Month: June 2020

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Opening Arguments - OA392: In the Aftermath of George Floyd

Today's extra-long show -- two hours if you're a patron! -- tackles all the issues surrounding the state of our Union in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, including questions about which charges should be filed against Derek Chauvin, whether Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, and much, much more! Oh, and as a bonus, we also have a "lightning round" Yodel Mountain segment (with deep dives for patrons).

We begin with an in-depth discussion of an argument made by arguably the country's greatest legal mind, Laurence Tribe, that the murder-3 charge against George Floyd was sure to be dismissed. Find out why Andrew thinks Tribe is wrong, even in light of the Minnesota DA's decision to add a murder-2 charge to Chauvin's charges. After that, Andrew will explain one thing he was wrong about... due to a "quirk" in Minnesota's laws regarding felony murder and the merger doctrine.

Then, we discuss Trump's invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807 to justify potentially sending armed forces into American cities. You'll learn exactly how not justified this is... and whether it matters.

After that, it's time to (briefly!) check in with Black Lives Matter and evaluate their lawsuit against Eric Garcetti for an injunction to block the Los Angeles curfew. Will it succeed? (No.)

We're not remotely done, though! After all that, it's time to head on up for a lightning round atop Yodel Mountain., were we check in on (1) Rod Rosenstein's Senate testimony, (2) Judge Sullivan's DC Circuit brief in the Flynn case, and (3) a weird story making the rounds regarding a 2016 lawsuit filed (and dropped) against Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.

After all that, it’s time for an all-new #T3BE involving character testimony. It's a tough question; can Thomas get it right? Listen and find out!

And remember -- if you're a patron, you get a ton of bonus content in this episode, including deep dives on each and every one of these stories!

Patreon Bonuses

There's a new Patreon amicus thread in addition to all the other patreon goodies.

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, event, or in front of your group (virtually!), please drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1. COVID-19 is still a crisis.
  2. On Floyd: (a) you can click here to read the revised Chauvin charging document; (b) this is the here's the Laurence Tribe article; and (c) here's the Greg Egan law review article. We also discuss a number of cases including State v. Wahlberg, 296 N.W. 2d 408 (Minn. 1980), State v. Loebach, 310 N.W. 2d 58 (Minn. 1981), and State v. Barnes, 713 N.W.2d 325 (Minn. 2006).
  3. On the Insurrection Act of 1807, 10 U.S.C. §§ 251-255, we cited two specific provisions: § 252 and § 253. And we discussed Greg Gianforte back in Episode 72. During the bonus, we also discussed two executive orders from the George H. W. Bush presidency: EO 12690 and EO 12804, and two corresponding Proclamations: 6023 and 6427.
  4. During the bonus, we also break down how Vol. I of the Mueller Report contradicts Rosenstein's testimony.
  5. Finally, check out Sullivan's D.C. Circuit brief.

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

-Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs

-Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community!

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

-Remember to check out our YouTube Channel  for Opening Arguments: The Briefs and other specials!

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

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The Gist - How Ferguson Prepared the Protesters

On the Gist, what’s happening in Omaha.

In the interview, Slate’s Joel Anderson is here to talk with Mike about the parallels between the current protests and those in Ferguson, MO. They discuss the different tactics used by activists and police, how Ferguson organizers have now grown into leaders of a movement, and dissect why people loot.

Email us at thegist@slate.com

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Margaret Kelley.

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Consider This from NPR - Phase III Vaccine Trials Could Start In July

It's been 96 days since the first person in America was reported to have died of COVID-19. And for the first time, the federal government will require states to keep track of who's getting sick and who's dying based on their age, sex, and race and ethnicity.

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Around the world, 10 vaccine candidates have begun human trials.

COVID-19 has killed nearly 110,000 people in America. And black Americans are dying at nearly two and half times the rate of white Americans. As NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith and Greg Rosalsky report on the economic reasons why.

Plus, WAMU reporter Jacob Fenston reports on 85-year-old Margaret Sullivan, who feels like she's been "living in a bubble" since the start of the pandemic.

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This episode was recorded and published as part of this podcast's former 'Coronavirus Daily' format.

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Science In Action - The medical complexity of Covid -19

Autopsies show Covid 19 can affect the brain and other organs. Pathologist Mary Fowkes from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found the signs of stroke - unusually in young people, as well as a disruption of the immune system throughout the body.

And studies of heart stem cells show these can be killed by the virus. Cell Biologist Stefanie Dimmeler from the University of Frankfurt says this finding could prove useful in providing treatment and preventative medicine.

A massive research project in China has identified over 700 different types of coronavirus carried by bats, some of these obscure virus sequences are thought to have already jumped from bats to human and animals such as pigs. In a similar way to SARS-CoV-2 they present a potential threat as a source of future pandemics says Peter Daszak from the EcoHeath Alliance which conducted the research in collaboration with Chinese scientists.

And is there racism in the way people with Covid -19 infections are categorised? It’s an issue which concerns toxicologist Winston Morgan from the University of East London. He says as race is a social construct it’s an inappropriate measure to use when trying to work out who is vulnerable to the virus.

(Image: Illustration showing the virus structure of SARS-CoV-2. Credit: CDC HO via AFP / Getty)

Presenter: Roland Pease Producer: Julian Siddle

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Song Exploder - Michael Kiwanuka – Black Man in a White World

Instead of a new episode this week, revisiting this episode originally published in May 2017. Please consider donating to local and national organizations engaged in the work of racial equality. Here are some links:

Michael Kiwanuka is a singer/songwriter from London. His second album, Love and Hate, came out in 2016, and was named one of the Best Albums of the Year from the BBC, NME, The Guardian, GQ, and more. One of the songs on the album was used as the theme for the hit HBO series Big Little Lies. In this episode, Michael breaks down the song "Black Man in a White World."

songexploder.net/michael-kiwanuka

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - BREAKDOWN: The Mirage of the Money Printer… Why the Fed Is More PR Than Policy, Feat. Jeffrey P. Snider

The meme is “money printer go brrr,” but according to this macro expert, central banks have almost no power to actually influence money itself.

This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Ciphertrace.

The conventional wisdom is that central banks are the most important economic actors in the world. Markets hang on their every word. 

Yet, what if that power has less to do with actual monetary policy and more to do with how the performance of that policy creates a self-fulfilling prophecy as market actors respond to media coverage?

Jeff Snider is the head of global research at Alhambra Investments. In this conversation, he and NLW explore:

  • How the Fed lost the ability to even determine what the money supply is.
  • How the financialization in the 1980s exacerbated monetary confusion.
  • Why the most important force in the global economy isn’t central banks but the eurodollar and shadow banking system.
  • How the eurodollar and shadow banking sector creates a drag on real economic growth.
  • Why the conventional wisdom and “central bank savior” narrative around 2008 was dead wrong.
  • The problem with “survivor’s euphoria.”
  • Why “money printer go brr” is actually a flood myth.

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CoinDesk Podcast Network - DISCUSSION: Decentralization and What Section 230 Really Means for Freedom of Speech

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday, seeking to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 prevents social media companies from civil liability for the content posted on them. The order targets Twitter and Facebook after Twitter fact-checked two of the President’s tweets. 

Today, CoinDesk tackles the topic with Chief Content Officer Michael Casey, Privacy Reporter Benjamin Powers, New York Law School professor and past President of the American Civil Liberties Union Nadine Strossen, and author of the Open Index Protocol Amy James

This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Ciphertrace.

On this podcast, the CoinDesk team brings listeners up to speed on the leadup to and aftermath of the executive order, discuss the fairness implications of editorializing on social media, the business models that enable and are empowered by all of this, and how decentralized protocols can chart an alternative path forward.

First we talk about the first amendment and Section 230 itself, what it does and doesn’t do as it pertains to social media platforms and moderation. 

Then we talk about fairness and the if you don’t-like-it-leave argument, as well as related topics

We’ll talk about the business models and assumptions implicit in the current state of dominant social media platforms before turning to alternatives or possible solutions in decentralized protocols and multi-layered approaches to moderation or censorship.

Links from the episode:

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