Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments Media LLC

Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!

  1. hace 4 días

    A Blizzard of Lies - Dave Wedge on the Karen Read Trial

    OA1296 - Dave Wedge is a veteran Boston reporter and New York Times bestselling author who covered (among many other things) hundreds of murder trials as a reporter for the Boston Herald and other local outlets. Dave joins OA to discuss his new book Blizzard of Lies, the definitive account of the prosecution and two unsuccessful attempts to prosecute Karen Read for the still-unexplained death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Beyond its excellent coverage of one of the most infamous prosecutions in modern Massachusetts history, Dave’s book takes an objective look at the case for a fascinating snapshot of how, among other things: so-called “forensic fandom” in independent and social media has driven public perception of the justice system-, Aiden “Turtleboy” Kearney’s aggressive and questionably ethical independent coverage propelled the trial into international news, and the “Free Karen Read” movement may have influenced the defense, the prosecution, and the outcome of a case which Dave convincingly argues may be an unfortunate turning point in American legal history. Blizzard of Lies is this month’s OA Book Club selection! Patrons at every level are invited to join at 4:30 PM EST on Sunday September 27th before we discuss the book. Dave Wedge’s website Blizzard of Lies: Karen Read, John O’Keefe, and the Shocking Unsolved Murder in Cop Town, USA, Dave Wedge (2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  2. 9 sep

    Milo Yiannopoulos Lied About His Immigration Status (And We Can Prove It)

    VR43 - Today on this special edition of Vapid Response: ICE boot enthusiast Milo Yiannopolous is not a particularly interesting person, but his recent unexpected removal to the UK makes for quite a teaching moment. Matt brings 20 years of instincts and experience as a deportation defense attorney to some of the more mysterious questions surrounding Yiannopolous’s recent encounter with the realities of immigration enforcement and ensuing swift removal to the UK. How did someone on an “extraordinary ability” visa (lol) who was married to a US citizen end up with a removal order? How did he hold down this status after being canned by Breitbart in early 2017? Why is he lying about having been a permanent resident?  And does this man even actually have a lawyer at all? We then take a look at some of the funnier editor’s comments from the draft manuscript of his 2017 book Dangerous which was so bad that it was used as evidence by Simon & Schuster in their defense against his lawsuit for breach of contract when they refused to publish it. Milo Yiannopolous’s first post-deportation interview with Piers Morgan (9/1/2026) The Deportation Data Project’s website “The Elements of Vile,” Mitchell Ivers, Harper’s (March 2018) Complete manuscript of Milo Yiannopolous’s Dangerous as introduced into the record of Yiannopolous v. Simon & Schuster, with editor’s notes Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  3. 4 sep

    Most Lindsay Clancy Coverage Has the Law All Wrong

    OA1293 - In this extra-special Rapid Response Friday, Thomas visits Boston to record live in Matt’s office and talk out two very different legal stories in the news that the media aren’t quite getting right this week. THE TRIAL OF LINDSAY CLANCY: Why were the defense and the prosecution both talking past each other in their closing arguments, and what is everyone missing about why Massachusetts law makes it nearly impossible for Clancy to present the defense that most people seem to believe that she is putting on? THE DEPORTATION OF MILO YIANNOPOLOUS: How did a white British man who was one of Trump’s most obnoxious supporters in 2016 end up in deportation proceedings--let alone detained by ICEand swiftly deported? Did Milo Yiannopolous really buy a ticket to fly into the major airport closest to one of the country’s largest ICE detention centers without knowing that he would almost certainly be detained and sent back to the UK ASAP? Matt shares what he has pieced together beyond the headlines, with more to come on next week’s Vapid Response Wednesday. Finally, in today’s footnote: an upstart new social media platform is taking on Elon Musk’s X by calling itself... Twitter? Can they do that? Video and transcript of Lindsay Clancy jury instructions and closing arguments (8/28/26) “When Jurors Can Not Agree,” Massachusetts Jury Instruction #2.460 (2009 Edition) “The reidentification of Milo Yiannopolous’s court data,” Jonathan Gerhardson (8/30/2026) “Here’s How Milo Yiannopolous and White Nationalists Smuggled Hate Into the Mainstream,“ Joseph Bernstein Buzzfeed News (10/5/2017) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

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Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!

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