Advisory Opinions

It’s a special edition of Advisory Opinions as David and Sarah talk to Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The discussion ranges far and wide but includes a focus on a subject we don’t talk enough about: state constitutional law. Show Notes:-“51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law” by Judge Jeffrey Sutton-“Who Decides?: States as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation” by Judge Jeffrey Sutton-Revisionist History: “The Tortoise and the Hare” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah spend serious time talking about social media censorship, modern "public squares," and the ability of Texas and Florida to moderate Twitter and Facebook. They also dive into the legality of picketing at home, answer listener questions, and start a conversation about abortion and philosophy that they'll finish live and in-person in Miami on Monday. Show Notes:-Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck-Washington Post: “Yes, experts say protests at SCOTUS justices’ homes appear to be illegal” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David talk more about the leaked draft opinion in Dobbs, but this time with a First Amendment twist. Activists have encouraged protesters to demonstrate outside the homes of the conservative Supreme Court justices. Does it violate the First Amendment to ban protests outside a justice’s home? Is it dangerous and foolish even if it’s lawful? Also, they track the political fallout and discuss three very different polls. Each of them is interesting. One of them is an outlier. Show Notes:-Washington Post: “How the future of Roe is testing Roberts on the Supreme Court”-Reason: “Washington Post Reports On More SCOTUS Leaks”-Pew: “America’s Abortion Quandary” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah spend more time on the leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito on Dobbs and ask the question: If Alito's opinion holds, what does that mean for gay marriage? They also discuss last week's Supreme Court ruling that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by refusing to fly a Christian group’s flag and then discuss "After School Satan" more than any podcast in human history. They finish with a discussion of a great concurrence in an infuriating case. Show Notes:-G-File: “Why Joe Biden Hates Saying the A-Word”-Sarah in Politico: “Abortion Might Not Be the Wedge Issue It Used to Be”-David in The Atlantic: “What Alito Got Right”-Shurtleff v. Boston-Wearry v. Foster Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an emergency podcast, David and Sarah discuss the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s abortion opinion. Why did someone leak it? What are the ramifications for the Supreme Court? What should we make of Alito's opinion? What are the political consequences? All that and more in an unprecedented emergency pod for an unprecedented Supreme Court leak. Show Notes:-Politico: “Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows”-TMD: “Supreme Court Reportedly Poised to Overturn Roe v. Wade” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah talk about the Supreme Court as they discuss the fate of Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols, talk about yet another win for the First Amendment, and revisit Coach Kennedy's prayers. Then they move on to analyze one of the wildest and strangest qualified immunity cases yet and the prospects of Florida's social media censorship bill. Sarah ends with a potpourri of topics, including tales from the White House Correspondents Association dinner. Show Notes:-Shurtleff v. Boston-Biden v. Texas-David in The Atlantic: “Let Coach Kennedy Pray”-Supreme Court bingo-SCOTUSblog: “In sequel to McGirt, justices will again review scope of state prosecutorial power in Indian country”-Washington Post: “The suspect told police ‘give me a lawyer dog.’ The court says he wasn’t asking for a lawyer.”-Eleventh Circuit oral arguments recordings Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a glorious podcast today as David and Sarah talk about a praying football coach, Miranda rights, and the hottest Supreme Court justices. They answer a key constitutional question: how undead is the Lemon Test? Show Notes:-SCOTUSblog: “Can you sue the police for Miranda violations?”-Kennedy v. Bremerton School District-PBS: “Chief Justice Roberts’ emotional tribute to retiring Justice Breyer”-Hottest Supreme Court justices? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and David talk about the First Amendment, 14th Amendment, Puerto Rico, and progressive legal philosophy. They start with a big Supreme Court case that makes David fall asleep, move on to Clarence Thomas' musings, and then finish with an enlightening and interesting conversation with Steve Vladeck, law professor at the University of Texas, about the shadow docket, Kagan originalism, and much, much more. Oh, and David ends with a movie recommendation. Since his pop culture recommendations are infallible, you'll want to listen to the end. Show Notes:-City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC-Hill v. Colorado-United States v. Vaello Madero-New York Times: “Roberts Has Lost Control of the Supreme Court”-The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent trailer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah dive into the nationwide injunction ending the Biden administration's travel mask mandate, with Sarah adopting a "nope, yep, yep" approach to the decision and David countering with a "nope, yep, nope." They also discuss Gov. Ron DeSantis and the First Amendment and conclude with a rather amusing example of Uber getting exactly what it asked for… and not liking it at all. Show Notes:-Decision that struck down the federal mask mandate-David Latt: “Musings On Mizelle's Mask-Mandate Magnum Opus”-Ilya Somin: “Federal Court Rules Against CDC Transportation Mask Mandate”-Andrew McCarthy: “What’s Wrong and What’s Right about Judge Mizelle’s Mask-Mandate Decision”-O'Hare Truck Service, Inc. v. City of Northlake, 518 U.S. 712-Bloomberg: “Trump Lawyer Sticks Uber With $91 Million Arbitration Bill for 'Reverse Bias' Claims” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a glorious pod about which songs will be sung and tales will be told, Sarah and David talk about our puzzling and arbitrary death penalty, briefly discuss a pronoun case, and then talk about change. Why aren't we the people we were 10 years ago? Finally, they ask and answer the question: Do we need more trial lawyers on the Supreme Court? Show Notes:-Supreme Court order list-Love v. Texas-French Press: “American Racism: We’ve Got So Very Far to Go”-National Review: “How the Supreme Court Became the Province of Cloistered Elites” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices