Opening Arguments

Opening Arguments is a law show that helps you make sense of the news! Comedian Thomas Smith brings on legal analysts to help you understand not only current events, but also deeper legal concepts and areas!
The typical schedule will be M-W-F with Monday being a deep-dive, Wednesday being Thomas Takes the Bar Exam and patron shoutouts, and Friday being a rapid response to legal issues in the news!

Politics Law News

Update frequency: every 2 days
Average duration: 65 minutes
Episodes: 1132
Years Active: 2016 - 2025

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OA848: Trump is Off the Ballot in Colorado!

Liz and Andrew break down what the latest decision by the Colorado Supreme Court means, how it will take effect, and how a court that claims to be devoted to textualism and originalism will grapple w…

00:56:11 | Fri 22 Dec 2023

OA847: Why Being A "Former" Government Official is Bad News for Mark Meadows... and Donald Trump

Liz and Andrew of course recorded this show before the big Colorado Supreme Court decision, but rest assured that breakdown is coming! In this episode, Liz and Andrew discuss Trump's hapless lega…

01:06:16 | Wed 20 Dec 2023

OA846: Forget Impeaching His Dad, Will Criminal Charges Even Stick Against Hunter Biden?

Liz and Andrew react to the $148 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani by pollworkers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman before tackling the latest barrage of motions to dismiss filed by Hunter B…

01:16:05 | Mon 18 Dec 2023

OA845: Immunity and Rudy, Part 2

Liz and Andrew continue to cover a bunch of stories with the connected theme of how to push back against Donald Trump's efforts to use anything and everything to postpone his criminal trials.

Also, t…

01:00:06 | Fri 15 Dec 2023

OA844: Rudy and Immunity

00:51:37 | Wed 13 Dec 2023

OA843: OA Field Trip! (Plus: Hunter Biden’s Taxes) feat. Kel McClanahan

Liz and Andrew welcome back friend of the show Kel McClanahan to tell us about an oral argument at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that you can and should attend in an effort to get the Se…

01:03:17 | Mon 11 Dec 2023

OA842: Does John Eastman WANT To Be Disbarred? (Maybe.)

Liz and Andrew tackle John Eastman's brief in his disbarment hearing arguing that the 2020 Presidential election was in fact stolen. It was not.

In the A story, Andrew and Liz walk through Trump'…

00:53:12 | Fri 08 Dec 2023

OA841: Sometimes When The President Does It, It IS Illegal!

Liz and Andrew unpack the two recent decisions on Presidential immunity. What does it mean for the civil and criminal cases against Donald Trump? But first, the duo unpack a recent Rule 404 filin…

00:55:39 | Wed 06 Dec 2023

OA840: Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Speedruns the Professional Responsibility Exam

Liz and Andrew embark on a deep dive into a set of truly wild accusations against Trump's go-to lawyer, Alina Habba, who's accused of manipulating a young server into signing an illegal and one-sided…

00:47:32 | Mon 04 Dec 2023

OA839: Trump Gagged, Comer Spanked, and ... Munsingwear Vacatur??

Liz and Andrew bring you a trio of stories: first, the New York appellate court reinstated the gag order on Donald Trump, prohibiting him from attacking Justice Engoron's staff.

Next, learn how Hunt…

00:58:01 | Fri 01 Dec 2023

OA838: Trump's Lawyers Blame China For Making Him Do That Coup & Oh Rudy

Liz and Andrew dissect Trump's latest request for additional discovery in the DC indictment before analyzing Rudy Giuliani having found the one thing he fears more than Judge Beryl Howell: a jury of …

00:59:22 | Wed 29 Nov 2023

OA837: BREAKING - Mike Lindell is Lying about Voting Machines (Again!)

Liz has finally beat the flu (or whatever) and makes her triumphant return breaking down a voting machine case in Georgia that is NOT crazy. So, of course, Mike "Lumpy Pillows" Lindell is lying about…

01:04:03 | Mon 27 Nov 2023

OA836: Yes, A Court Found That Trump "Incited An Insurrection" - Now What? (feat. Seth Barrett Tillman)

With Liz sidelined, Andrew welcomes back friend of the show Seth Barrett Tillman for an in-depth discussion of Anderson v. Griswold, a Colorado state court opinion that found by clear and convincing …

01:04:52 | Fri 24 Nov 2023

OA835: Why Harrison Floyd Isn't Going to Jail (& More)

Andrew and Liz tackle three updates: Elon Musk's "thermonuclear" lawsuit against Media Matters; Harrison Floyd's bond revocation hearing; and a truly terrible decision out of the 8th Circuit.

Notes N…

00:42:55 | Wed 22 Nov 2023

OA834: Elon Musk Will Save Free Speech By Suing Every Media Outlet on Earth

Andrew and an ailing Liz break down Elon Musk's latest threat to try and sue a media outlet critical of Twitter into silence - this time, Media Matters for America - through the lens of his last laws…

00:54:47 | Mon 20 Nov 2023

OA833: Trump Demands New NY Trial Because Liz Is Mean Online

Liz and Andrew break down the very real question of free speech versus a fair trial when viewed through the lens of (1) Donald Trump's motion for a mistrial in New York and (2) Trump's argument agai…

01:00:43 | Fri 17 Nov 2023

OA832: The Sam Bankman-Fried Story: Math Whiz Bets He's Smarter Than Prosecutors, Loses (feat. Mitchell Epner)

Liz and Andrew welcome back Mitchell Epner to explain exactly what happened with the Sam Bankman-Fried trial.

Notes SBF Superseding indictment https://www.justice.gov/media/1311286/dl?inline=

-Suppo…

00:54:06 | Wed 15 Nov 2023

OA831: Did Judge Aileen Cannon Really Rule Against Trump? (No.)

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