JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo

Jack D’Aurora and John Gonzales
  • 4.7 (12)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Social justice means applying the law equally to all people. But in practice, that doesn’t always happen. We’re business and trial lawyers with over 60 years experience of practice. Together, we practice law, we seek social justice, and we reveal the conflict between the two. And in this podcast, we bring together guests from a variety of backgrounds to discuss the current issues surrounding social justice and the inequity between these issues and their relation to the legal system. Join with us, so that it’s not Just Us.

  1. 1D AGO

    117. Ohio pushes for religiion in schools

    There's been a push in recent years by Ohio legislators to accommodate religious education in public schools. We talk with Gary Daniels, lobbyist for the Ohio ACLU, about this movement. Most recently, Republican state reps. Gary Click and Mike Dovilla introduced Ohio House Bill 486, also known as the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, which promotes teaching in public schools the positive impact Christianity has had in America. “What it does is it removes the invisible shackles that often hinder a full transparency in the teaching of American history,” Click said during his sponsor testimony. “We are not inviting instructors to teach doctrine or to proselytize … we’re simply affirming what is already in the law that exists.” Well, maybe, but it's if not as if these legislators are advocating to educate students about the positive impact of all religions or the negative impact of all religions. They'll deny it, but these legislators are promoting Christianity, which is prohibited by the First Amendment. The problem is that legislators are pushing to promote only the positive aspects of Christianity, which means their message is not neutral, and if the message is not neutral, it means the message is promoting a certain religion, and that’s not permitted by the First Amendment. The bill lists some 20 items that teachers should feel free to teach in their classrooms—all positive, nothing negative such as, how the Bible was used to justify slavery or indigenous children were taken from their families and raised in group homes where they were forced to adopt Christianity.

    47 min

  2. DEC 15

    116. Sliding from democracy to autocracy

    The New York Times Editorial Board published a piece on October 31, 2025, about a variety of indicators that should alarm everyone about the threat President Trump poses to our democracy. The first is Trump’s effort to stifle dissent, something we haven’t seen before with other presidents. The Associated Press has been denied access to the White House because the AP prefers the name “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” To get access to the Pentagon, journalists have been told they must sign a pledge that limits their access to information. Even Fox refused to sign. Senator Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, has been threatened with court martial for stating publicly that service members are not obligated to obey unlawful orders. Trump has usurped Congress’ right to tax by setting tariffs on just about everything. If you don’t think tariffs are taxes, ask yourself who pays tariffs in the end. Consumers do. All the while, Congress stays quiet; our senators and representatives are more concerned about keeping office then speaking out against Trump and getting primaried. Same thing for Trump directing the military to sink boats that supposedly running drugs in the Caribbean. What’s going on certainly looks like an act of war that only Congress can declare but, once again, Congress sits by and says nothing. Trump has turned the Department of Justice into his own personal law firm, something no former president ever did. And then there’s the matter of misinformation and disinformation that comes from the White House, and Trump always changing the narrative to suit his needs.  Trump has created a national police force of sorts—ICE agents—that conducts raids and wear masks and rounds up people without explanation simply because of skin color and accent. And there’s more that is equally frightening. Listen to the conversation.

    53 min

  3. NOV 12

    115. The U.S. Supreme Court's Shadow Docket and Steady Movement to the Right

    The term “shadow docket” is a name given to the U.S. Supreme's Court emergency docket and reflects that decisions are made quickly with little explanation. This isn’t a new concept. Historically, it was used for urgent matters like death penalty appeals, but its use has expanded significantly in recent years. The shadow docket now addresses a variety of urgent issues, many of which have been triggered by unprecedented actions taken by President Donald Trump. The shadow docket allows the court to issue stays or injunctions, often altering the course of ongoing cases, but with little to no explanation, meaning lower courts are left with little guidance and struggle to interpret the decisions. Critics argue that the shadow docket lacks transparency, as decisions made through the shadow docket can have lasting effects without the usual scrutiny of full court hearings. This raises questions about accountability and fairness in the legal system. The Supreme Court has also been moving steadily to the right on a variety of issues and seems to a proponent of the “unitary executive theory” that gives the president broad authority over the executive branch in a way never before exercised. Listen to our conversation with Mark Brown, professor of constitutional law at Capital Law School, who ends our conversation by predicting how the court will rule on four upcoming cases.

    44 min

  4. NOV 1

    114. The stupid things people say publicly

    If you’re like us, you’ve had your fill of people saying stupid stuff publicly. Some of it is just so stupid it bears repeating, if only as a reminder for the rest of us that saying stupid stuff accomplishes nothing—except providing a platform for outrage. As if we need more of that. Let’s begin with Cracker Barrell updating its logo. The C suite execs thought it would be a good idea to ditch the old guy who’s leaning on a barrel. You would have thought Cracker Barrell was promoting sorcery. People were in arms. No surprise that President Trump weighed in. It’s just a logo. Who cares? How about Sydney Sweeney, lying on the floor in a somewhat provocative pose, zipping up her American Eagle jeans and telling us that it’s our genes that give us our physical characteristics and then telling us her jeans (genes?) are blue. A cute play on words? Absolutely not! This is a reference to eugenics for which much criticism and bitterness are warranted! Bad Bunny will be doing the halftime show at the Super Bowl. You would have thought from some of the criticism that the NFL had invited Beelzebub himself to dance on stage. It’s just a 20 minute show. Everybody, relax! Apparently, the NFL wants to draw a younger crowd. Maybe next time the NFL will sign up a Lawrence Welk tribute band. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth doesn’t think our military has sufficient warrior “ethos.” How do you fix that? Simple, you change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—all at the cost of millions of dollars. That ought to do it! Why didn’t somebody think of this earlier?!  By the way, who says our military doesn’t have a sufficient warrior ethos? The population of Dearborn, Michigan, is 39 percent Arab, and so the police and mayor—the mayor is of Arab descent and supported President Trump—thought it a good idea to include a brief Arab script on the shoulder patches police wear. You know what that means? Sharia Law is overtaking Dearborn. Just ask right wing and extremely vocal influencer Laura Loomer. Sometimes, it’s just better to be silent. None of this stuff matters, except to the conflict entrepreneurs who thrive on outrage.

    34 min

  5. SEP 17

    113. From dropout to doctorate

    How does a gang member make the transition from life on the streets to earning a doctorate in public policy? It’s not exactly an everyday event. Terence Lester was born into a two-parent household, but his parents later separated. In search of safety and stability, his mother moved Terrence and his sister from place to place. Carrying the weight of that early trauma, Terence turned to gangs, became a juvenile delinquent, experienced homelessness, and at one point lived out of his car. He dropped out of high school. But Terence’s story doesn't end there. He eventually returned to school, graduated from college, and defied the odds by earning five degrees, including a Ph.D in public policy. In “From Dropout to Doctorate,” Terence unveils the realities of educational injustice and the profound impact of unjust policies and systems on Black communities. He shows how poverty disrupts the lives of Black families, leading to homelessness and perpetuating the school-to-prison narrative. Drawing from his own personal narrative and scholarly research, Terence names the complex challenges faced by Black children in under resourced and socially dense environments. As a public scholar and nonprofit leader, he advocates for equitable access to advanced education and addresses the systemic barriers that limit opportunities for Black people. Terence’s advocacy encourages us to envision a world rooted in justice and inclusivity. Offering remedies of community involvement and mentorship, Terence charts a hopeful pathway that cultivates potential and provides opportunities for Black youth to thrive. In his podcast, Imagine Dignity, Terence focuses on homelessness and interviews people who live on the streets. His goal is to spread kindness, inspire empathy and help to create a world where no one is invisible. Jack and Gonzo talk with Terence his personal experiences and his call on educators, nonprofit leaders, and community influencers to confront educational inequity and inspire systemic change. Listen to the conversation.

    42 min

  6. SEP 3

    112. Alex Jones and the Sandy Hook conspiracy he created

    Some people don't believe the Holocaust actually happened or that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. And some people don’t believe that 26 children and adults were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary school in 2012. And the man best known for creating the Sandy Hook conspiracy is conflict entrepreneur and InfoWars star, Alex Jones, who called the massacre a “fake” and a “hoax.” Josh Koskoff, the lawyer for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, who obtained a $73 million settlement, also brought a successful legal action against Jones, who profited from the false narrative he created. Jones is a skilled communicator who knows how to communicate to a certain core of people who see him as the sole truth teller and everyone else as part of the deep state. Jones isn’t short on charisma, and he isn’t short on showmanship. The InfoWars stage is flashy and has a high tech look. If you didn’t know better, you would think you were looking at a legitimate major news broadcast system. Trial testimony showed that Jones relied on a business model that was based on building a belief system with his audience so that he could sell a variety of products—male enhancements, t-shirts and more. He’s a master at seducing people with his talk so that he can get them to buy his wares. Jones couldn’t stop talking about Sandy Hook because of the amount of traffic it drove to his store. Not surprising, Jones monetized the trial. After every day in court, Jones would be on InfoWars, making belittling comments about the court. Of course, those comments would be used in court against Jones the following day. Jones created harm beyond his lies. It wasn’t unusual for his listeners to accost the families of the victims in public and accuse them of pretending to have lost a child.

    30 min

  7. AUG 22

    111. Remington Arms held accountable for the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre

    Josh Koskoff, the lawyer for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, did what most thought was impossible. He prevailed in a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the company that manufactured and marketed the AR-15 rifle that was used to murder 20 children, between six and seven years old, and six staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. But obtaining justice for the families wasn’t easy. In part 1 of our conversation with Josh, we talk about the lawsuit. In part 2, we talk with Josh about the lawsuit he brought against Alex Jones of Info Wars, who said the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. The massacre occurred on December 14, 2012. Before driving to the school, Adam Lanza, the gunman, fatally shot his mother. He killed himself after killing the 26 students and staff members. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in Connecticut history and the deadliest at an elementary school in U.S. history. In December 2014, nine families filed suit in Connecticut against Bushmaster, Remington Arms, Camfour, a distributor of firearms, and the store where Lanza's rifle was purchased. The case was brought as an exemption under the 2005 Federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which generally prohibits lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The families claimed that the AR-15 was suitable only for military and police use and that Remington inappropriately marketed it to civilians. Filing the complaint in Connecticut was the beginning of a seven-year saga. Remington tried to move the case to federal court and to have the case dismissed. There was much legal maneuvering. Eventually, Remington persuaded the trial court to dismiss the case. The families appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court. The court decided in a 4–3 vote to reverse parts of the trial court's rulings and sent the case back to the trial court for additional hearings. Remington asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review the decision, but the Supreme Court declined.   In July 2021, Remington again asked the trial judge to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge denied Remington’s request. The next day, Remington offered $33 million to be shared by the nine families. In early 2022, Remington agreed to settle for $73 million.

    45 min

  8. AUG 13

    110. Why do some school districts produce good results, while others don't?

    Is money the determining factor to school districts producing students who perform well? Surprisingly, the answer is no. If money alone were the key, a small town like Steubenville, Ohio, in Jefferson County on the Ohio River and part of the Rust Belt, would not perform as well as Upper Arlington, Ohio, an affluent community. No doubt, adequate funding is important, but other factors are equally important, such as whether a child’s basic needs in order to thrive and succeed in the classroom are met. Many children are part of families that live in a van or perhaps in abandoned buildings. Not all children have what many take for granted, like electricity, running water or heat. Some may not eat regularly and aren’t clothed properly. And then there’s the matter of social capital, that is, those community connections a family has. Steubenville provides a good example. Based on an audit of the Ohio Department of Education conducted by the state auditor, published in 2021, Steubenville ranks in the top 10 percent of all Ohio school districts in terms of performance. And it does so spending far less money per student than Upper Arlington. The reason Steubenville is able to spend less money on education and still achieve high performance scores is strong community fabric. When you have social capital and those close connections that exist when adults take an interest in the life of students and teachers, students perform well. One rural district has a practice of ensuring that all new teachers ride on the school bus to get a sense for how their students live. Think about what that level of understanding does for a teacher. Listen to our conversation with Tracy Nájera, Ph.D., and Howard Fleeter, Ph.D. Tracy has committed her professional career to improving the lives of children and their families, especially those most vulnerable in society. Her experience spans research, program management and implementation and public policy. For most of her career, Tracy has worked in education policy, tackling issues such as school funding, professional learning and human capital in education. Howard has worked extensively for more than 25 years with Ohio education policy-makers to improve the state's school funding system and is the owner of the state and local government finance and tax policy consulting firm Howard Fleeter & Associates. He serves as a research consultant on education finance and policy issues for the Ohio Education Policy Institute.

    50 min
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About

Social justice means applying the law equally to all people. But in practice, that doesn’t always happen. We’re business and trial lawyers with over 60 years experience of practice. Together, we practice law, we seek social justice, and we reveal the conflict between the two. And in this podcast, we bring together guests from a variety of backgrounds to discuss the current issues surrounding social justice and the inequity between these issues and their relation to the legal system. Join with us, so that it’s not Just Us.

Information

  • Creator
    Jack D’Aurora and John Gonzales
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    118
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Jack D’Aurora and John Gonzales
  • Show Website
    JUSTUS with Jack & Gonzo