Opening Arguments Media LLC
Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!
Author
Opening Arguments Media LLC
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 10, 2026
Where to listen?
Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soonPodcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts
Episodes
OA567: Pop-Law! Cardi B Wins Defamation Suit Against Worst Person on Earth 08.02.2022 1:09:17
You think you know what a "bad document" is? You haven't seen anything like this! Keen listeners should know by now that winning a defamation suit as a famous person is a tough bar to clear. But, if the person you are suing is an absolute trainwreck and is possibly the worst person in the world, that bar can be cleared. Listen as Ace Associate Morgan Stringer tells us what happened and why Cardi B...
OA566: Explosive Lawsuit Against the NFL Details Racial Bias 04.02.2022 1:11:26
After being fired from the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores has filed a very serious lawsuit against the NFL for racial bias in hiring. This is absolutely huge news. Find out why the NFL is in serious trouble! Links: Flores v. NFL , Douglas Wigdor - New York's Best Employment Lawyer , 42 US Code § 1981 - Equal rights under the law , Comcast Corp. v. National Assn. of African American-Owned Media , Pa...
OA565: How Madison Cawthorn Could Be Kept off the Ballot 01.02.2022 1:01:55
Check out this one WEIRD trick to.... *record scratch* wait a minute... it's not a weird trick? Wow! Well, check out this one legitimate way in which Madison Cawthorn could be kept off the ballot! It turns out, the Constitution actually isn't a super big fan of insurrections. Also, some additional info on anti-trust law, and a Wild Card (wooooooooo!) on a new bill written by a Democrat AND a Repub...
OA564: The Reteyerment; At-Will Employees Forced to Stay? and Avenatti vs Stormy Daniels! 28.01.2022 1:05:39
Huge news day! BREYER WILL RETEYER! What a relief. Andrew takes us through that and the potential replacements. They're all great! Then we've got, by immense popular demand, coverage of a story in which at-will employees were forced by a court to stay in their job. What happened? Was it reported correctly? Find out! Then finally, it's Stormy Daniels vs scumbag Michael Avenatti in one of the many t...
OA563: Microsoft, Activision, and Monopoly Law! 25.01.2022 1:05:08
There was huge news in the gaming industry as Microsoft announced a deal to acquire Activision! You may remember Activision from such episodes as OA513: California v. Activision Blizzard, Inc in which we covered some of the disgusting sexist behavior that has landed the company in hot water. How does that affect this acquisition? Well, you might be surprised! Listen in! Links: 15 US Code § 1 - Tru...
OA562: Supreme Court Rules Against Trump; Interview with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi 21.01.2022 1:03:31
It's a good news/bad news type of day. The bad news - voting rights has failed in the Senate due to... exactly the two Senators you'd think. But here's the great news! First, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump about the Jan 6th documents! Andrew gives us the full breakdown. And the double good news: We've got an interview with House Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi! He reacts to voting rights, Jan 6th,...
OA561: Why Ghislaine Maxwell Could Get a New Trial 18.01.2022 1:08:58
A juror lied about being a victim of sexual assault. Is that enough for Ghislaine Maxwell to get a new trial? Find out as Andrew brings us the legal deep dive. Also, GOOD NEWS! The Ohio Supreme Court struck down some gerrymandered maps. It's fantastic news and we're here to tell you all about it! Links: Rule 33. New Trial , McDonough Power Equipment v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984) , Ramos v. Lou...
OA560: Supreme Court Just Plain Making Sh*t Up In Vaccine Ruling 14.01.2022 1:08:26
There is a ton of breaking news today, happening just as we went to record. Andrew had time to briefly look over the Supreme Court ruling on the vaccine mandates and it is TERRIBLE. To quote Andrew's live reaction off mic, "Oh they're just lying now." It's that bad. But, we also had some good breaking news! In a nice timely Andrew Was Right, Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was arrested on Jan 6...
OA559: Nirvana Baby Lawsuit Dismissed... Or Was It? 11.01.2022 1:10:20
It's another instance of media coverage of the law not quite getting it right! The lawsuit actually will be back, and Andrew is here to explain why and what really happened! But first, meat's back on the menu, boys! The Biden Administration has been finding creative ways to help people, this time with a Meat EO. Andrew takes the opportunity to explain how Federal Rulemaking works and how Democrats...
OA558: One Year Since 1/6 - What Merrick Garland Said (and Didn't Say) 07.01.2022 1:03:57
It's been both an eternity and no time since the disgusting attack on our nation's Capitol one year ago. We've seen some amount of justice dealt to those involved, but mostly at lower levels. Is there more to come? Will those at the top face consequences? Andrew is here reading the tea leaves on Merrick Garland's speech, and they are some interesting leaves... In the second segment, Andrew tells u...
OA557: Terpsichore's Comically Terrible $1.7 Billion Lawsuit 04.01.2022 1:03:25
It's another mini-Law'd Awful Lawsuits! Terpsichore, or should we say, "Terpsehore," is at it again, with one of the worst all time complaints ever covered on the show. Listen in as we have a lot of fun dissecting this atrocity! Then, we've got a really fun baseball law update that you're going to love, even if you aren't a fan! And we cover the Riot Games DFEH settlement, and an actual good compl...
OA556: Maxwell Convicted; BBC Invites Dershowitz to Comment Despite Massive Conflict of Interest 31.12.2021 1:00:02
Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on 5/6 counts. Andrew takes us through it, as well as how the BBC made an absolutely colossal blunder in inviting Alan Dershowitz on to comment. Then, we go through an update on the Trump lawsuit over documents. It's headed to the Supreme Court! Links: Maxwell Indictment , 18 USC 2423 , Dershowitz Epstein history , DC Cir Opinion (Dec. 9th) , 3 USC 15 , Trump cert p...
OA555: Dems Must Gerrymander to Level the Playing Field - A Look at Redistricting for 2022 28.12.2021 1:03:28
No more bringing knives to gun fights! Andrew breaks down the 2022 redistricting in key states. Listen in to find out why gerrymandering is a must for Democrats if we want to achieve any sort of fairness long term. Then, we have an extended mailbag segment with some truly amazing emails from our brilliant listeners! Links: Cal. Code sec. 8521 et seq. , Dave's Redistricting
OA554: 6th Circuit Overrules Atrocious 5th Circuit Ruling on Vax Mandates 24.12.2021 56:58
How is the 6th Circuit overruling the 5th Circuit, you ask? Great question. That's just like you, you brilliant legal mind! Well there's some interesting legal quirkery behind that. But also, wait until you get a load of how terrible and embarrassing the 5th Circuit's original decision was... Also, we react to the bad Manchin news last week. And finally, Andrew's got another iteration of what we n...
OA553: The Supreme Court Commission Failed. Gabe Roth Joins Us to Discuss Why 21.12.2021 1:06:49
The Supreme Court Commission finished its work early! Probably because, you know, they didn't f*cking do anything useful. Gabe Roth of Fix the Court returns to discuss why the commission failed, what's really wrong with the court, and debate with us how to actually fix it. Court packing? Term limits? Both? Listen in!
OA552: Will Joe Manchin Save Democracy? No, Really! ... Stop Laughing... 17.12.2021 56:53
Today's show breaks down President Biden's pivot from passing the Build Back Better Act to passing the Joe Manchin-cosponsored Freedom to Vote Act, S. 2747. What's in the bill? Is it Manchin'ed? Listen and find out! In the "B" segment, Andrew points and laughs at insurrection John C. Eastman's doomed attempt to prevent Verizon from turning over his phone records to the 1/6 Commission.. It's funny...
OA551: Trump May Out of Office but His Federal Judges Are Not 14.12.2021 1:07:35
They're busy at work making a complete mockery of the law. To call them howler monkeys is an insult to howler monkeys, who I'm sure would at least try their best. Andrew takes us through a couple recent opinions by Trump Judges that remind us why it was so goddamn important both to elect Biden AND to win those two Georgia Senate seats. Let this episode be a motivator! These are the people who end...
OA550: Oxford Shooter's Parents Charged 10.12.2021 1:13:21
In what seems to be an unprecedented but perhaps bold and necessary move, the parents of the Oxford shooter have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Andrew has the breakdown of what happened and if the charges are likely to stick. Is it a slippery slope to... anyone being charged for everything ever? Nah. Before that, we've got an update about the Amazon unionization effort. A new election...
OA549: Greedy Billionaire MLB Owners Stage Lockout 07.12.2021 1:11:21
Baseball law! This season is in jeopardy because some crusty, probably racist, billionaires don't want to give up any money. The OA message on sports law has always been loud and clear: side with labor over the owners! Listen in and find out why. Before that, we've got some delightful updates on the kraken idiots having to pay legal bills! Links: Kraken order , A letter to baseball fans , List of...
OA548: Supreme Court Signals Roe v. Wade's Demise 03.12.2021 1:25:58
Warning: this episode contains yelling. But like, why wouldn't it. We break down oral arguments in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health aka the Handmaid's Tale-ification of the US. The conservative buffoons on the court made jaw droppingly stupid arguments, while some brilliant advocates did an amazing job fighting this losing battle. We've got clips and highlights and a whole lot of rage.
OA547: Can Alex Jones Take the 5th? 30.11.2021 1:08:14
Alex Jones has been in the news lately for losing default judgment after default judgment, and might plan on taking the 5th in front of Congress. So, can he do that? The reasoning proves textualism is terrible and wrong. Then, we've got some updates and clarifications on the Arbery verdict, including capital punishment, appeals by the prosecution, and the misconduct by the first two prosecutors. F...
OA546: Three Racist Murderers Found Guilty of Murdering Ahmaud Arbery 25.11.2021 1:10:00
Wait the system... can work? It did in this instance at least, and it was a very important one. Three pieces of racist trash were found guilty of the horrifying murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Andrew explains the verdict. However, the system also... very much doesn't work. Andrew breaks down the disturbing case of a judge giving a 4 time rapist NO jail time after praying on it. Then finally, we break dow...
OA545: The 1/6 Commission Continues To Do Work 23.11.2021 1:08:55
Lots of updates on the 1/6 commission! The Bannon indictment, a debunking on the idea that Holder and Bannon are in any way comparable, the Q Anon Shaman sentencing, and the Bar Complaint against John Eastman reveals stunning new details on the insurrection attempt! Links: Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress , 2 U.S. Code § 192 - Refusal of witness to testify , Terrible Binnall brief , 'QAnon...
Bonus: Rittenhouse Acquitted on All Charges 19.11.2021 1:06:55
Well this f@cking sucks. Lots to cover in this bonus emergency pod. Unfiltered and unedited.
OA544: Debunking the Left's Rittenhouse Trial Myths 19.11.2021 1:07:12
Let's face it - the conspiracy theory/fake news coming from the left on the Rittenhouse Trial is really terrible. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN that the left is as bad as the right or anything like that. However, we on OA have found it to be exhausting and frustrating. So Andrew is here to set the record straight! But first! We've got some activism for ya. Biden's bull crap Supreme Court Commission is fil...
Similar podcasts
Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.