Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments Media LLC
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  • 政治
  • 每星期更新兩次

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. 13小時前

    DOJ Wants Every Federal Judge in Minnesota Recused (Good Luck With That)

    OA1301 - IT'S FASCISM RESPONSE FRIDAY, and it's a lot. DOJ just filed a complaint trying to get every single active federal judge in Minnesota booted off immigration cases, and the "evidence" is a judge telling the New York Times the truth. The Supreme Court just let deportations to countries people aren't even from happen again. And we cannot stop laughing about the executive order that just declared this the "era of superintelligence." There's good news too, but you'll have to listen for that. Cases discussed: Complaint Against Judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (filed under 28 U.S.C. § 351) D.V.D. v. DHS (Supreme Court stay on third-country removals) Trump v. Internal Revenue Service (11th Circuit, the "slush fund" case) CNN et al. v. Trump (White House press access) USPS v. California et al. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.

  2. 2日前

    John Yoo Wrote the Torture Memos and Never Paid for It. At All.

    VR45 - Today on Vapid Response: 25 years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, we look back on the Forrest Gump of monstrously bad legal takes: former DOJ lawyer and current UC Berkeley law professor (!) John Yoo. We go back to the primary sources to show how the Office of Legal Counsel explicitly authorized torture, indefinite detention in Guantanamo Bay, and warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens before giving Secretary of State Marco Rubio a chance to explain why the world should never hold the United States accountable for any of it. Cases and sources discussed: “Time to Think About Torture,” Jonathan Alter, Newsweek (11/4/2001) “Is There a Tortuous Road to Justice?” Alan M. Dershowitz, LA Times (11/8/2001) Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting Counsel for the CIA, DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (August 1, 2002) Possible Habeas Jurisdiction Over Aliens Held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Patrick Philbin & John Yoo (December 28 2001) Constitutionality of Amending Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to Change the "Purpose " Standard for Searches, John Yoo (9/25/2001) “Why We’re Dismantling the ICC,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio (July 14, 2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  3. 4日前

    From Toga Guy to John Hinckley: A History of Pleading Insanity

    OA1300 - The “insanity defense” might sound like a relic of a time when mental illness was viewed through the lens of demons and witches, and it turns out it is… but also maybe it’s kind of woke? Jenessa walks us through the history of Old English and Early American iterations of the defense, various tests that are applied today, and what happens afterwards that most people don’t get to see. Cases and sources discussed: Chris Liberati-Conant “It’s Time To Take ‘Hygiene’ out of the Mental Hygiene Law” Legal Information Institute summary of insanity defenses NY Criminal Procedure Law § 330.20 “Law and the Mental Health System” Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  4. 9月25日

    He Went to Prison for Bribing Susan Collins. She's... Totally Fine Somehow?

    OA1299 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: what crimes might Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) have been complicit in, and why won't she ever be prosecuted for any of them? We go deeper into the law behind the facts exposed in ProPublica's outstanding investigation into her SuperPAC's coordination of illegal campaign contributions from a naval defense contractor. We then take a closer look at another damning investigation, this time of the Florida state-run immigration facility formerly known as "Alligator Alcatraz" from a surprising source: the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General. We already knew this place was an illegal black site polluting a delicate Everglades ecosystem on tribal lands, but this report documents something much worse. If a Trump loyalist is willing to put some of this stuff into writing how much worse must the truth be? Finally, in this week's footnote: yet another dismal milestone for AI in the law as a New Mexico attorney is forced to defend an appellate brief in which ChatGPT made up the law and the facts. Cases and sources discussed: “The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way,” William Turton, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Molly Redden, and Kristen Berg, ProPublica (9/22/2026) Indictment in U.S. v. Kao et al (2/10/2022) “Unannounced Inspection of ICE’s Florida Soft-Sided Facility (“Alligator Alcatraz”) in Ochopee, Florida,” Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (9/11/2026) In Re Stephen Aarons, New Mexico Supreme Court #S-1-SC-40845 Show Cause Hearing: State v. Sandoval, S-1-SC-40845 (8/21/2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  5. 9月24日

    The Real Reason Coyote v. Acme Was Buried (It's So Much Worse Than a Tax Write-Off)

    Coyote vs. Acme is such a fun movie. Thomas and Lydia saw it with the kids, Matt tried to borrow some kids to see it with, and has some fun legal observations for us. BUT! Before that, it's a special series premiere of ACCOUNTING'ed AWFUL MOVIES! Because there is some real financial shenanigans with this movie. Everyone says it got shelved for tax reasons. But that's wrong! It's actually so much worse than that... $2+ Patrons already have the full episode at patreon.com/law. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  6. 9月21日

    The USPS Ballot Scheme Was Even Worse Than You Thought

    OA1298 - Voting rights attorney Jenessa is back with a sprawling tour of election chaos, starting with the Supreme Court's unsigned order in USPS v. California: nobody knows the vote count, and the real fight on the merits waits for 2028. Then: the USPS whistleblower letter reveals a system built on oral-only instructions and batch ballot rejection for any single problem, from a mismatch to a misscanned barcode. Meanwhile, a district court in DSCC v. Trump adds another layer: an injunction that even bars states from volunteering. Next, a USCIS whistleblower letter exposes an unlawful voter-fraud investigation targeting naturalized citizens, built on private corporate databases and vibes, with data gaps the training video promises will be filled by, quote, “supplemental magic.” Finally, Missouri redistricting: how the chaos unfolded from dueling maps to a secretary of state whose compliance plan was apparently to “evaluate options” until a judge told him otherwise, all captured in a contempt hearing you have to hear to believe. Cases and sources discussed: USPS v California, 609 U.S. ___ (2026) DSCC v Trump, (D.D.C. 2026) USPS whistleblower letter (August 31, 2026) USCIS whistleblower letter (September 13, 2026) Hugh Cameron (September 10, 2026), Missouri’s Midterm Map Fight: How the Chaos Unfolded, Newsweek. Contempt hearing for Hoskins at Missouri Supreme Court Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  7. 9月18日

    Kash Patel Screws the Pooch

    OA1297 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: SCOTUS once again confirms the color of the sky, the latest failures in DOJ’s attempts to prosecute Trump’s political opponents, why the most important immigration agency you’ve never heard of has decided as a matter of law that Trump fixed Venezuela by illegally kidnapping its president, and how NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani is  trying to stop Trump 2.0 from bringing new life to one of the worst failed immigration policies of 1.0. Finally, in today’s footnote: Kash Patel screws the pooch while trying to explain the FBI’s bizarre new hiring guidelines in some of the funniest Congressional testimony we’ve ever heard. USPS v. California et al, 609 U. S. ____ (2026) Audio from Fourth Circuit oral arguments in U.S. v. James (9/15/26) Matter of A-E-V-M-, 30 I&N Dec. 20 (BIA 2026)  Complaint in New York et al v. Mullin et al, SDNY Case #1:26-cv-07978 (9/14/2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  8. 9月16日

    Manosphere's Favorite Juror Had Active Restraining Order During Clancy Trial

    VR44 - This week on Vapid Response: we survey some of MAGA’s worst takes on the recent mistrial of Lindsay Clancy, all the way from “women are too woke and emotional to be on juries," to “the man who acted out of emotion to ignore the law is the true hero.” Also: the manosphere’s casual endorsement of domestic violence against women who want to talk about their own mental health, and a quick refresh on the incredibly nuanced reality of a mental health defense in Massachusetts. You can watch the episode here! Jury instructions in Commonwealth v. Clancy, delivered August 26, 2026  “Lindsay Clancy’s Activist Jury Is a A Consequence of Democrats’ Soft-on-Crime Creep,” Jordan Boyd, The Federalist (9/14/2026) “What a Lindsay Clancy Juror Said About the Case is Just Insane,” Matt Vespa, Town Hall (9/13/26) “Men, Get Ahold of Your Lindsay Clancy-Supporting Wives and Girlfriends Before It’s Too Late,” Eddie Scarry, The Federalist (8/24/26) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

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主持人與嘉賓

關於

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!

資料

  • 創作者
    Opening Arguments Media LLC
  • 活躍年份
    2016年 - 2026年
  • 單集
    1.3K
  • 分級
    兒童不宜
  • 節目網站
    Opening Arguments

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