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Advisory Opinions
Advisory Opinions is a legal podcast by The Dispatch. Hosts David French and Sarah Isgur meet twice a week to talk about the law, the courts, their collision with politics, and why it all matters.
Episodes
Advisory OpinionsBundle of Sticks
We’ve got a lot more first rate Supreme Court analysis for you in today’s pod. David and Sarah break down the most recent cert grant announcements and the…
Advisory OpinionsAngry Cheerleader Gets a Supreme Court Win
There was a big win for student free speech at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. In today’s pod, David and Sarah talk all about the long-awaited decision in…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court Rules Against NCAA
Student athletes have reason to celebrate after Monday’s big Supreme Court NCAA decision. In today’s episode, David and Sarah discuss the ins and outs of…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court Dismisses Obamacare Challenge
The big Supreme Court rulings have finally arrived! On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss two unexpected majorities in California v. Texas, which upheld…
Advisory OpinionsDOJ Lawmaker Subpoenas Explained
In today’s jam-packed episode, David and Sarah discuss the Supreme Court’s invitation to the Biden administration to weigh in on a pending challenge to…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court Countdown Continues
With a lot of big Supreme Court decisions on the horizon, David and Sarah discuss an unexpected concurrence from Justice Thomas in Borden v. United States, a…
Advisory OpinionsCalifornia's Assault Weapons Ban Overturned
Today on the podcast, our hosts walk us through a bit of Supreme Court drama involving Sonia Sotomayor and some historical revision of a 1987 Supreme Court…
Advisory OpinionsWhat Does 'So' Mean?
On today’s podcast, David and Sarah engage in a riveting discussion about the meaning of the word “so,” specifically in conjunction with the Supreme Court’s…
Advisory OpinionsCopyright Law and Andy Warhol
After our hosts catch us up on the latest goings on at the Supreme Court, Sarah tells about another copyright case involving none other than the great Andy…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court's Pipeline Problem
We’ve got another action-packed pod for you. On today’s episode, David and Sarah get listeners up to speed on all the latest legal topics, including a case…
Advisory OpinionsA 'Watershed' Rule
On today’s podcast, Sarah and David give their predictions on how the Supreme Court might rule next term in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court Takes Mississippi Abortion Case
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear oral arguments for what will likely turn out to be one of the most intensely followed abortion cases in decades…
Advisory OpinionsMcKay Coppins Talks Kavanaugh
Atlantic reporter McKay Coppins joins the show to chat about his latest profile of Brett Kavanaugh, which tracks the Supreme Court justice’s journey from his…
Advisory OpinionsThe Costa Method
Today, our hosts are thrilled to be joined by Federal Court of Appeals Judge Gregg Costa of the 5th Circuit. In today’s extra-nerdy pod, our esteemed guest…
Advisory OpinionsThe Tenth Justice
The Supreme Court wrapped up oral arguments for the term on Monday, so our hosts brought in an exciting guest to keep the legal nerdery barreling full steam…
Advisory OpinionsCamping Outside the Supreme Court
Today’s episode is the jackpot for Supreme Court bingo players, as our hosts play a guessing game as to which justices will write some of the court’s most…
Advisory OpinionsA Cheerleader's Supreme Court Case
After reflecting on The Dispatch’s interview with former President George W. Bush this week, David and Sarah discuss Justice Stephen Breyer’s controversial…
Advisory OpinionsSupreme Court Picture Day
Buckle up, AO fans. There is a lot to cover on the Supreme Court front and David and Sarah talk about all of it on today’s episode. It starts with a definitive…
Advisory OpinionsChauvin’s Conviction and What's Next?
Today, David and Sarah give us their reactions to the Derek Chauvin trial verdict, talk about potential issues on appeal, and break down Minnesota state law on…
Advisory OpinionsHearsay and the Right of Defendants
On today’s episode, Sarah and David walk us through Monday’s Supreme Court orders and oral arguments before diving back into the mailbag, where they respond to…
Advisory OpinionsThe Trial of Derek Chauvin
On today’s episode, David and Sarah discuss the ins and outs of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, including why Chauvin didn’t take the stand and whether he’s…
Advisory OpinionsThe Plastic Cutlery of Damocles
Fearing that death or disability will remove Justice Stephen Breyer from the Supreme Court when a Republican is in the White House, progressives have begun…
Advisory OpinionsJustice Breyer's Warning
Our hosts start today’s episode by diving into the Supreme Court’s 6-2 opinion in Google v. Oracle, a multibillion dollar copyright case involving whether…
Advisory OpinionsCommon Carriers
It was a slow day at the Supreme Court today, but our hosts are here to give us a breakdown of the latest orders. In a concurring opinion on Monday, Justice…
Advisory OpinionsWhen the NCAA Met the Supreme Court...
As the Houston Cougars and Baylor Bears prepare for their Final Four faceoff this Saturday, our podcast hosts break down Wednesday’s Supreme Court arguments…
Advisory OpinionsThe Curious Case of Roxanne Torres
On today’s podcast, our hosts discuss the Supreme Court’s March 25 ruling in Torres v. Madrid, a Fourth Amendment case involving a failed attempt by police…
Advisory OpinionsThe Takings Clause
On today’s pod, Sarah and David give us an update on the goings on at the Supreme Court, with an in-depth look at a union takings case out West. “A California…
Advisory OpinionsOriginalism of 'Moral Substance'
On today’s action-packed pod, our hosts start with an interesting certiorari grant to U.S. v. Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing case. The appellate court…
Advisory OpinionsThe World of Commercial Legal Finance
On today’s podcast, Sarah and David discuss a lawsuit in which a high school student sues his Nevada charter school “for repeatedly compelling his speech…
Advisory OpinionsListener Mailbag Part II
Today, our hosts are taking a break from the news cycle to share some fun facts about the Supreme Court and answer a series of questions from their listener…
Advisory OpinionsBottle Episode
David took the internet by storm last night when he joined a Clubhouse session called “David French, Based or Cringe?” As David puts it in today’s pod…
Advisory OpinionsNominal Damages
Katie Barlow, lawyer and media editor of SCOTUSBlog, sits in for David on today’s episode. Sarah and Katie kick off things by discussing the decision handed…
Advisory OpinionsNondiscrimination Law and the Equality Act
Is the Equality Act necessary to codify Bostock v. Clayton County? How might the Equality Act affect religious liberty, if at all? How do we definitively…
Advisory OpinionsHot Pursuit
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week for Lange v. California, a Fourth Amendment case that will determine whether a police officer’s hot pursuit of…
Advisory OpinionsThe Shadow Docket
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made headlines last week for his dissent to the majority’s denial of cert in Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Veronica…
Advisory OpinionsThe Nondelegation Rumble
Originalists have recently come under fire for trying to reinvigorate an old principle in administrative law called the nondelegation doctrine, which holds…
Advisory OpinionsNondelegation Doctrine
On Tuesday, Speech First, Inc. filed a free speech lawsuit alleging that the University of Central Florida and its officials “created a series of rules and…
Advisory OpinionsDeath Penalty Distortion
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted Alabama death row inmate Willie Smith’s request to have his pastor present at his execution, rejecting the state’s claim…
Advisory OpinionsArguments About Arguments
During the second day of the impeachment hearings on Wednesday, we got some more video evidence from the House impeachment managers exhibiting just how close…
Advisory OpinionsLast Dance for Pandemic Law
After duking it out over their Super Bowl disagreement, David and Sarah get into the meat of today’s episode: The ongoing saga of religious liberty in the age…
Advisory OpinionsImpeachment Briefs and Font Choices
On Wednesday, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney survived an intra-party effort to oust her from her GOP leadership position, meanwhile Republican Party Leader Kevin…
Advisory OpinionsDefending a President
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris ruffled West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s feathers when she sat down with local television stations in his…
Advisory OpinionsReturn of the TRO
A federal judge on Tuesday granted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request for a nationwide temporary restraining order blocking the Biden administration’s…
Advisory OpinionsMootness and Munsingwear
The Supreme Court “munsingweared” several cases in its Monday orders, including two Trump emoluments cases. After a deep dive into the legal history of…
Advisory OpinionsShibboleths and Executive Orders
Can Joe Biden heal the rampant degree of polarization that’s currently plaguing our nation’s politics? “There is an element on the left side of the aisle that…
Advisory OpinionsChicken Wars
Who will preside over soon-to-be-former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial after he leaves office? Will it be the Senate’s president pro tempore? The…
Advisory OpinionsFirst Amendment Lamborghini
This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, a free speech case that will determine whether former Georgia Gwinnett College…
Advisory OpinionsIncitement of Insurrection
In a break from our current news cycle, Advisory Opinions tackles “the more mundane issue of teenage girls complaining” in a discussion about Mahanoy Area…
Advisory OpinionsKnown Unknowns
During a press conference on Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called for President Trump’s removal from office. “Yesterday, the president of the…
Advisory OpinionsC'mon Man Corollary
After a holiday hiatus from podcasting, our hosts have quite a bit of news to catch up on. Did Trump commit election fraud during his phone call with Georgia…
Advisory OpinionsListener Mailbag Part I
On today’s holiday mailbag edition of the podcast, David and Sarah answer a series of listener questions ranging from legal history to college football. Do you…
Advisory OpinionsNCAA Meet the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear a case concerning whether the NCAA’s eligibility rules for student compensation violate federal antitrust law…
Advisory Opinions"Naw Dawg" The Sequel
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit contesting the election results in four battleground states, ruling…
Advisory OpinionsNaw Dog Doctrine
On Wednesday, 17 state attorneys general filed amicus briefs in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit contesting the presidential election…
Advisory OpinionsThe Safe Harbor Deadline
U.S. federal law’s “safe harbor deadline” means that most presidential election law cases will be resolved by tomorrow, December 8. Today, David and Sarah…
Advisory OpinionsYou Reap What You Sow
With the GOP’s Senate majority hanging by a thread, all eyes are on the Peach State and whether Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler can hold onto…
Advisory OpinionsNew Day for Pandemic Law
Over Thanksgiving break, the Supreme Court struck down New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s strict coronavirus related occupancy limits to 10 or 25 worshipers in…
Advisory OpinionsRelease the Kraken!
In Monday’s emergency episode of the podcast, David and Sarah bring us up to speed on the Trump legal team’s latest litigation drama, which has become nothing…
Advisory OpinionsBong Hits 4 Jesus
Rudy Giuliani has come out of retirement for the first time in 28 years to litigate on behalf of the Trump campaign. To say his gears were a little rusty would…
Advisory OpinionsWatching a House of Cards Collapse
A segment of the right-wing public has morphed into a conspiracy theory machine that is—in David’s words—propagating baseless voter fraud allegations at “a…