Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith and lawyer Matt Cameron help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas! The schedule is M-W-F, with the main show on Monday and Friday and Vapid Response on Wednesday!
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Here's Why Voter Fraud Is Virtually Nonexistent, and What Experts Actually Fear
We all know by now that election fraud is rare, but do you know why? What mechanisms are in place that make us so sure it's rare, and not just rarely reported? Jenessa walks us through election security protocols, what happens to your ballot at every step in the process, and what election security experts are actually worried about. Cases and sources discussed: Brennan Center Election Cybersecurity Summit Voting Rights Lab election risk heat map We recorded this before charges were filed against James O'Keefe because he decided to prove me right by getting caught attempting voter fraud Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
"You Gotta Spend Voter Fraud to Make Voter Fraud" - James O'Keefe
With Matt out sick, we're doing a GG crossover, with a hot off the presses new story suitable for Rapid Response Friday. Back in August, James O'Keefe's rebranded operation, now calling itself the Citizen Justice League, sent people dressed in racist Muslim garb into Minneapolis polling places to test Minnesota's voter "vouching" law. Does the full footage actually show what the viral clips claim, or do the poll workers do exactly what they're supposed to? And what happens when the "random" names O'Keefe and Cameron Higby used to vouch for strangers turn out to belong to real, very surprised Minnesota voters? Thomas and Lydia go through the new documents and the county attorney's press conference, line by line. To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
The Christian Reboot of the Scopes Monkey Trial Nobody Asked For
WE WATCHED A MOVIE SO CHRISTIAN WE HAD TO DOSE IT OUT IN TWO SITTINGS. Thomas and Matt are joined by Lydia for Alleged, a 2010 Christian retelling of the Scopes Monkey Trial that somehow decides the real villains were the evolutionists. We've got Nebraska Man resurrected as a gotcha, H.L. Mencken slandered into oblivion, and a wildly invented eugenics subplot that never happened in Tennessee. Matt actually read the real trial history, so we get to find out just how much of this is "alleged" fact and how much is pure fan fiction built to make William Jennings Bryan the hero. Alleged (2010), dir. Fenton Bailey (fictionalized Scopes Monkey Trial drama) Cases discussed: State v. John Thomas Scopes (Scopes Monkey Trial, Rhea County, TN, 1925) Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! $2+ patrons already have the full episode at patreon.com/law!
They Wouldn't Be Flailing This Hard If They Thought They Were Winning
The election is coming up fast, with early voting already underway in many states. With an administration that is, let's say "do we really need elections?" curious, how did we get here? Elections are running more or less as expected so far, because heroes are fighting for your right to vote across the country. Check out some pivotal lawsuits you probably missed in all the chaos. Cases and sources discussed: A comprehensive list of on-going election lawsuits hosted by Democracy Docket Unfortunately, right after we recorded, SCOTUS ruled to take that mixed result in New Hampshire and turn it into a big L Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
The More We Learn About the Ilhan Omar Raid, the Worse It Looks
Matt's got an update on the Ilhan Omar search warrant saga. We get into the genuinely bizarre citizenship limbo they're trying to put her in. In other news, FEMA told Congress this week that it just doesn't want to do its job anymore. And we close out with a 1962 oldies song that somehow broke the Supreme Court. Cases discussed: Vetter v. Resnik Maslenjak v. United States (2017) Baker v. Coates Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
Tommy Teepell Gets Publicly Owned, and the Worst Cornell 7 Take Yet
Today on Vapid Response Wednesday: the extremely believable backstory of some guy named Tommy who got publicly owned by Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and the single worst take on the Cornell 7 case from within the Ivy League. Finally, we take our minds far, far away from Cornell to enjoy a galactically bad 1983 take on the most beloved film series in world history from one of America's crankiest critics. Cases and sources discussed: Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul Al-Syed answers a question posed by Tommy Teeple at a town hall in Caro, Michigan (Oct. 17, 2026) "The Cornell 7 Is Really About Liberalism," The Sundial (Oct 13, 2026) Condemnation of The Sundial's publication of "The Cornell 7 Is Really About Liberalism" from the editorial board of the Columbia Political Review, "Now It's Really About Liberalism," The Sundial, Shoshana Aufzien (10/18/2026) "Star Wars Nightline Discussion," ABC News (1983) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
Can You Sue a Drug Company When You Don't Know Which One Made the Pill?
We're on a winning streak! ...because we picked the winners. This week we cover two cases where the little guy comes out on top against the big corporation, and learn some key torts concepts along the way. Maybe your neighborhood billboard personal injury attorney isn't such a bad guy after all. Sources: Election Protection Hotline Brennan Center statement/information on ICE at the polls The SALUTE reporting method Civil litigation statistics Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories Mobil v Ellender Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
NY Defense Attorney Calls the Tompkins County DA's Cornell Decision "Truly Stunning"
Matt's under the weather, so no normal Friday show this week. But don't panic, because we've got a treat instead: a crossover from Gavel Gavel where criminal defense attorney Liz Skeen joins Thomas to talk about the Cornell case, and she is PISSED. Liz has real, on-the-ground New York experience with how the system treats people who aren't privileged kids from an Ivy League school, and it shows. If you want the backstory first, Thomas and Lydia already went through the complaint in the previous two Gavel Gavel episodes. To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
What the Media Are Getting Wrong About the Ilhan Omar Raid
Federal agents raided Ilhan Omar's house this week, possibly over a decades-old conspiracy theory. Matt Explains what the media are getting wrong about the incident. Along the way we hear from Russian foreign correspondent Benny Johnson and his "deep research." Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
This Guy Beat Qualified Immunity Twice, in Two Different Circuits
Qualified immunity does not strike again! In a case out of the 10th circuit, with the same plaintiff from last week's Rosales v. Lewis/Terrell, the court once again refuses qualified immunity to an officer who was wildly out of line. Learn about immunity for municipalities and standing rules, the multi-factor tests for excessive use of force against an armed civilian, and a unique alternative perspective on how qualified immunity should work from the concurrence. Cases and sources discussed: Check the deadlines and criteria to request a mail-in ballot. Check the dates and times of early voting. Rosales v. Bradshaw, (10th Cir. 2023) Governmental immunity by state Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
Florida Judge Says Congress Can't Make Noncitizen Voting a Federal Crime
Rapid Response Friday kicks off with two major under-the-radar stories that you may not hear anywhere else about major federal decisions out of Florida and Massachusetts which may remove two important tools from Trump's fascist toolbox. We also explain how the subject of Matt's exclusive OA report from the front lines of deportation defense last July on how ICE was trying to rewrite the law of mandatory ICE detention has just become the single most important immigration case in the Supreme Court's coming term. Finally, Matt goes gorilla mode for today's footnote to share the story of how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service went ape on a Mexican zookeeper in one of the wildest cases of federal entrapment in American history. Cases discussed: Opinion and Order in Maria L and Nancy M. v. Mullin (9/30/26) SDFL judge David Bernstein's order dismissing U.S. v. Cox (10/1/2026) Order in Barbosa de Cunha v. Freden, (2nd Cir., 4/28/26) "ICE Just… Decided that Millions of People Are Ineligible for Bail. This is Bad. Like, Really Bad." Opening Arguments, OA1174 (July 18, 2026) "U.S. Agent in Gorilla Suit Catches Primate Smugglers," LA Times (1/27/1993) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
Samuel Alito's Victory Lap and Douglas Murray's Deportation Jetpack Fantasy
This week on Vapid Response Wednesday: A Bari Weiss double feature! We kick off with an amuse douche from CBS News's chill hang with a cool guy from Trenton. Samuel Alito grew up with a dream: doing incalculable damage to women's healthcare by destroying the Constitutional abortion rights previously guaranteed by Roe v. Wade, apparently because no one was really using them anyway? Does Samuel Alito even hear himself talk anymore? We then take up the closest thing the Trump era has seen to an intellectual case for mass deportation from one of its poshest warriors: "intellectual dark web" alum Douglas Murray, who outlines a completely new strategy so brilliant, so internally consistent, and so obviously rushed to print without a second thought for what he was actually trying to say that it could only have been published in The Free Press. Cases and sources discussed: "Extended Interview: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito," CBS News, Oct 5, 2026 "How the West Lost Its Will to Reverse Mass Migration," Douglas Murray, The Free Press (9/24/2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
The 5th Circuit Denied a Cop Qualified Immunity, So We Might Be in the Afterlife
Qualified immunity can be overcome! In the fifth circuit?! Come hear the good news, and learn some fourth amendment traffic stop rules along the way. CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION. Deadlines for your state can be found here. Cases discussed: CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION. Deadlines for your state can be found here. Rosales v. Terrell, 25-30650 (5th Cir. 2026) Dashcam footage from the Rosales case Milligan v Lewis Reporting on trial of Lewis for alleged misconduct Rosales v. Bradshaw, (10th Cir. 2023) USPS v. California et al. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
DOJ Wants Every Federal Judge in Minnesota Recused (Good Luck With That)
IT'S FASCISM RESPONSE FRIDAY, and it's a lot. DOJ just filed a complaint trying to get every single active federal judge in Minnesota booted off immigration cases, and the "evidence" is a judge telling the New York Times the truth. The Supreme Court just let deportations to countries people aren't even from happen again. And we cannot stop laughing about the executive order that just declared this the "era of superintelligence." There's good news too, but you'll have to listen for that. Cases discussed: Complaint Against Judges of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (filed under 28 U.S.C. § 351) D.V.D. v. DHS (Supreme Court stay on third-country removals) Trump v. Internal Revenue Service (11th Circuit, the "slush fund" case) CNN et al. v. Trump (White House press access) USPS v. California et al. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! To support the show (and lose the ads!), please pledge at patreon.com/law! $2+ patrons also get a new Law'd Awful Movies every month.
John Yoo Wrote the Torture Memos and Never Paid for It. At All.
Today on Vapid Response: 25 years after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, we look back on the Forrest Gump of monstrously bad legal takes: former DOJ lawyer and current UC Berkeley law professor (!) John Yoo. We go back to the primary sources to show how the Office of Legal Counsel explicitly authorized torture, indefinite detention in Guantanamo Bay, and warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens before giving Secretary of State Marco Rubio a chance to explain why the world should never hold the United States accountable for any of it. Cases and sources discussed: "Time to Think About Torture," Jonathan Alter, Newsweek (11/4/2001) "Is There a Tortuous Road to Justice?" Alan M. Dershowitz, LA Times (11/8/2001) Memorandum for John Rizzo, Acting Counsel for the CIA, DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (August 1, 2002) Possible Habeas Jurisdiction Over Aliens Held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Patrick Philbin & John Yoo (December 28 2001) Constitutionality of Amending Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to Change the "Purpose " Standard for Searches, John Yoo (9/25/2001) "Why We're Dismantling the ICC," Secretary of State Marco Rubio (July 14, 2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!