Advisory Opinions

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah dive back into vaccine mandates, as the CMS mandate for health care workers and the OSHA guidelines for private businesses head to the Supreme Court. Then it’s First Amendment and compelled speech time at the 5th circuit with a student from Sarah’s rival high school from back in her football orchestra days. This case has it all: free speech, communists, and Bruce Springsteen. It's also a conversation about the similarities— and differences—with one of David’s long-time favorite cases: West Virginia v. Barnette. Show Notes:-6th Circuit upholds vaccine mandate-Reason: “Biden Administration Imposes Vaccine Mandate on Health Care Facilities that Participate in Medicare or Medicaid”-Reason: “Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate Reaches the Supreme Court”-Oliver v. Arnold-Born in the U.S.A. lyrics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, Sarah and David discuss the Supreme Court's decision not to enjoin the New York vaccine mandate for health care workers and focus on a very interesting, super-intriguing dissent. Then, they have a conversation with Virginia Solicitor General Michelle Kallen about the Equal Rights Amendment, its ratification by Virginia, and whether the ERA is now part of the Constitution. Finally, with the help of a listener, they finally realize that Sarah's name is a sentence. Show Notes:-Dr. A v. Hochul-Virginia v. Ferriero Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you woke up this morning thinking about Jussie Smollett, the Texas abortion law, California gun rights, and California vaccine mandates, then this is the podcast for you. David and Sarah dive into a legal issue that might overturn Smollet’s conviction, analyze the Supreme Court’s decision to permit a very narrow facial challenge to S.B. 8, discuss Gavin Newsom’s swing-and-miss, and wrap up the main portion of the pod with a discussion of vaccine mandates in San Diego schools. Show Notes:-Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson-9th Circuit vaccine mandate ruling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David and Sarah have another action packed pod. First, the US Solicitor General weighs in on whether the Court should hear the case about whether Harvard’s admission policy violates race discrimination laws. Then they talk about a case that was argued this week at the Court that looked at (once again) whether states could refuse to allow voucher money to go to religious schools. Then the 9th Circuit had some feisty dissenting opinions when it upheld California’s ban on high capacity magazines for guns. And lastly, should judges be able to pick their replacements? Show Notes:-Wall Street Journal: “Federal Courts Aren’t Royal Ones”-New Yorker: “On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss charges in Michigan against a school shooter's parents, the possible demise of a key Supreme Court precedent (not Roe), and an intriguing new appeal to the Supreme Court. At the end of the podcast, Sarah answers her critics. Does she get as spicy as Alito? Show Notes:-Timeline of Michigan school shooting-NPR: “Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect are charged with involuntary manslaughter”-Sue and Settle report-New York Times: “What Does the U.S. Owe Separated Families? A Political Quandary Deepens”-Washington Post: “40 acres and a mule: How the first reparations for slavery ended in betrayal” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an almost-all-Dobbs podcast, as David and Sarah discuss the oral argument that surprised the nation. Could Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey actually fall? David and Sarah talk about the court's decision-making process from here and the history of judge-flipping post-argument, and they identify the key moments in yesterday's argument. Also, they give their listeners a vital challenge--and if they can meet that challenge, then Advisory Opinions will be the indisputable flagship of the Dispatch podcast fleet. Listen to learn what the challenge is. Show Notes:-Dobbs v. Jackson oral argument transcript-Ginsburg’s remarks on Roe-David in The Atlantic: “How Roe Undermined Itself”-Washington Post: “Justice Kennedy’s Flip” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discusses the puzzling case of Project Veritas and prior restraint on the press. Explores self-defense in the context of a troubling Texas shooting. Mentions legal cases, historical context, and explores the tension between property rights and armed citizens during looting incidents.

On today’s episode, David and Sarah take a deep dive into the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict with Damon Preston, Kentucky's Public Advocate and a criminal defense attorney with almost 30 years of experience. They discuss self defense law, the difference between the Rittenhouse trial and the trial of Ahmaud Arbery's killer, and the ways in which the criminal justice system could be reasonably reformed. Also, David exults in Mississippi's stinging defeat at the Supreme Court as the court turned back the Magnolia State's greedy attempt to keep Tennessee from drinking water from its own wells. Show Notes:-Mississippi v. Tennessee-French Press: “Kyle Rittenhouse, Open Carry, and the Breaking of Self-Defense Law”-David in The Atlantic: “Kyle Rittenhouse’s Acquittal Does Not Make Him a Hero” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, David and Sarah bring Neil Weare, president and founder of Equally American, on the pod to teach us interesting things about the Constitution and history, with an emphasis on the unique history of American territories. And then Sarah and David dive into the controversies at Yale Law School and try to answer the question, "What the heck is going on?" Show Notes:-French Press: “An Airing of Grievances Against Diversity Training”-Reuters: “Yale Law students 'blackballed' for refusing to lie about professor, lawsuit says"-Reason: “More Shenanigans at Yale Law School”-David Lat: “The Newest Insanity Out Of Yale Law School”-David Lat: “Yale Law School And the Federalist Society: Caught In A Bad Romance?”-David Lat: “Doe v. Gerken: A Lawsuit Against Yale Law” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah dive into vaccine mandates, religious exemptions, and the Civil War. They analyze a recent court ruling blocking the Biden OSHA mandate, and then discuss what a “sincerely held religious belief” is in the eyes of the law. Finally, they conclude with a discussion of the Constitution, Abraham Lincoln, and whether he was an authoritarian who “broke” the Constitution before it was rebuilt by the Civil War amendments. Show Notes: -5th Circuit extends stay of OSHA vaccine mandate -Noah Feldman: “This Is the Story of How Lincoln Broke the U.S. Constitution” -New York Times review of Feldman’s “The Broken Constitution” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices