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PODCAST

Advisory Opinions

Advisory Opinions is a legal podcast by The Dispatch. Hosts David French and Sarah Isgur meet twice a week to talk about the law, the courts, their collision with politics, and why it all matters.

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All Episodes

62:16

Revisiting 3-3-3

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/09/12

Adam Feldman of Empirical SCOTUSand Optimized Legal Consulting joins Sarah and David to discuss the concept of a 3-3-3 Supreme Court and the challenges of measuring ideology. The Agenda: —The role of Chief Justice John Roberts —Similarities and differences between political and judicial conservatism —The jurisprudence of Justice Amy Comey Barrett —The prevalence of unanimous decisions Show Notes: —Adam Liptak's writeup in the New York Times —Feldman’s 2023 stat review Advisory Opinions is a

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73:35

Prosecuting the Parent of a School Shooter

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/09/10

Sarah and David discuss the recent school shooting in Georgia, which is raising questions about parental responsibility and the limits of legal liability.The Agenda: —Georgia school shooting —6th Circuit punts campaign finance question to Supreme Court —Body cam footage hasn't done everything we wanted it to —Debating the scope of the Second Amendment Show Notes: —Buckley v. Valeo —McConnell v. FEC —Cruz v. FEC Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering

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67:55

Free Speech vs. the Algorithm

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/09/05

Sarah details life under a wicked curse and David defends his position in The Dispatch's fantasy football league. Oh, and today's legal theme for the podcast is the First Amendment.The Agenda: —Role of public defenders —Criminal justice reform —Horrific TikTok algorithms and Section 230 —Gray areas of Section 230 —The back and forth with Sarah Palin's defamation case —Should the dues from the Oregon Bar Association go toward anti-Trump op-eds? Show Notes: —Last Tuesday's Advisory

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80:56

Unity Is Dead, Long Live the Union

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/29

Sarah and David break down the latest update in Jack Smith’s January 6 case against Donald Trump before speaking with Yuval Levin about his book, American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation―and Could Again.The Agenda: —Jack Smith’s superseding indictment —Not thinking alike but acting together —Federalist No. 10 —Underestimating how unified we are —Proceduralism is not amoral —Restringing narrow majorities —Congress, do your job —The federalism solution —Supreme Court

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76:02

A Christian Case for Criminal Justice Reform

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/27

Sarah and David catch up on the latest case in Second Amendment jurisprudence before talking with Matt Martens about his new book, Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal. \The Agenda: —Matt’s faith —The prosecutor-to-defense-attorney pipeline —The plea bargaining system —The issues with eye-witness testimony —Brady violations —Should prosecutors have absolute immunity? —Racial discrimination in the justice system —Defending people we don’t like Show Notes: —United States v

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67:55

Fixing the Supreme Court

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/22

David Lat joins Sarah and David to break down recent Supreme Court trends and discuss Lat’s legal fiction novel, Supreme Ambitions.The Agenda: —Is the shadow docket problem solved? —Supreme Court approval rating —Stabilizing the Supreme Court —Lat’s pick for most interesting justice —Who will win the text, history, and tradition fight? —Advice for law students —Lat’s book, Supreme Ambitions —Stranger than legal fiction —Male authors writing female protagonists —Lat’s favorite legal writing —The

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73:36

Would You Like a Musket to Go With Your Latte?

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/20

Writing with quill pens, quartering Secret Service agents, and shooting 18th-century guns. A.J. Jacobs joins Sarah and David to discuss his book, It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family, and his experience living by the Constitution. But first, this podcast can’t escape a little bit of legal news, including a shocking decision by the Supreme Court.The Agenda:—SCOTUS blocks Biden’s Title IX Rule —Focusing on culture war, not politics —“Curtilage” and a 9th Circuit ruling —Living

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95:23

Bob Bauer Still Thinks Robert Hur Was Wrong

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/15

Former White House counsel Bob Bauer joins Sarah Isgur and David French to talk about his new book, The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics Without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis. They also discuss the role of a presidential attorney, whether Special Counsel Robert Hur crossed a line by reporting on President Joe Biden's cognitive decline, and what it was like to prep the president for his fateful debate.The Agenda: —The impact of undergraduate majors on job prospects after law school —Geofencing

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94:19

How to Disagree

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/13

In this three-guest special episode (wait, does David count as one? Are we still doing that?), Noah Phillips, former Federal Trade Commission commissioner and co-chair of the antitrust practice at Cravath, joins Sarah and David to discuss the reality of antitrust law. Then, John Inazu, the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis, joins to discuss his book Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and

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81:01

Should Academic Freedom Be a Constitutional Right?

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/06

Sarah and David kick off the Advisory Opinions August book series and invite Professor Keith Whittington on the pod to discuss his new book You Can't Teach That!: The Battle over University Classrooms. But first the two dig into David’s conversation with Justice Neil Gorsuch.The Agenda: —Justice Gorsuch: Go to law school. —Defining originalism —The Supreme Court children’s book —The history of academic freedom —The government speech doctrine —Balancing academic freedom with job

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72:40

If You Really Want Judicial Ethics Reform…

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/08/01

Justice Kagan makes remarks to the 9th Circuit and President Biden proposes SCOTUS reforms. The usual slow-moving summer legal news drag is disrupted by a number interesting cases and eye-raising comments.On the docket: —To stand or not to stand at a desk —Justice Kagan says Supreme Court reforms are "fair" —The Supreme Court’s caseload —Are justices friendly? —President Biden’s proposed reforms —Leonard Leo says "Dems are destroying a court they don't agree with" —Removing Chevron deference —Title

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67:02

Progressivism and Eugenics in the Court of Justice...

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/30

Sarah and David welcome special guest Anthony Sanders, director of the Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice, to eviscerate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Plus: David’s rant on Presumed Innocent.The Agenda: —Judicial engagement —Social Darwinism and “putting to death the inadequate” —Progressive forgiveness for progressives —First Amendment —Civil rights and judicial abdications —Holmes’ defense of sterilization —The difference between judicial progressives, liberals, and

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58:47

Can Kamala Take the Money … Legally?

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/25

Sarah and David are joined by Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller, who teaches “Presidential Nominations in a Time of Uncertainty,” to discuss the legality of swapping out (presumptive) party nominees, the potential consequences of doing so, and the complexity of state election laws at-large.The Agenda: —Can Kamala Harris inherit Joe Biden’s PAC money? —Will Republicans successfully keep Kamala off the ballot? —What’s up with Ohio? —Could Donald Trump replace J.D. Vance? —What does “natural-born

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74:06

Lobotomizing the DOJ

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/18

Sarah and David answer listener emails, covering everything from judicial federalism, to the Supreme Court’s upcoming tech term, to potential SCOTUS reforms.The Agenda: —Constitutionality of the special counsel —The Nixon precedent —Independent judgment of lower courts —Predictability and the rule of law —The Texas pornography case: children’s rights or adult’s rights? —Injunctions as extraordinary relief —Biden’s proposed SCOTUS reforms —The grossness of ethics violations Show Notes: —Atul

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40:08

INDICTMENT WATCH: Judge Cannon's Bonkers-Adjacent...

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/16

Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed on Monday the charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith against former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents. So, um, what just happened? Sarah Isgur and special guest David French discuss.The Agenda: -Why Judge Cannon thinks Jack Smith's position is illegal. -Rating the decision, from solid law to bonkerstown. -What will the DOJ do now? -Trump's Law of Felicitous Circumstances. -When will Adaam finally let the Grizzlies into his heart? Learn

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62:18

The Assassination Attempt

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/15

Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David French discuss the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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75:16

‘Who Has the Pen?’

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/12

Could Joe Biden sue a faithless delegate? Would Brown v. Board exist if a supermajority had opposed integration? Is the next generation of lawyers doomed? In a special live recording at the American Enterprise Institute, Sarah and David contemplate a series of worst-case hypotheticals and answer audience questions. Bonus: originalist David French (somewhat) defends the Warren Court.Agenda: —Bound, free, and faithless DNC delegates —How the 12th Amendment could cause a 13th-hour, three-way race for

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91:40

Is ‘Text, History, and Tradition’ Alive and Well?

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/09

Kannon Shanmugam and his summer associates return to Advisory Opinions to look back on the SCOTUS term and discuss the state of “text, history, and tradition.”The Agenda: —Big themes from this SCOTUS term —Was this the administrative law term? —Should we stop thinking about SCOTUS “terms”? —The health of the First Amendment —“The media now owns Amy Coney Barrett” —Justice Thomas’ dissent in Rahimi —Sarah’s summary of this term —Questions from summer associates Show Notes: —Loper Bright Enterprises

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118:55

Winning Without Winning

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/04

On today’s super-mega-extravagant episode, Sarah and David celebrate America’s birthday by gifting everyone a magnificently long podcast. First on the docket: more analysis of the SCOTUS immunity decision.The Agenda: —Facial challenges in Moody v. NetChoice —Welcome, Father of the Pod —Should prosecutors be totally immune? —No more bad science! —Ongoing debate over Section 230 —Romney: Corporations are people too! —Donald Trump’s Florida and Georgia cases —Is the pod over yet? Nope! —Dred

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66:40

Trump Is ‘Absolutely Immune’ ... Kind Of

Advisory Opinions ·

2024/07/01

Sarah and David break down the Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States.The Agenda: —Unanimous decision on Moody v. NetChoice —SCOTUS stat pack —Three buckets of immunity —Immunity takeaways: yes, no, and maybe —Presidential immunity and accountability —The role of the electorate in holding presidents accountable —Does the Constitution prevent despots and tyrants? Show Notes: —David's NYT op-ed on SCOTUS and the pro-life movement Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital

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147 results

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