Advisory Opinions

The AO marathon continues as David and Sarah catch up on Supreme Court hearings. In this feature-length episode, they explore the line between lobbying and bribery, raise eyebrows at the historicity of the "independent legislature" argument, and debate the extent to which the 303 Creative case is about speech. Also: the Jan. 6 prosecutors may have caught their white whale.Show Notes:-Oath Keepers founder convicted-303 Creative’s oral argument Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's censor v. censor, as politicians, academics, and journalists from left to right fight over who gets to block whose free speech. Plus: David and Sarah reconsider their comments about the alleged Alito leak.Show Notes:-Novoa v. Diaz-Villarreal v. Laredo, Texas-Reason Magazine on the stakes of Villarreal’s lawsuit-David’s piece on the meaning of religious freedom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As rumors swirl about another Alito leak, David and Sarah examine DC’s corrosive obsession with “access.” They also discuss the DOJ's appointment of a special counsel for the Trump investigations, revisit their discussion of protective orders, and ask whether we should care about law schools pulling out of the US News & World Report. Plus: get your bingo cards ready!Show Notes:-AO Bingo-Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Haggard and sleep deprived, Sarah and David buckle down for an extra-long episode that covers student loans, court sanctions, gay marriage legislation, more FedSoc speculation, and [deep breath] the founding principles of the United States. Ready thy popcorn.Show Notes:-Sanctioning Trump's lawyers-Codifying gay marriage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things get visceral as David and Sarah discuss Haaland v. Brackeen, the Supreme Court case that may determine who gets to adopt a Native American child. Then, having picked up their dropped jaws, they parse a federal court's ruling that deemed it unconstitutional to prohibit gun ownership based on a history of domestic violence.Plus: Sarah provides some FedSoc gala gossip.Show Notes:-Haaland v. Brackeen-Gabriel Malor, no snark Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, David and Sarah share their post-election thoughts (including the Trump question), but they also talk some law! From Judge James Ho (the scourge of Yale Law School) nudging SCOTUS to recognize an unenumerated right to make a living, to New York state’s gun laws hitting a wall in court… the takes are a-flowing. But none more shocking than David’s all-time top two songs.Plus: David ruefully performs a post-mortem to his midterm pre-mortem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's combative pod, David and Sarah revisit the Stacey Abrams lawsuits and check in on the state of election laws. They then turn to the question of expressive activity and whether a state can force a beauty pageant to include transgender contestants. They conclude with an examination of Washington state's approach to "unconscious bias" in trials.Plus: the duo offers a few pronunciation meae culpae.Show Notes:-David on Stacey Abrams’ election challenges-Green v. Miss United States of America-Henderson v. Thompson-Scientific American on the problems with “implicit bias” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to talk about Harvard. Returning to the affirmative action debate, David and Sarah consider the differences between UNC and Harvard, unpack the justices’ questions and comments, and ask what kind of diversity Harvard hopes to promote, if at all. They also discuss the preemptive backlash to Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s upcoming book, and the attack on Paul Pelosi.Show Notes:-Court filing detailing the break in to Nancy Pelosi's house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two universities defended their admissions process before the Supreme Court on Monday. Starting with the University of North Carolina (with a Harvard tease), David and Sarah grapple with – and at times disagree about – the difficult questions at the heart of the hearing: how should we understand diversity? Is seeking justice for centuries of slavery and discrimination compatible with race neutrality? Who should bear the brunt of righting a historic wrong? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, David and Sarah will be teasing their initial thoughts on the Harvard case and the likelihood of the Supreme Court changing the game on affirmative action... but only after checking in on the real legal scandal currently gripping the nation: cheating allegations in the chess world.Show Notes:-Grutter v. Bollinger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices