Opening Arguments

Latest Episodes:

The Luigi Mangione Case: A NY Defense Attorney Breaks It Down Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

OA1099 - Superstar Gavel Gavel contributor Liz Skeen joins to answer all of your questions about the arrest of Luigi Mangione and the charges he will soon be facing for his alleged shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the courthouse where she serves as a public defender. Also: Biden’s record-breaking day of clemency.

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There’s Something Deeply Wrong With Stephen Miller (And There Always Has Been) Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

OA1098/T3BE51 - We conclude our review of Trump’s immigration enforcement team with the man behind Donald Trump’s immigration policies.. Who is Steven Miller, and why? You’ll want to listen to this one even if you think you know who this man is, because it’s all a lot weirder--and, somehow, worse--than you might have ever imagined.

Then, it's time for the answer to last week's bar exam question, and Q51!

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Trump Doubles Down on Immigration Plans In Softball NBC Interview Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

OA1097 - Trump's Staff Infection, Vol. 5

Donald Trump has just reiterated his intentions for mass immigration enforcement in a Sunday Meet the Press interview, and Lydia joins for a closer look at the people who will actually be carrying these policies out. We take a quick introductory look at runner-up Attorney General pick Pam Bondi before Lydia reviews some of Project 2025’s plans and Matt explains the different roles of the DOJ and DHS in the US immigration system. Also, why has the former governor of a lightly-populated state nearly 1000 miles from the Mexican border with nothing related to immigration on her CV been chosen as the next head of Homeland Security? We have some theories--but absolutely no questions as to why family separation expert Thomas Homan will be the next American “border czar.”

“Project 2025: A Mandate for Leadership,” The Heritage Foundation (2024)

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Supreme Court Justices Should Not Be This Good At Playing Dumb Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

OA1096 - The President of the United States has just pardoned a blood relative and it’s--fine, actually. We review the full pardon of Hunter Biden in the greater context of presidential pardons before moving on to our main story: this week’s oral arguments in the trans rights case U.S. v. Skrmetti. The most important and very likely the most consequential case of this Supreme Court term featured the first openly trans lawyer ever to appear before the high court patiently trying to explain to some of our finest legal minds why a Tennessee law denying life-saving healthcare to certain people based on which letter is printed on their birth certificates is in fact unconstitutional discrimination. Finally, Matt drops a quick footnote to acknowledge one of the shortest periods of martial law in democratic history and to see what we might be able to learn from it.

Statement from President Joe Biden re: pardon of Hunter Biden(12/1/24)
Office of the Pardon Attorney | Pardons Granted by President Donald J. Trump (2017-2021)
U.S. v. Skrmetti oral arguments (12/4/24)
L.W. v. Skrmetti (6th Cir)(7/8/2023)
President Yoon’s Speech Declaring Martial Law in South Korea - The New York Times (12/3/24)

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Trump's Intelligence Picks - Doozies and Russian Assets Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

OA1095 - Trump's Staff Infection, part 4 plus T3BE50!

Lydia Smith joins us once again to take us through another volume of Trump's Staff Infection. This time, we focus on the Intelligence Agencies.

Then, it's T3BE50! Submit your answer on Bluesky or Reddit!

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Please Stop Spreading Panic About Denaturalization Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

OA1094 - Denaturalization and an executive order revoking birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents have both been in the news a lot recently, and Matt would like everyone to take a breath and do some realistic risk assessment. We review what it actually takes to denaturalize someone under our current system, and what it would take for a majority of even this Supreme Court to say that the Fourteenth Amendment doesn’t say exactly what it says.

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Drakesgiving Special Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

OA1093 - In this episode recorded on Thanksgiving Day, two vegetarians carve up the Canadian turkey born Aubrey Drake Graham. Are Drake’s exploratory legal actions against Universal Music in response to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” the weakest move in the history of rap beefs? Matt shares some of his favorite diss tracks before we consider these filings and how Drake thought he could possibly come out of this looking good. We also take a look at Jack Smith’s motion to dismiss both of the federal criminal cases against the 47th President-elect of the United States, and what we can learn about the possible future (?) of these cases from both his motion and DC federal judge Tanya Chutkan’s order granting it. Finally, in today’s footnote Thomas provides valuable evidence for the prospective plaintiffs in a cease and desist demand recently made against the ONLY guitar endorsed by Donald Trump.

Government’s Motion to Dismiss in U.S. v. Trump (11/25/240
Judge Chutkan’s order on government’s motion to dismiss U.S. v. Trump(11/25/24)
OLC memo on immunity for sitting presidents (10/16/2000)
OLC memo on presidential self-pardons (8/5/1974)
Verified Petition in Frozen Moments LLC v UMG/Spotify (NY Drake payola filing)(11/25/24)
Verified Petition seeking depositions in TX (TX Drake defamation filing)(11/25/24)

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"The Right Way" Part 2 Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

OA1092 plus T3BE49 - we continue our conversation with Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin.

Then, it's answer time for T3BE question 48, and our new question 49! Play along on BlueSky!

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What It Really Takes To Immigrate "The Right Way" Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

OA1091 - We are honored to welcome Somali-American author and advocate Abdi Nor Iftin for the first of a 2-part Thanksgiving episode dedicated with gratitude to the incredible efforts that so many naturalized Americans have made to be a part of this country. Abdi has recorded the full story of his life in his book Call Me American, in which he details the long journey from his escape from being forced into service as a child soldier in war-torn Somalia to his years as a refugee in Kenya before winning the U.S. diversity visa lottery and building a thoroughly American life in one of the last states you might expect. In this extended interview we get to know Abdi as he shares his story and his unique perspective on what the current American moment means for him and his community.

Call Me American: A Memoir,: Abdi Nor Iftin (2018)
“Now is the time to buckle up and fight, not to flee,” Abdi Nor Iftin, The Forecaster (11/19/24)
“Abdi and the Golden Ticket,” This American Life (7/3/2015)

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Trump Takes MAGA Senators on Field Trip, Allowing Dems To Confirm More Judges Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

OA1090 - It's an ALL GOOD NEWS EPISODE! It exists, and there is plenty of it. Positive vibes only for today's dose of practical hope.

And right when you think it can't get any better, the Footnote Fetish returns! Matt has found yet another bizarre RFK Jr animal-related scandal, this one far from the headlines at the intersection of election and avian law. Also Thomas Takes the Bird Exam!