

Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments Media LLC
Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas!
The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!
The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 18, 2024 • 1h 2min
Deported by an Immigration Court in a Strip Mall
Exploring the emotional journey of an individual detained by ICE, grappling with undocumented status and white privilege. Reflecting on unsettling encounters, limited options in deportation proceedings, and challenges in immigration court. Sharing the emotional impact and fulfillment in immigration liaison work, and navigating legal options for travel and residency.

Mar 16, 2024 • 43min
We Have A Ruling In Fani Willis Case - EMERGENCY POD
Emergency breakdown of the Fani Willis case ruling with legal analysis, humor, and banter. Topics include conflict of interest, billing practices, professionalism, legal standards from 1916, and judicial responses. Also, unconventional video recreation and high school reminiscing.

Mar 15, 2024 • 55min
Judge Dismisses Some Trump Charges. Should We Be Worried?
Topics include charges dismissed in a Eagles lyrics theft case, Trump's legal troubles in Georgia, Texas immigration laws, and the complexities of immigration enforcement. The podcast offers legal analysis, discusses judicial decisions, and explores the implications of state versus federal laws.

Mar 13, 2024 • 42min
T3BE Week 5! Personal Injury and Comparative Negligence
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Week 5! Ok so last week revealed to us that the "hot unbreakable streak" was not, in fact, unbreakable. No one could have seen this coming though, so no use in playing the blame game. Thomas comes into the week 5-2. Will he go to 5-4? Or 7-2? Or perhaps the other possible record? Find out! Then, we get 2 new questions! It's personal injury, and also... personal injury? Maybe? We'll see! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.

Mar 11, 2024 • 1h 8min
Arrested on Her 22nd Birthday. She Didn't Know She Was Undocumented.
Episode 1013 Today, we get to meet Azul Uribe. Azul lived most of her life in the US as a devout Mormon, doing her best to get by in a sea of Whiteness. She even made jokes at her own expense about being undocumented. That all changed when she was arrested at age 22 under bizarre and very unlucky circumstances. She was put in ICE detention. Treated terribly. Strip searched multiple times. She then found out those jokes... weren't. Despite being a college student, Azul faced deportation from the only home she'd ever known. Join us as we hear Azul's fascinating and heartbreaking story, in all its raw humanity. And we learn more about our immigration system, and its raw inhumanity. If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.

Mar 8, 2024 • 59min
Did the Trump Colorado Decision Make You Feel Crazy? You’re Not Alone.
The podcast delves into the legal complexities of the 14th Amendment in relation to Trump's Colorado decision, exploring insurrection, election disqualification, historical context, and Chief Justice Chase's decisions post-Civil War. The conversation covers legal decision-making approaches, challenges in disqualifying federal election candidates, the dilemma of disqualifying an insurrectionist, and interpretations of legal decisions alongside business insights.

Mar 6, 2024 • 37min
T3BE Week 4! Firefighters' Rule and Interstate Commerce
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam Week 4! Thomas comes into this week on a HOT, some would say, UNBREAKABLE, streak! 5-0. So, naturally, he aced questions 6 and 7, right? You'll find out! After those answers, we get questions 8 and 9, pictured below! What the hell is the firefighters' rule? And are drycleaners interstate commerce? If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.

Mar 4, 2024 • 59min
MAGA Fascists Try To Ban Drag and Fail. Repeatedly.
Episode 1011 Here's one for everyone who enjoys stories about terrible people losing in court! Casey stops by to review Alito's complaint to America's managers about the devastating cost of marriage equality: the exclusion of anti-LGBTQ bigots from juries. Matt breaks down the total failure of state attempts to ban drag shows and why the actual First Amendment keeps winning over the one that the kinds of people who yell the most about the First Amendment seem to think that they are yelling about. 1. Thomas/Alito statement in 2020 denial of Kim Davis's cert petition (2020) 2. Alito's concurrence in denial of cert in Missouri Dept of Corrections v. Finney (2024) 3. Trial court decision in Friends of Georges v. Mulroy (TN drag show ban) 4. Trial court decision in Florida-ORL v. Griffin (FL drag show ban) 5. Trial court decision in Woodlands Pride v. Paxton (TX drag show ban) If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.

Mar 1, 2024 • 57min
A Tale of Two Dons in Criminal Court
The podcast discusses a legal battle over stolen legal pads with handwritten Eagles song lyrics. They also delve into Trump's immunity claim in the Supreme Court and complex legal maneuvers in Fulton County. Additionally, they explore privilege issues, text message analysis, forensic phone record analysis, and delayed payments in a major legal case.

Feb 28, 2024 • 30min
T3BE Week 3! Drugs and Hearsay
Thomas Takes the Bar Exam! It's time for the answers to last week's questions, plus two more! If you'd like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! For the time being, any profit over and above the costs of operating the show, will go towards repair and accountability.


