Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments Media LLC
  • 4.3 (3.6K)
  • Politics
  • Updated Semiweekly

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. 17h ago

    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!

  2. 2d ago ·  Bonus

    ICE Went Undercover To Expose a Vast Antifa "Conspiracy"

    Hey folks, no VR this week because Lydia and I are traveling. (We're in Boston, going to record RRF live together with Matt!) But folks NEED to hear this episode of Gavel Gavel we did. It's so absurd. Gavel Gavel Episode 83: Thomas, Lydia, and Matt dig into a newly released federal indictment out of Minneapolis, where ICE's undercover operation, officially named Operation Puppet Master, has charged roughly 15 protesters under the same statute as the sandwich guy. The conspiracy map names a boxing club, a bike club, and some of the largest unions in America. The overt acts include renting a U-Haul, exchanging Signal messages, and being introduced to someone named Sam. Part 2 gets into the HSI undercover memos and the defense's discovery motion. You can get it right now at patreon.com/gavelpod. Cases discussed: United States v. Sant et al. (D. Minn.) United States v. Bigazzi et al. (Broadview indictment) Patrons at patreon.com/gavelpod get episodes early and ad-free!

  3. 4d ago

    Supreme Court Says Why Prevent Trump Violating the Constitution Before It Even Happens?

    OA1292 - Jenessa takes us through the Supreme Court's 6-3 shadow docket ruling in Trump v. California, which lifted a preliminary injunction blocking Trump's executive order directing the U.S. Postal Service to gatekeep mail-in ballot delivery before the midterms. Is this a procedural technicality or a five-alarm fire for November? And what does it mean that the Postal Service published its final rule on a Friday night, in apparent violation of an injunction, right before the Court's Monday ruling? Jenessa walks through the chaotic docket, Judge Talwani's genius pivot, and why Justice Jackson's 20-page solo dissent might be the most important thing you read this election season. Cases discussed: Trump v. California (Supreme Court shadow docket, 8/25/2026) League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, D. Mass. DSCC v. Trump, D.D.C. State of California v. United States Postal Service Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  4. Aug 28

    Meta Must Pay, Bannon's Judge Pushes Back, and a Dolly Parton Shoutout from the Bench

    OA1291 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: the single biggest consumer protection settlement ever reached with any U.S. company puts new guardrails on younger social media users, a federal judge refuses to let Steve Bannon off the hook just because DOJ asked him to, an under-the-radar example of ICE’s determination to get around federal court orders, and Trump’s new war on how law schools are accredited. Finally in today’s footnote, we honor absolute legend Dolly Parton with a cosmic coincidence: a special shoutout in a federal judicial decision published on the day we lost her. Order on government’s motion to dismiss indictment in U.S. v. Bannon (8/26/26) U.S. v. McIver, Nos. 25-3573 & 26-1122 (3rd Cir. 8/26/26) Supplemental Findings and Conclusions of Law & Amended Order of Permanent Injunction in Extragrams et al v. Paxton,  Order in Doe v. Guadian, N.D.MD (8/26/26) Video for Dolly Parton’s cover of Collective Soul’s “Shine”

  5. Aug 26

    Stephen Miller's America First Legal Has a YouTube Show (and it sucks real bad)

    VR42 - Thomas, Matt, and Lydia take a long, hard look at America First Legal's podcast "The Arena," hosted by Gene Hamilton, Stephen Miller's longtime ally. AFL runs a segment called "Bad Legal Takes," complete with the silliest jingle for a fascist outlet anyone has ever heard. Also none of the takes are even takes. And they aren't bad. Nor legal. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  6. Aug 24

    A Mayor Declared a State of Emergency to Save Flock Cameras

    OA1290 - Jenessa returns with a surveillance grab bag: a New York mayor declares a bizarre "emergency" to keep her city's Flock cameras running after the city council said no, and a state lawsuit arguing license plate readers are flatly unconstitutional, no federal court needed. Plus a federal bill that could make biased AI hiring and healthcare tools very expensive, and the surprisingly deadly reason some camera poles might already be illegal. Cases discussed: Common Council of Troy v. Mantello Umamoto v. Westchester County AI Civil Rights Act Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  7. Aug 21

    Trump Messed With the Mouse. Now He Gets the Ears.

    OA1289 - Is Disney/ABC’s bold new legal action against the Trump administration one of the most important First Amendment challenges  of our lifetimes, or just another Mickey Mouse operation? Matt explains. Also an explainer on the legally questionable end of Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador, a new ICE purchase that will truly shock you, and a footnote on how the lawyer who put himself in a fancy Star Wars-themed Superbowl ad turned to the Dark Side. FCC order to ABC affiliates noting that ABC is under investigation for violations of FCC rules and “discriminatory” hiring (4/28/2026) Complaint in ABC et al v. FCC et al, filed 8/18/2026 User manual for Compliant Technologies’s G.L.O.V.E. The Kentucky Hammer’s 2020 Super Bowl commercial Complaint in White v. Isaacs & Isaacs, filed 6/2/2026 Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

  8. Aug 19

    Baseball Crank Asks "What Have Refugees Done for Me Lately"

    VR41 - What does a “moderate conservative” sound like in August 2026? Thomas and Matt take a closer look at two very different self-proclaimed “moderates” representing the best and brightest in MAGA apologism. We begin with some low points from Tim Pool’s recent appearance on the gimmicky “Surrounded” debate series before taking on our main story:  a National Review cover piece by Dan McLaughlin on the “broken” asylum system which demonstrates exactly the kind of finely nuanced understanding of U.S. immigration policy you might expect from the man better known to golden-era Twitter users as The Baseball Crank.

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Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
3,562 Ratings

About

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!

Information

  • Creator
    Opening Arguments Media LLC
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.3K
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Opening Arguments

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