Advisory Opinions

David Lat stands in for Host Emeritus once more to help Sarah catch up on the latest Supreme Court decisions. Too, they take a detour on penmanship. -Why the justices make us wait -On Puerto Rico's sovereign immunity and Kagan's stylistic quirk -Durham Report -Judge Newman, age, and lifetime tenure -New law school rankings just dropped Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While host emeritus is off for a week on a mysterious mission, David Lat of Original Jurisdiction rejoins Sarah to sift through the latest Supreme Court decisions. On the docket: -Gettysburg update -Attempting to answer when individual members of Congress can go to court -The unsatisfying end to Pork Producers -Buffalo Billion, New York, and federal wire fraud -Setting the table for Title 42 Learn...

Sarah returns from her tick-filled trip from Gettysburg to discuss the E. Jean Carroll civil lawsuit against Donald Trump. Also: -Santos detained -Sci-fi hot takes Show Notes: -David French NYT Column: A Guilty Ex-President -Subscribe to The Dispatch and watch an exclusive live Remnant with Jonah, Steve Hayes, and Chris Stirewalt -The Gettysburg Address Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

Damon Preston, public advocate for the commonwealth of Kentucky, joins Guest-Host David French to break down the Jordan Neely incident. While some New Yorkers view it as the result of growing violence in New York, others as mere vigilantism... but what are the legal elements? This special one-topic episode will try to make some sense of the available reporting. Show Notes: - Subscribe to The Dispa...

The feud between the governor and the mouse has more nuance and legal curiosities than it might seem at first glance, and David and Sarah are here for it. But also: -Is the debt ceiling "unconstitutional"? -History and Tradition revisited (listen to this week's week earlier episode for the full discussion) -Trigger warning for one of the most gruesome 4th Amendment analysis taken up by the pod. Ou...

A case before the Supreme Court may bring the axe to the long zombified Chevron deference. Sarah and David also take a look at: -North Carolina’s flip-flops on gerrymandering delaying the inevitable -A 94-year-old’s legal fight against property seizure gets a hearing -Is the distinction between History and Tradition a bait and switch? -Supreme Court Ethics are in the news again... (yikes) -Q&A fro...

Is it unconstitutional to push religion in a state that favors religion generally? Two bills in Texas are igniting the debate over the establishment clause and religious coercion. Plus: -Brother Jesus! -The angriest bee in Scott Lincicome's bonnet also known as The Jones Act -E. Jean Carroll's rape case against Trump begins -Justice Gorsuch in the latest rounds of SCOTUS media hit pieces (edited) ...

It’s a SCOTUS packed pod featuring an Alito dissent going into his ~feels~. Plus, AO is getting ready for the much-anticipated Tech Term(s), and Sarah needs David's reassurance that everything will be alright. On the docket: Dueling certs over state actors blocking users on social media Alito bring out the hot sauce for shadow dockets debate The tweet the triggered David Can prosecuting threats of...

BREAKING! Sarah’s buckets have finally arrived at the Supreme Court. Also: Fox News agrees to pay and pay and pay... but won't tell you about it. Today's buckets: -You can’t leave our relationship -Bonus: Footage of New York and New Jersey debating the validity of their pact -Accommodation versus discrimination, undue burden versus substantial cost -Groff's gonna lose... probably (are religious fr...

Justice Alito stays the Texas abortion pill ruling, leading to Sarah and David going full law nerds as they push back on bad reporting and evaluate the legal versus real world consequences. Also: -A snarky(?) Gorsuch -Sarah's favorite recent opinion -Updated takes on Alvin Bragg and Jim Jordan -*Sigh* Clarence Thomas -David’s insight into the Pentagon leaks Show Notes: -NYT Opinion Piece on ethics...

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s latest PR stunt is a fight against Jim Jordan and Republican grandstanding. Sarah and David tear through the 50-page lawsuit before getting to a special guest interview with Andrew Brasher, former Solicitor General of Alabama. Show Notes: -Bragg goes after Jordan: merit + lots of nonsense -The cruel unfairness of debating someone who's good at debating, see: Isgur v Gold...

Federal courts, bad incentives, culture war exhibitionism, and abortion distortion… And the week's only started. But Sarah and host emeritus are here for you to make sense of: -Dueling abortion rulings in Texas and Washington state -Clarence Thomas’ friendship with Harlan Crow -Transgender cases and the winding down of shadow dockets -Gov. Greg Abbott wants to pardon a convicted murderer under Tex...

Sarah and David are back for a Wednesday (!) episode to give the people what they want: a review of Trump’s indictment. The verdict? Not great. Also: A Twitter user convicted over trolling Hillary Clinton supporters SCOTUS back-scratching? The Justices are taking their time Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's praiseworthy approach to equity Show Notes: -What You Need to Know About the Trump Charges -S...

The AO train keeps rolling after Saturday’s emergency pod with an episode chock-full of legal conundrums, fatal contracts, and (one) happy ending. -Weird vibes on SCOTUS case about immigration and the First Amendment -Tennessee's anti-drag statutes... (Or: David is very, very tired) -Fox and defamation -A goat’s fatal fate -One commenter comes after David over campaign finance laws -A question con...

Sarah and David return to Harvard Law School to beguile the next generation with stories of squirrel rescues and FedSoc of yore. Oh yes, and to discuss the Trump indictments. -FedSoc: Generations -What we don't know about the Trump indictments -Sarah and David, criticized -Stretching the facts // Stretching the law -What happens now? -Alan Dershowitz reminiscence -DeSantis and the Questionable Cir...

Sarah and David spin through a carousel of cases, argue about theoretical swastikas, debate the merits of true crime content, and even bring on returning guest Christopher Bogart to discuss commercial litigation (and why you should really care!). The journey includes: When Gorsuch sided with Donziger Jack Daniels and Bad Spaniels: Trademark wars Things Lisa Blatt can get away with that no one else...

Sarah and David divide and conquer in an especially busy episode. Following a bright announcement from host emeritus, we delve into... Trump’s possible defense against the Manhattan DA Congress moving forward on a TikTok ban, but is it constitutional? Is a bad joke to an admissions officer relevant to the Harvard discrimination case? Stanford Dean’s public letter A memo for young lawyers. Show Not...

With possible Trump indictments looming, Sarah and David meet face to face to discuss. Will the Manhattan D.A. set a precedent on prosecuting a former president based on a shaky theory of law? From New York to Georgia, the indictments are coming..(?) We need a better political class in the country The Bob McDonnell Option The Rule of "Bad Guy Goes to Jail" WTF Rand Paul (and House Republicans) Als...

Stanford Law School students want to have it both ways on speech rights, which means you get to enjoy a firey sequel to Tuesday's epic, infinity-long episode! Plus...  -Your comments on the Stanford Squeeze, answered -Stanford dean getting the Game of Thrones walk of shame treatment -Sarah is on a journey -A brief aside on Amy Wax Show Notes: -Article: Law Schools Must Stop Intolerance From Disrup...

By now you've probably heard about Judge Duncan's bad day at Stanford Law School. No worries if not, because this Marvel-length special episode will leave no question unanswered. To complete the autopsy, Sarah and David are joined by Original Jurisdiction's David Lat and the man of the dark hour himself, Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan. They discuss the Stanford standoff and the ongoing trend of s...

David and Sarah are coming to you from live from the University of Kentucky answering the most pressing legal questions: -Is wokeism a religion? -Can an employer only hire like-minded people? -Will Biden push ESG investment practices? -What does Gruyere cheese have to do with the law? -When should schools outsource discipline to the criminal system? -What was one NYT author thinking? Or smoking? -...

The saga continues with an episode that really should come with its own trigger warning for being just too sexy. Take a deep breath… -Safe spaces of yore (David's establishment clause victory) -The Finality Question, or: Losing My Jurisdiction -A death row case creates strange bedfellows and scrambles Sarah’s grand theory of the Roberts court -David can’t wait to tell you about this Bank Secrecy A...

Are you ready for a MOHELA good time? Sarah and David try to read the tea leaves as SCOTUS scrutinizes Biden's student loan forgiveness and the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Also: terrorism on Twitter and cert grant update. The saga begins. Show Notes: -Biden v. Nebraska oral argument transcript -David Lat: On the need for diverse viewpoints -David Lat: More thoughts on intel...

Podcast-skeptic Judge Neomi Rao joins Sarah and David on the sidelines of the National Constitution Center’s Conference to talk circuit decisions, career path rejections, and tips for young clerks. But first: a primer on the most important office you’ve never heard of. Show Notes: -The Hedgehog and the Fox in Administrative Law -Judge Rao's Dissent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Judgmental looks. Angry scoffs and murmurs. Maybe even kicks at your back. All because you dared to recline your airplane seat. But isn't it your right to recline? Sarah and David charge into this heated -- and ever urgent -- legal question about ownership with Michael Heller, Professor of Real Estate Law at Columbia Law School, and James Salzman, Professor of Environmental Law at UCLA Law School,...