Advisory Opinions

Three qualified immunity cases are thoroughly analyzed in a particularly depressing AO episode, but first David and Sarah talk through an injunction on asylum seekers some are calling “Trump-Lite”, plus:-Broken immigration systems-Say it with me folks, “Congress, do your job.”-Too much too soon too fast-Courts not complying with qualified immunity statutes-Does Congress have better things to show rather than Hunter Biden revenge porn?-Advice to prospecting law students-Small town gossip and country songs-Sarah’s victory lap around Hunter Biden plea deal-Be nice to the docketing clerksThis episode is sponsored by FIRE. FIRE's mission is to safeguard and uphold the right of all Americans to freedom of speech. Be a part of the front line of a growing movement by joining the FIRE Update.Show Notes:-Update: AO still has the best listeners-Ilya Somin for Reason, "Supreme Court Rules Red"-David Lat's Original Jurisdiction Substack-One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is NOT the doldrums of this podcast. Sarah and David have prepared a sufficiently full pod starting with Trump's looming federal indictment. Also:-Alabama's creative response to SCOTUS-Did Alabama defy the ruling?-New study of college admissions: being rich might be helpful-Listener questions about the Two Bronze Doors -We'll see you in a few minutes...This episode is sponsored by FIRE. FIRE's mission is to safeguard and uphold the right of all Americans to freedom of speech. Be a part of the front line of a growing movement by joining the FIRE Update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David reach peak AO and fulfill their promise of delivering something stratospherically nerdy. Judge Charles Eskridge for the Southern District of Texas has written a 56-page history of the Supreme Court building... and specifically its 17-foot, 13-ton bronze doors. Judge Eskridge tells the story depicted on the door's eight panels and what it says about our history of ordered liberty.This episode is sponsored by FIRE. FIRE's mission is to safeguard and uphold the right of all Americans to freedom of speech. Be a part of the front line of a growing movement by joining the FIRE Update.Show Notes:-“We’ll Be Back” performed by Judge Eskridge and Judge Elrod-Judge Eskridge’s publications-Where Judge Eskridge’s Bronze Doors Paper will be published Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Tyler, the Shannon C. Turner Professor of Law at Berkeley, joins Sarah and David for post-SCOTUS term talk. They finally give Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. some love, and also:-General jurisdiction and interstate commerce-Graphics in opinions-Habeas Corpus: Is Lincoln the good guy or the bad guy?-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg-Advisory Opinions spinoff?-Amanda Tyler's profile at BerkeleyThis episode is sponsored by FIRE. FIRE's mission is to safeguard and uphold the right of all Americans to freedom of speech. Be a part of the front line of a growing movement by joining the FIRE Update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kannon Shanmugam rejoins Sarah and David for another SCOTUS opinion wrap-up and barbecue showdown for this live taping in front of a lucky audience of summer associates. The trio discuss the implications of SCOTUS cases versus the notoriety of them and:-Sarah and David’s SCOTUS beefs-Sarah’s impasse for longer arguments and more cases-Attire for oral arguments (don’t forget the lucky suspenders)-A review of Judge Jackson’s first term-Barbecue and burger debates-Summer Associate questionsShow Notes:-Matt Levine for Bloomberg Opinion on Twitter/Musk saga Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David catch-up with non-SCOTUS cases starting with...-A multi-million dollar lawsuit involving Musk's Twitter deal-A bold move by a judge blocking state actors and social media workers meeting over protected speech-Tennessee’s latest push in the culture war with a ban on gender-affirming care-A bullied child, a MAGA hat, and the First AmendmentShow Notes:-David French for The Dispatch on convincing versus coercion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode of Advisory Opinions, Sarah follows Judge Alan Norris, a Sixth Circuit judge, on a trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Legal Eagles, a group of Judge Norris' colleagues and law clerks, accompany him on an annual trip to relive the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Advisory Opinions' purposes, the Supreme Court term is over. Sarah and David return to share their end-of-term thoughts and feelings, David's crankiness about the student loan forgiveness commentary, look to the next term and:-Student loan forgiveness is dead-D.O.E. v. Brown-Compelled speech in Colorado-NYT: I Teach at an Elite College. Here’s a Look Inside the Racial Gaming of Admissions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a contentious decision, the Supreme Court shuts down affirmative action in universities... or does it? How impactful, really, is the decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard? It's complicated. After weeks (months? Years?) of anxious anticipation, Sarah and David dig into this term's blockbuster decision:-Is this a big deal?-They justices can't agree about the universe of facts-Harvard's response-The arbitrariness of check boxes-A different kind of affirmative action-Justice Thomas' concurrence (and legacy)-Justice Sotomayor's dissent-...paved with good intentions.-Wonder Bread Alito Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the term rushes to an end, the Supreme Court wades eagerly into a mooted case in order to close the door on the "independent legislature doctrine." But does it matter? David and Sarah disagree. Also:-Nobody expects the Marbury v Madison citations-What counts as threats online? (Or: Is recklessness subjective?)-NYT v Sullivan holds strong-Supreme Court bingo: The Countdown-Supreme (court) ignorance-"You only defend justices Thomas and Alito because they're conservative." Nope.Show Notes:-Marquette Law School Poll-Moore v. Harper-Counterman v. Colorado Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices