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WOUB Public Media

Ever found yourself lost in legal jargon? Fear not! Our mission is to decode complex legal concepts into everyday language, making them accessible to all. Meet your hosts, the dynamic duo known as the Judicial Twins! Retired judge Tom Hodson brings over 50 years of legal expertise as a trial judge, defense attorney, and former Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States. Retired judge Gayle William-Byers, with more than two decades of public service as a prosecutor and judge, is now

government politics

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61:14

Early Voting Divide: Trump Rejects It — Republicans...

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2025/10/30

As Election Day 2025 is upon us, President Donald Trump is still calling for the elimination of mail-in ballots and early voting. He wants to limit voting to same-day, in-person voting only.However, his opinion is contrary to the official position of the Republican Party. Instead, party officials having been trying to get Republicans to embrace early forms of voting. As early as August, the President was threatening to issue an Executive Order eliminating early voting claiming it is “rigged.”

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64:16

Judges Clash with DOJ Over ‘End-Run’ Tactics in D.C....

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2025/10/14

As a result of an aggressive law enforcement presence in Washington DC, over the past month, federal grand juries have refused to indict almost a dozen cases presented by the Department of Justice (DOJ).They have found that the cases lack probable cause to bring indictments. So, the DOJ lawyers have attempted a back door approach by taking rejected cases to a local grand jury to get indictments. However, Judge Zia Faruqui, a federal magistrate judge, has refused to accept the new indictments saying

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59:53

Civil Justice on Hold: Why America’s Lawsuits Move at...

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2025/09/18

Why does it take so long to resolve civil cases in both federal and state courts?Even though approximately 95 to 97 percent of civil cases settle before trial, they still take a long time to get to that point of agreement. The average federal civil case takes 2 years and 7 months before trial. In state courts the average time before trial is two years, with the time extending even longer for complex cases. One of the reasons for long delays is the complicated nature of many of the lawsuits and the

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62:40

Cashless Bail Explained: How Trump’s Push to End It...

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2025/08/28

President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order trying to eliminate cashless bail in Washington D.C. and in other parts of the country with alleged high crime rates.However, many states have had a cashless bail option that has worked well over decades. States set their own criteria for what judges may consider in ordering a bond and what kind of bail may be set by a court. There are significant questions of whether Trump has the power to do so since bonds are determined by individual

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62:50

Ghislaine Maxwell, Immunity Games, and Trump’s DOJ:...

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2025/08/05

As President Donald Trump fends off critics of his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking of minors’ case, new attention is swirling around Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted as a conspirator in 2022.She has been interrogated for a day and a half by Trump’s former defense attorney and now Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. She has been subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee. She has filed a sudden appeal of her conviction

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62:53

Trump’s Pick for the Federal Bench? Emil Bove’s...

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2025/07/21

President Donald Trump has asked Senate leadership to forego the Senate’s traditional August recess and “long weekends” to push through a series of his appointments to key federal positions.One such nomination that is hanging in the balance is the appointment of ultra controversial Trump loyalist Emil Bove to a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. That court spawned conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Bove’s nomination highlights the ongoing battle between Trump’s administration

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63:27

Can a Fertilized Egg Overrule the Ohio Constitution?

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2025/07/11

“Next Witness…Please” examines the bill that could turn abortion into homicide—and voters into bystanders.You might have thought that abortion rights were safe in Ohio after the Ohio Reproductive Freedom amendment to the Ohio Constitution was passed by 57 percent of the vote in 2023. But think again. In mid-June, House Bill 370, the Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act was introduced in the Ohio General Assembly. Its intent is to “entirely abolish abortion in this state.” It does so by establishing

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69:34

Karen Read Walks Free: The Verdict, the Fallout, and...

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2025/06/26

After two trials and months of gripping testimony, a Massachusetts jury has acquitted Karen Read of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.In a case that drew national attention—fueled in part by a Netflix documentary—Read was found guilty only of driving under the influence. Her sentence: one year of probation. Prosecutors argued that after a night of heavy drinking, Read struck O’Keefe with the rear of her SUV outside a friend’s

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66:08

When Science Gets Silenced: The Dismantling of...

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2025/06/17

For decades, federal health regulation has been a cornerstone of America’s public well-being.Agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have long been trusted to uphold safety standards, push the boundaries of science, conduct vital research, and operate with transparency. But that trust is now under strain. On this week’s episode of Next Witness…Please,

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64:15

Beyond the Headlines: Breaking Down the Sean ‘Diddy”...

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2025/06/10

Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is on trial in federal court in New York, facing two sex trafficking charges, two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for sex work, and one count of racketeering conspiracy.Testimony began May 12, with witnesses detailing wild, days-long sex parties dubbed “Freak Offs.” These allegedly took place in multiple states and involved Combs’ girlfriends, escorts, and others. Sex trafficking charges hinge on whether force, fraud, or coercion was used to

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62:18

Justice on the Brink: When Government Lawyers Lie and...

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2025/05/30

Over the last five years, we have witnessed an uptick in attorneys being disciplined for lying to courts in addition to filing frivolous lawsuits. Some have even faced criminal chargesNow, lying to the court seems to be the new normal for some U.S. Justice Department attorneys. Is this something that is expected by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi or something that should be disciplined by the courts and bar associations? Over the election hubbub of 2020, several noted

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63:08

Behind the Briefcase: How America’s Top Lawyers...

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2025/05/19

Defending white-collar crime defendants is more than just going to trial and winning. It is far more complex and complicated.Defending is really a combination of three skills that law firms can offer to keep corporations and corporate executives safe, according to John R. Mitchell, a partner in the Taft law firm and one of the nation’s top white-collar criminal defense attorneys. First, law firms, that specialize in defending white-collar crime, offer their clients “compliance” advice. They make

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63:10

From First Word to Final Say : The power of opening...

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2025/05/13

As the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial opens this week in New York and other trials like the murder trial of Karen Read continue outside Boston, it is vital to understand the importance of opening statements and closing arguments in a trial.Opening statements are stage-setters for what evidence the jury will receive during the trial. Some experts call them roadmaps to follow while evidence is being presented. Some say they are like movie trailers, letting the jury know what to expect as the trial

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66:28

Gavel vs. Badge: FBI Arrests Judge, Ignites Legal...

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2025/05/05

The federal government has started arresting state trial judges who are not cooperating in the federal government’s roundup of alleged undocumented immigrants in state courthouses.Is this a message from federal agents that no one is above the law or are these actions an assault on the judiciary? That is the question currently being debated by legal scholars. Recently, Wisconsin state trial judge, Hannah Dugan, was arrested by the FBI for obstruction or impeding federal immigration officers and

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65:02

The Power Clash: Courts vs. Trump’s Executive Defiance

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2025/04/16

Court orders are piling up against President Donald Trump and his Executive Orders and the administration seems to be setting a course of not following them. What happens next?Judges don’t like people not following their orders and there are many options available to judges if they feel a party is flaunting non-compliance. If a judge feels her/his order is legitimately confusing or vague, the judge may alter the original order to clarify it for the parties or the judge may also impose a stricter

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70:02

Murder, Mistrial & Media Frenzy: Inside the...

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2025/04/07

The second murder trial of defendant Karen Read is underway just outside Boston and this case has taken on national prominence.Read, 45, is accused, after a night of drinking with friends, of hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe with her SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snow blizzard on the front lawn of another police officer. The two were allegedly arguing. She is charged with second degree murder, leaving the scene of an accident and manslaughter while

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66:23

Civil vs. Criminal Law: Untangling the Legal Battles

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2025/03/31

With mountains of litigation piling up against President Donald Trump’s many Executive Orders, it is important for the average citizen to understand the differences between civil law and criminal law.A civil case is when one entity brings a legal action against another entity to correct some alleged wrongdoing. The corrective action may be an injunction to stop something from happening or to make something happen or it may be a request for money damages to compensate the plaintiff for damages

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62:58

Trump v. Congress: Who has the power of the purse?

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2025/03/19

The Trump Administration is setting out on a constitutional collision course by impounding funds that Congress has already appropriated.The question will be: Does the president have the power to halt, delay or not spend money that Congress has appropriated for specific projects or agencies? Article 1 Sec. 9 Clause 7 gives Congress the power of the purse. Congress has the power to appropriate money. Presidents are to carry out the will of Congress regarding spending. For clarification, Congress

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57:40

Criminal Law 101: Understanding the Criminal Justice...

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2025/03/07

It’s time for Criminal Law 101, a primer on how criminal law works within our American judicial system.This episode of Next Witness…Please translates some of the intricacies of the criminal law process in terms that the average listener can understand. We must start with the premise that there is a major difference between what may be considered immoral and what is criminal. An act is not criminal unless a legislative body (Congress, state legislature, or city council) decides it is. Legislative

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60:07

The Fight for a Third Trump Term: Can It Really Happen?

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2025/02/24

Just a month into Donald Trump’s second term as president, some of his supporters are already pushing a constitutional amendment to allow him a third term in office.Even Trump, himself, is talking about the possibility of a third term being mandated by his MAGA supporters. The day after Trump’s inauguration, Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Trump to run and be elected for a third term. Currently, the 22nd

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