Opening Arguments

Latest Episodes:

OA768: Moore v. Harper and the Permanent Republican Minority Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

Today, Andrew and Liz take a deep dive into the Supreme Court's recent decision in Moore v. Harper rejecting the independent state legislature theory & why we still need to be on guard against John Roberts and the Supreme Court.

Notes Moore v. Harper https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1271_3f14.pdf

OA 618 https://openargs.com/oa618-the-case-that-could-allow-republicans-to-steal-2024/

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OA767: Porn - Won't Someone PLEASE Think of the Children?? (feat. Ari Cohn) Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

Today, Liz and Andrew welcome back First Amendment expert Ari Cohn to break down Texas HB 1181, an anti-porn bill that will require websites to verify your age and also append a bunch of lies in the form of made-up "disclaimers" about the supposed harms of pornography.

We also break down the latest in the Trump documents case and make fun of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for more than just the porn thing. You won't want to miss it!

NotesTexas HB 1181 https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=HB1181

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OA766: ChatGPT Lawyers Skate As Judge Cannon Prepares to Ratf*ck Trump Prosecution Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

OA765: Kathy Griffin SLAPPs Back At Being Sued in Faraway Places (feat. Ari Cohn) Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

Liz and Andrew welcome First Amendment lawyer Ari Cohn to help break down an important lawsuit involving Kathy Griffin, personal jurisdiction, and frivolous SLAPP lawsuits.

NOTESJohnson v. Griffin Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63264613/johnson-v-griffin/

Johnson v. Griffin Complaint https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.90242/gov.uscourts.tnmd.90242.1.0.pdf

Trial Court Opinion https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.90242/gov.uscourts.tnmd.90242.32.0.pdf

TechFreedom writeup https://techfreedom.org/protect-internet-users-from-slapps-techfreedom-tells-sixth-circuit/

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

OA 764: ProPublica Reveals Sam Alito Is Exactly As Corrupt As You Thought He Was Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Liz and Andrew break down the bombshell ProPublica article about Samuel Alito's corruption, and along the way remind you of the right wing's complicity in the false narrative that abortion violence is a "both sides" issue. It isn't.

Notes OA 749 https://openargs.com/oa749-clarence-thomas-grifts-kari-lake-sinks-stewart-rhodes-comes-to-the-end/

OA 739 https://openargs.com/oa739-5-million-says-mike-lindell-is-full-of-stuffing/

ProPublica, “Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court,” https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

ProPublica on Thomas/Crow https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow

DOJ, Recent Cases on Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers https://www.justice.gov/crt/recent-cases-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers

DOJ, Anti-Abortion Violence Movement Increases (1996) https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/anti-abortion-violence-movement-increases

Ruth Sent Us www.ruthsent.us

Jane’s Revenge Superseding Indictment https://www.justice.gov/d9/press-releases/attachments/2023/03/29/unsealed_superseding_indictment_0.pdf

5 U.S.C. § 13104 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/13104

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OA763: Did Merrick Garland Treat Donald Trump With Kid Gloves? Does It Matter? Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

Liz and Andrew lead off with the blockbuster Washington Post story that the FBI and DOJ had to be browbeaten into investigating Donald Trump. After that, the duo tackle a bunch of stories surrounding the Trump indictments, including developments in both the Florida and New York cases, Rudy Giuliani being a jerk, and much, much more.

In the Patreon bonus, Andrew and Liz duo answer one of your burning questions: how exactly is the Trump documents case going to go to trial if only a handful of people can see the documents he's charged with having willfully retained? The answer is the Classified Information Procedures Act, and we start to break it down for you!

Notes FBI resisted opening probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for more than a year https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/06/19/fbi-resisted-opening-probe-into-trumps-role-jan-6-more-than-year/

Freeman/Moss Motion to Compel https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.65.0.pdf

Giuliani May 30 Motion for Reconsideration https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.61.0.pdf

Freeman/Moss Opposition https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.64.0.pdf

Trump Indictment https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump-Nauta_23-80101.pdf

CIPA, 18 U.S.C. Section 96-456 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18a/compiledact-96-456

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

OA762: Trump's Lawyers So Confident of Their Case They All Quit At Once Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

Liz and Andrew first discuss developments in the other Trump indictment -- remember that one in New York? After that, they break down the breakdown in Trump's legal team.

Happy Father's Day!

Notes NY Penal Law 175.10 https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/chapter-penal/part-3-specific-offenses/title-k-offenses-involving-fraud/article-175-offenses-involving-false-written-statements/section-17510-falsifying-business-records-in-the-first-degree

GA Code 21-2-562 https://casetext.com/statute/code-of-georgia/title-21-elections/chapter-2-elections-and-primaries-generally/article-15-miscellaneous-offenses/section-21-2-562-fraudulent-entries-unlawful-alteration-or-destruction-of-entries-unlawful-removal-of-documents-neglect-or-refusal-to-deliver-documents

Bragg Motion to Remand https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.598311/gov.uscourts.nysd.598311.19.0.pdf

Trump Lawyers Consider Revenge for Former Colleague https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-lawyers-consider-revenge-for-former-colleague

Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Tillman on Plagiarism in the Trump Litigation Briefs,’ New Reform Club (June 16, 2023, 13:55 PM) https://reformclub.blogspot.com/2023/06/tillman-on-plagiarism-in-trump.html

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-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

OA761: Judge Cannon Prepares to Do Trump a Solid, As Republicans Aim to Kneecap Biden Jun 16, 2023

Show notes

It's a grab bag of stories, mostly Trump-adjacent. After some great news on judges, Liz explains that the House GOP is so desperate to smear President Biden they've made like Rudy Giuliani and leaked. Stick around for the end, when the duo breaks down exactly what can (and can't!) be done about Judge Aileen Cannon, FSW.

In the Patreon bonus, Liz and Andrew discuss a recent Judge Cannon order in some detail.

Notes Dep’t of Commerce v. New York, 139 S.Ct. 2551 (2019) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2540889926931166997

Ho Letter https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/gdpzymywgvw/ho-letter-lawfirms.pdf

Trump search warrant docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64872441/united-states-v-sealed-search-warrant/

Trump Mar-a-Lago search warrant https://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/Reinhart-Mar-a-Lago-less-redacted-affidavit.pdf

Sample Warrant https://evawintl.org/wp-content/uploads/18-Appendix-B-Search-Warrants.pdf

Comer Subpoena Wray https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Grassley-Comer-letter.pdf

28 U.S.C. § 455 - Recusal Statute https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/455

-Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

OA760: Trump's Arraignment - Judge Aileen Cannon Returns to the Scene of the Crime (feat. Mitchell Epner) Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

Liz and Andrew welcome back Mitchell Epner to the show to break down today's indictment of Donald Trump & Walt Nauta... and also figure out just how much mischief Judge Aileen Cannon can cause.

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com

OA759: The "Socks" Case - Don't Take Legal Advice From Judicial Watch! (feat. Kel McClanahan) Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

Republicans are saying that the "Clinton sock drawer case" - Judicial Watch v. NARA - means that Trump didn't violate the Espionage Act and can just declare anything he wants to be a "personal" record.

That's nonsense, of course.

Notes Judicial Watch, Inc. v. National Archives and Records Administration, 845 F.Supp.2d 288 (D.D.C.2012) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15818036517066124081

Donate to National Security Counselors! https://donate.democracyengine.com/NationalSecurityCounselors/contribute OR

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed! @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com