OA1278 - On its face, the decision in Watson is a pretty narrow ruling. Some states allow ballots postmarked on or before election day, but arriving after election day, to be counted. The court decided they can continue to do so.

But at stake was so much more. Bubbling under the surface, election deniers were trying to open a door to far more aggressive limitations on voting rights. With this decision, that door is quite firmly shut… by Barrett? Come hear Jenessa try to survive the cognitive dissonance of finding an ACB opinion extremely well-written, thorough, and appropriately critical of out-of-context half-assed attempts at historical analysis in the dissent.

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

VR37 - Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh both wrote furious, error-riddled columns attacking the Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling in Trump v. Barbara. And so Thomas, attorney Matt Cameron, and producer Lydia ran the columns through an AI detector and their BS detectors to see just how fake and how BS they were. Spoiler: it's a lot.

OA1279 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: A federal judge rips up the corrupt “settlement” Trump reached with his own IRS at the unprecedented request of a group of 35 former federal judges just in time time for aspiring Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing, humanizing the latest victims of ICE, and a metafootnote about a DC judge who hates footnotes nearly as much as Matt loves them.

The Agenda:

Williams' IRS ruling

Blanche confirmation hearing

Salgado Araujo shooting

Duran Guerrero shooting

Boasberg's footnote crusade

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1277 - We continue our coverage of the Trump administration’s criminalization of dissent with a brief update on the sentencing of the last remaining Prairieland defendant and a closer look at similar federal prosecutions of ICE protesters in Minneapolis, Spokane, and a number of other jurisdictions. Matt then explains how the DOJ just complicated a case against someone alleged to have leaked the second Jack Smith report in the funniest possible way. Finally, in today’s footnote: that one time that Dan Crenshaw and William Shatner tried to make Starfleet happen.

“Final federal Prairieland ‘antifa’ defendant sentenced to six years after helping shooter evade arrest,” The Dallas Morning News (6/6/2026)

Indictment in United States v. Stuckart et al., Eastern District of Washington (7/9/2025)

“DOJ Targets Anti-ICE Demonstrators with Conspiracy Charges,” PBS Newshour on Instagram (3/31/2026)

Indictment in United States v. Sant et al., District of Minnesota (6/11/2026)

Trump’s Spaghetti-Against-the-Wall Indictment Against ICE Protesters — and How to Fight It, The Intercept (6/17/2026)

“As ICE protesters like ‘Spokane 3’ are targeted, many still stand up,” Seattle Times (6/15/2026)

“In-Your-Face DOJ Aide Rides Prosecutors for ‘Chief Client’ Trump,” Bloomberg (2/19/2026)

‘Go Big and Go Loud’: Inside the Justice Dept.’s Push to Prosecute Protesters, New York Times (3/19/2026)

Indictment in United States of America v. Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, Southern District of Florida (5/19/2026)

“William Shatner Wants to Know: What the Heck is Wrong With You, Space Force?” William Shatner, Military Times (8/26/2020)

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Anyone else getting the Kalashi commercial in their OpenArgs episodes? The announcer is using the most obnoxious voice I think I've ever heard....

Just kidding (mostly)

Howdy all. As previously announced we are going to have an (unofficial) book cub discussion of Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement by Peter S. Canellos.

We're starting now, a couple days ahead of the official Zoom, both to serve as a reminder to finish the book in time, and also to prime the official discussion on Zoom (as Matt at least will be stopping by).

Reminder: The official Zoom call is open to all paid-Patrons of OA, and will be this Sunday (June 28th) at 4:30pm EDT/1:30PMPDT and will feature (in addition to the OA crew) the author Peter S. Cannelos

Feel free to comment with anything relevant that strikes your fancy. The top pinned comment will also give some ideas.

This morning SCOTUS denied cert on this VRA case, leaving in place an 8th Cir. holding that the VRA does not provide for a private right of action under Section 208, which provides for access to "voting assistance for blind, disabled, or illiterate persons" by "a person of the voter's choice". This leaves in place an Arkansas law that prohibits people who require assistance in voting from having anyone other than an elections official assist them in completing their ballots. It also prevents private litigants throughout the 8th Cir. from challenging other state laws under Section 208.

I would love to see an episode from u/JenessaSeymour covering this case and what the denial means for the future of the few remaining remnants of the VRA. It seems to me that SCOTUS is ready and willing to embrace the 8th Cir. position, but didn't want to do it next term right after effectively striking down the entirety of Section 2. Leaving the 8th Cir. ruling in place despite a circuit split and apparent clear split from precedent seems to send a fairly clear signal of where they see the law going.