert on any gun case, and the DACA decision. We begin with a quick Happy Juneteenth! From there, we tackle the ways in which Andrew Was Wrong, starting with the Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, the consolidated case in which the Court has now held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects sexual orientation and gender identity. We promise you it isn't a poison pill; it's an unambiguously good decision. After that, it's time to talk about another thing Andrew was wrong about that's kind of flown under the radar -- the fact that the Supreme Court denied certiorari in all 10 of the pending gun cases, allowing some good rulings to stand and forestalling some bad new law on the Second Amendment. Then, it's time to break down the Court's ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Trump, the case involving whether the Trump administration can unilaterally end DACA. The Court ruled they can't -- but this decision has a number of red flags in it that we discuss on the show. After all that, it's time for a brand-new #T3BE about constitutional law and whether a religious university can fire a professor for what she writes in an op-ed? Patreon Bonuses All patrons get a special behind-the-scenes deep dive into our amicus brief! Appearances None! But if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Make sure you check out the Opening Arguments Amicus Brief if you haven’t yet. You can read the Court's decisions in Bostock v. Clayton County, and Regents of the University of California v. Trump. We discussed the importance of the Kolbe v. Hogan way back in Episode 47, and the Trump administration's approach to DACA in Episode 102. Finally, check out the Trump administration's scorecard (6-79!) in administrative actions. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's show takes a deep dive into the Supreme Court, with the theme of "Shame Justice Roberts," and we recorded this... just before Justice Roberts (and, surprisingly, Neil Gorsuch) voted to affirm in the Zarda cases, recognizing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964's prohibition "on the basis of sex" includes sexual orientation. Andrew was (happily) wrong indeed. We begin, however, with a discussion of the latest madness coming out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and how Andrew would fight it. Then, it's time for our Supreme Court roundup, which featured not only Zarda, but a look at the pending gun cases (all of which were denied) and an analysis of the South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom decision permitting California to establish medical restrictions on churches and other places of public accommodation. After all that, it's time for the answer to #T3BE involving real property! Patreon Bonuses All patrons get a special behind-the-scenes deep dive into our amicus brief! Appearances None! But if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Make sure you check out the Opening Arguments Amicus Brief if you haven't yet. We last discussed the McGahn case in Episode 366. Click here to read the South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom decision. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today's episode takes an in-depth look at the concept of an amicus brief, explaining why we filed one in the Flynn case, what it means, and what's next for the guy who sold out his country... and his partner. We begin with a brief update on the Flynn trial (in the District Court for the District of Columbia) and the mandamus action pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Then, it's time to talk about all the various amicus briefs that were filed, with special attention to a pro-Flynn brief filed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Why does this liberal group want Judge Sullivan to grant the government's motion? Listen and find out! After a breakdown of all the amicus, we talk about the case in which Lt. Gen. Flynn was supposed to be the star witness for the government -- the case against Flynn's partner, Bijan Rafiekian. Find out what's up next for Kian, and how this all involves friend of the show G. ZACHARY TERWILLIGER! After all that, it's time for a brand-new #T3BE, this one involving... real property. Can Thomas manage to figure out the relationship between a buyer, a mortgagor, a developer, and an unsigned deed? Listen and find out, and play along if you want on social media! Patreon Bonuses We posted six separate updates to the amicus brief in progress, and there's more where that came from! Appearances Andrew was just on the latest episode of the Daily Beans Podcast. And if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Make sure you check out the Opening Arguments Amicus Brief! You can also click here for the reply brief just filed by G. Zachary Terwilliger in the Bijan Kian case. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Today we're joined by Gabe Roth, executive director of https://fixthecourt.com/. Fix the Court is a national, nonpartisan organization that advocates for non-ideological “fixes” that would make the federal courts, and primarily the U.S. Supreme Court, more open and more accountable to the American people. In his work, Gabe has been tracking some curious financial dealings of "friend" of the show Justin Walker. We discuss that, and other ethics questions and reforms related to the court system.

Today's extra-long show -- two hours if you're a patron! -- tackles all the issues surrounding the state of our Union in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, including questions about which charges should be filed against Derek Chauvin, whether Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, and much, much more! Oh, and as a bonus, we also have a "lightning round" Yodel Mountain segment (with deep dives for patrons). We begin with an in-depth discussion of an argument made by arguably the country's greatest legal mind, Laurence Tribe, that the murder-3 charge against George Floyd was sure to be dismissed. Find out why Andrew thinks Tribe is wrong, even in light of the Minnesota DA's decision to add a murder-2 charge to Chauvin's charges. After that, Andrew will explain one thing he was wrong about... due to a "quirk" in Minnesota's laws regarding felony murder and the merger doctrine. Then, we discuss Trump's invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to justify potentially sending armed forces into American cities. You'll learn exactly how not justified this is... and whether it matters. After that, it's time to (briefly!) check in with Black Lives Matter and evaluate their lawsuit against Eric Garcetti for an injunction to block the Los Angeles curfew. Will it succeed? (No.) We're not remotely done, though! After all that, it's time to head on up for a lightning round atop Yodel Mountain., were we check in on (1) Rod Rosenstein's Senate testimony, (2) Judge Sullivan's DC Circuit brief in the Flynn case, and (3) a weird story making the rounds regarding a 2016 lawsuit filed (and dropped) against Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. After all that, it’s time for an all-new #T3BE involving character testimony. It's a tough question; can Thomas get it right? Listen and find out! And remember -- if you're a patron, you get a ton of bonus content in this episode, including deep dives on each and every one of these stories! Patreon Bonuses There's a new Patreon amicus thread in addition to all the other patreon goodies. Appearances None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links COVID-19 is still a crisis. On Floyd: (a) you can click here to read the revised Chauvin charging document; (b) this is the here's the Laurence Tribe article; and (c) here's the Greg Egan law review article. We also discuss a number of cases including State v. Wahlberg, 296 N.W. 2d 408 (Minn. 1980), State v. Loebach, 310 N.W. 2d 58 (Minn. 1981), and State v. Barnes, 713 N.W.2d 325 (Minn. 2006). On the Insurrection Act of 1807, 10 U.S.C. §§ 251-255, we cited two specific provisions: § 252 and § 253. And we discussed Greg Gianforte back in Episode 72. During the bonus, we also discussed two executive orders from the George H. W. Bush presidency: EO 12690 and EO 12804, and two corresponding Proclamations: 6023 and 6427. During the bonus, we also break down how Vol. I of the Mueller Report contradicts Rosenstein's testimony. Finally, check out Sullivan's D.C. Circuit brief. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials! -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!