

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

Sep 2, 2022 • 1h 15min
OA627: How To Convict Donald Trump
The more we learn, the worse it gets for Trump. It's almost like he's a pathological narcissist without any regard for laws. Today Andrew breaks down two ways to convict Trump, using two different provisions of the law. Links: motion opposing special master, DOJ exhibits, United States v. Gonzalez, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, Proving Intent at Mar-a-Lago, The Trump Warrant Had No Legal Basis - WSJ, 44 U.S. Code § 2201, 44 U.S. Code § 2202 - Ownership of Presidential records, 44 U.S. Code § 2203 - Management and custody of Presidential records, 44 U.S. Code § 2205 - Exceptions to restricted access, 44 U.S. Code § 2204 - Restrictions on access to Presidential records

Aug 30, 2022 • 1h 13min
OA626: F(boi)POTUS Is So Porked
For real, things are not going well for Trump. We get that he's Teflon Don, but even those teflon pans get messed up if you scratch them with a knife or if they steal a bunch of top secret documents. Listen and enjoy as Andrew details the many ways Trump is having a very bad law thingy. Links: Response to Media Queries About Presidential Records, Redacted warrant affidavit, Trump's terrible motion, Cover sheet, rule 41g, Judge Slapdown, trump response, "Anomalous" Federal Jurisdiction, Rule 65. Injunctions and Restraining Orders, letter from archives, Navarro reply brief

Aug 26, 2022 • 1h 14min
OA625: Student Loan Forgiveness!
Biden not only kept his campaign promise, but expanded on it! Andrew breaks down the history of the student loan debt problem and what Biden's plan is. It's good news!

Aug 23, 2022 • 1h 4min
OA624: Good News Show! Williams v. Kincaid Sets a Good Precedent for Trans Rights
Perhaps we can have good things? Andrew breaks down Williams v. Kincaid, a 4th Circuit case that actually sets a positive precedent for trans rights! After that, we interview Jalessah Jackson, Executive Director of ARC Southeast - one of the abortion funds that OA listeners raised an incredible amount of money for! Links: 42 U.S. Code Chapter 126 ADA, 42 U.S. Code § 12211 - Definitions exception

Aug 19, 2022 • 1h 12min
OA623: This Week in High Treason
There's still SO much to talk about in the Mar-a-Lago Treason Trove! Lots of updates on that, plus the Weiselberg plea, Trump passports, and more! We also squeeze in a wildcard on Alex Jones's loser lawyers. Links: The Atlantic article that is wrong, 42 U.S. Code § 2274 - Communication of Restricted Data, Jonathan Toebbe case, 10 CFR Part 1045 -- Nuclear Classification and Declassification, Classification of Nuclear Weapons-Related Information, Dep’t of the Navy v. Egan, Trump’s passports returned, Norm Pattis Sanctions order, Reynal order, Pattis "moved to dismiss", Alex-Jones-Kyng-S.-Lee-Affidavit

Aug 16, 2022 • 1h 1min
OA622: Will Alex Jones' Damages Be Capped by Texas Law?
The unfortunate answer is... yes. BUT. There may be a one weird trick that actually could sidestep this! Listen in for the breakdown and why there is a sliver of hope on this really terrible nonsense. After that, we talk about our Matthew Hoh interview and the response we have gotten. Links: Texas bill, More TX statutes, Texas Constitution, Hanna v. Sweeney, 78 Conn. 492, NCSBE certified GP as a political party, new Demw lawsuit

Aug 13, 2022 • 1h 7min
OA621 Extra! More on Mar-a-Lago
So much breaking news, we did an extra episode for you!

Aug 12, 2022 • 1h 19min
OA621: The FBI Goes to Mar-a-Lago! This Is Big...
If you're anything like me, you've been waiting for the Andrew breakdown of the FBI warrant service on Mar-a-Lago. Well, here it is, PLUS breaking news while we were recording! We didn't yet have the info that it might be nuclear documents, which makes everything Andrew said EVEN MORE right. Links: 18 U.S. Code § 3109, 18 U.S. Code § 3103a - Additional grounds for issuing warrant, List of attorneys who tried to steal your 2020 vote, What were FBI agents looking for in Trump's Mar-a-Lago? : NPR, Dep’t of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518 (1988), Basic Laws and Authorities | National Archives, The FBI Just Raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home, Justice Dept. using grand jury to probe Trump's Mar-a-Lago documents, National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago, 44 U.S. Code Chapter 22 - PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS, 44 U.S. Code § 2202, 18 U.S. Code § 1924 - Unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, 18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information, “Lock Her Up” | Law Offices of P. Andrew Torrez, 18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally, Jan. 6 committee tees up 20 witness transcripts for DOJ Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Who Can Be President of the United States?: Candidate Hillary Clinton and the Problem of Statutory Qualifications,’ 5(1) British Journal of American Legal Studies 95 (2016) (peer review) Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Secretary Clinton Can Relax Because Section 2071 Disqualification Does Not Apply to the Presidency: A Response to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Cause of Action (with a Short Reply from Attorney General Mukasey)’ (2015)

Aug 9, 2022 • 1h 25min
OA620: OA Debates Green Party Candidate Matthew Hoh
Listeners will know we have been incredibly hostile to the idea of voting for or running as a third party candidate. Despite that, Matthew Hoh, Green Party candidate for Senate in NC, accepted Andrew's invitation to come on the show. So why is he running? Can we convince him it's a bad idea? Listen and find out!

Aug 5, 2022 • 1h 12min
OA619: OK, Alex Jones's Lawyers REALLY Don't Know WTF They're Doing
This is... wow. Just wow. Jones's lawyers accidentally handed over his entire cell phone and didn't remedy it when they could have. Just staggering. Get Andrew's full breakdown of this glorious happening. Also, GOOD NEWS FROM KANSAS! The people of Kansas did a good thing. And Pat Cipollone was subpoenaed by the Justice Dept! All in all just a really good news episode. Links: Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, House Concurrent Resolution No. 5003, Justice Dept. Subpoenas Pat Cipollone, Justice Dept. Asking Witnesses About Trump, U.S. v. Nixon, Cassidy Hutchinson kept working for Donald Trump for 9 weeks, Jones video, Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)


