Sarah and David answer listener emails, covering everything from judicial federalism, to the Supreme Court’s upcoming tech term, to potential SCOTUS reforms.

The Agenda:

—Constitutionality of the special counsel

—The Nixon precedent

—Independent judgment of lower courts

—Predictability and the rule of law

—The Texas pornography case: children’s rights or adult’s rights?

—Injunctions as extraordinary relief

—Biden’s proposed SCOTUS reforms

—The grossness of ethics violations

Show Notes:

—Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto

—United States v. Nixon

—Advisory Opinions episode on NetChoice v. Moody

—Texas’ H.B. 1181

—Ginsberg v. New York

—The “Angry Cheerleader” case

—Judge Bibas’ Third Circuit opinion on assault weapons

—Federalist Papers No. 83

—The Dispatch’s Project 2025 Fact-Check

—Presumed Innocent

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Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed on Monday the charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith against former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents. So, um, what just happened? Sarah Isgur and special guest David French discuss.

The Agenda:

-Why Judge Cannon thinks Jack Smith's position is illegal.

-Rating the decision, from solid law to bonkerstown.

-What will the DOJ do now?

-Trump's Law of Felicitous Circumstances.

-When will Adaam finally let the Grizzlies into his heart?

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Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David French discuss the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.

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Could Joe Biden sue a faithless delegate? Would Brown v. Board exist if a supermajority had opposed integration? Is the next generation of lawyers doomed? In a special live recording at the American Enterprise Institute, Sarah and David contemplate a series of worst-case hypotheticals and answer audience questions. Bonus: originalist David French (somewhat) defends the Warren Court.

Agenda:

—Bound, free, and faithless DNC delegates

—How the 12th Amendment could cause a 13th-hour, three-way race for president

—What the 25th Amendment might mean for Vice President Kamala Harris

—The legitimacy of a counter-majoritarian Supreme Court

—SCOTUS as a lagging indicator

—The fairness problem of the “Stolen Seat”

—Common-good constitutionalism, originalism, and the battle for the legal right

—Expertise and the elites

Show Notes:

—Brown v. Board of Education

—Plessy v. Ferguson

—Advisory Opinions’ “Chevron is Dead, Long Live Chevron”

—The Dispatch’s fact-check of Project 2025

—Gallup & Pew’s SCOTUS polling

—New York Times: “Donors to Pro-Biden Super PAC Are Said to Withhold Roughly $90 Million”

—Bostock v. Clayton County

—Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt

—June Medical v. Russo

—Buck v. Bell

—The Atlantic: “How Liberal College Campuses Benefit Conservative Students”

—Kamala Harris’ viral “coconut tree” moment

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Kannon Shanmugam and his summer associates return to Advisory Opinions to look back on the SCOTUS term and discuss the state of “text, history, and tradition.”

The Agenda:

—Big themes from this SCOTUS term

—Was this the administrative law term?

—Should we stop thinking about SCOTUS “terms”?

—The health of the First Amendment

—“The media now owns Amy Coney Barrett”

—Justice Thomas’ dissent in Rahimi

—Sarah’s summary of this term

—Questions from summer associates

Show Notes:

—Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

—Moody v. NetChoice

—FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

—National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo

—SEC v. Jarkesy

—Trump v. Anderson

—Trump v. United States

—United States v. Rahimi

—New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen

—Justice Samuel Alito’s WSJ op-ed

—Sarah’s 3-3-3 theory

—Christian Laettner’s shot against Kentucky

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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On today’s super-mega-extravagant episode, Sarah and David celebrate America’s birthday by gifting everyone a magnificently long podcast. First on the docket: more analysis of the SCOTUS immunity decision.

The Agenda:

—Facial challenges in Moody v. NetChoice

—Welcome, Father of the Pod

—Should prosecutors be totally immune?

—No more bad science!

—Ongoing debate over Section 230

—Romney: Corporations are people too!

—Donald Trump’s Florida and Georgia cases

—Is the pod over yet? Nope!

—Dred Scott vibes

Show Notes:

—Husband of the Pod’s Wall Street Journal op-ed

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Sarah and David break down the Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States.

The Agenda:

—Unanimous decision on Moody v. NetChoice

—SCOTUS stat pack

—Three buckets of immunity

—Immunity takeaways: yes, no, and maybe

—Presidential immunity and accountability

—The role of the electorate in holding presidents accountable

—Does the Constitution prevent despots and tyrants?

Show Notes:

—David's NYT op-ed on SCOTUS and the pro-life movement

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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We're not talking about Trump and Biden, but we are discussing something that could make double-hater voters less worried about the future of presidents and executive power: the final stake through the Chevron doctrine.

The Agenda:

—Chevron is overruled

—Jarkesy decision

—How "old think" plays out in the two above decisions

—Sarah's offended by Sotomayor

—The non-Trump January 6 case

—Are homeless people being targeted by SCOTUS? No

Show Notes:

—Nick Kristof's piece for the Times

—Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency

—Moyle v. United States

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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Sarah and David return for a truly prolific episode covering another SCOTUS decision day and revisit where they stand on originalism and its faults.

The Agenda:

—Doctrine coded vs. culture-war coded

—Did the government coerce social media companies in 2020?

—David, you ignorant slut

—Interpreting “corruptly”

—The accidental release of Idaho abortion case

—Is SCOTUS strategic in its opinion release schedule?

—The problems with originalism

—Trump immunity case delay

Show Notes:

—National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo

—Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan

—Lawrence Solum’s law review article on originalism

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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In a special live recording from San Francisco in late May, Sarah interviewed former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer about his judicial philosophy, the future of the court, and accepting dissent in America.

The Agenda:

— How snails explain the Supreme Court

— To recuse or to not recuse?

— The Court’s public approval and its response to public approval

— Rule of law

— Unenumerated rights

— Humor in the Court

— Audience questions

Show Notes:

— Stephen Breyer’s Reading the Constitution

— The Education of Henry Adams

— Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence

— Willa Cather’s The Professor’s House

— Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.: The “Angry cheerleader” SCOTUS case

— Brown v. Board of Education & The Little Rock School Integration Crisis

— District of Columbia v. Heller

— Poe v. Ullman

Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including Sarah’s Collision newsletter, weekly livestreams, and other members-only content—click here.

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