Opening Arguments

The very person in charge of Homeland Security is essentially “here illegally.” The upside is, though, there is a one weird trick to undo everything he has done while overstaying his tenure! And by “trick” we mean a lengthy A. Torrez deep dive, so tune in!

Before that, we talk about updates in the Flynn case and how the government is LYING about a Federal Rule.

Links: DOJFlynnEnBancReply, 5 US Code § 3346 – Time limitation, 6 US Code § 551 – Transitional authorities, 22 US Code § 9685 – Transitional authorities, 5 US Code § 3348 – Vacant office, National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview, DHS Under Boss, Trump’s New Acting AG Unconstitutional?, Acting Officers and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, List of Bailfunds

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Listeners and co-hosts alike have been wanting Andrew to do a breakdown of the situation in Portland. There are big questions like, for example, how? and WTF? and what can anyone do? Andrew answers these and gives us the timeline of what’s led to the Trump administration sending out paramilitary troops to abduct people in unmarked vans, like a totally non-fascist president would do.
Before that, we talk about the gun wielding couple from St. Louis who threatened BLM protestors, and how they’re totally not going to face any justice for their undeniable crimes because they are white.

Links: OA307: The Census Fight Is Not Over, St. Louis lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey, 2005 Missouri Revised Statutes – § 571.030. — Unlawful use of weapons, St. Louis Gun Couple Charged, MO Gov Vows To Pardon Gun Couple, Supreme Court Rules – Rule 5 – Rules Governing the Missouri Bar, Acting Secretary Wolf Condemns Violence In Portland, Portland Fence To Come Down, Portland City Council votes to defund police by $15 million, Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn’t Have Proper Training, Man Shot in Face with Rubber Bullet, Portland Roadside Abduction, Ocasio-Cortez to introduce bill requiring federal officers to identify themselves, Terry v. Ohio, 8 USC 1357, 42 U.S. Code § 1983 – Civil action for deprivation of rights, Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, In re Neagle, 18 USC 242

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You’ll never guess which 5 justices were in the affirmative in this case and which 4 dissented… unless you’ve ever listened to our show, in which case you’ll easily guess. Andrew discusses this decision and why the popular idea that Roberts is turning more liberal is a misconception. We also talk about the latest in Trump v. Vance and when we might see Trump’s tax returns or possibly an indictment!

Links: Trump v. Vance Status Report; Purkey Opinion; OA400: No, John Roberts Is Not Your Friend; Roberts Is The New Swing Justice. That Doesn’t Mean He’s Becoming More Liberal; July 2020 Bar Exam: Jurisdiction Information

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AKA the Roger Stone scandal. Trump has overloaded our ability to be angry and made us swallow outrage after outrage like Joey Chestnut eating hot dogs. But don’t worry because Andrew is our Upton Sinclair telling us just what the hell is in these things. This one is a doozy. The Roger Stone commutation is absolutely a scandal, and in a just world would result in a swift impeachment and conviction.
Before that, we’ve got updates on the Flynn case. What’s happening there, and will the OA Amicus Brief(s) make any difference? Find out!

Some links: Rule 35. En Banc Determination | Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure; FRAP rule 40; Sullivan Moves for Rehearing En Banc; Local DC Circuit Rules; Trump Uses Pardon Power Differently Than Other Presidents, Scholars Say; Meet the Acting Pardon Attorney; OA90: Pardon Me? Yes, Donald Trump Can Pardon Himself; 7 13 20 Stone Filing Commutation; 28 CFR § 1.3 – Eligibility for filing petition for commutation of sentence; Roger Stone says McCarthy, Stefanik advocated against preelection clemency

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

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While the SCOTUS news last episode was good, this time around it is… not that. We’ve had a slew of terrible decisions for anyone who believes that taxpayers should not have to fund Christianity. So, like the Founders. To ease the pain a little, we have everyone’s top 2 Andrew — Seidel! He’s the Director of Strategic Response at the Freedom from Religion Foundation, an organization we encourage you to support and become a member of!

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Yes, you read that correctly, we’ve got some good news! You may not quite have seen the two decisions reported that way exactly, but Optimist Prime Torrez believes that 19-635 Trump v. Vance and 19-715 Trump v. Mazars were decided about as well as we could have hoped or better!

After that, we tackle the absolutely horrendous move by ICE to try to deport international students, and what schools are doing to try to fight back!

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Today we’re joined by the Legal Eagle himself, Devin Stone! Devin is suing the Trump administration, with the help of his lawyer Kel McClanahan. Devin and Kel break down for us what the lawsuit is about, and what they hope to accomplish.

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Today’s show could also be called “the worst good news possible” because, yes, the Supreme Court declined to completely gut Roe v. Wade (despite the fact that Roe is effectively dead in many ways), but this was not John Roberts turning into AOC. Find out why in Andrew’s breakdown!
Before that main story though, our first segment is about some reallllly bad news out of Florida. Remember when Florida voters came out overwhelmingly in supermajority numbers to restore voting rights to ex-felons? Yeah Republicans said “nah.” We last covered this, when we thought the courts scored us a victory, in Episode 363.
We also discuss the Supreme Court granting cert for some Mueller Report cases, which is NOT good news.

Here are Andrew’s links and references: Private Debt Collectors ad 40% to Total, Felons Can’t Afford These Fines, Jones v. Governor of Florida, Previous OAs on June Medical: OA249 OA251 and OA251.5, Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, OA309 Discusses Sheldon Whitehouse, Comprehensive Supreme Court Report by Sen Whitehouse and his amicus brief, Roberts Narrow Concurrence vs. stare decisis in Casey.

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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

We’ve got a special treat for you fine folks today! This is the Law’d Awful Movies from last month where Thomas delivers his Amicus Brief in the Flynn case and Andrew and Morgan discuss the process of writing their brief! Heads up, this episode contains explicit language. Hope you enjoy!

-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