Opening Arguments

OA1181 - In this episode recorded almost exactly six months into the Trump administration, we check in on the progress of the Heritage Foundation's infamous playbook to remake every part of the federal government in the second Trump administration. What is Project 2025, and who was behind it? How many of its goals have already been accomplished, how many are in progress, and what's left?   Mandate For Leadership: The Conservative Promise, The Heritage Foundation (2023)  Project 2025 Tracker Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1180 - We begin with some much-needed reminders that good things are still happening and the rule of law is still (mostly) holding on before turning to a recent Trump executive order on homelessness which reads like something out of a (not very good) Batman movie. Jenessa explains how this development fits into the history of long-term institutionalization of vulnerable and unhoused people in the US as we work through what this thing is actually trying to do. In an unfortunately not-at-all-unrelated story, Matt then breaks down the situation with Florida's “Alligator Alcatraz” (aka “Gator Gitmo”), the pending challenges to this completely new (and totally illegal) approach to state-based immigration detention, and where this is all going. Finally, in today's footnote: has ChatGPT finally made its first hallucinatory appearance in a judicial opinion? We investigate not just one but two recent instances of federal judges who have now joined the many lawyers caught using AI to do their homework. “Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets,” The White House (7/25/25) Complaint in Friends of the Everglades v. Noem, filed 6/27/25 Complaint in C-M. v Noem, filed 7/16/25 Defendants' Unopposed Motion to Clarify in Mississippi Association of Educators et al v. Board of Trustees (7/22/25) Judge Henry Wingate's order in Mississippi Association of Educators v. Board of Trustees declining to clarify decision of July 20, 2025 (8/1/25) Defendant's letter to Judge Julien Neals in In re CorMedix Securities Litigation (7/22/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

VR2 - Vapid Response Wednesday returns live on video for another round of bad-faith legal takes from the American right's leading--well, let's just go with “minds.” We begin with a quick check-in on the divided state of the U.S. “sovereign citizen” movement via a short explainer video in which one of its leading grifters denounces a whole new set of grifters who are promoting the concept of an “American State National.” We then plumb new depths of dumbassery from Harvard Law school professor/crypto-theocrat Adrian Vermeule. In a recent New York Times op-ed, Vermeule has called out the true villains of the American judiciary: lower court judges who aren't doing exactly what Adrian Vermeule imagines the Supreme Court has told them to do. Matt breaks down why this column doesn't provide a single example of the trend it purports to be exposing, and Lydia has the details on one of MAGA's favorite legal scholars. Who is Adrian Vermeule, what is “Catholic integralism,” and why is a man who has previously gone to so much effort to hide his true beliefs behind “common-good Constitutionalism” showing his entire ass in the pages of the NYT? Then, we preview a *patron-only* bonus where we go into overtime to witness the spectacle of Alan Dershowitz's lengthy but extremely unconvincing arguments as to why everyone should be required to sell him pierogi under force of law. If you want to be sure to not miss that, you'll have to go to patreon.com/law! Watch this episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/-GyGbd-GUbs "What is the difference between American National and American State National?" Kelby Smith (Youtube link) “Someone is Defying the Supreme Court, But It's Not Trump,” The New York Times, Adrian Vermeule (7/25/25) SCOTUS shadow docket order in Trump v. Wilcox (05/22/2025) SCOTUS shadow docket order in Noem v. Doe (05/30/2025) SCOTUS shadow docket order in DHS v. D.V.D. (06/23/2025) SCOTUS shadow docket order in DHS v. D. V. D. (07/03/2025) Harvard Students' Letter to Administration re: Vermeule (11/09/2020) Vermeule Responds to Harvard Law Faculty's Letter to Students re: The Rule of Law under the Trump Administration (03/30/2025) 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!

OA1179 - Dr. Timothy Leary is best remembered today as the Harvard psychologist who told America to “turn on, tune in, and drop out” with psychedelics in the 1960s. But did you know that “the High Priest of LSD” was also one of the most famous people ever to bring a criminal case to the U.S.. Supreme Court?  Jenessa shares her scientific perspective on Leary's “research,”  and Matt explains how a minor California marijuana possession charge led to Leary's unbelievable life on the run as an international fugitive across four continents and his eventual association with not just one but three of the era's most notorious radical groups. We then review Dr. Leary's conviction under the Marihuana [sic] Tax Act of 1937 and how Leary v. U.S. changed everything about drug enforcement. (Also discussed: the unexpected origin of the Beatles song “Come Together,” the benefits of podcasting on acid, and what psychedelic research and regulation might have looked like in an alternate Leary-free timeline.) Leary v. US, 395 U.S. 6 (1969) Letter from the American Medical Association opposing passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (7/10/1937) The Most Dangerous Man in America: Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD, Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis (2018) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1178 - Our conversation with former San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin continues with a closer look at the accomplishments of his term, what progressive prosecutors can realistically expect to be able to do within the constraints of the current system--and why they are the last people who should expected to do it--and what was really behind the 2022 recall campaign which removed him from office.  Chesa Boudin's faculty page at UC Berkeley Law Chesa Boudin's academic publications, SSRN Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

VR1 - Welcome to Vapid Response Wednesday! Rather than explaining law in the news as we have for years on Rapid Response Friday, Thomas, Lydia, and Matt are going on the offensive in this live video series to respond and react to the stupidest takes that we can find--and we've got just the guy for our first pick! We begin with former Jeffrey Epstein defense attorney Alan Dershowitz's recent piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he literally claims that “there is nothing more to see here” on the Epstein case while filling in the facts of what we know from reliable reporting and court records. What is Dersh not telling us here about his own involvement with Epstein, the unbelievably corrupt federal non-prosecution agreement which he secured for his client in 2007, and all of the other many reasons that he might not be a trustworthy source on this question? We then take on one of Matt's all-time favorites: a well-known 1996 video presentation from far-right immigration restrictionist organization NumbersUSA in which founder Roy Beck takes the stage to set the Guinness world record for Biggest Strawman Made Entirely Out of Gumballs. “The Inside Scoop on Jeffrey Epstein,”  Alan Dershowitz, The Wall Street Journal (7/15/2025) “Alan Dershowitz: Devil's Advocate,” Connie Bruck, The New Yorker (7/29/2019) “Immigration, World Poverty, and Gumballs,” NumbersUSA (originally distributed in 1996, uploaded to YouTube in 2010) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1177 - We are excited to welcome former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for the first half of this unique two-part interview! Chesa is a very notable representative of the “progressive prosecutor” movement. His time as SF DA shows both the promise of this movement, and the limitations. But before we dig into all that, we begin with Chesa's unique background as the child of incarcerated parents and how this experience inspired him to dedicate his life to bringing a new approach to the criminal legal system. Chesa Boudin's faculty page at UC Berkeley Law Chesa Boudin's academic publications, SSRN To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1176 - Six years after his death in a filthy Manhattan jail cell, Jeffrey Epstein's disgusting ghost is now haunting Donald Trump--his former “best friend” of more than a decade. What are the “Epstein files” and why has the demand to see them turned MAGA world against itself now?  We go beyond the headlines to explain how one of the most notorious criminals  in recent American history has become this week's top legal story so long after his death, and why DOJ's recent efforts to cover for Trump should constitute a ten-alarm scandal. We then review Trump's attempt to sue the Wall Street Journal for revealing his surprisingly artistic birthday wishes to his “pal,” why his administration is so intent on unsealing grand jury records which DOJ knows can't be released, how this whole mess has reached the point that the Supreme Court might actually have a good legal reason to reverse Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction (!), and why Trump might be about to pardon Maxwell even if it doesn't. Also discussed: the history of Epstein's astonishing 2007 non-prosecution agreement and its legacy, the real “Epstein files” that no one has been talking about, and how the President of France might be about to righteously bankrupt MAGA mouthpiece Candace Owens.  Complaint in Trump v. Wall Street Journal (filed 7/18/25) Undated July 2025 FBI memo summarizing recent Epstein file review  Judge Robin Rosenberg's order denying DOJ motion to unseal Epstein grand jury records in the Southern District of Florida (7/23/25) Jeffrey Epstein's Non-Prosecution Agreement (signed 9/24/2007) Ghislaine Maxwell's petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court (filed 4/10/25) Complaint in Macron v. Owens (filed 7/23/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Professor Heather Varanini has brought us our next question as we study for the Bar Exam!  If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1175 - How much of a restriction on your First Amendment rights is it to have to upload an ID to access an adult website? That is the question at the heart of Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the Supreme Court's recent review of age verification laws such as Texas's HB 1181. Matt explains how this newly precedential application of intermediate scrutiny to these kinds of restrictions on adult content could have real implications for the future of other kinds of unpopular speech. Then for more context we welcome Zeve Sanderson, the Executive Director of the NYU Center for Social Media & Politics. Zeve and a team of other researchers have recently published the leading findings on the actual effects of age verification on browsing habits, which he takes us through while also explaining some possibly less-restrictive alternatives to current verification methods. U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (6/27/2025) Audio of Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton SCOTUS oral arguments (1/15/2025) Do Age Verification Bills Change Search Behavior? A Pre-Registered Registered Synthetic Control Multiverse, David Lang Benjamin Listyg† Brennah V. Ross‡ Anna V. Musquera Zeve Sanderson (March 2024) Zeve Sanderson's website

OA1174 - Matt is coming in hot from the front lines of immigration court for an exclusive firsthand account of how a new secret memo directed to ICE's attorneys is trying to unilaterally redefine immigration reality and prime the machine for a new era of mass detention well beyond anything this country has even seen before. In better news: an actual federal judge restores sanity in the surprisingly-difficult-to-locate federal district of central California, and a footnote on why some unexpected federal job openings might be good news for people who hate fascism. “ICE declares millions of undocumented immigrants ineligible for bond,” Maria Sachetti and Carol Leonning, The Washington Post (7/15/25) (via MSN) Judge Maame Uwusi-Mensah Frimpong's findings and TRO against ICE in Perdomo v. Noem (7/11/25) Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of Q. Li, 29 I&N Dec. 66 (BIA 2025) Alito's majority decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez (2018)  Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

And Professor Heather Varanini has brought us our next question as we study for the Bar Exam! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! 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!  

OA1173 - More people have been to space than practice space law, and Professor Michelle Hanlon is one of its most important modern pioneers. Professor Hanlon joins to talk Star Trek captains, preserving historic sites on the Moon, and why she believes the mass privatization of space is--at least if properly regulated--the only way forward. Prof. Michelle Hanlon's University of Mississippi faculty biography “Why Are We All So Obsessed with the Moon?”, Michelle Hanlon, New York Times  (12/7/2024) The Artemis Accords (signed 10/30/2020) “The Wild Wild West of Space Law,” Michael O'Shea, The Walrus (8/13/2020) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1172 - It's been two weeks since the Supreme Court decided that babies in only half of the US get to be born as citizens. We try to make sense of what they left behind in one of the most important shadow docket cases in history, and how concerned Samuel Alito should really be that the actual text of the 14th Amendment might still prevail in the end. Matt also considers how likely it is that Zohran Mamdani might lose his citizenship over his rap lyrics, and we wrap with a quick footnote combining two of our favorite things: bad AI in court and Mike Lindell. Trump v. CASA (6/27/25) Judge LaPlante's order certifying class in Barbara v. Trump (7/10/2025) DOJ memo re: priorities including denaturalization (6/11/2025)

Professor Heather Varanini is here to get us ready for the Bar Exam with the next question!If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1171 - Today's episode is a nice, fun departure from the doom and gloom. Oral arguments in a recent SCOTUS case went terribly wrong. And for once, it wasn't the court itself that was looking like a clown show. The case was AJT v Osseo and it involved disability rights. So naturally, I had to invite everyone's favorite disability rights advocate and all around all-star, Dr. Jenessa Seymour!  

Hey folks, I'm taking a little time off! Hope you enjoy this SIO in the meantime. Thank you! Part 1: The Legal Stuff Dr. Jenessa Seymour is here to break down something that even our moms are spreading on social media: a group in New York claims to have uncovered discrepancies in the vote count for the 2024 election, and they're suing over it! Dr. Seymour hits ALL of the expert boxes for this one - statistics, voting rights, the law, and New York. Want part 2 early? Head to Patreon.com/seriouspod!

OA1170 - This Rapid Response Friday it's Boh-vey (yes that is how you pronounce it, probably) all day--as in former Trump defense attorney and current Trump henchman Emil Bove, now up for a seat formerly occupied by Samuel Alito on the Third Circuit. Matt ties together several different stories from the news--from January 6th to the Eric Adams prosecution to DOJ's deportations in violation of court orders--together with this week's stunning 27-page account from deep inside the DOJ provided by a former loyalist. Finally, in today's footnote: a pro se plaintiff invents a completely new way for AI to be useless in the courtroom Government's Motion to Clarify in D.H.S.. v. D.V.D.:  (filed shortly after we recorded on 6/27/25) The U.S. Supreme Court's order in D.H.S. v. D.V.D. (6/23/25)  Day 1 of Emil Bove's confirmation hearing (6/25/26) Letter filed by Government Accountability Project on behalf of Erez Reuveni (6/25/25) Oral arguments before New York's First Appellate Division (3/26/25)(clip starts at 19:29) Federal magistrate Barbara Holmes's detention review decision in U.S. v. Kilmar Abrego Garcia (6/22/25)  

If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1169 - We had our first live video QnA of the new era! It was so good that I really thought more folks should hear it. Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to the next one! If you'd prefer to watch it, it's available on YouTube.  

OA1168 - Did the Karen Read trial just become the most expensive drunk driving prosecution in US history? We then briefly discuss legal issues around the arrest by ICE of New York mayoral candidate Brad Landry, and Matt fills in the most important missing detail of a story which nearly the entire media got wrong this week. And in our main story: the Supreme Court has struck an expected but thoroughly disappointing blow against trans rights in one of the season's biggest cases, and we talk out our first impressions of the informed medical judgments of Drs. Roberts, Thomas, and Alito.  Finally, in today's footnote: why America's favorite crack-smoking pillow salesman now owes millions for repeating a second-hand rumor about an Antifa conference call. Footage of Brad Landry's arrest (CNN) Trump's “Further Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay” EO (6/19/2025)  The Supreme Court's decision in Skrmetti v US  (6/18/2025) Be sure to join us on YouTube on Sunday, June 22nd, at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

T3BE74 First an exciting announcement! We're bringing back the original Q&A format where everyone can hang out for the livestream, but patrons get the extra special opportunity to ask questions in advance! Be sure to join us on YouTube on Sunday, June 22nd, at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1167 - Georgetown law student Mari Latibashvili is the co-founder of the GU Law Coalition for Justice, which recently made national headlines by organizing law students to refuse interviews and job offers from law firms which have given in to the Trump administration's war on the legal profession. We discuss (among other things) this remarkably successful campaign, what life in law school has been like since the November 2024 election, and the growing influence of abolitionism among law students and new lawyers. Spreadsheet assembled by Georgetown Coalition of Students for Justice cataloging hundreds of law firms and their responses to the Trump administration's executive orders targeting specific law firms “Law students organize to give Trump-caving law firms a recruitment problem,” Adam Klasfeld, All Rise News (4/25/2025) Amicus brief filed by 1,129 law students in the Susman Godfrey litigation against the Trump administration Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1166 - We consider the legal realities behind this week's most important stories, from the unprecedented statutory justification for Trump sending troops into California to why a wrongfully-deported man's return to the US is--bad, actually? Matt then serves up a digestif of a note en bas de page about one of the most audacious counterfeiters in French history and how they were brought down with one well-placed tongue. Trump executive order deploying National Guard to California (6/7/25) 10 U.S.C 12406 Newsom v. Trump (complaint filed 6/7/2025) Indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia (5/21/25) Filing in Maryland Abrego Garcia litigation seeking sanctions against the government Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

T3BE73 If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1165 - Anna Chu is the Executive Director at We the Action, a nonprofit that recently collaborated with labor and democracy partners like the American Federation of Government Employees and Democracy Forward, to launch Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network. This Network connects federal workers who are being illegally terminated to pro bono legal services to help them understand their rights and fight back. But before our main segment, Lydia sneaks in to OA HQ to give us an old fashioned Doozy Watch of how things have been looking for federal employees and where the various lawsuits stand. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1164 - After a brief conversation from the front lines about the chaotic state of US immigration enforcement as of June 2025, we examine three unusual recent 9-0 decisions authored by three of our favorite Supreme Court justices. Join us behind the headlines to learn why Matt agrees that stopping a lawsuit against gun manufacturers, potentially opening the door to dumbass “reverse discrimination” lawsuits, and expanding tax-exempt status for the Catholic church further than ever are--fine, actually? Plus, a truly shocking immigration law development with potentially massive consequences which the media is totally missing, and one spicy meatball of a footnote. Smith & Wesson v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos  (6/5/25) Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin (6/5/25) Ames v. Ohio Dept of Youth Services (6/5/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

T3BE72 If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1163 - No really. That's a real stat. It may actually be WORSE than that. So uh... how in the hell? Professor Valena Beety is here to break it down. She's done a ton of great work in this area, and has a new legal research paper, "Unfit": Gender, Ableism and Reproductive Wrongful Convictions by Valena Elizabeth Beety, which goes into this and much more! Content note: this episode does involve discussion of events where young children died. We don't dwell on these events much at all other than to mention them as needed. More links: Indiana Innocence Project, Kristine Bunch | National Registry of Exonerations, Manifesting Justice: Wrongly Convicted Women Reclaim Their Rights, Op ed: Why has Brenda Andrew been on death row for two decades? It has everything to do with sex.

OA1162 - It's all good news from our favorite branch of government today! We review recent judicial wins in everything from illegal deportations to tariffs to the Trump administration's wars on international students,  private law firms, and common-sense understandings of the expression “foreign policy.” Plus, Matt shares a footnote from the front lines of Trump's mass deportation efforts to explain why an immigration judge 2000 miles away just left him an angry voicemail. MA District Court judge Brian Murphy's preliminary injunction in DVD v. DHS (4/18/25) Judge Murphy's denial of DHS's motion to reconsider (5/26/25) Order to return O.C.G. to Guatemala (5/23/25) Judge Michael Fabiarz's order on Mahmoud Khalil's habeas claim (5/28/25) VOS v. USA decision from the Court of International Trade (5/28/25)  DC Circuit judge Tanya Chutkan's decision in New Mexico v. Musk (5/27/2025) Judge Richard Leon's order in Wilmer Hale's challenge to Trump EO (5/27/25)

T3BE71 If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1161 - Micah Herskind is an activist, Harvard law student, and most recently a co-editor of the essay collection No Cop City, No Cop World with Mariah Parker and Kamau Franklin. We welcome Micah on to discuss his experience with Atlanta's Stop Cop City movement and the lessons which activists and advocates around the US can learn from it in these times of mass dissent in the face of American authoritarianism.  No Cop City, No Cop World, ed. Micah Herskind, Mariah Parker, & Kamau Franklin (2025) Cop City RICO Indictment, Fulton County Superior Court (8/29/2023) “The Tools of Repression,” Hanah Riley & Micah Herskind, Inquest (4/24/25) The Free Speech Forest Fund Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1160 - Sheryl Weikal is an Illinois trial lawyer with a name-your own-price practice representing marginalized people facing eviction, foreclosure, discrimination, and incarceration--which is all incredibly cool unto itself, but she also has a story like no one else you've heard. Sheryl won an incredible victory three years ago against the Illinois state bar for trans attorneys throughout the state in the face of years of open prejudice which she suffered from fellow lawyers, court staff, and even judges from the bench, and has written the story of her personal and professional life in a memoir which will be out June 3rd. This isn't one to miss! Preorder I Was an Abomination: A Story of Trans Survival in Conservative America by Sheryl Weikal (to be released 6/3/2025) “Transgender lawyer wins suit for declaration that trans discrimination violates attorney ethics rules,” ABA Journal (4/18/2022) Follow Sheryl on Bluesky To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

T3BE70 - As is typical for Wednesdays these days, we've got some Lydia and Thomas nonsense to kick off the show, but Heather swiftly swoops in to save us from ourselves, reveal the answer to last week's T3BE69 (nice), and set up the question for T3BE70. If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1159 - We are so pleased to have Temple Law Professor Rachel López on the show to discuss her work in shining light and digitally preserving court records related to the trials following the Guatemalan Civil War. Not only is the archiving of this material so important to those impacted by the government regime over the 30 year conflict, it also demonstrates early examples of transitional justice and what we might learn from it when applying it in the future to governments that commit human rights abuses. Listen in to hear the efforts she undertook to be sure these stories would not be forgotten. Truth Commission Report (February 1999) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1158 - We start off with some patron questions about what to do when ICE comes to your neighborhood, the one thing that the world's most annoying white libertarians got right, and how to best exercise the very few rights US citizens have coming back into the country. Then in our main story: This week the Supreme Court heard arguments over birthright citizenship--or did it? Matt explains how they might do something even worse than expected while still striking down Trump's attempt to end the  Constitutional right to citizenship for everyone born on US soil by executive order.  Finally, we polish off today's episode with a meaty footnote about the lies and tyranny of a very different kind of would-be monarch. Oral arguments in Trump v. CASA (5/15/25) Trump v. CASA docket  Western District of PA federal judge Stephanie Haines's ruling upholding the application of the Alien Enemies Act to members of Tren de Aragua “Sense of the community” memo dated 4/7/25 finding that Tren de Aragua is not working with the Venezuelan government Complaint in Coleman et al v. Burger King  

After some Thomas-Lydia nonsense and updates, Heather gives us the answer to question 68, a fiendishly difficult real property one. Did you get the right answer? Then we get a new question 69! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1157 - Leah Litman is a co-host of Crooked Media's Strict Scrutiny podcast and professor at University of Michigan Law School, and most recently the author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. We are pleased to welcome Professor Litman to discuss everything from what it's like to teach American Constitutional law 2025 to what the Supreme Court has in common with the Bluth family. Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes, Leah Litman (2025) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

For this Rapid Response Friday, we answer patron questions on everything from how to examine a  warrant to why Donald Trump will never be sending anyone to Alcatraz. We also consider just how bad the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the administration's ban on trans military service members actually is, how the single biggest financial corruption scandal in Presidential history is happening right now right in front of us, and why the forced departure of the acting DC U.S. Attorney is some of the best news this country has had since January 20, 2025. Also: a surreal Black Mirror-style  footnote about the first time a U.S. courtroom has ever heard a victim's statement in a video made years after his death. Sample judicial warrant Sample ICE administrative warrant Trump's Crypto Conflict of Interest, Democracy Defenders Fund (4/23/25) Supreme Court's order in U.S. v. Shilling (5/8/25) Project 65's bar complaint against Acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin “The Ed Martin Show,” Jeanette Cooperman, St. Louis Magazine (4/26/2011) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1155 - It's a bad news/good news show, but the good news is very good! But first, the fasch. First, a few more notes on the arrest of Judge Dugan. Then some terrible EOs. One attacking on sanctuary cities. In another, we get a look at what Trump wants to use his literal billion dollars of big law pledges for. And, you know, some other fascisms. Then the good news! The courts are putting a stop to some major bull shits, including a huge smackdown of Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act. And this was by a Trump-appointed judge! And Mohsen Mahdawi has been released! 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.  

T3BE68 - Professor Heather Varanini returns to spill the beans on how Thomas did for Question 67 before taking us down another Bar prompt. If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1154 - Whatever the stage of fascism is where they start arresting judges for doing their jobs--well, we're here. We review what we know about the in-court arrest of Milwaukie County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan last week. Matt then explains exactly what a “sanctuary” jurisdiction is (and isn't) and how the Trump administration's promises to aggressively investigate and prosecute state and local officials for non-cooperation with ICE fits into the overall plan of American authoritarianism. We also review ICE's efforts to engage “force multipliers” via special cooperation agreements with state law enforcement under INA 287(g) and how you can do your part to stop it. Complaint and supporting affidavit in U.S. v. Dugan (4/24/2025) AG Bill Barr's speech to the National Sherriff's Association in which he promised to investigate and prosecute local authorities who interfered with ICE (2/10/2020) Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act | ICE (links to Excel docs with state of all current and pending 287(g) agreements) Pam Bondi's memo on charging and sentencing policies which shifted DOJ's focus to immigration enforcement (2/6/2025) To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1153 - It's good news Friday! Here are some stories about American fascists losing or otherwise showing their asses in court, including (among others): The Supreme Court comes through strong for immigrant justice at 1 AM on a Saturday morning Samuel Alito fails to properly interpret a book written at a fourth grade level after having his Easter ruined by immigrant justice DOJ accidentally files an embarrassing internal memo into the record Sarah Palin's tries and fails to sue the New York Times for libel for the second time  one federal judge stops Trump's attempt to do the SAVE Act through an executive order, while another reverses an ICE kidnapping Neil Gorsuch does a genuinely good thing for non-citizens through a simple act of textualism DOJ pulls out one of the most ridiculous excuses for violating a court order in US legal history Finally, a meta-footnote on why Matt is ready to join the calls to impeach national hero James Boasberg for his radical views on the utility of (what else) footnotes. Samuel Alito's dissent in A.A.R.P. v. Trump (4/19/25) SCOTUS's decision in Monsalvo-Velasquez v. Bondi  (4/22/25) Vermont federal district court order returning Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont Courtlistener docket for D.V.D. v. DHS Courtlistener docket for American Oversight v. Hegseth 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

T3BE67 - It's another bar question with Heather Varanini! First we get the answer to last week's very bad and ungrateful father question, and then it's time for our next one! We crown some new winners, and then thank the best winners of all - our patrons! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1152 - We are pleased to welcome Mike Lissner, the Executive Director and CTO of the Free Law Project to discuss his outstanding work in bringing federal court filings out from behind the PACER paywall, how just a few people with good ideas can fill in the gaps left by government services, and why he hasn't created an Article III Hot or Not with his vast library of judicial portraits (but how you could). Free Law Project donation page CourtListener RECAP 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1151 - We're (kind of) live from New York! Thomas, Matt, and OA regular Liz Skeen meet up in person for the first time on Liz's home turf to review the state of the law three months into the second Trump administration. We begin with a brief update on some  recent developments in Trump's war against Biglaw before turning to some encouraging developments in two of the most significant federal civil cases of our lifetimes. Finally, Matt cedes today's footnote to a New York minute from Liz about a welcome legal setback for Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign.  Letters from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent to major law firms demanding data on DEI hiring policies (3/17/2025)  DC District Court Judge James Boasberg's 46-page findings of probable cause for criminal contempt against defendants in JGG v Trump (4/16/2015) Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson's order in JGG v. Trump (4/17/2025) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

It's Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question 66! Heather's here to break down the answer to T3BE65, and Lydia jumps in (because of reasons we explain in the show) to help us congratulate the winners and tackle the question for T3BE66. If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1150 - Did the Department of Homeland Security really just give Massachusetts-born immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni seven days to leave the US? Matt has the inside (his law office) scoop on this viral story. Then in today's deep dive: what if Congress accidentally legalized some THC products seven years ago and no one noticed? We discuss how this unexpected dutchie was actually passed on the right hand side and what, if anything, Congress should do it about it. Nicole's viral Bluesky post about the notice she received to leave the U.S. in seven days U.S. Cannabis Council's findings on the safety of Delta-8 products AK FUTURES LLC v. Boyd Street Distro, LLC, 35 F. 4th 682 (9th Cir. 2022)  “2018 Farm Bill's Impact on the Cannabis Industry,” Whitt Steineker, National Law Review (2/25/25) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1149 - Even as most of the Biglaw establishment falls to Trump's whims, lawyers from smaller firms are stepping up to do the most necessary work  on the most important issues of our times. We're here to tell you a little more about some of them! But first: The House passes the “No Rogue Rulings Act” and we rip into some fascist nonsense from MAGA legal “thinker” Mike Davis defending the President's absolute  right to call anyone a terrorist and send them to hell without a hearing. Also: DHS's “evidence”(?) in support of Mahmoud Kahlil's deportation,  SCOTUS ‘s surprise mid-episode ruling ordering the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a Salvadoran gulag, and more on the truly inspirational lawyers who are aggressively pushing these fights forward. In today's footnote: can you sue ChatGPT for “hallucinating” terrible stories about you? One heavily-armed Georgia talk show host is gunning to find out. The “No Rogue Rulings Act”  (HR 1526)  Amicus brief filed in Korematsu Center et al in Perkins Coie v. DOJ (4/9/25) DHS “evidence” filed in Mahmoud Kahlil's deportation proceedings (4/10/25) U.S. Supreme Court's order in Noem v. Abrego Garcia (04/10/2025) Plaintiff's complaint in Walters v OpenAI   “SCOTUS must stop leftist judges' lawless sabotage of Trump agenda | Fox News, Mike Davis (3/31/25) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1148 - We interrupt your regularly scheduled T3BE to bring you three stories of why Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the worst. Matt starts off by reporting on how ICE disappeared one of his detained clients shortly before his scheduled bond hearing this week. On that theme, you might have seen the viral video of an attorney confronting deportation officers at his minor client's home. What in the world was that? Matt has the brekadown. We then try to understand why the Supreme Court has just agreed that the President can kidnap and throw pretty much any non-citizen* out of the country so long as he calls them “alien enemies”  and ICE mumbles something about due process first. *citizens TBD UPDATE: ICE has confirmed since the time of this recording that Matt's client is in New Mexico, 2200 miles from where he was supposed to have a bond hearing on April 7th. U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 per curiam order in Trump v. J. G. G. (04/07/2025) Video of Virginia attorney James Rivera confronting ICE at his minor client's home (@7jimmie77) | TikTok 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1147 - It's the retrial of the century, and Matt's bringing his local perspective for the single most-requested story in OA history. Jury selection is underway for the second trial of Karen Read for her alleged responsibility in the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe in the same Massachusetts courtroom where a mistrial was declared last July, and we've got everything you need to know to follow this case which has become a global phenomenon. We review some of the basic facts as revealed at the last trial and take a closer look at the legal issues. Where did both the prosecution and defense go wrong last time, what has happened between the trials, and what should we expect now?  Burnside Fountain (Turtle Boy) - Atlas Obscura Defense attorney David Yanetti's opening statement in Commonwealth v. Read (April 16, 2024) READ v. COMMONWEALTH (SJC-13663) (2025) Independent audit of the Canton Police Department (April 2, 2025) 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! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.