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Posts by Opening Arguments Podcast

Guy who promoted fake history of birthright citizenship in bad faith to disenfranchise children of immigrants backs up guy who promoted fake history of the 2020 election in bad faith to disenfranchise Georgia in defense of guy who designed fake elector scheme in bad faith to disenfranchise America

3 days ago 45 14 3 1

Probably just a coincidence that the law professors defending insurrectionist John Eastman are the same guys arguing against birthright citizenship, in no way reflective of a world view on who the law protects vs binds

3 days ago 835 125 4 3

Worried about birthright citizenship + still worried that SCOTUS might reverse it? Was this truly the worst argument they have ever heard from any Solicitor General? Also: why the answer to Gorsuch's questions re Native Americans was even worse than you thought, and so much more only on today's OA

2 weeks ago 22 6 0 0

important point! As discussed on today's @openargs.bsky.social, Johnson was well aware that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 would extend birthright citizenship to EVERYONE -- and that is exactly why he vetoed it. Not great for Saeur at all!

2 weeks ago 22 6 0 0
A close-up of Renee Nicole Good smiling at the beach, wearing a hat and reflective sunglasses. Becca Good is reflected in the sunglasses, holding up her phone to take the photo.

A close-up of Renee Nicole Good smiling at the beach, wearing a hat and reflective sunglasses. Becca Good is reflected in the sunglasses, holding up her phone to take the photo.

A photo of Renee and Becca Good smiling inside a shop or restaurant, with the shop window behind them in the background.

A photo of Renee and Becca Good smiling inside a shop or restaurant, with the shop window behind them in the background.

A selfie of Renee Nicole Good and Becca Good sitting in their car, smiling and wearing matching reflective sunglasses. Reflected in their sunglasses is the car's glovebox with their son's stuffies sticking out of it.

A selfie of Renee Nicole Good and Becca Good sitting in their car, smiling and wearing matching reflective sunglasses. Reflected in their sunglasses is the car's glovebox with their son's stuffies sticking out of it.

A photo of Becca and Renee Good smiling, wearing matching purple shirts and matching sunglasses perched on top of their heads, with a wooden fence and trees in the background behind them.

A photo of Becca and Renee Good smiling, wearing matching purple shirts and matching sunglasses perched on top of their heads, with a wooden fence and trees in the background behind them.

Today would be Renee Good's 38th birthday. Let's never forget that Renee & Becca Good were a loving, lovely, lovable couple who should have celebrated many birthdays together.

2 weeks ago 2387 711 45 34

Tune in Friday for our full breakdown of the stupidest argument ever brought to the US Supreme Court by the federal government--this is going to be a fun one!

2 weeks ago 22 2 3 0

43/ pro tip: "you have a number of hurdles here" is a very funny way for a judge to say "you have the shittiest case I have ever seen"

2 weeks ago 230 33 2 2

42/ KBJ: we would have to believe that (1) Framers were not actually importing the common law birthright citizenship rule and (2) what they were doing was departing from the rule in the way that you suggest -- they were seeking to have this turn on domicile. You have a number of hurdles here.

2 weeks ago 66 2 1 0

35/

Sauer: a ruling in our favor would leave "room for Congress"

lol this is exactly like saying that burning my house down gives me the room to build a new house, if the only people who could rebuild my house were a white shoe law firm with no hired labor who all hated each other

2 weeks ago 130 9 1 0
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Sauer goes on about "birth tourism," a problem which is approximately as urgent as undocumented people voting. His brief relies heavily on these kinds of policy arguments, which is not usually the kind of thing that someone who expects to win a legal argument does

2 weeks ago 92 11 4 0

Sauer cites Ilan Wurman's brief, a sign that he is truly on the ropes

2 weeks ago 95 11 1 1

Also weird but true fact: many people do not know this but Wurman's show with a former chair of the MN young Republicans (Rationally Based) is the closest thing to @openargs.bsky.social that is available to podcast listeners in hell

2 weeks ago 10 1 0 0
These actions aren't just illegal, although they are that. They aren't just unconstitutional, although they are that. They are anti-constitutional: they strike at the core of one of the principles that allows our entire constitutional order to function.

From the Founding through the present day, the power of the purse has been understood as one of Congress's most potent tools against the executive: the executive can't do anything without money, and he can't spend money without Congress. If Trump is able to get away with ignoring that, with arrogating the entire power of the purse to himself, then Congress has pretty much no way of checking him.

These actions aren't just illegal, although they are that. They aren't just unconstitutional, although they are that. They are anti-constitutional: they strike at the core of one of the principles that allows our entire constitutional order to function. From the Founding through the present day, the power of the purse has been understood as one of Congress's most potent tools against the executive: the executive can't do anything without money, and he can't spend money without Congress. If Trump is able to get away with ignoring that, with arrogating the entire power of the purse to himself, then Congress has pretty much no way of checking him.

Feels appropriate to point out on No Kings day:
Allowing Trump to selectively pay employees he likes, when he feels like it, rather than having Congress solve the problem, is a real constitutional threat.
From @joshchafetz.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/mike-johns...

3 weeks ago 567 179 9 2

Not unless plaintiffs could show that Truth was actively pushing j6 content in the window of time ahead of it to the point that it was a product design decision rather than hosting content. This suit was groundbreaking bc it approached the apps as defective products rather than complicit platorms

3 weeks ago 3 0 1 0

An important reminder of the cost of the most dangerous labor done by people we keep in a state of permanent vulnerability

This OA episode honoring the dead, explaining their situation, + dogwalking our national anthem into the sun was one of my favorites of 2024

open.spotify.com/episode/3BIk...

3 weeks ago 23 9 0 0

Just reposted separately, good find!

1 month ago 2 1 0 0

helicopter lawyering

1 month ago 22 0 2 0

Lol wow ty! This looks like footnote material

1 month ago 2 1 1 0

Vital thread. More on @openargs.bsky.social this Friday, but DOJ's successful prosecution of the Prarieland "Antifa" (with 52-point quotation marks there) defendants for clearly 1A-protected beliefs, speech, & associations is a major inflection point in American fascism

prairielanddefendants.com

1 month ago 18 8 1 1
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SAVE Act coming up for a vote, today or tomorrow! Call your Senators, again!

The Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. (Tip: put it in your Contacts.)

For direct phone numbers, see this: bsky.app/profile/cdpo...

1 month ago 19 16 0 0
Preview
Serious Pod Network An independent podcast network featuring: Opening Arguments: The law podcast that helps you make sense of the news! With comedian Thomas Smith and real life crimmigration lawyer Matt Cameron. Join Th...

We are still podcasters at heart and that is still where nearly all of our audience is, but we've been having a lot of fun on Youtube on Wednesdays! Check us out and subscribe to catch new releases and shorts

youtube.com/@seriouspodn...

1 month ago 5 0 0 0

New to OA? Here's how to listen:

MONDAYS: deep dives into legal topics in the news w/Jenessa Seymour

WEDNESDAYS: Thomas, Lydia, + Matt read + respond to the stupidest legal takes we can find (now also on Youtube!)

FRIDAYS: Matt goes beyond the headlines to explain the law behind the news

1 month ago 11 1 2 2

We just recorded the episode with the "victim's" testimony describing the sandwich assault and it is the most fun you are ever going to have hearing the testimony of someone who was the victim of an alleged federal crime

1 month ago 1 0 0 0

Thanks Janet! Some recent favorites:

Our reading of a 1997 Dersh oped about how the age of consent is just too damn high (2/18)

An interview with the director of the largest immigration law nonprofit in the US (3/2)

A deep dive on how gymnast Jordan Chiles might get her Olympic medal back (2/9)

1 month ago 8 1 1 0

counterpoint: if your main law podcasts are OA and @fivefourpod.bsky.social, you are listening to exactly the right number of law podcasts. But thanks!

1 month ago 8 0 0 0
Preview
Immigration Law in 2026: Fighting the Cruelty Machine

Thanks to @aywarhiannon.bsky.social & @fleerultra.bsky.social rultra.bsky.social for having me on @fivefourpod.bsky.social to talk about the practical hope of knowing where in immigration law we can win, where we are winning, & how we will win

open.spotify.com/episode/3zWN...

1 month ago 63 17 2 1
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Thanks to @acaciajustice.org's Shaina Aber for joining us on today's show to discuss the special challenges facing immigration nonprofits and their clients in the second Trump term!

Please consider a donation to help cover Acacia's lost federal funding here:
acaciajustice.org/donate/

1 month ago 13 2 1 1

Danke!

1 month ago 1 0 1 0
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1 month ago 402 34 0 1