435 episodes
Advisory Opinions The Dispatch
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- News
Advisory Opinions is a new podcast from The Dispatch. Hosts David French and Sarah Isgur have a weekly conversation about the law, culture, and why it matters.
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Living Anachronism
Sarah and David discuss how the media’s focus on outcomes ignores the Supreme Court’s complexity and restraint. Plus: tips for the lawyer ready to quit.
The Agenda:
—Bump stocks and executive overreach
—Upcoming SCOTUS cases
—Who’s the least powerful justice?
—Hidden ideological diversity in SCOTUS
—DOJ’s enforcement of the FACE Act
—How to quit your law firm: tips on professional risk management
Show Notes:
—Vidal v. Elster
—Empirical SCOTUS’ Power Index
—Mifepristone case
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The Consensus Court
David Lat takes over the guest chair and joins Sarah to discuss recent SCOTUS decisions.
The Agenda:
—SCOTUS bumps bump stock case to Congress
—Lily Ledbetter and the last time Congress did their job
—Mifepristone decision
—Trump too small? Maybe, but you can’t trademark it
—Justice Gorsuch and Justice Jackson’s playful relationship
—NLRB and defending the administrative state
—Justice Alito is secretly recorded
—Young Thug’s messy court trial
—Predicting SCOTUS decisions
—Sentencing and appeals in the Hunter Biden saga
Show Notes:
—Peggy Noonan’s response to Alito-gate
—David Lat and "underneath their robes"
—The Mo News Podcast
Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.
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Offensive T-Shirts Get Their Day in Court
Sarah and David discuss the laws of war in response to Israel’s successful hostage rescue operation in Gaza before turning to the latest First Amendment drama from the 1st Circuit.
The Agenda:
—Laws of war and the Israeli hostage rescue operation
—Materially disruptive speech and t-shirts
—Health check on the Constitution
—Far-right says freedoms are under attack
Show Notes:
—David’s critique of Israel in the NYT
—Angry cheerleader case
—Justice Brennan opinion in 1970s book banning case
—Tinker v. Des Moines
—The Mo News Podcast
Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.
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The 3-3-3 Body Problem
No Rahimi decision yet … but Sarah and David have the next best thing: math! The two dive into Sarah’s recent POLITICO piece in which she and Dean Jens used data to analyze the Supreme Court.
The Agenda:
—The three-body problem
—Was Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization radical?
—Moneyballing the court
—“Right to counsel” at the 9th Circuit
—Racial discrimination in contracting
—Test cases are test cases
—Judge Newsom’s “unusual” concurrence
—Judge Easterbrook on fonts
—The health of the Constitution
Show Notes:
—Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum
—Connelly v. United States
—Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe
—National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo
—Allen v. Milligan
—New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen
—Creative LLC v. Elenis
—Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
—Chief Justice John Roberts’ thoughts on AI
—Pacific Legal Foundation
Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.
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Will President Biden Pardon His Son?
Sarah and David detail Hunter Biden’s legal predicament and discuss the impact it will have on the political landscape. Is this coercive bargaining in action?
The Agenda:
—Food poisoning etiquette
—Hunter Biden's federal case
—Prosecuting Donald Trump
—Abortion opinion out of Texas Supreme Court
—Insights into the Supreme Court’s decision-making process
—SCOTUS watch
Show Notes:
—Steve Calabresi for the Volokh Conspiracy
—Sarah's piece for the New York Times
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The Rights the Constitution Doesn’t Tell You About
Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale University, joins Sarah and David to read between the lines of the Constitution to find and define unenumerated rights. Be sure to check out his books, America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By and The Words that Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840. And stick around after the interview for a brief Alito flag update.
—Akhil Amar’s two-tier theory of jurisdictions
—AO episode with Judge Newsom mentioning unenumerated rights
—Ezra Klein's article on the Second Amendment
—District of Columbia v. Heller
—McDonald v. City of Chicago
—New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen
—Akhil Amar's podcast
—NRA v. Vullo decision
—Casey Mattox's tweet on NRA v. Vullo
—SCOTUS clears the way for Louisiana to use a new congressional map
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