Opening Arguments

OA1154 - Whatever the stage of fascism is where they start arresting judges for doing their jobs--well, we’re here. We review what we know about the in-court arrest of Milwaukie County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan last week. Matt then explains exactly what a “sanctuary” jurisdiction is (and isn’t) and how the Trump administration’s promises to aggressively investigate and prosecute state and local officials for non-cooperation with ICE fits into the overall plan of American authoritarianism. We also review ICE’s efforts to engage “force multipliers” via special cooperation agreements with state law enforcement under INA 287(g) and how you can do your part to stop it. * Complaint and supporting affidavit in U.S. v. Dugan [https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ice-affidavit-arrest-judge-dugan.pdf] (4/24/2025) * AG Bill Barr’s speech to the National Sherriff’s Association [https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-national-sheriffs-association-winter] in which he promised to investigate and prosecute local authorities who interfered with ICE (2/10/2020) * Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act | ICE [https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g] (links to Excel docs with state of all current and pending 287(g) agreements) * Pam Bondi’s memo on charging and sentencing policies which shifted DOJ’s focus to immigration enforcement [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25514898-doj-charging-plea-negotiations-and-sentencing/] (2/6/2025) To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at https://patreon.com/lawpatreon.com/law [http://patreon.com/law]! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org [https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org].

OA1153 - It's good news Friday! Here are some stories about American fascists losing or otherwise showing their asses in court, including (among others): * The Supreme Court comes through strong for immigrant justice at 1 AM on a Saturday morning * Samuel Alito fails to properly interpret a book written at a fourth grade level after having his Easter ruined by immigrant justice * DOJ accidentally files an embarrassing internal memo into the record * Sarah Palin’s tries and fails to sue the New York Times for libel for the second time  * one federal judge stops Trump's attempt to do the SAVE Act through an executive order, while another reverses an ICE kidnapping * Neil Gorsuch does a genuinely good thing for non-citizens through a simple act of textualism * DOJ pulls out one of the most ridiculous excuses for violating a court order in US legal history Finally, a meta-footnote on why Matt is ready to join the calls to impeach national hero James Boasberg for his radical views on the utility of (what else) footnotes. * Samuel Alito’s dissent in A.A.R.P. v. Trump [https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/b1e7c9b074628b2a/1c66fe20-full.pdf] (4/19/25) * SCOTUS’s decision in Monsalvo-Velasquez v. Bondi [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-929_h3ci.pdf]  (4/22/25) * Vermont federal district court [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vtd.39304/gov.uscourts.vtd.39304.104.0_1.pdf] order returning Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont * Courtlistener docket for D.V.D. v. DHS [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69816138/dvd-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/] * Courtlistener docket for American Oversight v. Hegseth [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69788832/american-oversight-v-hegseth/] Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at https://patreon.com/lawpatreon.com/law [http://patreon.com/law]! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org [http://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org/].

T3BE67 - It's another bar question with Heather Varanini! First we get the answer to last week's very bad and ungrateful father question, and then it's time for our next one! We crown some new winners, and then thank the best winners of all - our patrons! If you'd like to play along with T3BE, here's what to do: hop on Bluesky, follow Openargs [https://bsky.app/profile/openargs.bsky.social], find the post that has this episode, and quote it with your answer! Or, go to our Subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenArgs/] and look for the appropriate t3BE posting. Or best of all, become a patron at patreon.com/law [https://www.patreon.com/law] and play there! Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at https://patreon.com/lawpatreon.com/law [http://patreon.com/law]! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org [http://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org/].

OA1152 - We are pleased to welcome Mike Lissner, the Executive Director and CTO of the Free Law Project to discuss his outstanding work in bringing federal court filings out from behind the PACER paywall, how just a few people with good ideas can fill in the gaps left by government services, and why he hasn’t created an Article III Hot or Not with his vast library of judicial portraits (but how you could). * Free Law Project donation page [https://free.law/donate/help] * CourtListener [https://www.courtlistener.com/] * RECAP [https://free.law/recap] Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at https://patreon.com/lawpatreon.com/law [http://patreon.com/law]! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org [https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org].

OA1151 - We’re (kind of) live from New York! Thomas, Matt, and OA regular Liz Skeen meet up in person for the first time on Liz’s home turf to review the state of the law three months into the second Trump administration. We begin with a brief update on some  recent developments in Trump’s war against Biglaw before turning to some encouraging developments in two of the most significant federal civil cases of our lifetimes. Finally, Matt cedes today’s footnote to a New York minute from Liz about a welcome legal setback for Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign.  * Letters from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-03/Law_Firm_Letters_-_03.17.2025.pdf] sent to major law firms demanding data on DEI hiring policies (3/17/2025)  * DC District Court Judge James Boasberg’s 46-page findings of probable cause for criminal contempt [https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436.81.0_2.pdf] against defendants in JGG v Trump (4/16/2015) * Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson’s order in JGG v. Trump [https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/abrego-v-noem-order.pdf] (4/17/2025) Check out the OA Linktree [https://linktr.ee/openingarguments] for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at https://patreon.com/lawpatreon.com/law [http://patreon.com/law]! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org [https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org].