Opening Arguments

OA1085 - Matt has put together a preliminary list of things Joe Biden can and should do in the lame duck period. Will he? Let's make him. After that, we examine something that he should absolutely not  do courtesy of the aspiring fascists of the National Review. As a little treat. Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punished perceived enemies," NPR News  (10/22/22) “Biden Should P...

OA1083 - What does it mean to be a legal podcast at a time when the rule of law itself is in play? We reflect on this moment before answering a few patron questions and taking a closer look at the current state of each of the three criminal cases against Donald Trump as of this week. “A Sitting President’s Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution, ” DOJ memo dated 10/16/2000.  Docket for...

Hey folks, this is more of an SIO, but I recorded a solo show because I have to debunk this myth about Kamala losing 10-15m Democratic votes. The truth is not at all that. I also have a million other thoughts that I really just want to get out there and that I hope will be helpful. Matt and I will be back on Friday. Also, I'm not charging Patreon for this one since it's on SIO. Thanks.

Hey folks, it's bad. MAGA is on track to win everything. Matt and I got on for some unfiltered, unedited talk.

OA1083 - the last episode before the election! So Matt thought it would be a great time to give a final round up of the actual policy differences between Trump and Harris. Are these two candidates really  any different? Yes. Obviously yes. What a stupid question. First day on Earth or something? Check out the OA  Linktree  for all the places to go and things to do! If you’d like to support the sho...

OA1082 - Donald Trump recently promised that he and House speaker Mike Johnson have a “little secret” about how they are going to win next week’s election. Is he just trolling, or have Republicans identified real vulnerabilities in our federal election system? We assess the legal realities surrounding one particularly doomerist prediction in The Nation  to try to understand just how concerned we r...

It's OA Bar Prep with Heather! First we get the answer to last week's Mario Kart easement question, and then we get question 46 - The Fraudulent Flight to Florida Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at  reddit.com/r/openargs ! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at  patreon.com/law !

OA1081. We're taking a broad survey of the 2024 elections, starting with the many, many 2020 election deniers who are still in--and seeking--public office. How many of these people are still around, and how many are up for re-election? What kinds of threats to democracy are still built into the system and how could we do better? What would real reform look like, and what is it going to take to get...

OA1080 - As a weary nation watches the world's richest man try to buy a federal election in plain sight, we stop to consider the question which has so long plagued Elon Musk: There's gotta be a crime here, right? Somewhere? There has been plenty of debate this week about the legality of Musk’s $1 million daily lottery for registered US voters in swing states, but there is something far more insidi...

It's OA Bar Prep with Heather! First we get the answer to last week's pizza predicament, and then we get question 45 - the case of the uneasy easement! Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at reddit.com/r/openargs ! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at  patreon.com/law !

OA1079 - An OA Spooktacular! But also a normal episode. We continue our ongoing series on fascism and the law with a fresh perspective on a familiar American legal horror story. Matt explains the terrifying legal context surrounding the 1692 Court of Oyer and Terminar which sentenced dozens of innocent Massachusetts colonists to hang for the extremely real felony of practicing witchcraft--and an u...

OA1078 - The Supreme Court is back from their vacation and is set to ruin a bunch of lives again! They start off with Glossip v. Oklahoma , another opportunity for the Republican ghouls on the Court to execute a potentially innocent man. But not to worry, Matt's Footnote Fetish(tm) will bring us wayyyy back into happy territory, as a favorite character from OA past is in the news in the best way!...

It's OA Bar Prep with Heather! We get the answer to last week's hot firefighter question, and then a new question involving pizza and promised payment! Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at  reddit.com/r/openargs ! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at  patreon.com/law !

OA1077, Part 2 of Matt's MAGA is Fascist series. The MAGA movement has just taken a hard turn  to the extreme right with openly fascist messaging from Donald Trump about “migrant crime,” “occupied cities,” and “bad genes.”  We take a moment to absorb this alarming reality before Matt also explains how US immigration policy has always been the leading edge of American protofascism--and why Adolf Hi...

OA 1076: In the wake of the devastation left by hurricanes Helene and Milton, we examine the state of FEMA’s Congressional funding. Has disaster relief actually become a “partisan” issue, or is this really just a Republican thing? How are these funds distributed, and why can’t Congress ever seem to fully fund anything? Matt explains why the current state of Congressional appropriations has him loo...

It's T3BE43! First, Heather gives us the answer to last week's question about the 6th amendment right to a jury trial, and then we get a fun question involving an issue not talked about enough: discrimination against hot firefighters. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code OPENING at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at  reddit.com/r/op...

Is it okay to call Trump a “fascist”? Is our democracy itself really on the line next month? And what might our legal system look like after a second Trump term? We look behind the headlines to begin to examine the nuances of these questions in this first of several planned episodes on the current state of the American right. The Anatomy of Fascism, Robert Paxton (2004) “The Rise of Competitive Au...

OA1074: We begin with a quick look at JD Vance’s cringiest moment during this week’s VP debate. Does the junior senator from Ohio know anything about immigration law--let alone vice presidenting? In our main story: Two of last term’s worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions surrounding “official acts” have been playing out in real time this week in two of the most important criminal prosecutions in the...

Calling an audible here for reasons explained in the intro! Instead of T3BE this week, here is the very best day of Eli Bosnick playing Michael Cohen for Gavel Gavel. This was the infamous day of the Trump Trial when Todd Blanche start cross examination in the stupidest, weirdest way imaginable. Enjoy! Get 15% off OneSkin with the code OPENING at  https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod If you’d like...

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code OPENING at https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at https://surfshark.com/OPENING OA1073 - This week we are serving up the sticky Turkish delight which is the US Attorney for the SDNY’s 53-page speaking indictment against NYC mayor Eric Adams. Matt proudly explains why Boston is histori...

Secure your privacy with  Surfshark ! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at  https:// surfshark .com/ OPENING We begin by considering Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's claim that Israel's recent unprecedented operation against Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies was a violation of international law. Was this one of the most sophisticated military intelligence operations in history or an indis...

Secure your privacy with  Surfshark ! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at  https:// surfshark .com/ OPENING The answer for T3BE41 is coming your way, and we launch our next Bar Prep question with Heather!  Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at  reddit.com/r/openargs ! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at  patreon.com/law...

Secure your privacy with  Surfshark ! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at  https:// surfshark .com/ OPENING We are excited to welcome Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck back to Opening Arguments for a look back at how the Supreme Court responded to the infamously unruly--and increasingly more extreme--Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in its last term. How did the 5th “win by losing,”...

OA1070 Secure your privacy with  Surfshark ! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at  https:// surfshark .com/ OPENING We begin today’s show with updates on two small victories for the power of art against the Donald Trump legal-industrial complex before turning to our main story: the biggest leak of internal communications in Supreme Court history.  We review what we can learn about how C...

Secure your privacy with  Surfshark ! Enter coupon code OPENING for 4 months EXTRA at  https:// surfshark .com/ OPENING The answer for T3BE39 is coming your way, and we launch our next Bar Prep question with Heather!  Right now, the best place to play (if you aren't a patron...) is at reddit.com/r/openargs ! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at  patreon.com/law !