Advisory Opinions

Latest Episodes:

Judge Cannon's Clerkship Problem Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

In this double-guest special, David Lat shares his original reporting on the exodus of Judge Aileen Cannon’s clerks and its implications for Trump's classified documents case. Judge David Proctor of the Northern District of Alabama then joins to explain the history and function of the federal judiciary and its committees, including the Judicial Conference.

The Agenda:

—Do younger clerks just not understand hard work?

—Judge Cannon’s declining reputation

—Delays in Trump’s documents case

—How the federal judiciary came to be

—Rule-making process for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

—Multi-district litigation and its criticisms

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Into the Labyrinth (of Texas Immigration Law) Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

Sarah and David dive into the battle (one that at times stumps our resident SCOTUS wonks) between the 5th Circuit and the Supreme Court on Texas’ deportation legislation.

The Agenda:

—Texas’ SB4, explained

—Important legal glossary

—The issue with administrative stays

—Why the delay at the Fifth Circuit?

—Opinion in chambers from Justice Roberts

—FBI No-Fly List Case

—First Amendment and Government Coercion

—NRA free speech battle

—Listener feedback

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can State Officials Block Me on Social Media? Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

Sarah and David discuss Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion in Lindke v. Freed—released last week by the Supreme Court—and the test for state action on social media. Is there a constitutional right to commenting on state officials’ accounts?

The Agenda:

-Predicting SCOTUS votes for Net Choice

-Slime in the ice machine

-Justice Elena Kagan’s compelling reasoning for saying “and” means “or”

-Terrorism distortion and special needs exceptions to the Fourth Amendment

-The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is overwhelmed

-An emergency petition on the Texas A&M drag show case

-Don’t say 'Don’t Say Gay' when referring to this lawsuit

-Justice Stephen Breyer and choosing pragmatism and not textualism

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blood Libel at MIT Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Sarah and David react to the Robert Hur’s congressional testimony, but first Sarah responds to a recent article that claimed she was assisting Hur in his testimony (and thanks the loyal listeners who came to her defense).

The Agenda:

—David’s thoughts on the Hur hearings

—Lessons in media training

—Differences between the Trump and Biden documents cases

—Partisanship making people awful

—Complaint by Jewish students at MIT

—Blood libel at MIT

—Free speech or no speech on campus?

—Positive racial discrimination?

—The end of judge shopping

Show Notes:

—President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL

—UC Berkeley Jewish students successfully march without confrontation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stopping the Stop Woke Act Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

Despite a slow start to the week in legal news, Sarah and David have a tightly packed episode today starting with a dissent from denial from Justice Thomas on bias response teams at a Virginia university.

The Agenda:

—Bias response teams

—ACLU vs. NLRB

—Florida's Stop Woke Act naw-dogged by Eleventh Circuit

—Texas' law on minor access to explicit content at the Fifth Circuit

—TikTok: Welcome to the culture war

—Kevin Newsom's speech on text, history, and tradition

—Be careful with tradition

—Understanding standing doctrine

—The Oscars and a good legal movie

Show Notes:

—Federalist Society 2024 National Student Symposium

—The Volokh Conspiracy

—Luis Parrales: The Oscars in an Age of Distraction

—MIT legal complaint

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Responds to Trolls Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

David takes the first ten minutes to respond to Twitter trolls over his latest New York Times article before he and Sarah revisit their arguments over the Supreme Court’s per curium ruling on the Trump-Colorado case.

The Agenda:

—Defending the Supreme Court

—Erasing the Constitution

—Confusion over the Trump ruling

—Consequentialism vs. originalism

—Judicial restraint and originalism

—Erasing Chevron

—SCOTUS hears bump stock case

—Explaining the string cheese factors

Show Notes:

-Kevin Williamson: Slate Publishes Gun-Control Fiction

-Advisory Opinions Episode with Professor Amanda Tyler

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indictment Watch: The Supreme Court Decides Whether States Can Disqualify Trump Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

The Supreme Court issued an unanimous decision on Monday dismissing efforts to block Trump from the Colorado ballot. Sarah and David review the ruling and then go on to disagree about pretty much everything. Stay tuned for a feisty debate.

The Agenda:

-Colorado cannot remove Donald Trump from its ballot

-SCOTUS not touching the "Did Donald Trump engage in insurrection or aiding the enemies of the United States?" question

-Also not touching, "Is Trump an officer?"

-5-4 ruling on who can enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment

Show Notes:

-Electoral Count Reform Act

-Section 3 of the 14th Amendment

-Colorado Supreme Court's Majority Opinion

-Maine Secretary of State's original decision on removing Trump

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sore Losers and Dr. Phil Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

Sarah and David have some legal catch-up to do but first on the docket is some rank punditry on Donald Trump's endless legal saga.

The Agenda:

—Why is there a delay on Trump’s cases?

—David explains NetChoice v. Paxton

—McElrath v. Georgia update

—No Labels considers Nikki Haley

—Dr. Phil’s our guy

—Home Depot and free speech

—NCAA name, image, likeness rules

—AO dating app update

Today's episode is supported by Burford Capital. Follow the link to learn more: http://burfordcapital.com/ao

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from Alabama Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

Former U.S. Assistant Attorneys General Stephen Boyd and Jody Hunt, as well as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Prim Escalona join Sarah Isgur for a live recording of Advisory Opinions at the University of Alabama.

The Agenda:

—An update on the Alabama IVF ruling

—To go to law school or not to go?

—Private practice vs public service

—Relationship and mom advice in high-stressed jobs

—Audience QA

Show Notes:

—Chevron Deference discussed on Advisory Opinions.

Today's episode is supported by Burford Capital. Follow the link to learn more: http://burfordcapital.com/ao

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taylor Swift and the Magna Carta Feb 22, 2024

Show notes