Opening Arguments

OA42: Denny Hastert and the Limits of Contract Law


Listen Later

Today's episode is brought  to you by Audible! Go to audible.com/lawpod for your free 30 day trial!!

In today's episode, we take a look at the law of contracts, and particularly in the context of the recent lawsuit involving former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert. We begin, however, with a related question from patron Michael, who asks whether the Scientologists can really enforce that billion-year contract to join to Sea Org.  (This answer will not surprise you.) That leads into our main segment, where we look at the strange and tragic lawsuit being brought against Hastert by a victim of his past sexual assault.  Hastert agreed to pay the victim $3.5 million for his silence, and then stopped paying after he came under federal investigation.  Recently, Hastert counter-sued to recover the hush money previously paid, and we break down all the intricacies of contract law to try and figure out who's likely to get what. After our main segment, we tackle another listener question; this time, about whether employers can fire you for smoking marijuana in the privacy of your own home if you live in a state like Colorado that's legalized marijuana use. Finally, we end with a brand new Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question #10 which is another very, very hard question.  Remember that TTTBE issues a new question every Friday, followed by the answer on next Tuesday's show.  Don't forget to play along by following our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and/or our Facebook Page and quoting the Tweet or Facebook Post that announces this episode along with your guess and reason(s)! Show Notes & Links
  1. This Chicago Tribune article sets forth the facts of the Hastert case.
  2. And this Tribune article contains the actual text of Haster's counterclaim that we discuss during the show.
  3. On Thursday, Andrew was a guest on The Scathing Atheist podcast episode #208.
  4. That same day (he's a busy guy!), Andrew also did a guest spot on episode #103 of the Gaytheist Manifesto podcast.
Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ And email us at [email protected].
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Opening ArgumentsBy Opening Arguments Media LLC

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

3,552 ratings


More shows like Opening Arguments

View all
Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

3,529 Listeners

Cognitive Dissonance by Atheist and Skeptical News

Cognitive Dissonance

4,040 Listeners

The Scathing Atheist by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

The Scathing Atheist

3,208 Listeners

Skeptics with a K by Skeptic Media Limited

Skeptics with a K

431 Listeners

God Awful Movies by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

God Awful Movies

2,604 Listeners

The Skepticrat by Puzzle in a Thunderstorm, LLC

The Skepticrat

1,987 Listeners

The Lawfare Podcast by The Lawfare Institute

The Lawfare Podcast

6,289 Listeners

Knowledge Fight by Knowledge Fight

Knowledge Fight

4,642 Listeners

Citation Needed by Citation Needed Media

Citation Needed

2,662 Listeners

UnJustified by MSW Media

UnJustified

7,639 Listeners

Cleanup on Aisle 45 with AG & Harry Dunn by MSW Media

Cleanup on Aisle 45 with AG & Harry Dunn

1,890 Listeners

Dear Old Dads by Eli Bosnick, Thomas Smith, Tom Curry

Dear Old Dads

526 Listeners

Where There's Woke by Thomas Smith

Where There's Woke

268 Listeners

Law and Chaos by Liz Dye

Law and Chaos

375 Listeners

The Know Rogan Experience by Cross Pond Productions

The Know Rogan Experience

775 Listeners