Advisory Opinions

On today’s episode, Sarah details yet another animal rescue because of course. Then David and Sarah dive into the Electoral Count Act and a mixed-up, messed-up Supreme Court case about pulling books from school libraries. And finally, can Sarah get David to talk about Rep. Madison Cawthorn? Show Notes: -Sarah rescues a hawk -Wall Street Journal: “Congress Sowed the Seeds of Jan. 6 in 1887” -New York Times: “Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.” -Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico by Pico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah respond to all the questions about Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement and replacement. Who are the leading candidates? Why is all the talk about Justice Kamala Harris or Justice Michelle Obama a bunch of rubbish? Do we expect any real change in the philosophical composition of the court? They wind up with a discussion of seditious conspiracy and all the reasons why it's tough to charge anyone with trying to overthrow the government. Show Notes: -Laurence Tribe: “No hiding behind Pence's skirt on the Supreme Court nomination” -Office of Legal Counsel Equal Rights Amendment memo -David in The Atlantic: “Georgia Has a Very Strong Case Against Trump” -DOJ: Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach -Reuters: “Hutaree militia walk from jail after charges dismissed” -18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason -18 U.S. Code Chapter 73 - Obstruction of Justice -18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah celebrate 200 episodes with a discussion of two key college admissions cases the Supreme Court took up. Plus, they preview Sarah Palin’s defamation trial, and look at a circuit court judge’s unusual opinion. Show Notes: -Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College -CNN: “Why the Sarah Palin v. New York Times trial will be an 'excruciating experience' for the paper” -Judge VanDyke’s Ninth Circuit opinion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah break down "Maskgate," the claim that Justice Neil Gorsuch refused to show basic courtesy to Justice Sonia Sotomayor by refusing to wear a mask and find the claims wanting. They ask, "When a report seems to fall apart, what should a reporter do?" They also talk about how Sarah is setting Supreme Court precedents, wonder if a Satanist flag will soon fly over Boston, and discuss for just a few seconds Ted Cruz's very, very boring case at the Supreme Court. They close, however, with a dash of English cultural history that you won't want to miss. Show Notes: -Nina Totenberg’s mask story at NPR -Statement from Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch -Statement from Chief Justice Roberts -Trump v. Thompson -Advisory Opinions: “January 6 and Executive Privilege” -Shurtleff v. Boston oral argument transcript -Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate oral argument transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah take a quick look at an intriguing cert grant at the Supreme Court and then dive into a fascinating discussion about amending the Constitution with University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson. He thinks the Constitution has some structural problems, and David and Sarah walk through his critiques. By the end, they ask, is there any constitutional reform that can save us if we’re determined to be dysfunctional? Show Notes: -Sarah in Politico: “It’s Time to Amend the Constitution” -Levinson: “The Iron Cage of Veneration” -Levinson explains The Democracy Constitution project -Democracy: “A New Constitution for The United States” -Levinson: “The Price of an Unchanging Constitution” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an emergency podcast! (Well, at least in part). David and Sarah recorded a mailbag podcast Thursday morning, complete with fretting about when the Supreme Court would rule in the vaccine mandate cases. Then, SCOTUS ruled! So this podcast keeps the mailbag and cuts the fretting. Instead David and Sarah spend the first half walking through the vaccine opinions. It's exactly the kind of conversation that everyone loves, a deep discussion of administrative law. Show Notes: -NFIB v. OSHA -Biden v. Missouri Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah do a deep, deep dive into the vaccine mandate oral arguments at the Supreme Court. Sarah walks us through the HOP's (husband of the pod) arguments, and she and David decide the vital question of which basketball analogy to use to describe the likely outcome. They also take a quick look at the health care worker mandate and make their predictions. Show Notes: -Biden v. Missouri oral argument -Nat. Fed'n of Indep. Bus. v. Dept. of Labor oral argument -Wall Street Journal article with sketch of Scott -SCOTUSblog: “Court seems poised to block vaccine-or-test policy for workplaces but may allow vaccine mandate for health care workers” -Reason: “Sloppy Arguments Over COVID Mandates at SCOTUS” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah start with a husband-of-the-pod update, debate a federal district court judge’s ruling temporarily granting more than two dozen Navy SEALs a religious exemption from the Navy’s COVID vaccine mandate, and spend the lion’s share of their time talking about the infernal Electoral Count Act and saving America from electoral chaos. Show Notes: -U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. -French Press: “Stop Screwing Around and Reform the Electoral Count Act” -Reason: “How Justices Scalia, Sotomayor, and Breyer Inscribed Books to RBG” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah talk about everything from COVID, to goat rescues, to the Supreme Court, to TikTok in this wide-ranging first pod of 2022. Do you wonder how you rescue a goat? Why is John Roberts the most popular federal official in the land? Is it lawful to discriminate on the basis of race in medical treatment? What's it like to live with a person who's set to argue the biggest SCOTUS case of the new year? Are kids on TikTok fair game for the media? If these are your questions, this podcast has the answers. Show Notes: -NY State Department of Health eligibility for Paxlovid or Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our last podcast of the year, Sarah takes you to the 2021 National Lawyers Convention at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., and introduces you to a dozen judges from all levels of the judiciary. You get a little law, singing, bourbon and bullets, and some important advice for law students. Did you expect David and Sarah to end the year any other way? Show Notes: -Give someone a Dispatch subscription this Christmas -"We'll Be Back" by Judge Elrod and Judge Eskridge -Read David in The French Press -Read Sarah in The Sweep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah dive back into vaccine mandates, as the CMS mandate for health care workers and the OSHA guidelines for private businesses head to the Supreme Court. Then it’s First Amendment and compelled speech time at the 5th circuit with a student from Sarah’s rival high school from back in her football orchestra days. This case has it all: free speech, communists, and Bruce Springsteen. It's also a conversation about the similarities— and differences—with one of David’s long-time favorite cases: West Virginia v. Barnette. Show Notes: -6th Circuit upholds vaccine mandate -Reason: “Biden Administration Imposes Vaccine Mandate on Health Care Facilities that Participate in Medicare or Medicaid” -Reason: “Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate Reaches the Supreme Court” -Oliver v. Arnold -Born in the U.S.A. lyrics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah and David discuss the Supreme Court's decision not to enjoin the New York vaccine mandate for health care workers and focus on a very interesting, super-intriguing dissent. Then, they have a conversation with Virginia Solicitor General Michelle Kallen about the Equal Rights Amendment, its ratification by Virginia, and whether the ERA is now part of the Constitution. Finally, with the help of a listener, they finally realize that Sarah's name is a sentence. Show Notes: -Dr. A v. Hochul -Virginia v. Ferriero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you woke up this morning thinking about Jussie Smollett, the Texas abortion law, California gun rights, and California vaccine mandates, then this is the podcast for you. David and Sarah dive into a legal issue that might overturn Smollet’s conviction, analyze the Supreme Court’s decision to permit a very narrow facial challenge to S.B. 8, discuss Gavin Newsom’s swing-and-miss, and wrap up the main portion of the pod with a discussion of vaccine mandates in San Diego schools. Show Notes: -Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson -9th Circuit vaccine mandate ruling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah have another action packed pod. First, the US Solicitor General weighs in on whether the Court should hear the case about whether Harvard’s admission policy violates race discrimination laws. Then they talk about a case that was argued this week at the Court that looked at (once again) whether states could refuse to allow voucher money to go to religious schools. Then the 9th Circuit had some feisty dissenting opinions when it upheld California’s ban on high capacity magazines for guns. And lastly, should judges be able to pick their replacements? Show Notes: -Wall Street Journal: “Federal Courts Aren’t Royal Ones” -New Yorker: “On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss charges in Michigan against a school shooter's parents, the possible demise of a key Supreme Court precedent (not Roe), and an intriguing new appeal to the Supreme Court. At the end of the podcast, Sarah answers her critics. Does she get as spicy as Alito? Show Notes: -Timeline of Michigan school shooting -NPR: “Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect are charged with involuntary manslaughter” -Sue and Settle report -New York Times: “What Does the U.S. Owe Separated Families? A Political Quandary Deepens” -Washington Post: “40 acres and a mule: How the first reparations for slavery ended in betrayal” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an almost-all-Dobbs podcast, as David and Sarah discuss the oral argument that surprised the nation. Could Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey actually fall? David and Sarah talk about the court's decision-making process from here and the history of judge-flipping post-argument, and they identify the key moments in yesterday's argument. Also, they give their listeners a vital challenge--and if they can meet that challenge, then Advisory Opinions will be the indisputable flagship of the Dispatch podcast fleet. Listen to learn what the challenge is. Show Notes: -Dobbs v. Jackson oral argument transcript -Ginsburg’s remarks on Roe -David in The Atlantic: “How Roe Undermined Itself” -Washington Post: “Justice Kennedy’s Flip” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah open with the puzzling case of Project Veritas and James O'Keefe. Why is a New York appeals court appearing to let stand a prior restraint on the press? They then answer a fascinating reader mail question before wrapping up with an extended discussion of self-defense in the context of an incredibly troubling Texas shooting that was caught on tape. Show Notes: -Near v. Minnesota -New York Times Co. v. United States -University of Richmond Law Review: “The Meaning of Life (or Limb)” -Reason: “Are People Allowed to Use Deadly Force to Defend Property?” -Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: “Widow releases video of Chad Read's fatal shooting in South Lubbock” -Warning Graphic: Lubbock, Texas shooting video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah take a deep dive into the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict with Damon Preston, Kentucky's Public Advocate and a criminal defense attorney with almost 30 years of experience. They discuss self defense law, the difference between the Rittenhouse trial and the trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killer, and the ways in which the criminal justice system could be reasonably reformed. Also, David exults in Mississippi's stinging defeat at the Supreme Court as the court turned back the Magnolia State's greedy attempt to keep Tennessee from drinking water from its own wells. Show Notes: -Mississippi v. Tennessee -French Press: “Kyle Rittenhouse, Open Carry, and the Breaking of Self-Defense Law” -David in The Atlantic: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Does Not Make Him a Hero” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, David and Sarah bring Neil Weare, president and founder of Equally American, on the pod to teach us interesting things about the Constitution and history, with an emphasis on the unique history of American territories. And then Sarah and David dive into the controversies at Yale Law School and try to answer the question, "What the heck is going on?" Show Notes: -French Press: “An Airing of Grievances Against Diversity Training” -Reuters: “Yale Law students 'blackballed' for refusing to lie about professor, lawsuit says" -Reason: “More Shenanigans at Yale Law School” -David Lat: “The Newest Insanity Out Of Yale Law School” -David Lat: “Yale Law School And the Federalist Society: Caught In A Bad Romance?” -David Lat: “Doe v. Gerken: A Lawsuit Against Yale Law” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah dive into vaccine mandates, religious exemptions, and the Civil War. They analyze a recent court ruling blocking the Biden OSHA mandate, and then discuss what a “sincerely held religious belief” is in the eyes of the law. Finally, they conclude with a discussion of the Constitution, Abraham Lincoln, and whether he was an authoritarian who “broke” the Constitution before it was rebuilt by the Civil War amendments. Show Notes: -5th Circuit extends stay of OSHA vaccine mandate -Noah Feldman: “This Is the Story of How Lincoln Broke the U.S. Constitution” -New York Times review of Feldman’s “The Broken Constitution” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah talk to Erin Busby, Supreme Court co-counsel for John Ramirez in a critical death penalty religious liberty case. They walk through oral arguments and discuss the mysterious "silent justice." Then David and Sarah talk billboards. Yes, billboards. And they wrap with a discussion of misconceptions of self-defense and the Kyle Rittenhouse case. Show Notes: -Ramirez v. Collier oral argument -City of Austin, Texas v. Reagan National Advertising of Texas Inc. oral argument Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah briefly preview key Supreme Court arguments before diving into the 5th Circuit's stay of the new Biden administration vaccine regulations, discuss the role of race in jury challenges (with an emphasis on jury selection in the Ahmaud Arbery murder case in Georgia), and finish with the latest developments in John Durham's investigation of the Trump-Russia investigation, complete with thoughts on the infamous Steele dossier. Show Notes: -5th Circuit blocks OSHA's vaccine mandate -The Dispatch: “A Vigilante Killing in Georgia” -National Review: “The Unwritten Law That Helps Bad Cops Go Free” -National Review: “The Steele Dossier, Hillary Clinton’s Malignant Gift to America” -National Review: “Shame on Buzzfeed” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, David and Sarah are on the road at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Before a live audience they discuss Supreme Court oral arguments in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, a case challenging a New York law that places strict limits on carrying guns outside the home. Plus, David and Sarah share more thoughts on the Texas abortion law case before the Court, and they take audience questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah react to the oral arguments in the Texas abortion law cases. The Supreme Court heard three hours of arguments in two different cases and from four different advocates. But after all of it, Sarah and David agree: it’s a mess…and it still doesn’t have anything to do with Roe v. Wade. They also discuss the latest grants, denials, and opinions coming down from the Court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, it's a battle of Generation X versus millennials versus Generation Z as Sarah and David shout, "You kids get off my lawn!" But before the cultural rant, they explore parental rights in public schools, discuss the mixture of church and politics, and talk about the Kyle Rittenhouse case and the law of self-defense. Then, and only then, does Sarah lament "kids these days." Show Notes: -TMD on ‘gain of function’ research -NPR “The Johnson Amendment In 5 Questions And Answers” -French Press “When the State Kinda Sorta Parents Your Child” -Andrew Fleischman Twitter thread on the Rittenhouse case -New York Times “The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah celebrate the Supreme Court finally bending to their will and then preview the upcoming oral arguments regarding SB 8, the Texas abortion law. They then move on to a discussion of a wild case involving videotaping police, highlight Liberty University's problems with sexual assault, and then wonder whether an important free speech case is dead or just "mostly dead." Show Notes: -United States v. Texas -SCOTUSblog on oral arguments in the Texas abortion law case -303 Creative v. Elenis -Kristen Waggoner letter -ProPublica “The Liberty Way” -Sarah’s piece in Politico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s weeping and gnashing of teeth for David in today's podcast as the Supreme Court deals a devastating blow to his dreams of abolishing qualified immunity. But Sarah saves the AO crew from despair by conducting another Supreme Court symphony regarding the Biden commission. Come for the despair, stay for the analysis, and relish a deep dive into Supreme Court reform. Show Notes: -Supreme Court order list -Presidential Commission on SCOTUS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do court packers have in common with Hugo Chavez? Take a listen to this action-packed pod to find out. Sarah conducts a symphony of Supreme Court commission analysis, including guiding a walk through American legal history to explain the commission’s surprisingly conservative comments. David discusses the legal issues roiling the nation’s most controversial school district. Show Notes: -Presidential Commission on SCOTUS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, we get a Supreme Court update from Sarah and not one but two entire Ted Talks from David. They cover a very obscure (yet interesting!) constitutional case, and then discuss two viral stories--one involving an elementary school and juvenile justice system in Tennessee, the other involving an absurd act of unfairness at Yale Law School. Our hosts talk poverty and privilege in the same pod. Oh, and Sarah winds it all up with a discussion of laches and estoppel that you don't want to miss. Show Notes: -ProPublica “Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge.” -Washington Free Beacon “A Yale Law Student Sent a Lighthearted Email Inviting Classmates to His ‘Trap House.’ The School Is Now Calling Him To Account.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's executive privilege day on Advisory Opinions! After a brief update on the Texas abortion litigation, David and Sarah "dive right in" to a discussion of the January 6 commission subpoenas and the power of Donald Trump to use executive privilege to block testimony. Our hosts also talk about how "parents and pals" help debunk a Brett Kavanaugh conspiracy theory. And they wind up with a crazy clemency case that's likely to leave a man in prison because a Donald Trump sentence was just too ambiguous. Show Notes: -5th Circuit abortion ruling -POGO “The Limits of Executive Privilege” -Nixon v. Administrator of General Services -Harvard Law “Can Donald Trump still assert executive privilege?” -2007 OLC memo -Don McGahn opinion -Mother Jones “Here’s the Truth About Brett Kavanaugh’s Finances” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's pod David and Sarah discuss a federal district court injunction against Texas's heartbeat bill, dive into the deep waters of Mississippi's unbearable aquatic greed, and discuss whether ten robberies is one "occasion" for crime or, well, ten. But that's not all! They also engage in a brief but spirited debate about whether the DOJ's letter about threats against school board members. The pod finishes by talking about manners. In an interesting way. We promise. Show Notes: Mississippi v. Tennessee groundwater case US v. Texas injunction Wooden v. United States AG Garland letter National School Board Association letter to Biden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, Sarah is back from the Galápagos Islands just in time for the Supreme Court’s fall term. David and Sarah jump right in, starting with a rather spicy speech from Justice Samuel Alito. Our hosts also discuss a case with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, a professor who is suing UCLA, and the high court’s upcoming cases. Show Notes: -From SCOTUSblog: Alito blasts media for portraying shadow docket in “sinister” terms -Why I Am Suing UCLA, by Gordon Klein at Common Sense with Bari Weiss -Justices add five new cases to their docket from “long conference,” including Cruz campaign case -SCOTUS oral argument schedule -Wikipedia page on Baphomet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special edition of the podcast, David interviews his former colleague Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. The two discuss the state of free speech on college campuses and why it’s not just a higher education issue, but one that also impacts workforces and the United States in general. And of course, lacking Sarah’s moderating influence, there are also some (relatively minor) descents into nerdery over Star Trek. Show Notes: -The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure -Scholars Under Fire Database -FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings -Undoctrinate: How Politicized Classrooms Harm Kids and Ruin Our Schools―and What We Can Do About It Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah and David discuss a number of situations where events have proven their predictions true, starting with a challenge to the Texas abortion law and ending with a complaint over critical race theory. In between, our hosts also dissect the legal arguments underpinning the push to get Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 presidential election and discuss a new bill that would reign in presidential powers. Show Notes: -Alan Braid, Texas abortion doctor, sued over ban -John Eastman memo -Reuters story on critical race theory -Williamson County critical race theory complaint -New York Times story on Protecting Our Democracy Act -House analysis of the Protecting Our Democracy Act provisions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss a host of thorny legal issues starting with an indictment against a lawyer who lied to the FBI when he alleged communications between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank. They then dig into a Second Amendment amici brief, a defamation case, and the issue of misleading headlines. Listen to the end to hear Sarah explain how to get away with murder (or somewhat less sensationally, how to get away with interstate mail fraud). SHOW NOTES Indictment: U.S. v. Michael A. Sussmann Second Amendment Amici brief regarding New York gun laws Rep. Devin Nunes' suit against Ryan Lizza and Hearst Magazine Media The Writer of This Article Also Wrote This Headline and That’s Rare “The Perfect Crime,” Georgetown Law Review article by Brian C. Kalt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah and David give you everything you need to combat half-baked hot takes about the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate as they discuss whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the statutory authority to issue its rule. They then indulge in an exploration of the Commerce Clause. Lastly, our hosts discuss new legal updates to the abortion heartbeat law, as well as some potpourri. Show Notes: -President Biden’s executive order requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees -Explanation of Biden’s EO in The Morning Dispatch -Jacobson v. Massachusetts establishing the government’s right to compulsory vaccination -United States of America v. Texas on Texas’ abortion statute -The opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit on Tennessee’s heartbeat abortion ban -Asbestos Information Ass'n v. OSHA case -Congressional Research service paper on OSHA -Justice Breyer interview transcript with Chris Wallace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah and David discuss a fiery concurrence from Judge James Ho in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit’s opinion upholding a Texas ban on certain abortion procedures. They then discuss an indictment related to the Ahmaud Arbery killing, a death penalty case with religious liberty implications, and a Donald Trump Jr. defamation case. Lastly, listen till the end to hear about the cult (which centers around a current Supreme Court justice) that our hosts are vying to join. Show Notes: -The 5th Circuit’s opinion on Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton -Indictment of former District Attorney Jacquelyn Lee Johnson -Supreme Court’s stay of execution for John Ramirez -District Court opinion in Blankenship v. Trump -“Automatic, Still Is.” soundcloud Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Late Wednesday night, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, refused to block a Texas abortion law that went into effect earlier in the day. Sarah and David engage in a very detailed discussion of Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, equipping intrepid listeners to combat any bad legal hot takes they might encounter. They cover what this means for states that want to challenge constitutional rights, for women in Texas with nonviable pregnancies, and, the million dollar question: what this means for the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Show Notes: -Supreme Court opinion on Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson -Definition of Ex Parte -Definition of Qui Tam -Link to the complaint and emergency applications in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For today’s episode, Sarah is joined by special guest Ben Folds, storied American singer-songwriter, musician, and podcaster. They discuss how failure is baked into doing science, how Folds’ song about the Mueller investigation is the perfect place to start for the law-curious, and the song-writing process. Show Notes: -Mister Peepers by Ben Folds -Still Fighting It by Ben Folds -A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons by Ben Folds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mitchell Berman, professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School, joins our hosts for a fascinating discussion on the jurisprudence of sports. In a wide-ranging discussion, David and Sarah adjudicate everything from how unwritten traditions are enforced in games to how robot umpires are changing the landscape. And of course, no sports law discussion would be complete without a dive into the Olympics. Show Notes: -The Jurisprudence of Sports by Mitchell Berman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah takes listeners along on a wildlife rescue mission that involves a baby turtle, a surprise rain storm, and mosquito netting. But don’t worry, it has a happy ending. Our hosts then turn to the Biden administration’s proposal to tie mask mandates to civil rights law and the latest development on the “remain in Mexico” policy. Finally, Sarah and David discuss the Texas Supreme Court ruling that is bad news for Texas Democratic lawmakers trying to avoid arrest. Show Notes: -The Dispatch Live on Afghanistan -New York Times story on Biden administration’s move against mask bans -Texas federal judge's ruling on “remain-in-Mexico” -Texas Supreme Court ruling on Texas Democratic lawmakers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, our hosts are joined by Matthew Barzun, an American businessman, diplomat, and longtime political fundraiser. Sarah and David dive into his paradigm-shifting book, The Power of Giving Away Power, and what it teaches about leadership. Along the way, they also discuss everything from what Barzun learned during his time fundraising for former president Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, to the etiquette of bowing to royalty while working as an American ambassador abroad. Show Notes: -Matthew Barzun’s book, The Power of Giving Away Power: How the Best Leaders Learn to Let Go -Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena quote Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a jam-packed episode our hosts explore everything from vaccine passports on cruise ships to a shaky argument that eviction moratoriums violate the Third Amendment’s prohibition on quartering soldiers. First up on the docket, Sarah and David dive into attempts by Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Mike Lindell’s to dismiss Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against them. Be sure to listen to the end for their analysis on whether a topless sunbathing case meets the intermediate scrutiny test. Show Notes: -Dominion defamation lawsuit -Preliminary injunction on vaccine passports in Florida -Todd Zywicki’s lawsuit against George Mason University -Third Amendment Lawyers Association amicus brief on the eviction moratorium -4th Circuit ruling upholding a ban on topless sunbathing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, David and Sarah continue their August tradition of looking outside the world of legal nerdery with Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and author of the book The Constitution of Knowledge. Rauch has been warning about the dangers to free speech for a long time. What is the state of free speech? And how much of a threat is illiberalism? Show Notes: -Rauch’s book The Constitution of Knowledge -Rauch’s book Kindly Inquisitors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, David and Sarah discuss the Biden administration’s flip-flop on extending the eviction moratorium and how it’s almost certainly an unconstitutional violation of the nondelegation doctrine. They then take on the legal implications of Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment controversy, with Sarah explaining why Cuomo’s office was a textbook case of a severe and pervasive hostile work environment. Next, our hosts review a ruling from the 7th Circuit upholding Indiana University’s vaccine mandate and discuss how Twitter posturing on vaccines doesn’t always hold up in court. Finally, David and Sarah talk Facebook and antitrust law—something that, according to Sarah, may just be made up anyways. Show Notes: -7th Circuit vaccine mandate ruling -Poland wins first 4x400 mixed relay gold of Olympics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the pod, it’s a guest for whom David has been waiting for—Avi Loeb, an astrophysics professor at Harvard University who thinks it might just be possible that aliens have visited earth. Loeb talks about his research into Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object that’s passed through our Solar System, and gives his thoughts on the recently released UFO report from the Office of National Intelligence. Loeb also tells David and Sarah about his scientific philosophy—how science is like a fishing expedition where you throw out a hook and see what happens. Show Notes: -Avi Loeb’s book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth -On Oumuamua by Avi Loeb -Office of National Intelligence UFO report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could it be time for the Supreme Court to revisit Masterpiece Cakeshop? In today’s episode, David and Sarah discuss a ruling from the 10th Circuit requiring a web developer to create a site for a same sex wedding and what that means for the ongoing debate about compelled speech and religious liberty. They then chat about some new developments involving the lawsuit against Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks for his involvement in the January 6 riot and yet another story involving Amy Chua at Yale Law School. Show Notes: -10th Circuit Ruling on Compelled Speech -DOJ refuses to defend Rep. Mo Brooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s pod, the discussion is (almost) all about abortion jurisprudence. After a brief look at Taking Offense v. California—a California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District case striking down a California law criminalizing long-term care workers repeatedly misgendering their residents—David and Sarah dive into Mississippi’s challenge to Roe v. Wade, which directly asks the Supreme Court to overturn the almost 50-year-old precedent. How did the Mississippi attorney general frame the argument? How likely is it that the argument succeeds? What would American governance look like in a post-Roe world? Show Notes: -Taking Offense v. California -Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah talk about the recent Supreme Court term with Kannon Shanmugam, a Supreme Court litigant and a partner at Paul Weiss LLP. Our hosts ask Shanmugam what it’s like to argue cases remotely, how much the Supreme Court has changed during Amy Coney Barrett’s first term, and about the court’s judicial philosophy on issues like free speech and qualified immunity. Shanmugam talks about the cases he argued this term and explains how he chooses which clients to represent pro bono. Show Notes: -Borden v. United States -BP v. Baltimore -Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System -Henry Schein v. Archer and White Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a First Amendment-themed pod today. First, David and Sarah discuss the city of Anaheim’s decision to cancel an America First rally with Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and how it’s a textbook example of a free speech violation. They then dive into a ruling from a very divided 9th Circuit about a high school coach who was fired for praying publicly with students after football games. Next, they chat about an 8th Circuit case involving University of Iowa and its selective enforcement of free association policies for Christian groups. Finally, David and Sarah talk about the recent Texas district court ruling striking down DACA. Show Notes: -Anaheim cancels America First rally -9th Circuit prayer case -8th Circuit University of Iowa case -DACA ruling from district court Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices