Swear on the Stand

This episode details an  en banc ruling  by the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit  regarding the constitutionality of  geofence warrants . The case,  United States v. Chatrie , examines whether law enforcement violated the  Fourth Amendment  by compelling  Google  to provide location data from all users near a 2019 bank robbery. The court ultimately  affirmed  the lower court&...

This episode outlines a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding  David Davalos , who challenged the legality of a  warrantless vehicle search  conducted in his driveway. Following a traffic stop for a minor violation, a state trooper discovered  marihuana and a firearm  inside the car's door panel, leading to Davalos’s conviction as a felon in possession of a weapon. The court exam...

This episode discusses a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  opinion regarding a lawsuit filed by  Amanda Carter  against  Deputy Chad Dupuy  and  Sheriff Jason Ard  following a confrontation at a high school. The court addressed whether the officer's actions—which involved  briefly grabbing and pushing  Carter out of a school office after she refused to leave during a child custody dispute—const...

This episode presents a legal opinion from the  United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding the constitutionality of a Texas law,  S.B. 10 , which mandates the display of the  Ten Commandments  in public school classrooms. The court reversed a previous injunction, ruling that the statute does not violate the  Establishment Clause  or the  Free Exercise Clause  of the First Amen...

This episode from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  reviews a civil rights lawsuit filed by  Daryl Davis  against various Texas officials following a 2019 traffic stop and drug arrest. While the court  upheld the dismissal  of Davis’s claims regarding  unlawful arrest ,  excessive force , and  malicious prosecution , it determined that some of these legal challenges failed due to  statute of li...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding an appeal filed by  Luis Alfredo Lezama-Ramirez  over his sentencing for unlawful reentry. The court primarily addressed  discrepancies  between the supervised-release conditions stated  orally at sentencing  and those listed in the  written judgment . While the majority upheld most conditions because they were included in...

The  Supreme Court of Louisiana  recently reversed the burglary convictions of  Michael Steven White  because the written verdict form provided to the jury failed to include a  "not guilty"  option. Although the trial judge gave correct verbal instructions, the written form listed only  guilty ,  guilty of attempted simple burglary , and  guilty  as the possible responses. The majority o...

This episode details the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals'  decision to uphold a drug conviction against  Jesus Arturo Conchas-Mancilla . The defendant challenged the search of his vehicle, arguing that a drug dog's  instinctual alert  was insufficient to establish  probable cause  compared to a formal, trained indication. However, the court ruled that the  totality of the circumstances , i...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  case regarding the validity of  construction liens  under Mississippi law. The dispute centers on whether  Cuevas Machine Company  properly established its liens against  Calgon Carbon Corporation  by attaching invoices rather than explicitly stating the final date of service within the lien filing. Because state statutes require the "la...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding the constitutionality of a long-standing federal ban on  at-home distilling  for personal consumption. A group of hobbyists and the  Hobby Distillers Association  challenged the statutes, arguing that the prohibition exceeds the legislative powers granted to  Congress . The court concluded that all plaintiffs have  standing...

This episode outlines the  Supreme Court's 2026 decision  in  Chiles v. Salazar , which addressed whether  Colorado's ban on conversion therapy  for minors violates the  First Amendment rights  of licensed counselors. Petitioner Kaley Chiles argued that the law unconstitutionally restricted her use of  "talk therapy"  to help clients achieve their personal goals regarding sexual...

In the case  RICO v. UNITED STATES , the  Supreme Court  ruled that a defendant’s term of federal  supervised release  does not automatically extend if the individual  absconds  or fails to report. The  Ninth Circuit  had previously held that such a term is "tolled" while a defendant is a fugitive, allowing for new crimes committed during that period to be treated as formal  release viol...

This Supreme Court opinion in  Olivier v. City of Brandon  addresses whether a person previously convicted of a crime can later challenge the constitutionality of that same law. The petitioner, a street preacher named  Gabriel Olivier , sought a federal injunction to prevent future enforcement of a city ordinance that restricted his speech near a public amphitheater. While lower courts held that t...

This episode is from a  Supreme Court of the United States slip opinion  from the 2025 term regarding the case  Urias-Orellana v. Bondi . In a unanimous decision authored by  Justice Jackson , the Court addressed whether federal appeals courts should use a  deferential "substantial-evidence" standard  or a  de novo  review when evaluating asylum denials. The petitioners, a family from  E...

This episode from  Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation  (2026) clarifies the criteria used to determine if a state-created entity qualifies as an  "arm of the state"  for  sovereign immunity  purposes. The Court unanimously ruled that  NJ Transit  is not entitled to immunity because it was structured as a  legally separate corporation  with the power to sue, be sued, and manage its...

This episode contains a  Supreme Court of the United States   per curiam  opinion and subsequent opinions from a  2026 case  regarding California’s school policies on  student gender identity . The Court  vacated a stay  issued by the Ninth Circuit, effectively reinstating a lower court's injunction that prevents schools from  withholding information  about a child’s gender transition from the...

This Supreme Court syllabus and opinion from  Villarreal v. Texas (2026)  examine whether a judge violates the  Sixth Amendment  by restricting a testifying defendant’s communication with their lawyer during an overnight break. The Court affirmed that while a defendant has a fundamental right to  legal counsel , they also assume the burdens of a witness when they choose to testify. Specifically, t...

This episode outlines an appeal by the  United States government  against a lower court’s decision to  suppress evidence  and statements in a criminal case against  Lexus Sanchez Weaver . The  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  overturned the initial ruling, finding that law enforcement acted in  good faith  when executing a search warrant based on a detailed affidavit involving  controlled drug purc...

This episode outlines a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  decision regarding the Department of Justice’s prosecution of  Boeing  following two fatal  737 MAX airplane crashes . The court addressed petitions from the  victims’ families , who argued that the government violated the  Crime Victims’ Rights Act  (CVRA) by failing to properly consult them before entering into a  non-prosecution agreement...

This  Supreme Court of the United States  opinion addresses whether a police officer is entitled to  qualified immunity  after using a  pain-compliance technique  on a nonviolent protester. The majority reversed a lower court's ruling, determining that existing legal precedents did not  clearly establish  that using a wristlock on a resisting individual after issuing warnings was unconstitutio...

This episode from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  vacates a lower court's mandates regarding medical care at the  Louisiana State Penitentiary . The majority opinion asserts  appellate jurisdiction , ruling that the district court's remedial orders were sufficiently final and impactful to warrant immediate intervention. The court finds that the original rulings ignored the  Prison Lit...

This episode from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  addresses a constitutional challenge to the  Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council  brought by commercial fishers. The plaintiffs argued that  Councilmembers  were improperly appointed and sought to overturn  Amendment 54 , which significantly reduced catch limits for  Greater Amberjack . While the court found that the Council’s  veto powe...

This episode from the  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  details a lawsuit involving a  pretrial detainee  who gave birth alone in her jail cell, resulting in the subsequent  death of her infant . The plaintiff alleged that the facility's  medical director  violated the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to provide adequate care despite knowing the risks of her pregnancy. The court ultimately  affi...

This episode details a  ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit  regarding a dispute between  Megatel Homes  and the  City of Mansfield, Texas . The conflict arose when the city allegedly used a contract with a local utility district to  block water services  for a new development unless the developer agreed to specific annexation and fee demands. While a lower court i...

This episode details a  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals  opinion affirming a lower court's decision to grant  summary judgment  to the  FBI  in a  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)  lawsuit. The plaintiff, Michael Hagar, sought an unredacted email and its  header metadata  to assist with his criminal case, but the court ruled that his request for recipient names became  moot  once the governmen...