Author: Opening Arguments Media LLC

T3BE68 - Professor Heather Varanini returns to spill the beans on how Thomas did for Question 67 before taking us down another Bar prompt.

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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 state of all current and pending 287(g) agreements)

• Pam Bondi’s memo on charging and sentencing policies which shifted DOJ’s focus to immigration enforcement (2/6/2025)

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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 state of all current and pending 287(g) agreements)

• Pam Bondi’s memo on charging and sentencing policies which shifted DOJ’s focus to immigration enforcement (2/6/2025)

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.

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) footnotes.

• Samuel Alito’s dissent in A.A.R.P. v. Trump (4/19/25)

• SCOTUS’s decision in Monsalvo-Velasquez v. Bondi  (4/22/25)

• Vermont federal district court order returning Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont

• Courtlistener docket for D.V.D. v. DHS

• Courtlistener docket for American Oversight v. Hegseth

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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

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To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

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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)

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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.

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)

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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.

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. DOJ (4/9/25)

• DHS “evidence” filed in Mahmoud Kahlil’s deportation proceedings (4/10/25)

• U.S. Supreme Court’s order in Noem v. Abrego Garcia (04/10/2025)

• Plaintiff’s complaint in Walters v OpenAI  

• “SCOTUS must stop leftist judges' lawless sabotage of Trump agenda | Fox News, Mike Davis (3/31/25)

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 instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.