Advisory Opinions

On today’s episode, Sarah details yet another animal rescue because of course. Then David and Sarah dive into the Electoral Count Act and a mixed-up, messed-up Supreme Court case about pulling books from school libraries. And finally, can Sarah get David to talk about Rep. Madison Cawthorn? Show Notes:-Sarah rescues a hawk-Wall Street Journal: “Congress Sowed the Seeds of Jan. 6 in 1887”-New York Times: “Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.”-Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico by Pico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah respond to all the questions about Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement and replacement. Who are the leading candidates? Why is all the talk about Justice Kamala Harris or Justice Michelle Obama a bunch of rubbish? Do we expect any real change in the philosophical composition of the court? They wind up with a discussion of seditious conspiracy and all the reasons why it's tough to charge anyone with trying to overthrow the government. Show Notes:-Laurence Tribe: “No hiding behind Pence's skirt on the Supreme Court nomination”-Office of Legal Counsel Equal Rights Amendment memo-David in The Atlantic: “Georgia Has a Very Strong Case Against Trump”-DOJ: Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach-Reuters: “Hutaree militia walk from jail after charges dismissed”-18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason-18 U.S. Code Chapter 73 - Obstruction of Justice-18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah celebrate 200 episodes with a discussion of two key college admissions cases the Supreme Court took up. Plus, they preview Sarah Palin’s defamation trial, and look at a circuit court judge’s unusual opinion. Show Notes:-Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College-CNN: “Why the Sarah Palin v. New York Times trial will be an 'excruciating experience' for the paper”-Judge VanDyke’s Ninth Circuit opinion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah break down "Maskgate," the claim that Justice Neil Gorsuch refused to show basic courtesy to Justice Sonia Sotomayor by refusing to wear a mask and find the claims wanting. They ask, "When a report seems to fall apart, what should a reporter do?" They also talk about how Sarah is setting Supreme Court precedents, wonder if a Satanist flag will soon fly over Boston, and discuss for just a few seconds Ted Cruz's very, very boring case at the Supreme Court. They close, however, with a dash of English cultural history that you won't want to miss. Show Notes:-Nina Totenberg’s mask story at NPR-Statement from Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch-Statement from Chief Justice Roberts-Trump v. Thompson-Advisory Opinions: “January 6 and Executive Privilege”-Shurtleff v. Boston oral argument transcript-Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate oral argument transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah take a quick look at an intriguing cert grant at the Supreme Court and then dive into a fascinating discussion about amending the Constitution with University of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson. He thinks the Constitution has some structural problems, and David and Sarah walk through his critiques. By the end, they ask, is there any constitutional reform that can save us if we’re determined to be dysfunctional? Show Notes:-Sarah in Politico: “It’s Time to Amend the Constitution”-Levinson: “The Iron Cage of Veneration”-Levinson explains The Democracy Constitution project-Democracy: “A New Constitution for The United States”-Levinson: “The Price of an Unchanging Constitution” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an emergency podcast! (Well, at least in part). David and Sarah recorded a mailbag podcast Thursday morning, complete with fretting about when the Supreme Court would rule in the vaccine mandate cases. Then, SCOTUS ruled! So this podcast keeps the mailbag and cuts the fretting. Instead David and Sarah spend the first half walking through the vaccine opinions. It's exactly the kind of conversation that everyone loves, a deep discussion of administrative law. Show Notes:-NFIB v. OSHA-Biden v. Missouri Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah do a deep, deep dive into the vaccine mandate oral arguments at the Supreme Court. Sarah walks us through the HOP's (husband of the pod) arguments, and she and David decide the vital question of which basketball analogy to use to describe the likely outcome. They also take a quick look at the health care worker mandate and make their predictions. Show Notes:-Biden v. Missouri oral argument-Nat. Fed'n of Indep. Bus. v. Dept. of Labor oral argument-Wall Street Journal article with sketch of Scott-SCOTUSblog: “Court seems poised to block vaccine-or-test policy for workplaces but may allow vaccine mandate for health care workers”-Reason: “Sloppy Arguments Over COVID Mandates at SCOTUS” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode, David and Sarah start with a husband-of-the-pod update, debate a federal district court judge’s ruling temporarily granting more than two dozen Navy SEALs a religious exemption from the Navy’s COVID vaccine mandate, and spend the lion’s share of their time talking about the infernal Electoral Count Act and saving America from electoral chaos. Show Notes:-U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.-French Press: “Stop Screwing Around and Reform the Electoral Count Act”-Reason: “How Justices Scalia, Sotomayor, and Breyer Inscribed Books to RBG” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah talk about everything from COVID, to goat rescues, to the Supreme Court, to TikTok in this wide-ranging first pod of 2022. Do you wonder how you rescue a goat? Why is John Roberts the most popular federal official in the land? Is it lawful to discriminate on the basis of race in medical treatment? What's it like to live with a person who's set to argue the biggest SCOTUS case of the new year? Are kids on TikTok fair game for the media? If these are your questions, this podcast has the answers. Show Notes:-NY State Department of Health eligibility for Paxlovid or Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On our last podcast of the year, Sarah takes you to the 2021 National Lawyers Convention at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., and introduces you to a dozen judges from all levels of the judiciary. You get a little law, singing, bourbon and bullets, and some important advice for law students. Did you expect David and Sarah to end the year any other way? Show Notes:-Give someone a Dispatch subscription this Christmas-"We'll Be Back" by Judge Elrod and Judge Eskridge-Read David in The French Press-Read Sarah in The Sweep Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices