Opening Arguments

OA1240 - Shaina Aber, Executive Director with Acacia Center for Justice, joins today to discuss immigration nonprofit work during Trump 2.0. Find all of the tools and programs we talked about at their website, Acacia Center for Justice.

OA1239 - Did the Supreme Court just hand Donald Trump the biggest L in US presidential history? We go beyond the headlines to break down the first decision on the merits of any of the second Trump term’s policies. What is the deal with the “major questions doctrine” and why can’t the conservative justices agree about what it is and how to use it? Why did Neil Gorsuch choose this case to drop a lengthy diss track with bars about every one of his colleagues? And is there anything Clarence Thomas wouldn’t let a Republican president do? We then review a lesser-noticed SCOTUS decision from this week on whether you can sue USPS for intentionally stealing your mail for openly racist reasons (the answer may surprise you!). 
Finally, in today’s footnote: Thomas Takes the ICE Exam!
Learning Resources, Inc. et al. v. Trump (2/20/2026)

United States Postal Service v. Konan  (2/24/2026)

“The Postmaster,” William Shawn, The New Yorker (11/14/1970)(letter addressed to William Faulkner from Post Office Inspector Mark Webster)

Memorandum Summary of Documents Newly Received from DHS Whistleblowers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (2/23/2026)(with leaked ICE training documents attached)

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OA1238 - Dive in to an “old” case from the 90’s that secured a critical right for people with disabilities: The right to be free from unnecessary institutionalization. Learn about some of the more obscure portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the different ways we can define discrimination, and what happens when a majority of  judges just cannot agree to sign on to an entire opinion.
Olmstead v. L.C. 527 U.S. 581 (1999)

Americans with Disabilities Act - Findings and Purpose; 42 U.S.C. § 12101(a)(2, 3, & 5)

Americans with Disabilities Act - Discrimination; 42 U.S.C. § 12132

28 CFR § 35.130(d)

Jesse Jackson (July 18, 1989). Statement before the Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Select Education (regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act).

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OA1237 - The U.S. Department of Justice is not sending their best these days. From the problematic indictments of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their coverage of the protest of a church in Minnesota whose pastor runs the local ICE field office to the unexpected dismissal of Mohsen Mohdawi’s deportation proceedings to a bizarre argument (and more good news) in Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s custody proceedings, we are continuing to see what happens when authoritarian lawyering meets actual federal judges applying actual federal law to the facts and parties before them. 
Finally, in today’s footnote: can you sue your ex for telling millions of people about your enormous penis? We debate whether a former football player’s claims are giving BDE or legal shrinkage.
Federal indictment of Nakima Levy Armstrong, Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, et al in connection with January 18, 2026 protest at Cities Church

DOJ Office of Civil Rights memo re: FACE Act charging policy (Jan 24, 2025)

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (“FACE”) Act, 18 USC 248

Petitioner’s 28(j) letter in Mahdawi v. Trump with copy of the Immigration Judge’s order terminating Mohsen Mahdawi’s removal proceedings attached (Feb. 17, 2026)

Judge Xinis’s order preventing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s re-detention by ICE (Feb. 17, 2026)

Complaint in Kalil v. Kalil, filed Jan. 6, 2026

Excerpts from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s “Keep Hope Alive” speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention

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E23 - For today's amuse douche: a savory sample of our favorite Harvard Law professor’s extremely normal 2015 explanation of his appearances in Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs. We then take on an almost painfully normal 1997 Dersh LA Times oped in which the lawyer who would go on to secure one of the best plea deals a pedophile has ever received complains about all of those pesky age of consent laws. Finally: some of the worst reactions from men exposed in the Epstein files. 
You can also watch this episode on YouTube!
“Gelernter tells dean he stands by praising student's looks to Epstein,” Yale News, Feb 5, 2026

“Statutory Rape is an Outdated Concept, Alan Dershowitz, LA Times (1997)(retrieved from Newspapers.com.) 

Steven Pinker's linguistic analysis for Epstein's defense team, eventually resulting in Epstein's "sweetheart deal" (attachment in linked email, June 28, 2007).

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