OA436: It’s A Runoff!

Biden is all but assured victory, and despite the election not going nearly as well as we’d hoped, there’s still a chance to take the Senate! However, Trump is throwing every terrible legal challenge he’s got at the problem. Andrew breaks down why they’re all incredibly stupid and doomed to fail.

Links: SIO263: Not the Worst Possible Outcome, But Close, Slate – A Large Portion of the Electorate Chose the Sociopath, Georgia Code § 21-2-501, Trump lawsuit Michigan, Trump’s lawsuit Pennsylvania, Trump Lawsuit Georgia, OA25: Could Jill Stein Decide the Presidency? (No.), Wisconsin Statutes § 9.01 (2019) — Recount, Georgia Code § 21-2-495 (2019) – Procedure for recount or recanvass of votes, 2019 Georgia Code: Contested Elections and Primaries.

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Transcript of Bonus: Harris County Update, Good News!

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Hotz v. Hollins Order

Andrew:         Hey everybody, this is Andrew.  We are not gonna have the opportunity to cover [Laughing] all of the late breaking cases as I record this at about 1 am on Tuesday, election day, November the 3rd.  This is also going to be completely unedited for the same reasons.  But I really really wanted to get a quick breakdown out for you guys in Hotze v. Hollins, which is the Harris County, Texas case that you might have seen in the news.  I’m gonna give you a quick recap on what’s happened because a lot of things broke over the weekend and very, very late Monday night.  I think this is highly illustrative of the kinds of tactics that we are seeing the Republican party in desperation trying to put into practice.

Continue reading “Transcript of Bonus: Harris County Update, Good News!”

Bonus: Harris County Update, Good News!

This is an emergency mini-episode in which Andrew breaks down all the events surrounding Hotze v. Hollins, which is the case involving Republican efforts to throw out 127,000 early votes in Harris County, Texas – which has nearly five million people and includes almost all of the city of Houston.  It’s (mostly) good news, and we go through all the appellate stuff, too.  Stay an Optimist Prime today!

Links:

  1. Hotze v. Hollins order by District Court Judge Hanen.
  2. Plaintiff’s request for emergency relief in the 5th Circuit.
  3. News story re: 7 Pennsylvania counties that won’t count mail-in votes on Election Night


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OA435: Why Your Vote Matters In EVERY State!

That’s right, EVERY state. So if you, or anyone you know, is doing the “eh my vote doesn’t matter because I’m in x state” NO. STOP. Listen to this episode and share it with that person who needs it! It really matters!

Links: Congressional Elections in Presidential Years: Presidential Coattails and Strategic Voting, Why Pennsylvania’s Vote Count Could Change After Election Night, How election votes and data for 2020 are collected at NBC news, Head of Fox News Decision Desk: Why results in swing states likely won’t be known on election night, Control Of Redistricting Is Up For Grabs In 2020.

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Transcript of OA434: Kavanaugh’s Crooked Concurrence

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Topics of Discussion:

[Show Intro]

Thomas:         Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments this is episode 434, our last recording session before the election.

Andrew:         Yeah!

Thomas:         How’s it going, Andrew?

Andrew:         I’m nervous and anxious.  How are you, Thomas?

Thomas:         I am good.  Let’s talk about our democracy ending unless we save it! [Laughs]

Andrew:         Yeah, let’s talk – this episode is going to be about saving our democracy and I kinda want to reveal the overarching thesis here because we’re gonna get to the legal breakdown in the main segment.  Before I do that I wanna remind everybody we’re doing an election night livestream.

Thomas:         Oh yes, we are.  Cannot wait, it’s gonna be election night!  Whenever that is. [Laughs] Consult your local library to find out when that is.

Andrew:         Tuesday, November 3rd.

Thomas:         It’s gonna be from 5 Pacific Time to 7 Pacific Time, so that’s 8-10 important people time.  That’s gonna be the way we’re all coping.  My question, Listener Thomas S. wants to ask Andrew, is my diet going to survive this election night?  I don’t know if this is a legal question.

Continue reading “Transcript of OA434: Kavanaugh’s Crooked Concurrence”

OA434: Kavanaugh’s Crooked Concurrence

Kavanaugh, in a disgrace of an opinion, just signaled that he and enough of his fellow hack justices are willing and able to hand a disputed election to Trump. Andrew has the full breakdown, and what we can do to stop it. But that last part is very obvious: vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote.

IT IS NOW TOO LATE TO MAIL IN YOUR BALLOT. So in the first segment, we go over every which way you still are able to vote even if you’ve got a mail-in ballot you have yet to drop in the mailbox.

Links: Even Fox News says results won’t be know on election night, I Will Vote.com, Slate – Naked ballots, signature mismatch, and other pitfalls to avoid when voting by mail, NYT How Long Will Vote Counting Take? Estimates and Deadlines in All 50 States, Wisconsin §6.86(6), OA425: ‘The Election That Could Break America’ ???, Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Very Bad News, Preparing for a Disputed Presidential Election, Supreme Court 2020 Opinions not up currently for some reason, How to Accommodate a Massive Surge in Absentee Voting, Lawfare blog Reducing One Source of a Potential Election Meltdown, North Carolina Injunctive Relief Denied.

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-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com



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OA433: Google Antitrust and Purdue Pharma Plea

It’s a Tr*** free day here at OA! Not even one mention of that entity. It’s all about some major stories in the law. Google has been sued by the DoJ and a number of individual states for unlawfully maintaining monopolies for search services. And Purdue Pharma has reached a plea agreement involving billions of dollars. One of these is good and the other… isn’t… Listen to the Andrew Torrez Mr. Fantastic Signature Breakdown to found out!

Links: Google Complaint, 15 US Code § 2 – Monopolizing trade a felony, Purdue Pharma plea deal

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-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com



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OA432: Trump Accidentally Declassifies Russia Docs?!

In a steroid-induced haze, Trump may have inadvertently declassified all Russia documents by Tweeting: “I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!” BuzzFeed News jumped on the opportunity and took Trump to court. Andrew has the full break down!

Before that, we talk about updates in the E. Jean Carroll case. That case centers around the (for some reason) difficult question of whether or not slandering your own sexual assault victim is somehow within your job duties as President.

Links: OA420: DoJ Defending Trump in Carroll Case?, Carroll’s opposition, Trump reply, Oral argument scheduled for 10/21, BuzzFeed v DoJ, Leopold Reply, ACB responses to QFR, Senate Rule III, Pennsylvania decision, Alabama decision

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com



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OA431: Here’s How We Can Still Save the Census

The Trump administration was given a victory in the courts regarding the census. It’s absolutely bad news, but Andrew has a plan for that! Ok, ok, it was Elizabeth Warren’s plan, but Andrew breaks it down for us! It’s a one weird trick that actually will work, assuming that we win in November.
Before that, we’ve got yet another Mazars update. It’s going exactly how Andrew told us it would go, and that’s… not great but also not bad.

Links: Trump v Mazars application for stay, US v R Enterprises porn case again, Ross v. National Urban League, Warren’s Census plan, 13 US Code § 141 – Population and other census information, Mid-Decade Census, 2015 Census.

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-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com



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OA430: Amy Coney Barrett Is Terrible

Andrew watched the hearings so you don’t have to! What is super-precedent? And did ACB really rule that an employer using the n-word wasn’t hostile or racist? We’ve got the full breakdown! Before that, we have an excellent listener question on potential federal laws on things like Roe V Wade after the Handmaid’s Tale Court takes away reproductive rights

Links: McGahn petition, Article 1 sec 8, OA309 Stormy Daniels, CA v Texas, gov’t opposition, Sinclair George Mason Law Review Article, Richmond Medical Center v. Gilmore, Smith v Illinois Dep’t of Transportation, ACB questionnaire, 42 US Code § 2000e–2 – Unlawful employment practices.

-Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/law

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-For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki

-And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com



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