Liz and Andrew welcome back friend of the show Mitchell Epner for an episode dedicated to understanding the right wing's latest distractions, including their bizarre and wrong argument that the DOJ corruptly agreed to funnel a sweetheart deal to Hunter Biden. Find out the truth - including why Hunter Biden's lawyers rejected the plea deal! - in this episode.  You won't want to miss it!  -Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/law   -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs   -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/   -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 

OA793: The Right-Wing Freakout, Or, Why Hunter Biden Rejected His Plea Deal (feat. Mitchell Epner)

Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas!
The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!

News

Politics

OA1039 Trump’s prosecution for election interference in Georgia was just stayed by the Court of Appeals, leaving no chance that this trial will proceed before November. What happened, and how unexpected was this delay? We investigate. We then turn to our main story: Biden administration’s executive actions to “shut down the border” and close the door to asylum for many people who would otherwise be eligible. Matt explains what’s actually going on here and how much of it was already in place before we consider the practical and political consequences of Joe Biden effectively carrying out the border bill which Trump bullied Republicans not to pass.  We end by spending a few minutes discussing a recent opinion from Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, who has very strong--and extremely appropriate--opinions about fonts.    Georgia appeals court order staying Trump’s criminal trial    “A Proclamation on Securing the Border” (June 4, 2024)   Interim Final Rule (“Securing the Border”)(June 4, 2024)   Attorney Taylor Levy’s donation page     If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

Biden’s Border Action - An Objective, Nuanced Explainer

OA's Official Bar Tutor returns! We've got the answer to Question 26, but with Heather's signature style where we're going to learn a whole lot along the way. Then, in Question 27, we've got some Constitutional Law! Be sure to play along by submitting your answer! Use #T3BE, or play on reddit.com/r/openargs!

OA Bar Prep with Heather! T3BE27

OA1038 Today we're joined by Vox Senior Correspondent, Ian Millhiser! In his reporting, Ian focuses on the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the decline of liberal democracy in the United States. Ian gives us an excellent and comprehensive breakdown of Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case that could be decided any day now. As usual with this Court, the question is: How scared should we be? Check out Ian's excellent article and other reporting here. If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

Supreme Court To Decide If Being Homeless Can Be A Crime

OA1037 THE JURY IS IN! Opening Arguments is coming at you LIVE AND UNEDITED today as we react in realtime to the announcement of the verdict in People v. Trump--conveniently timed for exactly the time that we had already planned to record this week! We also take a look at the lengthy closing arguments from both sides and Matt answers patron questions about some of New York’s more unusual trial practices before getting into what we can expect next. We finish out the fun with Thomas’s dramatic reading of Samuel Alito’s indignant, mendacious, and entirely unsolicited response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s demands to speak with the Supreme Court’s manager and take a moment to appreciate his full-throated defense of a woman’s absolute right to choose (flags).    Jury instructions in People v. Trump   People v. Owens, 69 N.Y.2d 585 (1987)(providing jury with written excerpt of jury instructions was reversible error)   Alito’s letter to Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse dated May 29, 2024  

Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guil

Heather is back for another bar question! Yay! Except... it's real property... NOOOOO We only do the question on this one, since we did both the Q and A last time. So, this is just a short little uncharged episode to get us back on track. It also allows me to catch up on Patron thanks!  Note: two new Gavel Gavels are out, with more coming very, very soon! If you’d like to support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law!

OA793: The Right-Wing Freakout, Or, Why Hunter Biden Rejected His Plea Deal (feat. Mitchell Epner)

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