Opening Arguments

OA1285 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: regulators, mount up! We take a closer look at the actual documents provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche which convinced John Cornyn and Thom Tillis to change their votes, how deregulation caused a national cyclospora outbreak (and the legal response to it), and state efforts to stop the “prediction market” racket which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been all too happy to ignore. And in today’s footnote: three very different cases which prove why prediction markets shouldn’t be a thing at all.
Documents provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee by Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche on August 2, 2026

“Cyclospora is easy for doctors to miss. The US made it even harder to spot,” Dr. Robert B. Shipner, The Guardian (7/16/2026)

Complaint in Null v. Taylor Farms, filed 7/21/206

Complaint in New York v. Kalshiex LLC, filed 7/31/2026

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VR39 - Vapid Response Wednesday returns with a tasteful pairing of stories about alleged anti-Italian discrimination that go together like chianti and red sauce.
Today's specials include:
Aperitivo: a tasteless morsel from the least deserving recipient in the history of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

Primo: a chef’s kiss Washington Examiner oped on how NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani “erased” Little Italy

Secondo: a spicy molto grosso meatball of a Boston lawsuit over alleged anti-Italian-American discrimination gives a federal court indigestion

Dolce: our patrons! Listen ad-free and support the show at patreon.com/law

“Mayor Mamdani, Why Did You Erase Little Italy?” Anthony Colombo Jr., Mike Crispi, Gerard Marrone, Washington Examiner (7/10/26) 

Second Amended Complaint in North End Chamber of Commerce et al v. City of Boston, filed 3/7/24

Order on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss in North End Chamber of Commerce et al v. City of Boston(12/20/24)

North End Chamber of Commerce et al v. City of Boston, No. 25-1063 (1st Cir., 7/30/26)

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OA1284 - Can a modern court implement modern solutions? It really depends on your perspective. Despite some baffling misconceptions about how… anything works, the Justices seem to be doing a pretty good job of ultimately deciding that yes, police do in fact need a warrant to deeply invade your digital privacy. While Kavanaugh appears to have the entire concept of data storage and search queries upside down and backwards, Gorsuch asks complex questions about metadata versus true content, how data is stored in individual accounts, and what other types of data would be exposed if police were allowed to search your location information without a warrant… and yet they both ultimately vote to protect your privacy. It’s a weird world out there folks.
Cases discussed:
United States v. Jones

Carpenter v. United States

Chatrie v. United States

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Apologies for being a little late on this one!
Donald Trump sued the IRS, an agency he currently runs, for leaking his own tax returns, and asked for a cool $10 billion. Thomas, Lydia, and Matt dig through the actual complaint and a judge's increasingly suspicious rulings, all timed suspiciously close to Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing. It is dumber, and more corrupt, than it sounds.
Cases discussed:
Trump v. IRS

Littlejohn leak case

Patrons at patreon.com/gavelpod can listen to Part 2 right now!

LAM1015 - Jimmy Smits stars as a gambling, sports-shooting Supreme Court Justice with a law clerk paid to fend off his advances, in NBC's forgotten 2010 flop Outlaw. Thomas, Matt, and Lydia can barely get through a single scene without stopping to ask what this show thinks a Justice actually does. This free 45-minute preview only scratches the surface of how bad it gets.
$2+ Patrons already have this full episode, plus an early part 2 of Jenessa's 4th Amendment privacy deep dive, at patreon.com/law. Friday brings a Gavel Gavel crossover on the ruling that blew up Trump and Todd Blanche's corrupt IRS settlement.
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