OA736: SCOTUS Tees Up Rancid Herring Case to Gut the Administrative State

Liz and Andrew break down Chevron deference in light of the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. Is it doomed? Listen and find out!

Notes
OA 136
https://openargs.com/oa136-chevron-deference-consequences-particularly-paul-manafort/

Garret Greaves and Ted Cruz on fisheries
https://garretgraves.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/gulf-coast-recreational-red-snapper-season-could-be-cut-short-warn

Chevron v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14437597860792759765

85 Fed. Reg. 7414
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-02-07/pdf/2020-02357.pdf

16 USC 1858
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/16/1858

Cert petition by the fisheries in Loper Bright Enterprises
https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-451/246256/20221110145441811_2022-11-10%20Loper%20Bright%20Cert%20Petition%20FINAL.pdf

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Transcript of OA365: Every Melody Ever, Part 1

Listen to the episode and read the show notes

Topics of Discussion:

[Show Intro]

Thomas:         Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments, this is episode 365!  Wow, that means you can start episode 1 on January 1st of the year and get to now. 

Andrew:         [Laughs]  

Thomas:         I dunno why you’d wanna do that, but you could and it would be a full year.  Anyway, how’re you doing, Andrew? 

Andrew:         Well, I’m looking up after that now that you can get Opening Arguments every day for an entire year.

Thomas:         Yeah.

Andrew:         That’s, um, I feel good!

Thomas:         We can even do – we can pause at like a quarter through this episode and it would be 365 and a fourth.  Perfect!

Andrew:         [Laughs]  

Continue reading “Transcript of OA365: Every Melody Ever, Part 1”

OA365: Every Melody Ever, Part 1

Today’s episode brings you our first look at the efforts by Damien Riehl and Noah Rubin to copyright “every melody ever” as part of a way of reconceptualizing copyright law as it applies to music. SPOILER: We’re going to have Riehl and Rubin on the show to discuss their work in more depth. We also discuss Chevron deference and a recent dissent by Clarence Thomas that’s No Laughing Matter.

We begin with a deep dive into the Riehl and Rubin “Every Melody Ever” effort, which builds upon the music copyright episodes we’ve previously discussed in Episode 236 (“Stairway to the Supreme Court”) and Episode 288 (“More on Led Zeppelin”). What exactly are Riehl and Rubin doing, and will it put an end to copyright lawsuits against musicians? Listen and find out!

After that, we check out a case (Baldwin v. U.S.) in which the Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari — and the dissent filed by Clarence Thomas. That prompted a headline that got some chuckles last week — “Clarence Thomas cites Thomas in overruling Thomas” — and we learn that (of course) this turns out to be no laughing matter, but part of a concerted effort to roll back not only a 2005 Clarence Thomas opinion, National Cable & Telecommunications Ass’n v. Brand X Internet Svcs., 545 U.S. 967 (2005), but Chevron deference itself. Find out why even the howler monkey contingent wanted to take a pass on this case — but not Clarence Thomas!

After all that, it’s time for the answer to perhaps the easiest #T3BE ever — or is it? (It is.) And remember, you can always play along with #T3BE by sharing out the show on social media!

Appearances

None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1. Our basics on music and copyright were covered in Episode 236 and then with a follow-up in Episode 288.
  2. For (some of) the details on Riehl and Rubin’s project, you can read the write-up in Vice.
  3. Finally, you can check out Thomas’s cert dissent in Baldwin v. U.S. here.

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Transcript of OA338: Nondelegation and the “Administrative State”

Listen to the episode and read the show notes

Topics of Discussion:

[Show Intro]

Thomas:         Hello and welcome to Opening Arguments, this is episode 338, I’m Thomas Smith, that over there is P. Andrew Torrez, esquire.  How ya doing?

Andrew:         I am fantastic Thomas, how are you?

Thomas:         I am probably still stuffed with non potato skin mashed potatoes.

Andrew:         [Laughs]  

Thomas:         Just pure, directly into my arteries.  That’s another reason you don’t want the skins in there, ‘cuz it’s just going in your bloodstream, it’s just so much potatoes, just part of my circulatory system.

Continue reading “Transcript of OA338: Nondelegation and the “Administrative State””

OA338: Nondelegation and the “Administrative State”

Today’s episode takes a deep dive into the nondelegation doctrine in light of a recent Kavanuagh comment on a case… in which the Supreme Court didn’t even grant certiorari. Is Andrew panicking? (No.) Listen and find out why not!

We begin, however, with a brief Andrew Was Wrong on taxation that calls back to OA 336. How exactly is stock income taxed? Listen and find out!

Then, it’s time for the main segment, which is a deep dive into the “administrative state” and specificially the “nondelegation doctrine” at issue in U.S. v. Gundy. Why did this last week signal the beginning of the end for Andrew & Thomas? Listen and find out!

After all that, it’s time for a listener question/comment on LIHEAP that helps contextualize how this program works in low-income communities. You won’t wan’t to miss it!

Then, of course, it’s time for #T3BE — the answer to Thomas Takes the Bar Exam #155 about a tenant who takes possession of an apartment only to find the previous tenant still inside. How can.. the landlord win? Listen and find out!

Appearances

Thomas was just the main guest on Episode 498 of the Cognitive Dissonance podcast, and Thomas and Andrew make additional appearances to roast and be roasted for Vulgarity for Charity. If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1. For an update on Chevron deference, check out our Episodes 40 and 136.
  2. In terms of Auer deference, check out our explainers in Episode 266 and 293.
  3. To get up to speed on the nondelegation doctrine, read Gundy v. U.S., 139 S.Ct. 2116 (2019).

-Support us on Patreon at: 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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OA293: My Deference & Auer Deference (Kisor v. Wilkie)

Today’s episode revisits a narrow area of administrative law we last discussed in Episode 266, namely, Auer deference. Andrew made a bold prediction in that episode, and find out where he was wrong — and where he was right now that the Supreme Court has ruled in Kisor v. Wilkie. We also discuss the recent unsealing of court records thanks to a CNN reporter and we witness the return of listener favorite segment “Are You A Cop?” with a fabulous question about drinking and driving. Buckle up!

We begin, however, with a look at a recent request made by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz regarding certain court proceedings and records relating to the Mueller Investigation. Does this mean that “BILL BARR KILLED 7 OPEN INVESTIGATIONS?” (No.) But it is significant, and you won’t want to miss why.

Then, it’s time for a deep-dive explainer that starts with a reminder on the principles of agency deference. Don’t remember the exact difference between Chevron deference and Auer deference? We’ve got you covered — including, in particular, how the latter came under attack in Kisor v. Wilkie, a case involving a retired servicemember challenging the internal agency regulations governing disability pay. Should the courts defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own rules, or should it be wildly activist and defer to Neil Gorsuch’s interpretation of those rules? Kisor gives us a slightly different answer than you might expect, all while angling us towards the day soon to come in which the Supreme Court greatly expands the power of the judicial branch.

After that, it’s time for Are You A Cop? featuring some truly terrible advice for how to beat a DUI arrest. (Please do not do this.) We talk about standards of evidence while debunking the notion that you should… drink more when you’re pulled over? (It’s a weird question.)

As if that wasn’t enough, we end with the answer to Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #132 about an escaped, de-fanged, venomous snake. Who’s responsible? Listen and find out!

Appearances

Andrew will be a guest at the Mueller She Wrote live show in Philadelphia, PA on July 17, 2019; click that link to buy tickets, and come up and say hi! And remember: if you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show (or at your live show!), drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1. This is the Raw Story article we criticize during the “A” segment, and to verify what we’ve said is correct, you can read (a) Polantz’s request; (b) the Court’s order; (c) Exhibit A (Search Warrants); (d) Exhibit B (Wiretapping); and (e) Exhibit C (Pen Register/Trap & Trace). Phew!
  2. We previewed Kisor v. Wilkie (read decision) in Episode 266. And, in breaking down Justice Roberts’s holding in Kisor, we also expose shoddy journalism like this Daily Beast article.

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




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OA266: Auer Deference & Florida Felons

Today’s classic, deep-dive Tuesday takes an in-depth look at two critical issues in the news:  first, the recent effort by the Republican governor and state legislature in Florida to undo the broadly popular Constitutional Amendment passed during the 2018 midterms to restore voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences, and second, the Supreme Court’s next assault on the “administrative state,” this time, by likely ending the doctrine of Auer deference.

We begin with an update about pending oral arguments before the Supreme Court, as well as a notice that this episode was bumped from last Tuesday to make way for our emergency Barr Summary episode.

Then, it’s time for a deep-dive into Florida, the process of citizen-driven ballot initiatives, and exactly what the state legislature intends to do to undermine the will of the public.

After that, it’s time for yet another deep dive, this time into Kisor v. Schulkin, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court, in which the petitioners have asked the Court to flat-out overrule yet another well-established conservative doctrine simply on the grounds that the Federalist Society doesn’t like it.

Then, as always, it’s time for the answer to Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #120 regarding a light touch on the bus.  As always, remember to follow our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE!

Appearances
Andrew was recently a guest on Episode 19 of the Glass Box podcast discussing this same subject (but with respect to Utah).  If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com.

Show Notes & Links

  1.  In the pre-show, we discuss gerrymandering, which we last talked about in depth in Episode 251.
  2. We mentioned the Washington Post story about the DC City council overturning the $15/hr minimum wage initiative.
  3. This is the text of PCB CRJ 19-03, the Florida bill under consideration.  And here, by the way, is the link to Andrew Gillum’s voter registration initiative, Bring It Home Florida.
  4. We’ve never talked about Auer deference before, but we have discussed Chevron deference at great length, most recently in Episode 136.
  5. You can click here to read Auer v. Robbins, that 9-0 liberal decision authored by noted socialist Antonin Scalia.
  6. Finally, click here to read the underlying CAFC-Opinion in Kisor v. Schulkin.

Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law

Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs

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Don’t forget the OA Facebook Community!

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

And email us at openarguments@gmail.com

 

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OA184: Families at the Border

Today’s Rapid Response Friday helps separate fact from fiction when it comes to the heartwrenching issue of families being separated at the border.  Is the Trump administration to blame?  Did the recent Executive Order fix the problem?  Listen and find out.

First, though, we bring back (almost) everyone’s favorite segment:  Andrew Was Wrong!  Specifically, Andrew was wrong when he predicted back in Episode 83 that Maajid Nawaz didn’t have much of a defamation case against the Southern Poverty Law center, and in Episode 84 that he didn’t have much leverage, either.  Well, both of those predictions looked foolish now that the SPLC has agreed to pay Nawaz $3,375,000 and issue an unconditional apology.

In the main segment, we break down Trump’s EO regarding separating families at the border and requesting a modification to the Flores v. Reno settlement.  It’s bad.  And if it weren’t bad enough, we also discuss the administration’s change in asylum policy.

After that, we discuss the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions.  Surely that can’t be bad news, too?  (Don’t call us Shirley.)

Finally, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #81 involving the constitutionality of a state legislature retaliating against two professors for pushing campus speech codes.  Have we piqued your interest yet?  Listen and find out!  And if you’d like to play along , just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag.  We’ll release the answer on next Tuesday’s episode along with our favorite entry!

Recent Appearances

Andrew was recently a guest on the David Pakman Show, with a two-part appearance discussing whether President Trump can be indicted and if so, whether he can pardon himself.  You can watch the video on YouTube.

Show Notes & Links

  1. We first discussed Maajid Nawaz’s legal threats in Episode 83 and Episode 84.  You can read the final Settlement Agreement for yourself as well as check out the SPLC’s apology to Nawaz.
  2. Click here to read the Snopes article conclusively debunking the political claim that this policy was put into place “by Democrats.”
  3. You can read Trump’s recent Executive Order and also check out the original 1997 Flores v. Reno settlement.
  4. The operative laws discussed during the main segment were:  8 U.S.C. § 1158 (asylum); 8 U.S.C. § 1325 (“improper entry by alien”); and, of course, 18 U.S.C. § 46 (“transportation of water hyacinths”).  You can also read the Attorney General’s Interim Decision #3929 on refugees for yourself.
  5. As promised, this is the full list of Class B federal misdemeanors.
  6. We also discussed this Washington Post article on refugees being turned away at the border.
  7. This is the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions.
  8. Finally, a secret Yodel for you folks who read the show notes:  here’s the link to the news that Michael Cohen’s fired his old lawyers (McDermott, Will & Emery) and hired a new one (Guy Petrillo).  What does this mean?  Only time will tell.

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