Advisory Opinions

Sarah and David discuss the latest voting trends and break down recent cases related to election law. They overview the legal nuances and explore the implications of potential rulings for the upcoming election. The Agenda: —Anti-absentee voting? —The legality of Elon Musk’s “raffle” —Virginia lawsuit —Texas death penalty case —Electoral College and slavery —Filibuster impact Advisory Opinions is a...

Sarah and David preview how the 2024 election might play out in the courts. But first, the two revisit their conversation with Leon Neyfakh. The Agenda: —Electoral Count Reform Act —Guardrails to prevent partisan manipulation —Ballot harvesting —File them lawsuits! —History of the Electoral College —Increasing the size of the House —David: I Don’t Want to Live in a Monoculture Show Notes: —Report...

Sarah and David are joined by Leon Neyfakh—host of Fiasco podcast and co-creator of Slow Burn—to explain what really happened in December of 2000 when the Supreme Court halted the Florida recount. The Agenda: —Butterfly ballots —Dimpled, hanging, and pregnant chads —Independent state legislature theory —Who would’ve won anyway? —Elián González —The Brooks Brothers riot —Was Bush v. Gore cynical? —...

Sarah and David break down two cases from the Supreme Court's recent oral arguments and take questions from Columbia Law students. The Agenda: —Can the ATF regulate gun kits? —Is a salad kit a salad? —Death penalty case in Oklahoma —Bad writing from the Oklahoma Supreme Court —Racist Penn professor —Audience Q&A Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering po...

Judge Roy Altman joins Sarah and David at Duke University School of Law. Note: The opinions expressed on this podcast do not represent Duke (who would have thought that anyways?). The trio discuss Altman’s trip to Israel and legal troubles the country has in defending itself. The Agenda: —The intersection of law and military operations —Proportionality as legal principle in armed conflict —How Ham...

Live from UNC (we can say that, right? We’re allowed here?), Sarah and David discuss the latest round of Supreme Court cert grants and the case they’re most looking forward to hearing. Oh, and Donald Trump’s immunity comes up. Again. The Agenda: —A Texas nuclear case —DNA test before death row —Mexico sues gun manufacturers —Did a woman lose out on jobs because she's straight? —Needless deadly for...

Kannon Shanmugam, head of Paul-Weiss' Supreme Court practice and friend of the pod, gave a speech recently pushing back against critics who question the judiciary's legitimacy. He joins Sarah and David to discuss the importance of trust in institutions to the rule of law. The full speech follows. The Agenda: —Questioning legitimacy is a team sport —Kanon's speech: revering the court —Good faith .....

Sarah and David highlight four cases from the Supreme Court's 2023-2024 October term and a 5th Circuit case uncovering librarians’ motivations. The Agenda: —Gender affirming care ban: parents’ rights or police state power? —Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton —Psychiatric care and the death penalty —Why do we have a Utah ad? —MUSTE standards —Mayor Eric Adams and gross stuff Advisory Opinions is a pro...

Sarah and David look over the case of Marcellus Williams, whom the state of Missouri executed on Tuesday after he was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. The Agenda: —Controversial speakers galore —Marcellus Williams case: justice or murder? —A cop and a prosecutor walk into a bar … or rather, this AO episode —Should you join FedSoc? Why are we even asking this question? Show...

Notre Dame law professor Sherif Girgis joins Sarah and David to discuss his latest law review article, “Originalism’s Age of Ironies.” But first, the two respond to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s confusion over international law. The Agenda: —AOC’s questions regarding Israel —What is liquidation? —Living constitutionalism lacks a clear defense in modern discourse. —The role of judges in interpret...

Sarah and David sparked controversy with their recent speaking event near Princeton University’s campus. The two decide to quell culture war squabbles by discussing ‘Maverick’ Trump-appointed judges. The Agenda: —Sarah and David's Princeton appearance —Intellectual energy on the legal right —Egregious due process decisions —Banning conversion therapy —Should “WAP” by Megan Thee Stallion expel a ph...

Sarah and David go to Princeton, where they grapple with the attempt of elite universities to remain politically neutral. (Hahaha.) And is there another Supreme Court leak? Really? Also: Where are we on the supposed TikTok ban? The Agenda: —Institutional opinions —TikTok ban at the D.C. circuit —New York Times: How Roberts Shaped Trump’s Supreme Court Winning Streak —The use of AI in law —What’s n...

Adam Feldman of Empirical SCOTUSand Optimized Legal Consulting joins Sarah and David to discuss the concept of a 3-3-3 Supreme Court and the challenges of measuring ideology. The Agenda: —The role of Chief Justice John Roberts —Similarities and differences between political and judicial conservatism —The jurisprudence of Justice Amy Comey Barrett —The prevalence of unanimous decisions Show Notes:...

Sarah and David discuss the recent school shooting in Georgia, which is raising questions about parental responsibility and the limits of legal liability. The Agenda: —Georgia school shooting —6th Circuit punts campaign finance question to Supreme Court —Body cam footage hasn't done everything we wanted it to —Debating the scope of the Second Amendment Show Notes: —Buckley v. Valeo —McConnell v. F...

Sarah details life under a wicked curse and David defends his position in The Dispatch's fantasy football league. Oh, and today's legal theme for the podcast is the First Amendment. The Agenda: —Role of public defenders —Criminal justice reform —Horrific TikTok algorithms and Section 230 —Gray areas of Section 230 —The back and forth with Sarah Palin's defamation case —Should the dues from the Ore...

Sarah and David break down the latest update in Jack Smith’s January 6 case against Donald Trump before speaking with Yuval Levin about his book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again. The Agenda: —Jack Smith’s superseding indictment —Not thinking alike but acting together —Federalist No. 10 —Underestimating how unified we are —Proceduralism is not amoral —Rest...

Sarah and David catch up on the latest case in Second Amendment jurisprudence before talking with Matt Martens about his new book, Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal. \The Agenda: —Matt’s faith —The prosecutor-to-defense-attorney pipeline —The plea bargaining system —The issues with eye-witness testimony —Brady violations —Should prosecutors have absolute immunity? —Racial discrimina...

David Lat joins Sarah and David to break down recent Supreme Court trends and discuss Lat’s legal fiction novel, Supreme Ambitions. The Agenda: —Is the shadow docket problem solved? —Supreme Court approval rating —Stabilizing the Supreme Court —Lat’s pick for most interesting justice —Who will win the text, history, and tradition fight? —Advice for law students —Lat’s book, Supreme Ambitions —Stra...

Writing with quill pens, quartering Secret Service agents, and shooting 18th-century guns. A.J. Jacobs joins Sarah and David to discuss his book, It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family, and his experience living by the Constitution. But first, this podcast can’t escape a little bit of legal news, including a shocking decision by the Supreme Court. The Agenda: —SCOTUS blocks B...

Former White House counsel Bob Bauer joins Sarah Isgur and David French to talk about his new book, The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics Without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis. They also discuss the role of a presidential attorney, whether Special Counsel Robert Hur crossed a line by reporting on President Joe Biden's cognitive decline, and what it was like to prep the president for his fateful...

In this three-guest special episode (wait, does David count as one? Are we still doing that?), Noah Phillips, former Federal Trade Commission commissioner and co-chair of the antitrust practice at Cravath, joins Sarah and David to discuss the reality of antitrust law. Then, John Inazu, the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, joins to...

Our August-themed legal book discussion is postponed for one episode, but don’t fret: There’s more than enough legal news to fill a show, thanks to gun rights and antitrust cases. The Agenda: —Maryland’s assault weapons ban is constitutional —Text, history, and tradition as … rational basis review? Or something. —Original jurisdiction and Missouri’s attempt to put forth a stupid case —Is Google th...

Sarah and David kick off the Advisory Opinions August book series and invite Professor Keith Whittington on the pod to discuss his new book You Can't Teach That!: The Battle over University Classrooms. But first the two dig into David’s conversation with Justice Neil Gorsuch. The Agenda: —Justice Gorsuch: Go to law school. —Defining originalism —The Supreme Court children’s book —The history of ac...

Justice Kagan makes remarks to the 9th Circuit and President Biden proposes SCOTUS reforms. The usual slow-moving summer legal news drag is disrupted by a number interesting cases and eye-raising comments. On the docket: —To stand or not to stand at a desk —Justice Kagan says Supreme Court reforms are "fair" —The Supreme Court’s caseload —Are justices friendly? —President Biden’s proposed reforms...

Sarah and David welcome special guest Anthony Sanders, director of the Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice, to eviscerate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Plus: David’s rant on Presumed Innocent. The Agenda: —Judicial engagement —Social Darwinism and “putting to death the inadequate” —Progressive forgiveness for progressives —First Amendment —Civil rights and judicial abdi...