Advisory Opinions

Sarah Isgur and David French return for a bonus episode on the Minneapolis ICE shooting and explain the concept of Supremacy Clause immunity.The Agenda:—Corrections from Thursday's episode—How to analyze police shootings—Federalism and the Supremacy Clause—Federal officer removal—Broader impacts of police violence—Bowe v. United States—Church autonomy and employment lawAdvisory Opinions is a...

David French and Sarah Isgur discuss the legal arguments underpinning the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and dive into a legal challenge to mandatory diversity and inclusion training.The Agenda:—Can we and should we arrest foreign leaders?—Official acts and sovereignty—Military response vs. legal prosecution—How real is international law?—Legal argument for regime change—Trump v. United...

David French is joined by David Lat to explore the legality of the Trump administration's arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Trump's recent loss at the Supreme Court over his mobilization of the National Guard.The Agenda:—Can we arrest foreign leaders?—Compliance with international law—The arrest of Manuel Antonio Noriega—Presidential authority and war powers—Trump v....

Sarah Isgur sits down for a live recording at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, Texas Supreme Court Justice Evan A. Young, and District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judge Joshua Deahl to talk legal philosophy, the state of civil justice, and the challenges that appellate justices face in an ever-more-litigious United States.The Agenda:—Why...

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss the resignation of Josh Blackman, former senior editor of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, and the the entire Meese Center leaving with John Malcolm to join former Vice President Mike Pence's organization at Advancing American Freedom.The Agenda:—Heritage blows up—Thunder Basin factors and the latest interim docket order—Shadow Docket Sunlight Act—Need...

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss striking jurors on race, Constitution deep cuts on the domestic violence clause and bill of attainder clause, and abortion distortion.The Agenda:—Transcript changes and the funniest Justice—Batson claims and cert grants—Trump v. Illinois and the domestic violence clause—Bill of attainder clause and abortion distortion—Ross Douthat's interesting interview over...

As an early Christmas present for David French, Sarah Isgur invites professors Will Baude and Julian Davis Mortenson on the podcast to answer all questions about originalism. But first, should an IQ test determine whether someone will be sentenced to death?The Agenda:—Listener emails—United States v. Ham—SCOTUS’ approach to executive power—Burkeanism and the administrative state—Debating the...

Sarah Isgur and David French kick things off by revisiting the Slaughter case and responding to an insightful access-to-justice question from a listener. Then they break down the Supreme Court’s latest GVR on school vaccine mandates before diving into two fresh oral arguments: Olivier v. City of Brandon and NRSC v. FEC.Plus, a brief return of grifter Sarah.The Agenda:—A correction to our...

Following the Supreme Court arguments in Slaughter v. United States, Sarah Isgur and David French join legal scholar Adam White to break down a session that became a referendum on whether Congress can insulate modern independent agencies from presidential control.SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe also joins from the steps of the Supreme Court to relay her observations from inside the courtroom.Watch the...

Sarah Isgur and David French answer the masses’ demands in this pre-argument, foundational episode, diving into new levels of legal nerdery as they preview the oral arguments in the obscure administrative and constitutional law battle better known as Trump v. Slaughter.The Agenda:—Creating the modern administrative state—Striking the class of bureaucrats—‘But this wolf comes as a wolf’—Taft takes...