3-LawSometimeCommentary – Page 224

February 26, 2020

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Election Meltdown, Professor Brendan Nyhan

Brendan Nyhan is a political science professor at Dartmouth College who focuses on misinformation and so-called fake news. His views on how fake news affects election outcomes might surprise you.

Try Slate Plus free: slate.com/amicusplus

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 26, 2020

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Election Meltdown, Professor Brendan Nyhan

Brendan Nyhan is a political science professor at Dartmouth College who focuses on misinformation and so-called fake news. His views on how fake news affects election outcomes might surprise you.

Try Slate Plus free: slate.com/amicusplus

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

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

February 25, 2020

Opening Arguments - OA363: Good News About Ex-Felons in Florida

Today's episode brings you some good news from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals with respect to Florida's effort to restore the vote to felons who have completed their sentences -- and the Republicans' ongoing efforts to stop it. We also revisit the emoluments clause litigations pending in two jurisdictions as well as tackle a novel question from one of our listeners. You won't want to miss it!

We begin with a brief Andrew Was Wrong / Andrew Was Right segment regarding emoluments. Friend of the show Seth Barrett Tillman writes in to correct us on two procedural issues and also to venture an opinion that any future emoluments cases would have to be brought by both houses of Congress. Find out why Andrew disagrees and stands by his original recommendation in Episode 361 that Nancy Pelosi authorize a new vote by the full House of Representatives to re-file the case originally brought in Blumenthal v. Trump.

Then it's time for our main segment on the breaking decision out of the 11th Circuit striking down the Florida legislature's effort to gut Amendment 4 (which was meant to restore voting rights to ex-felons). Find out why the court ruled the way it did, what happens next, and why there may be cause for optimism in the Sunshine State!

After that, it's time for a fascinating, clever, but (sadly) wrong suggestion from a listener regarding a writ of mandamus and the current logjam in Congress.

We end, as always, with #T3BE, and Thomas's seven-question winning streak on the line regarding a contract and an unfortunate foreman who suffers an accident prior to starting his duties. Will Thomas prevail? Listen and find out! And don't forget to play along by sharing out the show on social media!

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

In the opening segment, Andrew breaks down the Supreme Court case of Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill (2019).
You'll want to read the 11th Circuit's opinion for yourself. We last discussed the Florida legislature's efforts to gut Amendment 4 back in Episode 266.

-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

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

February 24, 2020

SCOTUScast - Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP – Post-Argument SCOTUScast

On Dec. 9, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP, a case involving a dispute over certain appeal and time restrictions applicable to “inter partes review” (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In 2013, Ingenio--a predecessor entity to petitioner Thryv, Inc.--initiated IPR proceedings to challenge the validity of a patent held by Click-to-Call Technologies, LP (CTC). CTC countered that the IPR was time-barred under the one-year limit of 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), because a complaint alleging infringement of that patent had been served on Ingenio back in 2001, well over one year before the IPR request. The Board rejected CTC’s argument, reasoning that the time bar did not apply because the complaint in question had been voluntarily dismissed, and was to be treated as if non-existent. Proceeding with IPR, the Board then ruled various claims of the disputed patent to be unpatentable.
After a complicated series of appellate proceedings that included a vacatur and remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued the en banc decision that formed the basis for Thryv’s certiorari petition in this case. Citing a recent determination it had made in a similar case, the court first decided that it had jurisdiction to review the IPR time-bar dispute. Title 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) provides that a decision whether to institute an IPR “shall be final and nonappealable,” but the court treated that bar as inapplicable to questions of timeliness as opposed to the merits. The Federal Circuit then held that the time bar of § 315(b) was triggered by service of any complaint, even one later dismissed without prejudice. Accordingly, the court vacated the Board’s decision and remanded with instructions to dismiss the IPR as time-barred: a victory for CTC. But the Supreme Court then granted Thryv’s certiorari petition to address anew the key jurisdictional issue: whether 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) permits appeal of the Board’s decision to institute an IPR upon finding that § 315(b)’s time bar did not apply.
To discuss the case, we have Robert J. Rando, Founder and Lead Counsel, the Rando Law Firm P.C.
As always, the Federalist Society takes no particular legal or public policy positions. All opinions expressed are those of the speakers.

February 24, 2020

Strict Scrutiny - No Jonathans Or Pauls

Boston University School of Law put together an amazing live show! Leah, Melissa, and Jaime are joined by two fabulous BU law professors, Sarah Sherman-Stokes and Danielle Citron (MacArthur genius and Strict Scrutiny ninja). The group proclaims victory for gender parity and previews two cases (US v. Sineneng-Smith and Seila v. CFPB) before discussing Danielle's work on deep fakes and taking a question from the wonderful audience. This event was recorded live at WBUR CitySpace in Boston. Thanks to WBUR and BU for the very warm welcome!

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

February 22, 2020

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Election Meltdown, Part 5

In the fifth and final part of this special series of Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined live on stage in Washington by former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, MacArthur fellow Professor Danielle Citron of Boston University law school, director of the ACLU’s voting-rights initiative Dale Ho, and election law professor Rick Hasen of the University of California, Irvine. Together, they pick themselves up from the rug of despair with a pile of can-do fixes for the stress points threatening the integrity of U.S. elections.

Rick Hasen’s new book Election Meltdown forms the basis for this special series of Amicus.

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 22, 2020

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Election Meltdown, Part 5

Rick Hasen’s new book Election Meltdown forms the basis for this special series of Amicus.

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

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

February 21, 2020

Opening Arguments - OA362: The Pardon Power (Or: Blagojevich, Milken, and Trump, Oh My!)

Today's episode takes a deep dive into the history and contemporary use of the Presidential pardon power in light of President Trump's decision to pardon and/or commute the sentences of 11 various and sundry monsters. We figure out exactly what the power was supposed to mean and what it means today.

We start off with some pre-show teasers.

After that, our "A" segment looks at the basics of the Nevada caucus, including the results you can expect the day after this show drops! What weird changes are taking place in Nevada? Listen and find out!

As a teaser, we talk about today's sentencing by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Trump loyalist and Nixon afficionado Roger Stone. What does it mean, and does it portend a pardon for Stone? Listen and find out!

Then, it's time for our deep dive into Presidential pardons and commutations. We begin with the language in the Constitution (Art. 2, Sec. 2, Cl. 1) and Federalist 74.

From there, we move on to the 19th and 20th century uses of pardons, looking at the literature and the relatively recent (and controversial -- deservedly so) pardons by Bill Clinton on the very last day of his presidency. We end the segment, of course, by discussing the assorted and sundry monsters pardoned by Trump, including some names you literally won't believe.

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

Check out Federalist 74 on pardons.
In terms of contemporary pardon literature, we recommend Margaret Colgate Love's "The Twilight of the Pardon Power" (2010) and Gregory C. Sisk's 2002 article "Suspending the Pardon Power During the Twilight of a Presidential Term."

-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

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

February 18, 2020

Opening Arguments - OA361: DC Sides with Trump in Emoluments Case?

Make sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel! Today's episode features a quick Andrew was... something segment about the ERA. Then we talk about the recent ruling in an emoluments case against Trump. Was it devastating or was it expected? Listen and find out! Then we tackle some great listener questions at the end.