Opening Arguments - OA421: Trump Evades Justice on Emoluments in 1st Term

There's no sugar coating it: the wheel of justice was so f***ing slow it couldn't do anything to Trump in 4 damn years. Come on in and hear the breakdown of the breakdown of justice.

In our second segment we discuss even more crimes that Trump was shown to be guilty of in the Mueller Report. Yes, the Mueller Report. It was NOT total exoneration, or really any kind of exoneration, as it turns out.

Links: Tatel, weakest emoluments case; covered in OA361: DC Sides with Trump in Emoluments Case?; and OA391: Republicans Are Still Trying To Break the Government, Part Eleven Billion; DOJ opposition to cert; DC & Md v Trump discussed on OA386: The Opening Arguments Amicus Brief!; interlocutory appeal 28 US Code § 1292 - Interlocutory decisions; CREW v. Donald J. Trump; lost initially Case 1:17-cv-00458-GBD Document 103 Filed 12/21/17; won after 1.5 years CERTIFIED COPY ISSUED ON 09/13/2019; Leopold/Buzzfeed FOIA Lawsuit denied; Less Redacted Mueller Report; part 2; OA324: Trump's 9 Crimes and Misdemeanors

Strict Scrutiny - I Want More

Leah and Melissa interview Renee Knake Jefferson and Hannah Brenner Johnson about their book Shortlisted: Women In The Shadows Of The Supreme Court.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

  • 6/12 – NYC
  • 10/4 – Chicago

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Bill Barr’s American Carnage

What is Bill Barr doing, and why is he doing it? Donald Ayer, former U.S. attorney and principal deputy solicitor general in the Reagan administration and deputy attorney general under George H.W. Bush, on the attorney general’s ideology, how it predates Trumpism, and why it’s so dangerous. 

In the Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern breaks down the latest voting breakdown in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, the latest Census case dead end, and the stupidity of Trump’s latest SCOTUS list. 

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Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

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Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Bill Barr’s American Carnage

What is Bill Barr doing, and why is he doing it? Donald Ayer, former U.S. attorney and principal deputy solicitor general in the Reagan administration and deputy attorney general under George H.W. Bush, on the attorney general’s ideology, how it predates Trumpism, and why it’s so dangerous. 

In the Slate Plus segment, Mark Joseph Stern breaks down the latest voting breakdown in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, the latest Census case dead end, and the stupidity of Trump’s latest SCOTUS list. 

Sign up for Slate Plus now to listen and support our show.


Podcast production by Sara Burningham.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Opening Arguments - OA420: DoJ Defending Trump in Carroll Case?

You've likely seen the headlines saying the DoJ wants to take over defending Trump against E. Jean Carroll, but you haven't heard it properly explained by our esteemed P. Andrew Torrez! So what's happening and is it normal? The answer might actually surprise you...

We also talk a little about Bob Woodward's recordings of Trump and how totally awesome it is that he kept them secret for 7 months to sell his book.

Links: Another Trump Judge Rate Not Qualified; Carroll v Trump; SDNY Docket; DoJ Statement for Intervention; 28 USC 2679; 28 U.S. Code § 1446 - Procedure for removal of civil actions.

Opening Arguments - OA419: What Happened in McGirt v. Oklahoma

Did Neil Gorsuch and his 4 flaming liberal friends in the Supreme Court just give away half of Oklahoma? Ted Cruz thinks so, so that should tell you. But if you want to really know what happened, check out this Andrew Torrez Signature Deep Dive!

In our first segment, we talk about whether any new information has changed our view of the Rittenhouse killings. Is Rittenhouse a terrorist? Is there any reasonable self-defense claim?

Links: U.S. v. Thomas, 34 F.3d 44 (2d Cir. 1994); United States v. Alvarez, 755 F.2d 830, 842-43 (11th Cir.); 474 U.S. 905, 106 S.Ct. 274, 88 L.Ed.2d 235 (1985); Postal Service Has Paid DeJoy’s Former Company $286 Million Since 2013; Did We Give Away Half of Oklahoma? | LegalEagle’s Law Review; Idiot Ted Cruz on Twitter; Plan of action remains unsettled after McGirt decision.

Strict Scrutiny - Courts of the Conqueror

Leah is joined by Liz Reese, a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School, for a deep dive on the Court’s blockbuster Indian law case, McGirt v. Oklahoma, authored by the most interesting man in federal Indian law, Neil Gorsuch.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

  • 6/12 – NYC
  • 10/4 – Chicago

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Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

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Opening Arguments - OA418: D.C. Circuit Panel’s Multiple Bad Court Thingies

Our main story today is how the DC Circuit Court has helped Trump successfully avoid accountability until after the election. You may remember Don McGahn from such investigations as Robert Mueller's. McGahn refused to cooperate at all with the House's impeachment investigation, under the complete nonsense theory of absolute immunity. Andrew breaks down what happened and gives a signature deep dive on House subpoena power!

Our first segment is some good news and "Andrew was right" about the Flynn case. It could mean the Return of the OA Brief!

Links: Feb. 2020 McGahn ruling; OA366: Your Guide to the Coronavirus!; Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn; 8-31-20 McGahn ruling; McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927); order staying the mandate.

Opening Arguments - OA417: WTH, What the Hatch Act! with Allison Gill

Be warned, this episode contains explicit language and Trumpian hypocrisy. Given that the RNC was basically a 4-night Hatch Act Violation Spectacular, Andrew is delivering us the Hatch Act deep-dive we need. Joining us to talk about her personal experience with the Hatch Act is Allison Gill of Mueller She Wrote! That's right, now that she was fired from her government job, "AG" is now unmasked!

Links: Hatch Act; penalties for violation; 10 U.S.C. § 973 and 18 U.S.C. § 593 pertaining to military; CREW v. OSC on Kellyanne Conway.

Strict Scrutiny - What Would Chief Justice Roberts Do?

Leah, Kate, and Melissa are joined by Dale Ho, director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU and low-key star of The Fight.

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! 

  • 6/12 – NYC
  • 10/4 – Chicago

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky