Opening Arguments

OA1271 - The single stupidest war of choice the U.S. has ever gotten itself into may finally be coming to an end--or at least the concept of a plan for an end? We go beyond the headlines to see what is actually in this thing, and take on some of the most interesting legal questions raised here. How could this possibly bind Israel, a country which specifically refused to be a party to it? How is the U.S. promising a $300 billion investment which hasn’t been authorized by Congress? And how much power does the President of the United States really have to end Congressional and international sanctions? We then take a quick look at how DHS’s  surveillance state is coming along before going deeper on the recent denial of Judge Hannah Dugan’s final effort to vacate her conviction for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest in her Wisconsin courtroom before sentencing.
Finally, a quick hoofnote: is it really possible to accidentally purchase 80,000 pounds of live cattle? Matt reveals the truth behind this week’s funniest legal meme.
Full text of U.S./Iran agreement signed June 18, 2026

“Missing children: Mullin describes 'horrific’ migrant child smuggling scheme under Biden admin,”News 3 Las Vegas on YouTube (6/12/2026)

Management Alert - ICE Cannot Monitor All Unaccompanied Migrant Children Released from DHS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Custody, Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (8/19/2024)

“Has the US government found 145,000 ‘lost’ migrant children? Fact-checking Kristi Noem,” Politifact via the Minnesota Reformer (3/9/2026)

ICE agent calls legal observer 'domestic terrorist', Ken Klippenstein via Breakthrough News on YouTube (1/24/2026)

'There is no database for protestors,' acting ICE director tells Congress, PBS NewsHour on YouTube (2/10/2026)

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons’ response to a letter from Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-FL), accessed through NPR (4/21/2026)

Mission Creep: AI Surveillance at DHS Crosses Dangerous Line Into Tracking Americans, American Immigration Council (2/6/2026)

Declaration of Nicole Cleland in Tincher v. Noem, Minnesota District Court (1/21/2026)

“ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it,” NPR (3/5/2026)

Decision and Order in United States of America v. Dugan, Eastern District of Wisconsin (6/16/2026)

“Livestock,” CME Group (standard settlement procedures)

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VR35 - In this episode released on the 54th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, the Vapid Response team raids the archives of the New York Times to retrieve one of the single worst (and worst-timed!) contemporary takes on the scandal which would end Richard Nixon’s Presidency. We then return to a time in which a Watergate-style burglary would be a fun diversion to see how at least one conservative legal writer is defending Trump’s nomination of his former defense attorney to serve as Attorney General.
“Comeback Time,” William Safire,  The New York Times (4/19/1973)

“Todd Blanche is Unfit for Office,” The Editorial Board, The New York Times (6/15/2026)

“Blanche and the New York Times,” Michael Fragoso, National Review (6/15/2026)

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OA1270 - A good court thingie! A famous case from 1986 gave us the “Batson rule” that prevents the use of “peremptory strikes” to remove people from juries on the basis of race. To this day, racial discrimination in jury selection continues to be a problem. But the Supreme Court recently reinforced the on-going utility of Batson challenges in two decisions… written by Kavanaugh? Tune in to learn about the history and modern application of this important protection of our rights.
Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965)

Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)

J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B., 511 U.S. 127 (1994)

Flowers v. Mississippi, 588 U.S. 284 (2019)

Pitchford v. Cain, 608 U.S. ___ (2026)

Batson “Justifications”

Catherine M. Grosso & Barbara O’Brien, A Stubborn Legacy: The Overwhelming Importance of Race in Jury Selection in 173 Post-Batson North Carolina Capital Trials, 97 Iowa L. Rev. 1531 (2012).

Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, & Randi Hjalmarsson, The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials, 127 Q.J. Econ. 1017 (2011).

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Hoo boy what a bizarre experience! Listen as Matt tries to convince us a really bad movie is good just because it deals with immigration law!
 
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OA1269 - It’s official: Donald Trump has nominated Acting Attorney General “Two Taint” Todd Blanche to run the Department of Justice for real. We review Blanche’s three-year career as Trump’s personal defense attorney before considering the questions the Senate Judiciary Committee should be asking to determine just who Blanche has been really working for in his time at DOJ so far.
Then: the U.S. is hosting the world’s biggest international sports event at a time when our immigration system has never been less hospitable, and even before the first World Cup kickoff Trump’s CBP has been giving red cards to players, coaches, support staff, and fans who had  already been cleared by the refs at U.S. consulates abroad. Matt explains the immigration law logistics of international tournaments, and how this administration’s harsh immigration policies are actively working against the system’s efforts to make things easier for World Cup visitors. Finally, in this week’s listener-requested footnote: why an outdoor sportswear brand is reluctantly suing a drag queen, and our predictions for one of the strangest trademark lawsuits in U.S. history.
“Trump Trial Opening Statements (Defendant),” Gavel Gavel (11/1/2024)

“People v. Trump 5-28,” Gavel Gavel (12/1/2024)

“The Ghislaine Maxwell Interview was Institutional Corruption Like We’ve Never Seen Before. Truly,” Opening Arguments (8/26/2025)(Youtube version)

Acting AG Todd Blanche’s Congressional testimony on 6/2/2026

“CPAC 2026 ‘Fireside Chat’ with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” Youtube (3/26/2026)

“Dai Dai (Official Video),” Shakira & Burna Boy

Complaint in Patagonia, Inc v. Entrepreneur Enterprises, Inc. dba Pattie Gonia Productions and Wyn Wiley (1/21/2026)

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