412 episodes

Advisory Opinions is a new podcast from The Dispatch. Hosts David French and Sarah Isgur have a weekly conversation about the law, culture, and why it matters.

Advisory Opinions The Dispatch

    • News
    • 4.8 • 3.4K Ratings

Advisory Opinions is a new podcast from The Dispatch. Hosts David French and Sarah Isgur have a weekly conversation about the law, culture, and why it matters.

    What the Abortion Pill Case Is Really About

    What the Abortion Pill Case Is Really About

    Sarah and David discuss the legal arguments and media spin around the Mifepristone abortion pill case.
    The Agenda:
    —Mifepristone at the Supreme Court
    —SCOTUS and the 5th Circuit
    —Arresting a 72-year-old woman
    —The "Burning Man" festival of Alaska
    —Red brief, green brief, orange brief too
    —The stigma of the green bubbles and the DOJ's antitrust case against Apple
    Show Notes:
    —Oral argument transcript, FDA v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine
    —Federal Judge Roy J. Altman speaks on his recent trip to Israel
    —Sarah v. Kara on Bill Maher
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    • 1 hr 7 min
    Judge Cannon's Clerkship Problem

    Judge Cannon's Clerkship Problem

    In this double-guest special, David Lat shares his original reporting on the exodus of Judge Aileen Cannon’s clerks and its implications for Trump's classified documents case. Judge David Proctor of the Northern District of Alabama then joins to explain the history and function of the federal judiciary and its committees, including the Judicial Conference.
    The Agenda:
    —Do younger clerks just not understand hard work?
    —Judge Cannon’s declining reputation
    —Delays in Trump’s documents case
    —How the federal judiciary came to be
    —Rule-making process for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
    —Multi-district litigation and its criticisms
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    • 1 hr 23 min
    Into the Labyrinth (of Texas Immigration Law)

    Into the Labyrinth (of Texas Immigration Law)

    Sarah and David dive into the battle (one that at times stumps our resident SCOTUS wonks) between the 5th Circuit and the Supreme Court on Texas’ deportation legislation.
    The Agenda:
    —Texas’ SB4, explained
    —Important legal glossary
    —The issue with administrative stays
    —Why the delay at the Fifth Circuit?
    —Opinion in chambers from Justice Roberts
    —FBI No-Fly List Case
    —First Amendment and Government Coercion
    —NRA free speech battle
    —Listener feedback
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    • 1 hr
    Can State Officials Block Me on Social Media?

    Can State Officials Block Me on Social Media?

    Sarah and David discuss Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion in Lindke v. Freed—released last week by the Supreme Court—and the test for state action on social media. Is there a constitutional right to commenting on state officials’ accounts?
    The Agenda:
    -Predicting SCOTUS votes for Net Choice
    -Slime in the ice machine
    -Justice Elena Kagan’s compelling reasoning for saying “and” means “or”
    -Terrorism distortion and special needs exceptions to the Fourth Amendment
    -The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is overwhelmed
    -An emergency petition on the Texas A&M drag show case
    -Don’t say 'Don’t Say Gay' when referring to this lawsuit
    -Justice Stephen Breyer and choosing pragmatism and not textualism
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    • 1 hr 12 min
    Blood Libel at MIT

    Blood Libel at MIT

    Sarah and David react to the Robert Hur’s congressional testimony, but first Sarah responds to a recent article that claimed she was assisting Hur in his testimony (and thanks the loyal listeners who came to her defense).
    The Agenda:
    —David’s thoughts on the Hur hearings
    —Lessons in media training
    —Differences between the Trump and Biden documents cases
    —Partisanship making people awful
    —Complaint by Jewish students at MIT
    —Blood libel at MIT
    —Free speech or no speech on campus?
    —Positive racial discrimination?
    —The end of judge shopping
    Show Notes:
    —President Reagan, Mastermind - SNL
    —UC Berkeley Jewish students successfully march without confrontation
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    • 1 hr 12 min
    Stopping the Stop Woke Act

    Stopping the Stop Woke Act

    Despite a slow start to the week in legal news, Sarah and David have a tightly packed episode today starting with a dissent from denial from Justice Thomas on bias response teams at a Virginia university.
    The Agenda:
    —Bias response teams
    —ACLU vs. NLRB
    —Florida's Stop Woke Act naw-dogged by Eleventh Circuit
    —Texas' law on minor access to explicit content at the Fifth Circuit
    —TikTok: Welcome to the culture war
    —Kevin Newsom's speech on text, history, and tradition
    —Be careful with tradition
    —Understanding standing doctrine
    —The Oscars and a good legal movie
    Show Notes:
    —Federalist Society 2024 National Student Symposium
    —The Volokh Conspiracy
    —Luis Parrales: The Oscars in an Age of Distraction
    —MIT legal complaint
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    • 1 hr 2 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
3.4K Ratings

3.4K Ratings

Reluctant Uzer ,

Better when David and Sarah disagree

This is an excellent podcast for people interested in smart legal takes. Definitely better when David and Sarah disagree.

T2869 ,

Does David ever talk?

I wish Sara would stop talking long enough to give David a chance to weigh in. I find Sara very annoying to listen to and disagree with much of her analysis.
David needs a new podcast without Sara!

lrhhrl ,

Cmon Sarah

The audience doesn’t need to hear about your high school life. There is quite a bit of self indulging and it only comes from one of them…comes across childish and annoying

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