Opening Arguments

OA1155 - It's a bad news/good news show, but the good news is very good! But first, the fasch. First, a few more notes on the arrest of Judge Dugan. Then some terrible EOs. One attacking on sanctuary cities. In another, we get a look at what Trump wants to use his literal billion dollars of big law pledges for. And, you know, some other fascisms. Then the good news! The courts are putting a stop to some major bull shits, including a huge smackdown of Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act. And this was by a Trump-appointed judge! And Mohsen Mahdawi has been released! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.  

T3BE68 - Professor Heather Varanini returns to spill the beans on how Thomas did for Question 67 before taking us down another Bar prompt. If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1154 - Whatever the stage of fascism is where they start arresting judges for doing their jobs--well, we’re here. We review what we know about the in-court arrest of Milwaukie County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan last week. Matt then explains exactly what a “sanctuary” jurisdiction is (and isn’t) and how the Trump administration’s promises to aggressively investigate and prosecute state and local officials for non-cooperation with ICE fits into the overall plan of American authoritarianism. We also review ICE’s efforts to engage “force multipliers” via special cooperation agreements with state law enforcement under INA 287(g) and how you can do your part to stop it. Complaint and supporting affidavit in U.S. v. Dugan (4/24/2025) AG Bill Barr’s speech to the National Sherriff’s Association in which he promised to investigate and prosecute local authorities who interfered with ICE (2/10/2020) Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act | ICE (links to Excel docs with

OA1153 - It's good news Friday! Here are some stories about American fascists losing or otherwise showing their asses in court, including (among others): The Supreme Court comes through strong for immigrant justice at 1 AM on a Saturday morning Samuel Alito fails to properly interpret a book written at a fourth grade level after having his Easter ruined by immigrant justice DOJ accidentally files an embarrassing internal memo into the record Sarah Palin’s tries and fails to sue the New York Times for libel for the second time  one federal judge stops Trump's attempt to do the SAVE Act through an executive order, while another reverses an ICE kidnapping Neil Gorsuch does a genuinely good thing for non-citizens through a simple act of textualism DOJ pulls out one of the most ridiculous excuses for violating a court order in US legal history Finally, a meta-footnote on why Matt is ready to join the calls to impeach national hero James Boasberg for his radical views on the utility of (what else) f

T3BE67 - It's another bar question with Heather Varanini! First we get the answer to last week's very bad and ungrateful father question, and then it's time for our next one! We crown some new winners, and then thank the best winners of all - our patrons! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1152 - We are pleased to welcome Mike Lissner, the Executive Director and CTO of the Free Law Project to discuss his outstanding work in bringing federal court filings out from behind the PACER paywall, how just a few people with good ideas can fill in the gaps left by government services, and why he hasn’t created an Article III Hot or Not with his vast library of judicial portraits (but how you could). Free Law Project donation page CourtListener RECAP Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1151 - We’re (kind of) live from New York! Thomas, Matt, and OA regular Liz Skeen meet up in person for the first time on Liz’s home turf to review the state of the law three months into the second Trump administration. We begin with a brief update on some  recent developments in Trump’s war against Biglaw before turning to some encouraging developments in two of the most significant federal civil cases of our lifetimes. Finally, Matt cedes today’s footnote to a New York minute from Liz about a welcome legal setback for Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign.  Letters from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent to major law firms demanding data on DEI hiring policies (3/17/2025)  DC District Court Judge James Boasberg’s 46-page findings of probable cause for criminal contempt against defendants in JGG v Trump (4/16/2015) Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson’s order in JGG v. Trump (4/17/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lo

It's Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question 66! Heather's here to break down the answer to T3BE65, and Lydia jumps in (because of reasons we explain in the show) to help us congratulate the winners and tackle the question for T3BE66. If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

OA1150 - Did the Department of Homeland Security really just give Massachusetts-born immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni seven days to leave the US? Matt has the inside (his law office) scoop on this viral story. Then in today’s deep dive: what if Congress accidentally legalized some THC products seven years ago and no one noticed? We discuss how this unexpected dutchie was actually passed on the right hand side and what, if anything, Congress should do it about it. Nicole’s viral Bluesky post about the notice she received to leave the U.S. in seven days U.S. Cannabis Council’s findings on the safety of Delta-8 products AK FUTURES LLC v. Boyd Street Distro, LLC, 35 F. 4th 682 (9th Cir. 2022)  “2018 Farm Bill's Impact on the Cannabis Industry,” Whitt Steineker, National Law Review (2/25/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report ins

OA1149 - Even as most of the Biglaw establishment falls to Trump’s whims, lawyers from smaller firms are stepping up to do the most necessary work  on the most important issues of our times. We’re here to tell you a little more about some of them! But first: The House passes the “No Rogue Rulings Act” and we rip into some fascist nonsense from MAGA legal “thinker” Mike Davis defending the President’s absolute  right to call anyone a terrorist and send them to hell without a hearing. Also: DHS’s “evidence”(?) in support of Mahmoud Kahlil’s deportation,  SCOTUS ‘s surprise mid-episode ruling ordering the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from a Salvadoran gulag, and more on the truly inspirational lawyers who are aggressively pushing these fights forward. In today’s footnote: can you sue ChatGPT for “hallucinating” terrible stories about you? One heavily-armed Georgia talk show host is gunning to find out. The “No Rogue Rulings Act”  (HR 1526)  Amicus brief filed in Korematsu Center et al in Perkins Coie v. DO

OA1148 - We interrupt your regularly scheduled T3BE to bring you three stories of why Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the worst. Matt starts off by reporting on how ICE disappeared one of his detained clients shortly before his scheduled bond hearing this week. On that theme, you might have seen the viral video of an attorney confronting deportation officers at his minor client’s home. What in the world was that? Matt has the brekadown. We then try to understand why the Supreme Court has just agreed that the President can kidnap and throw pretty much any non-citizen* out of the country so long as he calls them “alien enemies”  and ICE mumbles something about due process first. *citizens TBD UPDATE: ICE has confirmed since the time of this recording that Matt’s client is in New Mexico, 2200 miles from where he was supposed to have a bond hearing on April 7th. U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 per curiam order in Trump v. J. G. G. (04/07/2025) Video of Virginia attorney James Rivera confronting ICE at his min

OA1147 - It’s the retrial of the century, and Matt’s bringing his local perspective for the single most-requested story in OA history. Jury selection is underway for the second trial of Karen Read for her alleged responsibility in the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe in the same Massachusetts courtroom where a mistrial was declared last July, and we’ve got everything you need to know to follow this case which has become a global phenomenon. We review some of the basic facts as revealed at the last trial and take a closer look at the legal issues. Where did both the prosecution and defense go wrong last time, what has happened between the trials, and what should we expect now?  Burnside Fountain (Turtle Boy) - Atlas Obscura Defense attorney David Yanetti’s opening statement in Commonwealth v. Read (April 16, 2024) READ v. COMMONWEALTH (SJC-13663) (2025) Independent audit of the Canton Police Department (April 2, 2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To

OA1146 - We begin with a quick review of SDNY Judge Dale Ho’s scathing 78-page (!) order dismissing all federal charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams at DOJ’s request to see how it compared to our recent predictions. Then in our main story, Matt breaks down a true legal nightmare from this week’s news and goes beyond the headlines to explain why ICE’s recent admission that it accidentally sent a man on a one-way ticket to hell with no intention of ever returning him is actually even worse than it sounds.  Also featured: Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem face actual for-real legal consequences for their bigotry against Venezuelan immigrants, 1,000 UK artists combine to form the world’s most boring supergroup to protest the legalization of AI art theft, Matt yearns for the open road, and Congressional Republicans assert the power to stop time itself. Judge Dale Ho’s order dismissing all federal criminal charges against NYC mayor Eric Adams with prejudice (4/2/25) Docket in Abrego Garcia v. Noem (filed 3/25

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OPENING at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/opening OA1145 and T3BE65 - Lydia joins this Wild Card Wednesday to discuss the awful, inhumane HHS layoffs. Workers were lined up around the block to wait hours to find out if they were fired or not. These are human beings. The people responsible for this should be imprisoned. (awkward transition) and then it's time for a bar exam question! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on thei

*** Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OPENING at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/opening *** OA1144 - Professor Jack Lerner joins us for a follow up to OA1055 as we dive deeper into case law surrounding the usage of rap music in litigation, including discussion of the fight for lyrics to be admitted as evidence in the Young Thug trial in Fulton County, Georgia, and what mechanisms are being explored to address this at the state level in places like New York. End Rap on Trial Rap on Trial: A Brief History (6/4/2024) Rap on Trial: A Legal Guide, Second Edition (2024) Case Compendium Brief Bank Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.

*** Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OPENING at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/opening *** OA1143 - In the past month, Donald Trump has issued a series of truly fascist orders targeting some of the country’s best-known law firms for crimes ranging from hiring people Trump doesn’t like personally to doing some favors for special counsel Jack Smith to flagrantly hiring non-white non-men. What is actually in these orders, and how bad is it that one of leading litigation firms in the country gave in to Trump’s demands without  a fight? And what will it mean for the already-overloaded immigration court system when they start going after immigration lawyers as they have also promised? Former NYC Biglaw associate (and current NYC public defender) Liz Skeen joins to help us to understand this uniquely un-American moment in American legal history. (UPDATE: This episode was recorded shortly before news broke about the Trump administration taking action against major

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OPENING at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/opening OA1142 and T3BE64 - The State Bar of California wanted to save a buck or two, so they switched from paying a company to administer a real bar exam to a company that... didn't do that. It's an absolute fiasco. Heather is pulling double duty today on Wildcard Wednesday (tm) as she is our expert on this nonsense, in addition to giving us the usual Thomas Takes the Bar Exam treatment! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate T3BE posting. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1141 - Are Republican AGs really trying to have some of the most important federal protections for disability rights declared unconstitutional? Attorney Jenessa Seymour joins to explain the history and purpose of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the pending challenge to a Biden-era regulatory update intended to protect trans health care rights.  Texas v. Becerra docket Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

OA1140 - The Trump administration has openly defied a court order--and that’s only the third worst thing about today’s main story. Also: what exactly does it mean to “sign” something into law? What is actually in all of these articles of impeachment which Republicans keep filing against federal judges who have defied Trump? And is there a First Amendment right to communicate with monkeys? 50 USC Ch. 3: ALIEN ENEMIES Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua, March 15, 2025 (3:53 PM) Docket in J.G.G. v. Trump (filed 3/15/25) Articles of Impeachment filed against Judge James Boasberg by Rep. Brandon Gill (3/18/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

OA1139 and T3BE63 - Lydia's back this week to walk us through Trump's very fashy takeover of The Kennedy Center. She watched it unfold in real-time and while it is obviously disturbing, listening to some leaked audio from the first board meeting provides a lot of laughs. It's somehow real, folks. And we've got Professor Heather Varanini as always to walk us through the answer to T3BE62, and to set up the question for T3BE63! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs, find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law and play there! Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!