Category: 3-LawSometimeCommentary

Liz and Andrew unpack the two recent decisions on Presidential immunity. What does it mean for the civil and criminal cases against Donald Trump?   But first, the duo unpack a recent Rule 404 filing by Special Counsel Jack Smith that reveals some (more) disturbing details of how Trump planned to hijack the 2020 Presidential election.   In the LONG Patreon bonus, Andrew and Liz parse through some seemingly-minor findings and show how they're part of the bad faith effort by Judge Aileen Cannon, FSW, to delay Trump's criminal trial for stealing national security documents.   it's a jam-packed episode you won't want to miss!   Notes Trump - Chutkan ruling on immunity https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149.171.0.pdf   Trump DC Cir ruling on immunity https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510/gov.uscourts.cadc.38510.1208575879.0_1.pdf   Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 475 U.S. 731 (1982) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2587191009008442950

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There is no shortage of tributes to the just passed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and rightly so, and this first female Justice richly deserves praise and memory.  We aim to offer a tribute by taking her seriously as a Justice of ideas as well as the frequently mentioned deeply human remarkable woman she was. Fortunately, Akhil’s career has been intertwined with Justice O’Connor’s in a remarkable back-and-forth of ideas, cases, refinement, and legal innovation, so our perspective is a deeply informative one.  Among other things, we look at the 10 most significant areas of jurisprudential impact in this remarkable but somehow underestimated to the end titan. CLE credit available after listening from podcast.njsba.com.

On December 4, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. The Court considered whether as part of a plan of reorganization under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, if the Bankruptcy Code authorizes a court to approve a release that extinguishes claims held by nondebtors against nondebtor third parties, without the claimants’ consent.
Join us as we break down and analyze how oral argument went before the Court.

Featuring:
Professor Anthony Casey, Donald M. Ephraim Professor of Law and Economics and Faculty Director at The Center on Law and Finance, University of Chicago Law School

Leah, Melissa, and Kate recap the arguments in the hugely important administrative law case, SEC v. Jarkesy. Plus, they welcome Oona Hathaway and Sam Sankar-- two former clerks to the late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor-- to discuss her life and legacy.

• Read Kate's NYT op ed on Jarkesy: "This Quiet Blockbuster at the Supreme Court Could Affect All Americans"
• Read Oona Hathaway's NYT op ed on Justice O'Connor, "I Clerked for Justice O’Connor. She Was My Hero, but I Worry About Her Legacy."
• Read The 19th's reporting on how conservative groups are using the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling to shut down the Abundant Birth Project: "Backlash to affirmative action hits pioneering maternal health program for Black women"

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

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Liz and Andrew embark on a deep dive into a set of truly wild accusations against Trump's go-to lawyer, Alina Habba, who's accused of manipulating a young server into signing an illegal and one-sided settlement agreement to benefit Donald Trump's Bedminster golf course.    Was this really Alina Habba's audition to be the next Michael Cohen? Find out why this case matters and what's coming next!   Notes Bianco v. Lamington https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24179145/bianco-v-lamington-farm-club.pdf   -Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/law

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-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

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died Friday at the age of 93. Amicus host Dahlia Lithwick is joined by former O’Connor clerk and renowned First Amendment scholar RonNell Andersen Jones to talk about the Justice’s trailblazing career, her judicial philosophy, and the combination of humility and strength that marked her time on the court, and away from it. 

Later in the show, Dahlia celebrates the joyous return of Mark Joseph Stern to share some big announcements AND to discuss SEC v Jarkesy. As Mark explains, the conservative justices seemed ready, willing, and able to take another swing at the administrative state (AKA functioning government).

Mark Stern stays with us for this week’s Amicus Plus segment, taking us through some good ol’ vote suppressing stuff from MAGA-stacked lower courts choosing to ignore last term’s big voting rights decision in Allen v Milligan. Remember that time Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanagh saved voting rights? Turns out these lower courts are saying - not so much.  

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

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.

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On November 7, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Rahimi. The Court considered whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), prohibiting the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violated the Second Amendment on its face
Join us as we break down and analyze how oral argument went before the Court.

Featuring:
Professor Mark W. Smith, Presidential Scholar and Senior Fellow in Law and Public Policy, The King’s College

Liz and Andrew bring you a trio of stories: first, the New York appellate court reinstated the gag order on Donald Trump, prohibiting him from attacking Justice Engoron's staff. 

Next, learn how Hunter Biden outmaneuvered the GOP buffoons in Congress.

Finally, geek out on the Supreme Court docket with Munsingwear!

In the Patreon bonus, the two break down whether Trump has been able to sneak assets out of New York and if so, what Special Master Barbara Jones intends to do about it.

Notes House Oversight Biden Subpoenas https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-issues-subpoenas-to-biden-family-associates%EF%BF%BC/

Abbe Lowell Letter to James Comer re Hunter Biden Testimony https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000018c-161a-dbbc-a1de-7e7e397f0000

NY Trump gag orders reinstated https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=2yAOg8Zx5CTVK5fRESuAVA==

Trump petition to 1st AD https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=8mrJZIGwSPZTLMGpK_PLUS_pe_PLUS_g==

Kendall v. Doster documents https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kendall-v-doster/

DOJ petition in Kendall for Munsingwear vacatur https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-154/275510/20230816162454819_Kendall%20III%20et%20al.%20v.%20Doster%20et%20al.%20.pdf

Kendall v. Doster opp cert https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-154/285403/20231018142033779_23-154%20Brief%20in%20Opposition%20Final.pdf

Report from Barbara Jones in the Trump Org monitoring https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=tonmcCHZaSG8Oe1NLD6eEg==

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Liz and Andrew dissect Trump's latest request for additional discovery in the DC indictment before analyzing Rudy Giuliani having found the one thing he fears more than Judge Beryl Howell: a jury of his peers!

Notes Trump Motion for Discovery https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149.167.0.pdf

Trump DC indictment https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.1.0_12.pdf

Trump DC indictment - PDF copy (scannable) https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump_23_cr_257.pdf

Rudy “Trial Brief” https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.107.0.pdf

Mwani v. Bin Laden https://casetext.com/case/mwani-v-bin-ladin

Freeman/Moss Opp Motion for Bench Trial https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.109.0.pdf

Rudy response to Howell Minute Order https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.110.0.pdf

Pence told Jan. 6 special counsel harrowing details about 2020 aftermath, warnings to Trump: Sources https://abcnews.go.com/US/pence-told-jan-6-special-counsel-harrowing-details/story?id=105183391

-Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/law

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-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

Donald Trump’s disqualification for the Presidency under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is on the docket for the Colorado Supreme Court next week.  We have brought the two leading experts on the history of this clause to our podcast. They have written extensively on the 38th-40th Congresses who passed and first acted under the amendment; on John Bingham, the “James Madison” of the Fourteenth; and they continue to provide pertinent historical details on almost a daily basis.  Professor Magliocca testified in the District Court hearing on this.  Suffice it to say, then, that the best arguments on both sides will be aired here first, before they are heard in Colorado, and you will be the judge today.  CLE credit available at podcast.njsba.com.