He's Literally the Worst Dealmaker Ever. EVER.
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OA1271 - The single stupidest war of choice the U.S. has ever gotten itself into may finally be coming to an end--or at least the concept of a plan for an end? We go beyond the headlines to see what is actually in this thing, and take on some of the most interesting legal questions raised here. How could this possibly bind Israel, a country which specifically refused to be a party to it? How is the U.S. promising a $300 billion investment which hasn’t been authorized by Congress? And how much power does the President of the United States really have to end Congressional and international...
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The National Review’s Defense of Todd Blanche Is So Bad It's Confusing
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VR35 - In this episode released on the 54th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, the Vapid Response team raids the archives of the New York Times to retrieve one of the single worst (and worst-timed!) contemporary takes on the scandal which would end Richard Nixon’s Presidency. We then return to a time in which a Watergate-style burglary would be a fun diversion to see how at least one conservative legal writer is defending Trump’s nomination of his former defense attorney to serve as Attorney General. William Safire, The New York Times (4/19/1973) The Editorial Board, The...
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When It Comes to Juries, All of a Sudden the Supreme Court Can See Race
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OA1270 - A good court thingie! A famous case from 1986 gave us the “Batson rule” that prevents the use of “peremptory strikes” to remove people from juries on the basis of race. To this day, racial discrimination in jury selection continues to be a problem. But the Supreme Court recently reinforced the on-going utility of Batson challenges in two decisions… written by Kavanaugh? Tune in to learn about the history and modern application of this important protection of our rights. , 380 U.S. 202 (1965) , 476 U.S. 79 (1986) , 511 U.S. 127 (1994) , 588 U.S. 284 (2019) , 608...
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LAM1014: Green Card
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Hoo boy what a bizarre experience! Listen as Matt tries to convince us a really bad movie is good just because it deals with immigration law! If you'd like to hear the rest, go to and pledge at $2+!
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Trump Is Trying to Blanche His Taint
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OA1269 - It’s official: Donald Trump has nominated Acting Attorney General “Two Taint” Todd Blanche to run the Department of Justice for real. We review Blanche’s three-year career as Trump’s personal defense attorney before considering the questions the Senate Judiciary Committee should be asking to determine just who Blanche has been really working for in his time at DOJ so far. Then: the U.S. is hosting the world’s biggest international sports event at a time when our immigration system has never been less hospitable, and even before the first World Cup kickoff Trump’s CBP has...
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Is Fender Threatening Anyone Who Makes Strat-Shaped Guitars?
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OA1268 - Patents, trademarks, and copyrights, ach mein! How did the Fender Stratocaster, a guitar that has been in continuous manufacture since 1954, become the subject of an intellectual property dispute? Well, maybe this didn’t exactly come from . Fender has had 5 utility patents, 1 design patent, and 3 trademarks relevant to the Stratocaster . But the one thing that’s been all this time was protection for that iconic (or is it?) body shape. After their design patent expired, their trademark application was , and US copyright was definitionally , anyone could see that to the US Patent...
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35 Judges Say Trump's DOJ Committed Fraud on the Court
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OA1267 - Is Trump’s 1.8 billion dollar “anti-weaponization” fund really done, or is there something else going on here? Also can a few dozen federal judges really reopen any given civil suit with one magic filing? We take a closer look before going behind the recent commutation of former Mesa County (CO) elections clerk Tina Peters’ sentence by Colorado governor Jared Polis to the actual legal basis behind her successful appeal of her sentence to the Colorado Appeals Court. Finally in today’s footnote: an NPR host’s lawsuit claiming that Google stole his voice. ,...
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Molly Hemingway's Alito Book Is EMBARRASSING Propaganda
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VR34 - This week in Vapid Response: Vanilla Ice provides the platonic ideal of an amuse douche before we order up an excerpt of the worshipful new Alito biography by the editor-in-chief of The Federalist. We then take a closer look at MAGA’s desperate attacks on Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll as expressed in a recent piece in the Examiner. OA Book Club is coming for all patrons! Sign up now for ad-free listening at , and start reading our first selection ahead of our first live Zoom meetup later this month. “,” Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist (April 21, 2026) ,” Joe Concha, The...
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When Super Soaker Got Sued by a Totally Lame Squirt Gun
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OA1266 - Can wearing a corset be considered a “public” use of the product? What makes someone (or some thing) an inventor? What is it exactly that makes the Super Soaker so rad? Get the answers to these questions and more from… patent law? Jenessa walks us through some of her favorite wacky cases (that also teach us core patent law concepts). , 104 U.S. 333 (1881) , 43 F.4th 1207 (2022) , 27 U.S.P.Q.2d 1280 (E.D. Pa. 1993) , 91 F.3d 166 (Fed. Cir. 1996) Check out the OA for all the places to go and things to do!
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Judge Eviscerates Blanche’s DOJ, Tosses Abrego Garcia Indictment
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OA1265 - THIS IS SUCH A GOOD NEWS SHOW. Seriously. It was so good that Matt invented a new form of entertainment that you need to hear about. We've got Markwayne saying possibly THE dumbest thing a cabinet member has ever said. We've got a judge absolutely schooling Trump's corrupt DOJ and dismissing the bogus Kilmar Abrego Garcia indictment, AND we've got some interesting emolument talk. Can Florida just give Trump land?
info_outlineOA1253 - It’s spring cleaning time in this week’s news, in which we answer patron questions on everything from DOJ lying to a federal judge about ICE’s policy on arresting immigrants in courthouses to DOJ lying about violating court orders. Also: the Trump administration’s unbelievable gift to some of the worst of the worst J6rs, the D.C. Circuit’s inexplicable termination of Judge Boasberg’s contempt proceedings against the administration for violating his orders, and a major ruling in one of the most important deportation cases in US history. We chase these shots of 200-proof reality out with a chaser: Did the 5th Circuit really just legalize bathtub gin? Find out in today’s boozy footnote!
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“DOJ admits ICE courthouse arrests relied on erroneous information,” Sergio Martinez-Beltran (NPR, 3/26/2026)
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Email in which ICE revised its policy to exclude arrests at immigration court, filed March 24, 2026 in the Southern District of New York
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Appeals court again blocks Boasberg contempt probe into Alien Enemies Act deportations (Politico, 4/14/2026)
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On Petition for Writ of Mandamus, In Re: Trump et al, D.C. Cir (April 14, 2026)
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Unopposed Motion to Vacate Convictions and To Remand For Dismissal With Prejudice filed April 14, 2026
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Order in National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. National Park Service, et al. filed April 11, 2026 in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
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Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Federal Law Banning Home Alcohol Distilleries (Reason, 4/11/2026)
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Decision in McNutt et al. v. United State Department of Justice, Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau filed April 11, 2026 in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
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