Opening Arguments

Woman in Labor Spent 3 Hours Fighting a Judge on Zoom to Avoid a Forced C-Section

OA1264 - Sherise Doyley was in the early stages of labor, in a hospital bed, preparing to deliver her baby, when nurses wheeled in a computer. On the screen was a judge, notifying her of an emergency order by the State of Florida to attempt to force her to undergo a C-section, instead of first attempting vaginal delivery. For 3 hours she advocated for herself, without an attorney, barely covered in a hospital gown. How was any of this legal? What is happening? Jenessa breaks down the history of our rights to make our own medical decisions and how that is legally modified in pregnancy, Lydia shares her own birth experience and how these situations could be handled with actual compassion, and Thomas holds very still in hopes our eyes are based on movement (just kidding, Thomas is very supportive and also outraged). Come rage against the machine with us and hopefully breathe life into a revived pro-choice movement, before it’s too late. * Amy Yurkanin (Mar. 14, 2026), They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth [https://www.propublica.org/article/florida-court-ordered-c-sections], ProPublica. * Video clips of Doyley hearing, provided by ProPublica’s Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ZCFsS7T4s/?mibextid=wwXIfr] * Anuli Njoku, Marian Evans, Lillian Nimo-Sefah, & Jonell Bailey (2023). Listen to the Whispers before They Become Screams: Addressing Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9914526/pdf/healthcare-11-00438.pdf], 11 Healthcare 438. * Brad N. Greenwood, Rachel R. Hardeman, Laura Huang, & Aaron Sojourner (2020), Physician–patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7474610/pdf/pnas.201913405.pdf], 117 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 21194. * Maternal Mortality Prevention [https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-mortality/php/pregnancy-mortality-surveillance-data/index.html?cove-tab=1] (Dec. 18, 2025). Data from the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System, CDC. * Bracey Harris & Elizabeth Chuck (Jan. 9, 2026), 'Her worst fear has come to pass': Midwife who advocated for Black women dies after giving birth [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/midwife-advocated-black-women-dies-giving-birth-rcna253106], NBC News. * Camila Domonoske (Apr. 17, 2018), 'Father Of Gynecology,' Who Experimented On Slaves, No Longer On Pedestal In NYC [https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/17/603163394/-father-of-gynecology-who-experimented-on-slaves-no-longer-on-pedestal-in-nyc], NPR. * Megan L. Swanson, Sara Whetstone, Tushani Illangasekare, & Amy (Meg) Autry (2021), Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reparations: The Debt We Owe (and Continue to Accumulate) [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8170721/pdf/heq.2021.0015.pdf], 5 Health Equity 353. * Nicole Loy (May 16, 2025), Pain and Gynecology: Raising Standards of Care [https://www.cornellhealthcarereview.org/post/pain-and-gynecology-raising-standards-of-care], The Healthcare Review at Cornell University. * Jess Mador (July 29, 2025), A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Was Kept Alive in Georgia. It’s Unclear if State Law Required It [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/brain-dead-pregnant-woman-georgia-personhood/], KFF Health News. * (June 2025), Pregnancy Exceptionalism: A Review of Restrictions on Advance Directives [https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/advanced-directives.pdf], Pregnancy Justice. * U.S. Const. amend. IX [https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-9/] * Jacobson v. Massachusetts [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/197/11/], 197 U.S. 11 (1905) * Rochin v. California [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/342/165/], 342 U.S. 165 (1952) * Cruzan v. Director [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/497/261/], Missouri Dep't of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990) * Washington v. Harper [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/494/210/], 494 U.S. 210 (1990) * Roe v. Wade [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/113/], 410 U.S. 113 (1973) * Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/505/833/], 505 U.S. 833 (1992) * Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/19-1392/], 597 U.S. 215 (2022) * Heller v. Doe [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/509/312/], 509 U.S. 312 (1993) * State Dept. of Human Services v. Northern [https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/court-of-appeals/1978/563-s-w-2d-197-1.html], 563 S.W.2d 197 (1978) * Lane v. Candura [https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/1978/6-mass-app-ct-377-1.html], 6 Mass. App. Ct. 377 (1978) * Koskenoja v. Whitmer [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GMKoDR_d3K2CnSCjc3FyCkidKWVKU_lL/view], Mich. Ct. Cl. (2026) * (Apr. 20, 2026), Michigan Pregnancy Exclusion Law is Unconstitutional [https://compassionandchoices.org/news/michigan-pregnancy-exclusion-law-is-unconstitutional/], Compassion & Choices. Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do!

The Biggest Scandal in US History. Todd Blanche Should Be in Prison. And Trump, Obviously.

OA1263 - Two of the most egregiously impeachable things ever to happen in the United States have just occurred on the same day this week:  1. The so-called “settlement” between Donald Trump and his own IRS which guarantees his immunity from consequences for any financial  a slush fund for his friends and family and  2. A Texas federal judge forcing a Rhode Island hospital to turn over records for trans kids while also attempting to specifically limit where this order can be challenged--and making absurd threats to anyone who even thinks about talking about challenging it We take a closer look at the alleged legal basis for both actions and how the Trump “settlement” compares to the previous record-holder for Presidential financial corruption set 123 years ago before getting on to much better news in today’s footnote: an underdog Boston lawyer who has taken to the mic to call out some much bigger law dogs. 1. “Settlement” Agreement [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28132616-sdfl-settlement-signed/#document/p9], President Donald Trump et al. v. Internal Revenue Service et al. (5/18/2026) 2. Untitled document [https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441216/dl], Office of the Attorney General (5/19/2026) 3. Order Closing Case [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.62.0_3.pdf], President Donald Trump et al. v. Internal Revenue Service et al., Southern District of Florida (5/18/2026) 4. Complaint [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28136386-dunnvtrumpcomp052026/], Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges v. Donald J. Trump, D.C. District Court (5/20/2026) 5. Order of Court [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279/gov.uscourts.ca1.54279.00108449119.0.pdf], In RE: Motion to Quash Administrative Subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital, First Cir. (5/19/2026) 6. Emergency Motion to Quash Subpoena In Duces Tecum [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.62049/gov.uscourts.rid.62049.1.0.pdf], In Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032 to Rhode Island Hospital, Rhode Island District Court (5/4/2026) 7. @joerezlaw [https://www.instagram.com/joerezlaw/] on Instagram Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do!

MAGA Says the ’60s Were Too Woke and Wants Racial Immigration Quotas Back

VR32 - As the economic effects of Trump’s war of choice in the Middle East begin to hit home, his party is playing the one card it has going into the midterms: the promise of fully restoring open white supremacy to the US immigration system. We begin with a sampler platter of amuse douche from a recent episode of Tim Pool’s podcast–mercifully free of Tim Pool–to get a sense of how the MAGA right is talking about immigration reform these days. Matt then gives a brief history lesson about the openly racist origins of the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Cold War origins of the 1965 Hart-Celler bill which Republicans are now trying to repeal before we dive into the main course: a recent piece in The Federalist written in support of Rep. Andy Ogle’s Assimilation Act. Why do these people hate families so much? Can Congress really end birthright citizenship? And can you really build an entire thinkpiece entirely out of red flags? Join us this week on Vapid Response Wednesday to find out. 1. The National Visa Bulletin [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html]’s website 2. Whom We Shall Welcome [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html] (1952) 3. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 [https://www.congress.gov/bill/89th-congress/house-bill/2580/text] 4. It’s Long Past Time To Scrap Hart-Celler And Insist That Immigrants Assimilate [https://thefederalist.com/2026/05/15/its-long-past-time-to-scrap-hart-celler-and-insist-that-immigrants-assimilate/] (John Daniel Davidson, The Federalist; 5/15/2026) Watch us on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/@SeriousPodNetwork] Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do!

When Alito’s Jurisprudence Is Kavanaughs All the Way Down

OA1262 - How are a car accident in California, a tax fraud case in Nevada, and two bus accidents in New York and Pennsylvania all connected to the Dobbs abortion case? Find out on this week’s accidental too-deep dive into state sovereignty. Jenessa read a bunch of extra cases just to be thorough, and accidentally uncovered Kavanaugh planting the seeds that would grow into the “egregiously wrong” “rule” for ignoring stare decisis. But also mostly we’ll talk about the weird world of state sovereignty, Clarence Thomas being obnoxious and ahistorical while accusing everyone else of being ahistorical, and Sotomayor getting some peace for a change to write a pleasant little 9-0 decision about some non-partisan procedural legal nerdery that benefits injured plaintiffs. * Nevada v. Hall [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/440/410/], 440 U.S. 410 (1979) * Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/587/17-1299/], 587 U.S. 230 (2019) * Listen to oral arguments on Oyez: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2018/17-1299; [https://www.oyez.org/cases/2018/17-1299;] Timestamp for Kavanaugh dropping the “egregiously wrong” bomb: 50:47 * Ramos v. Louisiana [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/590/18-5924/], 590 U.S. 83 (2020), Kavanaugh concurrence * Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/19-1392/], 597 U.S. 215 (2022) * Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/607/24-1021/], 607 U.S. ___ (2026) * The “major questions doctrine” Kavanaugh inception timeline: * U.S. Telecom Association v. F.C.C., 855 F.3d 381, 422-423 (D.C. Cir 2017), Kavanaugh dissent * Repeal of the Clean Power Plan [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-07-08/pdf/2019-13507.pdf], 84 Fed. Reg. 32520, 32529 (proposed Jul. 8, 2019) (to be codified at 40 C.F.R. pt. 60). * West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/20-1530/], 597 U.S. 697 (2022) Additional sources: * Episodes 1229 & 1230 for an in-depth explanation of immunities, including state and federal sovereign immunity: “The complicated web of immunities that makes accountability so difficult” * Chisholm v. Georgia [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/2/419/], 2 U.S. 419 (1793) * U.S. Const. amend. XI [https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-11/] * Hans v. Louisiana [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/134/1/], 134 U.S. 1 (1890) * Ex parte Young [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/209/123/], 209 U.S. 123 (1908) Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do!

We May Get All the Files on Renée Good's Killing... Because of a Different Case

OA1261 - Today on Rapid Response Friday: a new fight for reproductive rights reaches SCOTUS, (some) justice on ICE, and two very different kinds of dicks get their day in court. (N.B.: Shortly after this recording, the Supreme Court entered a full stay in the mifepristone case pending disposition of a certiorari petition 7-2 (Thomas & Alito dissenting).) 1. Louisiana v. FDA et al [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1207_21p3.pdf], filed Oct 6, 2025 2. SCOTUS stay order in Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana et al [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1207_21p3.pdf](5/14/26) 3. Full bodycam footage of the arrest of Jeana Renea Gamble [https://www.fox10tv.com/2025/11/21/full-bodycam-footage-released-arrest-fairhope-woman-penis-costume/], Fox10 (11/21/2025) Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do!