Category: 3-LawSometimeCommentary

Liz and Andrew break down the latest LOLsuit from Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

You may recall Gen. Flynn from screeching "Lock Her Up!" on the campaign trail while surreptitiously serving as an unauthorized lobbyist for Turkey's brutal authoritarian regime. You may recall him as a pro-Russian stooge who lied about being a pro-Russian stooge. And you may recall him as having been pardoned by Donald Trump after Bill Barr tried to rig the Department of Justice in his favor.

However you remember this bozo, you'll be shocked to discover that he now thinks he deserves FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS for... having friends in high places. Fortunately, his lawsuit doesn't stand a chance in hell of succeeding, as Liz and Andrew make clear.

Notes Flynn complaint https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.411523/gov.uscourts.flmd.411523.1.0.pdf

OA Amicus Brief http://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020.06.09-Amicus-Brief.pdf

OA Amicus Show (Episode 394) https://openargs.com/oa394-the-amicus-show/

OA 689 https://openargs.com/oa689-lawsuit-or-interpretive-dance-why-not-both/

22 U.S.C. § 618 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/618

18 U.S.C. § 371 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/951

2019 DOJ Report on Crossfire Hurricane https://www.justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf

28 U.S.C. Chapter 171 https://t.co/sFiQAXafWI

28 U.S.C. § 2401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2401

Form 95 https://www.gsa.gov/forms-library/claim-damage-injury-or-death

28 U.S.C. § 2675 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/2675

Sconiers v. US, 896 F.3d 595 (3d Cir. 2018) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8262809632148475317

Flynn v. Pelosi https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61634816/flynn-v-pelosi/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

OA 696 https://openargs.com/oa696-in-which-james-okeefe-pretends-to-be-a-journalist/

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First things first: WE WON AN AMBIE!  Leah, Kate, and Melissa gather to raise a glass and celebrate this huge honor. Then, Kate and Melissa talk with Joanna Schwartz about her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. Plus, a quick overview of what we expect from the Supreme Court before it ends its term in late June.

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Dahlia Lithwick is joined by political analyst Michael Podhorzer (ex AFL-CIO, now newly-minted substacker). Michael was one of the all-hands-on-deck responsible for shoring up the 2020 election against subversion, he’s a political data geek,  and for Amicus’s purposes - he’s someone with a fascinating take on the Supreme Court, and all the ways we fail to truly understand it. Hear why Michael doesn't care about Leonard Leo, the lessons learned in the Trump years that we should be applying to the court, and the overarching agenda that both motivates and shapes the court’s jurisprudence.  

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern is away, so Dahlia is joined by the Award Winning™  Leah Litman to talk about loan forgiveness and major questions, the Texas suit being brought by women seriously harmed by the state's abortion ban, and the alarming implications of an amicus brief in an Indiana abortion case that questions the religious sincerity of, well, anyone who backs abortion rights.

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Dahlia’s book Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America, is also available as an audiobook, and Amicus listeners can get a 25 percent discount by entering the code “AMICUS” at checkout. https://books.supportingcast.fm/lady-justice

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THIS IS AN EPISODE YOU'LL WANT TO SHARE!

Today, Liz and Andrew break down the latest developments in Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News. You know some of the salacious details that have been leaked, but you don't know just how badly Fox has mangled the law. You won't want to miss it!

Notes Bartiromo-Fratto emails https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23697625-bartiromo-fratto-summary-redacted

Exhibits - Delightfully mad emails https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23698221/redacted-149-200.pdf

Dominion MSJ https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/redacted-documents-in-dominion-fox-news-case/dca5e3880422426f/full.pdf

Dominion Reply Supporting SJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-08-PUBLIC-Dominion-SJ-Reply-Brief-Fox_Redacted.pdf

Fox News Reply Brief Supporting SJ https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/25-FNN-SJ-Reply-Brief.pdf

Edwards v. National Audobon Society, 556 F.2d 113 (1977) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=515638952298472646

Hogan v. Herald Co., 84 A.D.2d 470 (N.Y. 4th App.Div. 1982) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14598091554089425482

Brian v. Richardson, 660 N.E.2d 1126 (N.Y. 1995) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15437079674012061938

BONUS! Page v. Oath Inc., 270 A.3d 833 (Del. 2022) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3804284272223089234

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Today, Liz and Andrew break down how the Democrats are playing offense with respect to Republican efforts to gaslight America and whitewash the findings of the January 6th Committee.

Specifically, they tell you about the 316-page report on GOP Witnesses that Jim Jordan is trying (and failing) to call whistleblowers. You won't want to miss this breakdown! But first, Andrew has to update you on the latest right-wing lies about that dingus Raland Brunson and his nonsense pleadings in the Supreme Court.

Notes OA 668 https://openargs.com/oa668-a-new-case-right-wing-sources-are-blatantly-lying-about/

OA 692 https://openargs.com/oa693-mike-pence-cant-testify-against-trump-cause-hes-a-senator-now/

AP, “Supreme Court Will Not Hear Case to Oust Biden, Reinstate Trump” https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-supreme-court-trump-biden-election-850929590422

House Judiciary Report on GOP Witnesses https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2023-03-02_gop_witnesses_report.pdf

5 U.S.C. § 2303 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/2303

18 U.S.C. § 1752  https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752

D.C. Code § 10–503.16 https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/10-503.16

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Former Vice President Mike Pence has received subpoenas from Special Counsel Jack Smith.  Pence claims that he has grounds to challenge this subpoena; he locates this in the so-called “speech and debate” clause, and some claim that executive privilege is relevant as well.  We examine these clauses and doctrines deeply and offer our own conclusions on this issue.  Speaking of doctrines, the Supreme Court has brought the “major questions” doctrine out once again in the student debt case, and we look at that.  We also take a deeper dive on questions of standing - how do states have the ability to appear in court challenging this presidential action?  It may not surprise you to hear that Akhil wrote a relevant article, over 30 years ago.

Today, Liz and Andrew provide an update on the new Republican broadside against Fani Willis in Georgia before breaking down the law around bad April Fool's Day jokes.

Notes New York Times article on Indiana legislation https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/us/republicans-district-attorneys-trump.html

Georgia SB 92 https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/216780

GA Constitution Art. VI, Sec. VIII, Paragraph II https://law.justia.com/constitution/georgia/conart6.html

McLaughlin v. Payne, 761 S.E.2d 289 (Ga. 2014) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18437690967547452063

29 U.S. § 216 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/216

Fast v. Cash Depot, Ltd. http://hr.cch.com/ELD/FastCash110718.pdf

Gill lawsuit https://openargs.com/wp-content/uploads/100-Grand-lawsuit.pdf

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We're back to break down two of the Supreme Court's recent 5-4 opinions—Bittner v. United States, about penalties under the Bank Secrecy Act, and Cruz v. Arizona, a death penalty case about state procedures and federal jurisdiction. But first, we take a brief look back at the oral arguments in the student loan case, and a new order and jurisdictional developments in Moore v. Harper (the independent state legislature case).

Today, Liz and Andrew break down the latest developments in Blassingame v. Trump, a set of consolidated cases pending in the DC Circuit that will affect whether Donald Trump will have to compensate the victims of his attempted January 6th coup. You won't want to miss this one!

Notes US amicus brief in Blassingame v. Trump https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510.1218497852.0_4.pdf

42 U.S.C. 1985 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1985

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What’s going to happen to the federal student debt relief plan? Melissa, Leah and Kate give listeners some answers as they break down last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments on the cases blocking 20 million borrowers from seeing between $10,000 and $20,000 of forgiveness on their federal student loans. They also discuss how those arguments could affect a pending federal court ruling that could force the FDA to reverse its approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion.

• Listen to last week’s episode previewing the student debt relief cases
• Listen to this episode on the federal court case regarding the FDA approval of mifepristone.
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