Advisory Opinions

Latest Episodes:

Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice? Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French go through a few orders from the Supreme Court (including one that’ll have our libertarian friends jumping from the second-story window), a CNN article on Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, and two dueling en banc decisions from the 3rd Circuit.

–⁠Trigger warning for the libertarians⁠

–⁠Prisons must continue providing gender-affirming care⁠

–⁠Four justices recuse themselves from copyright case⁠

–Dueling Second Amendment en banc decisions from the 3rd Circuit

–⁠Why Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson goes it alone⁠

–⁠Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s prosecution backlash⁠

–Prosecuting the Trump administration

Show notes:

–⁠Where the Supreme Court favors Trump on the emergency docket – and where it doesn’t⁠

–⁠Adam Liptak’s piece for the New York Times⁠

–⁠United States v. Bost ⁠

–⁠Williams v. Attorney General⁠

–⁠Jack Goldsmith’s piece on Sen. Elissa Slotkin⁠

Order Sarah’s book ⁠here.⁠

Advisory Opinions is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠.

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A Constitutional Crisis Over a Golf Course Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss the legal battle between the Trump administration and the East Potomac Golf Course, a certiorari grant on race-neutral admissions, and another on distilling booze at home. Finally, David asks Sarah about the Department of Justice’s hiring standards.

The Agenda:

–⁠Trump’s legal battle is par for the course⁠

–⁠Supreme Court agrees to consider federal ban on home distilleries⁠

–⁠Justices take up case on race and school admissions⁠

–⁠Double-jeapordy objections⁠

–⁠Florida’s social media law⁠

–⁠Who’s qualified at the DOJ?⁠

–Listener question on child sexual abuse material and the First Amendment

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The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French are joined by Vince Chhabria, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and Stanford professor Nora Engstrom to discuss the incredibly high number of motions granted to seal documents and the line between secrecy and protecting the public interest. They also discuss three new cases that SCOTUS added to its oral argument docket and Big Law red flags.

The Agenda:

–Shout out to our Antarctica fans

–Does FOIA apply to DOGE?

–Cooking up material support for terrorism

–Why sealed filings should be rare

–Welcome to Big Law, son

Order Sarah’s book here.

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here.

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

Is Spending Money Protected Speech? Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.

The Agenda:

–Columbus Day discourse

–Video rental records and boring 1980s movies

–Suing Hillary Clinton

–Disputes over political ad rates

–Is spending money speech?

–The problem with disclosure laws

–A gruesome history of the death penalty

Show Notes:

– Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta

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SUNCOR Gets Complicated Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss the surprisingly complicated Suncor SCOTUS oral argument, Justice Samuel Alito and his AI usage, and circuit cases on child sex abuse material, vaccine exemptions, and racial harassment.

The Agenda:

–Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County

–An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito?

–“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.”

–Justice Barrett, zombie slayer

–Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?

–Legal traps, religious exemptions, and COVID vaccines

–The DEI-training era reaches the courts

Show Notes:

–Sherif Girgis’ Advisory Opinions episode

–Jack Goldsmith’s piece in The Atlantic

Order Sarah’s book here.

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What Is Originalism? | Interview: Sherif Girgis Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

The new Supreme Court term has officially started, Sarah Isgur has returned from Down Under, and Sherif Girgis is taking a job at Harvard Law School. The vibes on today’s podcast are immaculate as Sarah and David discuss the long conference before Girgis joins them to discuss Justice Samuel Alito’s new book and his recusal from the biggest case of the term.

The Agenda:

–42 pages of cert denials

–Long conference overview

–So Ordered: An Originalist's View of the Constitution, the Court, and Our Country

–Justice Alito’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal

–The off-ramps of originalism

–Behind the scenes in Alito’s chambers

Show notes:

–Justice Alito’s CBS News interview with Jan Crawford

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Not a MAGA Court Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Elie Honig, CNN’s chief legal analyst, joins David French fresh off jury duty to discuss his piece for New York Magazine on how worried we should be about election challenges ahead of the midterms. The two also discuss the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on third-country removals, do some level-setting on the civil lawsuit against Cornell University over an alleged gang rape, and participate in a Star Wars SCOTUS draft.

The Agenda:

–Jury duty hangover

–Immigrants ask Supreme Court to leave ruling in place preventing Trump administration from deporting them to third-party countries

–The Supreme Court Won’t Be Trump’s Election-Theft Lackey

–Jane Doe v. Cornell

–We’re having a draft!

Order Sarah’s book here.

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Is Press Access a Constitutional Right? Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

David French talks to CNN’s chief legal analyst, Elie Honig, at a time when CNN is in the news following President Donald Trump’s ban of the cable network from the White House. Honig takes us through CNN’s lawsuit seeking to regain access and the First Amendment argument media outlets are making. The two also discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Missouri redistricting case, and Sarah Isgur makes a provocative argument that may trigger any true crime fans.

The Agenda:

–The third time is not the charm in Missouri redistricting map case

–Can the White House ban the press?

–True Crime entertainment is bad

–Thank you, SNL

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Third Time’s the Charm? Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss the Missouri redistricting case now that the 8th Circuit has weighed in. Let’s stipulate that everything is a mess. Then, the two go through a few listener mailbag questions, including controversial school murals, marijuana law, and court packing.

The Agenda:

–SCOTUSblog coverage on the redistricting case

–India’s Supreme Court, standing doctrine, and stagnation

–The Rohrabacher–Farr Amendment and David being wrong

–Sarah’s favorite sentence and Judge Jeff Sutton

–Rage bait: Congress is maybe not the problem

–How many justices is too many?

Order Sarah’s book here.

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Are Marijuana Contracts Legal in Federal Court? Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss the upcoming “long conference” that marks the unofficial start to the new Supreme Court term, a prosecutor being referred to the Department of Justice for obstruction of justice, and a review of several circuit-court cases, including breaches of contract between marijuana-related businesses. Crime versus commerce reaches the courts.

The Agenda:

–⁠Hello Justice John Marshall⁠

–⁠What is vulgar student speech? ⁠

–“There are only two genders” and race-neutral criteria

–⁠Prosecutor referred to the DOJ⁠

–⁠Hash-ing out business⁠

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