Advisory Opinions

The Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments for Donald Trump’s immunity case, and David has thoughts. However, he was too sick to join today so Sarah had to go solo (Ruminant style!), recapping the legal and political implications of the case, assessing the strength of the arguments and their significance for the future of our political system, and trying to imagine where we

Sarah and David discuss oral arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson, a Supreme Court case addressing the issue of homeless people camping on public property, as well as and the 4th Circuit ruling that blocked West Virginia's law blocking transgender athletes from participating in sports. The Agenda: —SCOTUS hears Grants Pass v. Johnson —Necessity defense and cannibalism —4th Cir

There’s not much worth discussing yet in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, so Sarah and David focus on the Supreme Court and a case on Idaho’s law restricting gender-transition treatment for minors. Plus: Murmurs about Clarence Thomas’ brief absence. The Agenda: —Election law crimes, tax crimes, and falsification of business records —Challenges of broad injunct

Co-authors Jack Goldsmith and Bob Bauer join the podcast to discuss their book, After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency, and the need to reform presidential power. But first, a protest and a dinner party at a Berkeley Law School dean's house. Did the location qualify as a public forum? Sarah and David evaluate. The Agenda: —Dean of Berkeley Law School and a Palestinian Protest

Sarah and David explain the jury questionnaire in Alvin Bragg’s case against Donald Trump before getting into the weeds of the origins of originalism. The Agenda: —How to select a jury for Trump —Celebrity trial jury instructions —Biden swings again at student loan forgiveness —Did the Warren court birth originalism? —Originalism vs. platonic idealism —More questions

Things get heated in Trump’s classified documents case. In a court filing this week in Donald Trump’s classified documents case, special counsel Jack Smith challenged Judge Aileen Cannon by vowing to appeal any decision that included the Presidential Record Act in jury instructions. David and Sarah discuss Smith's public move and what it means for the case. The Agenda: —Sarah

Sarah and David dive into two op-eds challenging the Federalist Society and the call for lawyers to uphold the tradition of liberty under law. The Agenda: —Mayfield v. Butler, retaliation, and political targeting —Risks and challenges facing the Federalist Society —Did Trump-era advances in jurisprudence come at a deep civic cost? —The Thomas’ article on the judicial fili

Federal Judges Roy Altman, Lee Rudofsky, and Amul Thapar join Sarah and David to discuss their recent trip to Israel along with 11 other federal judges that focused on the question of the day: Is Israel complying with international law as it pursues its war against Hamas in Gaza? The Agenda: —The purpose of the judges’ trip —Walking through the locations of the October 7 atta

Sarah and David discuss the legal arguments and media spin around the Mifepristone abortion pill case. The Agenda: —Mifepristone at the Supreme Court —SCOTUS and the 5th Circuit —Arresting a 72-year-old woman —The "Burning Man" festival of Alaska —Red brief, green brief, orange brief too —The stigma of the green bubbles and the DOJ's antitrust case against Apple Show No

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 young