

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

Jan 8, 2021 • 1h 7min
OA454: GEORGIA!!! (oh and a fascist coup)
We are SO happy about the election results in Georgia that not even that fascist scum who invaded our nation's capitol can keep us down! Today Andrew gives us a refresher on the 25th Amendment, we also discuss the timing of the Senate seats and when they take effect. On the treason side of things, the Gohmert lawsuit was dismissed. Then we gush about the Georgia news and share some tear-jerking stories of how our listeners came through in a huge way for Democracy! Links: Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) publicly called for 25th, OLC memo 1985

Jan 7, 2021 • 1h 23min
Sedition Special with Andrew Torrez and Allison Gill
This has been a truly disgusting day in American history and we felt the need to do an emergency live stream special. Here's the audio!

Jan 5, 2021 • 1h 4min
OA453: Treason's Greetings
Nearly a dozen Republican Senators including Hawley and Cruz are still planning on trying to overthrow the results of the election. The exact same election results that, you know, elected many of them. Andrew gives us the quick breakdown of that and explains why it isn't going to work. We also discuss comparisons to 2004 and 2016. Our main segment is a classic OA Signature Deep-Dive (tm) on litigation hold letters, inspired by the very aggressive one sent by Dominion to star Giuliani witness Melissa Carrone. As much as she may deserve scorn, Andrew argues that Dominion is perhaps crossing a line with this letter. Find out why! Links: 3 US Code § 15 - Counting electoral votes in Congress, 2004 Electoral College Results, Democrats challenge Ohio electoral votes - Jan 6, 2005, Dominion lawyers sent this BRUTAL letter to Mellissa Carrone

Jan 1, 2021 • 1h 11min
OA452: Another "Expert" Witness Unmasked; Bernie's Filibuster Explained
Tons of info in today's New Year's show! First we take a look at Trump's horrendously corrupt pardons, focusing on his attempt to pardon Paul Manafort's money back to him! Then we give you the breakdown on the latest Sidney Powell "expert" to be unmasked. Hope you're sitting down... she's NOT qualified in any way. Finally we talk about what's going on with the COVID relief bill and the National Defense Authorization Act. Far left publications have been critical of Senate Democrats, but Andrew explains why this is completely bad faith. Links: Legal Eagle The Political Depravity of Unjust Pardons, Manafort Pardon, Ex parte Garland 71 U.S. 333 (1866), Terpsichore Affidavit, WaPo Sidney Powell secret witness is Terpsichore Maras-Lindeman, her prior fraud, Veto Override Procedure in the House and Senate, Ohio Senator Brown Joins Sanders in Delaying Senate Holiday Over $2K Stimulus Checks

Dec 29, 2020 • 1h 4min
OA451: Section 230 and Tulsi's Transphobia
Today's show involves two bills that Tulsi has introduced... BUT NOT BOTHERED TO WRITE. For real. They are entirely for vice-signaling purposes and contain no substance. However, Andrew is here to give us a deep dive on what the implications and background are. One involves Section 230 (which Andrew has been dying to tell us about!) and the other is about trans-women and sports. It's... no good. We contrast Tulsi's garbage with an important trans-rights decision. So, it's a good news ending! Links: 47 U.S. Code § 230, Reps. Gabbard & Gosar Introduce ‘Break Up Big Tech’ Bill, Tulsi's Bill H.R.8922 has no text, Reps. Gabbard and Mullin Introduce Bill to Ensure Title IX Protections for Women and Girls in Sports, H.R.8932 also has no text.

Dec 27, 2020 • 1h 1min
Bonus: Andrew and AG QnA!
Andrew and AG from Mueller She Wrote teamed up for a QnA to test a new platform and we thought it would be fun to share here! Note: because Thomas wasn't involved, the audio quality is terrible. Yes this is Thomas typing this. But, it's workable and who doesn't love listening to Andrew and AG! They discuss Trump's corrupt pardons, the NAACP suing Trump for violating the Ku Klux Klan Act, and more!

Dec 25, 2020 • 1h 8min
OA450: A Christmas Deep-Dive into the COVID Bill
HO HO HOOOOOOOOOrribly inadequate stimulus checks! The omnibus spending bill is still in limbo as a result of Trump's veto, but Andrew still has the deep dive on what's in this 5600 page monstrosity! It's not great, but there are reasons to be positive on the improvements made over the last bill. Also Andrew tells us what's going on with the "Red Slime" lawsuits against some Fox News personalities who spread misinformation about voting machines. Links: Our amazing fundraiser!, new bill, house amendment to the bill, Red Slime lawsuit filed in CO, The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media

Dec 21, 2020 • 1h 26min
OA449: OA vs. Randall Eliason, Part 2!
Recently, friend of the show Randall Eliason published an opinion piece for the Washington Post that got a ton of pushback. We voiced our strong disagreement to it on OA443: The (Terrible) Case Against Indicting Trump. We're very pleased to have Randall on the show to have a lively debate on the topic! Make sure to listen to part 1 if you haven't heard it yet! Appearances Andrew did QnA on my new game channel, check it out here! -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Subscribe to the YouTube Channel and share our videos! -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!

Dec 18, 2020 • 58min
OA448: Secret Expert Witness "Spyder" is Dude Named Josh
COME WATCH OUR LIVESTREAM TO "GRAB 'EM BY THE GAVEL" AND TAKE BACK THE SENATE! Sunday at 4pm eastern! Donate here! In what will surprise no one who listens to this show, Sidney Powell's double secret expert military intelligence witness on election theft is.... a dude named Josh who is actually none of those things. Andrew takes us through the latest from the top notch legal team trying to overturn the election, and how it differs from actual lawsuits filed in Georgia for good reasons. Links: Spyder affidavits, FRE rule 702, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993), WaPo: Sidney Powell’s secret ‘military intelligence expert,’ key to fraud claims in election lawsuits, never worked in military intelligence, real law suits: Plaintiff, v. MIKE KAPLAN, SU20CV0594, 20-CV-003112, 2020V123366K, Calendar law: Georgia Code Title 21. Elections § 21-2-385, § 21-2-14

Dec 14, 2020 • 1h 14min
OA447: OA vs. Randall Eliason on Indicting Trump
Recently, friend of the show Randall Eliason published an opinion piece for the Washington Post that got a ton of pushback. We voiced our strong disagreement to it on OA443: The (Terrible) Case Against Indicting Trump. We're very pleased to have Randall on the show to have a lively debate on the topic! We went so long that there is a part 2 airing next week! Make sure to become a patron and gain access to part 2 very early!


