Shows / Advisory Opinions
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 Opinions
The Supreme Court Sides With Process
Back in the saddle, Sarah and David explain the Supreme Court’s decision on Yeshiva University v. Youth Pride Alliance (spoiler: this isn’t over yet). Plus…
- Advisory Opinions
Getting Your Legal Career Started
While David is still away on his well-earned vacation, it’s time for some career advice! Megan L. Brown – partner at Wiley Rein LLP – joins Sarah to talk about…
- Advisory Opinions
Special Master to Review Mar-a-Lago Documents
A federal judge ordered the appointment of a special master to review the sensitive documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. Orin Kerr, law professor at the University…
- Advisory Opinions
Trump vs. DOJ in Courtroom Battle
David and Sarah are here to make sense of the latest back and forth between the Justice Department and Trump’s legal team over classified documents found at…
- Advisory Opinions
Will Baude Responds to Common Good Constitutionalism
David and Sarah are joined by Will Baude, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, to discuss his review of Adrian Vermeule's new book Common…
- Advisory Opinions
Future of Cultivated Meat
David and Sarah are joined by Bruce Friedrich, founder and CEO of the Good Food Institute, to discuss cultivated meat and the next agricultural revolution…
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50 Ways of No
David and Sarah discuss two Florida free speech cases and a very strange North Carolina one too about whether a court can strike down legislation if some of…
- Advisory Opinions
Bret Devereaux Talks Orc Battle Tactics
Bret Devereaux is an ancient and military historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is here to discuss military tactics of some of…
- Advisory Opinions
Mar-a-Lago Search Part of Espionage Act Investigation
Ed O'Callaghan, partner at WilmerHale and former principal associate deputy attorney general, joins David and Sarah to discuss the news that the FBI’s search…
- Advisory Opinions
Kevin Stroud Talks the History of English
Kevin Stroud, creator and voice of the History of English podcast, joins David and Sarah for an exciting deep dive into the history of the English language and…
- Advisory Opinions
FBI Searches Trump's Home: What Does it Mean?
Sarah and David get together for an emergency episode to discuss the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. What does it…
- Advisory Opinions
Shouting Fire in a Crowded Theater
Sarah and David tackle the events of last week: the verdict in the Alex Jones case, and the story of Breonna Taylor and the court’s surprising indictments of…
- Advisory Opinions
Justice Department Sues Idaho Over Abortion Law
Sarah and David have a lot to talk about as the midterm primaries wrap up and federal lawsuits are filed stateside. What is former President Trump’s role in…
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Steven Pressfield on Writing Historical Fiction
It’s August, and so David and Sarah are taking a break from court coverage and legal issues. Steven Pressfield, author of A Man at Arms, joins Sarah and David…
- Advisory Opinions
Judge Rudofsky Talks Corpus Linguistics
Arkansas federal district judge Lee Rudofsky joins Sarah and David to give a guided tour of corpus linguistics, a recent but fascinating tool for jurists. How…
- Advisory Opinions
Judge Luttig Talks Electoral Count Act Reform
Former federal judge John Michael Luttig joins Sarah and David to detail his involvement in the events leading up to January 6, 2021. He reveals the story…
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A Conversation About Academic Freedom
David and Sarah return to discussions they had with their last guest, professor Akhil Amar, including living constitutionalism and the question of whether to…
- Advisory Opinions
Akhil Amar Talks Liberal Originalism
Sarah and David kick off the week with an exciting discussion of liberal constitutional originalism with Akhil Amar, author of The Words That Made Us…
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Twitter Sues Elon Musk to Force Acquisition
David and Sarah cover a full spectrum of cases and interesting news today. First up: Will a judge order Elon Musk to buy Twitter? Our hosts address the Texas…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Term Wrap Up with Kannon Shanmugam
David and Sarah are joined by Kannon Shanmugam, partner at Paul Weiss, for their now traditional end-of-term Supreme Court case roundup. Was this the most…
- Advisory Opinions
Revisiting the Coach Kennedy Case with Hiram Sasser
David and Sarah begin by going through SCOTUSblog’s end-of-term Stat Pack. Then Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, joins for…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Wraps Up Term with EPA Decision
Last week the Supreme Court ruled to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions. David and Sarah are here to discuss the…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Narrows 2020 Ruling on Tribal Lands
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma state authorities can prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians on Indian reservations…
- Advisory Opinions
Praying Football Coach Wins at Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has been making waves with two recent religious liberty cases, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District and Carson v. Makin. Sarah and David…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Overturns Roe and Casey
The outcome might not have been surprising, but the official release of the Dobbs v. Jackson opinion on Friday was still earth shaking, as it overturned Roe v…
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Supreme Court Strikes Down New York Gun Law
The Supreme Court struck down a New York law that placed strict limits on carrying a gun outside the home, ruling that Americans have a broad right to carry a…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Rejects Ban on Public Money for Religious Schools
Sarah and David breeze through a few Supreme Court opinions released Tuesday to focus on United States v. Taylor, and how Maine is more rural than Alaska (go…
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Supreme Court Dismisses GOP Immigration Rules Challenge
Sarah and David tackle six rather technical Supreme Court opinions released on Wednesday, including Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas, involving a Native American…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Rules in Double Jeopardy Case
David and Sarah give a rundown of two Supreme Court opinions this week: Shinn v. Ramirez and Denezpi v. United States. They discuss an interesting phenomenon…
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Man Charged with Attempted Murder of Justice Kavanaugh
Early Wednesday, police arrested an armed man only a block away from Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home. The man, who was charged with attempted…
- Advisory Opinions
Dipping Into the Mailbag
David and Sarah breeze past three boring Supreme Court cases before answering listener questions on everything from the Ninth Amendment to hearsay rules and to…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Blocks Texas Social Media Law
David and Sarah cover a wide variety of topics, from the Amber Heard/Johnny Depp verdict, to the acquittal of Michael Sussman on charges of lying to the FBI in…
- Advisory Opinions
Sex Abuse in the Church
David and Sarah talk about the Southern Baptist Convention sex abuse scandal, including the role that lawyers play in compounding the injustice of sex abuse in…
- Advisory Opinions
Mass Shootings and the Law
David and Sarah talk about the terrible school shooting in Texas and explore various gun control proposals, including red flag laws. They also talk about a new…
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Making Sense of the Depp v. Heard Trial
At long last, David and Sarah address the biggest issue in America today--the state of the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial. They also talk about Ted…
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A Conversation with Chief Judge Sutton
It’s a special edition of Advisory Opinions as David and Sarah talk to Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The discussion ranges…
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Texas Social Media Law Goes to Court
David and Sarah spend serious time talking about social media censorship, modern "public squares," and the ability of Texas and Florida to moderate Twitter and…
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Dobbs Fallout with a First Amendment Twist
Sarah and David talk more about the leaked draft opinion in Dobbs, but this time with a First Amendment twist. Activists have encouraged protesters to…
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Making Sense of the Supreme Court Leak Part II
David and Sarah spend more time on the leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito on Dobbs and ask the question: If Alito's opinion holds, what does that…
- Advisory Opinions
Making Sense of the Supreme Court Leak
In an emergency podcast, David and Sarah discuss the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s abortion opinion. Why did someone leak it? What are the ramifications for…
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Supreme Court Hears Migrant Protection Protocols Case
David and Sarah talk about the Supreme Court as they discuss the fate of Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols, talk about yet another win for the First…
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Supreme Court Hears Football Coach Prayer Case
It's a glorious podcast today as David and Sarah talk about a praying football coach, Miranda rights, and the hottest Supreme Court justices. They answer a key…
- Advisory Opinions
Professor Vladeck Talks Progressive Legal Philosophy
Sarah and David talk about the First Amendment, 14th Amendment, Puerto Rico, and progressive legal philosophy. They start with a big Supreme Court case that…
- Advisory Opinions
Federal Judge Strikes Down Mask Mandate
David and Sarah dive into the nationwide injunction ending the Biden administration's travel mask mandate, with Sarah adopting a "nope, yep, yep" approach to…
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How and Why We Change
In a glorious pod about which songs will be sung and tales will be told, Sarah and David talk about our puzzling and arbitrary death penalty, briefly discuss a…
- Advisory Opinions
That Nationwide Injunctions Concurrence
David and Sarah start with a short talk about Elon Musk and his quest to buy Twitter, then talk about a fascinating 6th Circuit concurrence that's the best…
- Advisory Opinions
The Argument for Originalism
Sarah and David address the very interesting announcement that Elon Musk won’t be joining Twitter’s board, including the clues about the reason that are…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court Rules in Malicious Prosecution Case
David and Sarah talk about a fascinating Supreme Court case that no one is discussing, unleash again on Yale Law School, and then spend the last few minutes on…
- Advisory Opinions
Thomas Jefferson Admissions Can Remain For Now
David and Sarah have much to discuss in today's podcast. They walk through a troubling 4th Circuit decision on race-motivated changes to a Virginia school's…
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The Crime-Fraud Exception
David and Sarah dive back into the free speech controversy at Yale and parse the difference between a statement being “disappointing,” “so disappointing,” and…
- Advisory Opinions
Religious Liberty and the Execution Chamber
David and Sarah welcome a special guest, Seth Kretzer, the lawyer who argued and won Ramirez v. Collier, the Supreme Court term’s biggest religious liberty…
- Advisory Opinions
Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmation Hearings Takeaways
David and Sarah discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings and a disruption at Yale Law School. They drill down on claims that Judge…
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Environmental Law Has 'Major Questions'
On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss red state crime rates versus blue state crime rates, environmental law as a vehicle for rescuing the American…
- Advisory Opinions
Baby Got Brief
David and Sarah hit a ton of topics in today’s podcast, but with an emphasis on state law, including some terribly drafted state laws. They start with the…
- Advisory Opinions
State Courts, Voting Maps, and the Supreme Court
On today’s episode, Sarah and David spend serious time discussing the Supreme Court’s latest voting rights decision, then they launch into their long-awaited…
- Advisory Opinions
Cosby, Wooden, and the Supreme Court's Busy Day
On today’s podcast, David and Sarah talk about five, yes, five Supreme Court opinions, including cases involving criminal law, state secrets, and social media…
- Advisory Opinions
January 6 Committee Alleges ‘Criminal Conspiracy’
On today’s episode, David and Sarah start with a Supreme Court update that features cases about adoption and religious freedom before moving on to an extensive…
- Advisory Opinions
Judge Strikes Down High School's Racial Balancing Policy
On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss a new case striking down a high school admissions policy in Virginia, digress into a talk about the power of…
- Advisory Opinions
David and Sarah at Yale
On today’s podcast, David and Sarah take a trip to New Haven to speak with the law students of Yale University. It’s another packed show. The Supreme Court…
- Advisory Opinions
Supreme Court to Review ‘Remain in Mexico’
Today’s podcast is more fast-paced than the NBA All-Star game. David and Sarah talk about the Supreme Court and immigration, Trump and free speech, vaccines…