Advisory Opinions

David French and Sarah Isgur break down new polling showing historic lows in trust for the Supreme Court, debate whether a public disagreement between Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson helps or hurts the institution, and dive into oral arguments on property seizures and witness testimony rights.Show Notes–Hometown Program last call–Supreme Court polling and public trust–Justices...

Welcome to the SCOTUSblog/Advisory Opinions Extended Universe, featuring hosts from "Amarica's Constitution" (Akhil Amar and Andy Lipka) and "Divided Argument" (Will Baude and Dan Epps).On today's episode, the group discusses substantive due process in the context of Mirabelli v. Bonta, a California law that prevented teachers from sharing information with parents about their children's gender...

Sarah Isgur and David French break down United States v. Hemani, a Second Amendment case involving an alleged user of a controlled substance in possession of a gun. They then discuss two interim docket decisions, one on elections and congressional districts, and one on parental rights and substantive due process.The Agenda:–Guns and drug use–Downtown Bonkers Town–Interim Docket: California...

Sarah Isgur and David French debate whether President Donald Trump's military action against Iran requires congressional authorization, explore the constitutional limits of presidential power, and argue over which version of James Madison deserves our respect.The Agenda:–Housekeeping: corrections, good causes, and collaborations–Legalities of interventions in Iran–Abrielle skips school to talk...

Sarah Isgur and David French dive deep into the world of immunities, examining recent Supreme Court decisions and their implications. They discuss State of the Union attendance patterns, analyze a postal service immunity case that split along unexpected ideological lines, and explore the contrasting jurisprudential approaches of Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh across different administrations.The...

Sarah Isgur and David French record live at Florida State University and further examine the Supreme Court’s major tariff decision, examining Justice Kagan’s consistency argument, debating the Major Questions Doctrine with Justice Gorsuch’s concurrence, and analyzing Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent on executive power in foreign affairs.The Agenda–Analyzing Kagan’s argument–Deep dive into statutory...

In this emergency episode, Sarah Isgur and David French break down the Supreme Court’s historic 6-3 decision striking down President Donald Trump’s tariff authority under IEEPA.The Agenda:– The 6-3 decision–Chief Justice Roberts’ straightforward opinion–Major questions doctrine explained–The Festivus Concurrence begins–The refund mess–Why this is the most important caseShow Notes:–Quick Thoughts...

Sarah Isgur and David French are in Dallas, Texas, at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law to discuss Justice Samuel Alito’s potential next moves, the alternative to federalism, and attorney-client privilege in AI.The Agenda:–Justice Alito’s book release has raised eyebrows–Judge Amul Thapar, fitness influencer–A question from the best history teacher ever–Can the courts subpoena...

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss another set of Trump administration indictments rejected by a grand jury, the memo from Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissing the complaint against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, and finally, Grifter Sarah comes out to play in the Texas Senate race.The Agenda:–The DOJ’s dropping success rate with cases–David goes...

Hot takes from James Comey, the 5th Circuit weighs in on habeas corpus petitions, and does being a lawyer suck? Sarah Isgur and David French weigh in.Note: SCOTUSblog is hiring. Find more details and apply at this link, or send a cover letter and resume to scotusblog@thedispatch.com.The Agenda:–Introducing the Interim Relief Docket Stat Pack–Where are all the U.S. attorneys?–Supreme Court allows...