What Happens When the House Refuses to Swear in a New Member?

OA1205 - It’s another good news Friday! Voting rights expert Jenessa runs down some of the highlights of the off-year blue sweep in this week’s elections, as well as some recent unsung national victories for voting and disability rights. Matt then checks in on the Supreme Court’s oral arguments from the challenge to Trump’s unprecedented tariffs and why it is looking like he might actually lose his administration’s first attempt to defend one of his second administration’s policies on the merits.  Finally, in today’s footnote: Why a federal judge recently decided that a lawsuit brought by the man whose penis was once featured on the cover of the most important albums of 1990s smelled like summary judgment.  Supreme Court oral arguments in Learning Resources, Inc  v. Trump (11/5/2025) The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 “Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Pratcies that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits,” The White House (4/2/2025)(executive order on tariffs) Solicitor General John Sauer’s brief in Learning Resources  Plaintiff’s second amended complaint in Elden v. Nirvana LLC et al D.C. federal judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly’s opinion in combined litigation challenging Trump’s executive order on citizenship requirements for voting (10/31/25) DC federal judge Amir Ali’s order in National Association of the Deaf v. Trump  (11/4/25) Order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment in Elden v. Nirvana, LLC (9/30/2025)

VR12 - Yes, we absolutely thought this was coming out pre-Halloween. Halloween may be over, but NEVERTHELESS THE SPOOKTACULAR PERSISTED! In this Vapid Response double feature, Thomas, Matt, and Lydia are haunted by two ghoulish takes from the past:  FEATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: Politico’s insanely longform access journalism piece from August 2024 on how Project 2025 was so totally over, just never happening, nothing to see here EROSSERHEAD: New York Times resident traditional conservative Ross Douthat’s 2015 analysis of why Donald Trump is definitely not a fascist We then screen a short horror film recently shot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. “The Inside Story of How Project 2025 Fell Apart,” Ian Ward, POLITICO (8/2/2024) Project 2025 Tracker - Home “Opinion | Is Donald Trump a Fascist?,” Ross Douthat,  The New York Times  (12/3/2015)

OA1204 - As House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to pretend that he doesn’t have to seat Democrat Adelita Grijalva well over a month after she was elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional district, we take a closer look at the last time that Congress refused to swear someone in and what the Warren Court had to say about it. Who was Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, why was the House so intent on excluding him in 1966, and how precedential might Powell v. McCormack  be for the lawsuit which Arizona has filed on Grijalva’s behalf? Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969) Adam by Adam; the autobiography of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr ,  Adam Clayton, Powell Jr. (1972) (Internet Archive) 2 USC Sec 25 Complaint in Arizona v. House of Representatives (filed 10/21/25) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1203 - Happy Halloween! We take shelter from a year of ghoulish legal news in the COURTHOUSE OF HORROR, a cabinet of macabre legal curiosities including: “SO I TRADEMARKED AN AXE MURDERER”: The historic Lizzie Borden House takes a whack at a nearby coffee shop “THE BONE DETECTOR”: Recent patent bar survivor Jenessa Seymour brings us the unbelievable story of the spookiest--and silliest!--lie detector ever registered by the US Patent & Trademark Office “ATTACK OF THE TORTIOUS CLOWNS”: Can you sue a haunted house for your fright-related injuries?  “THE GREENBRIER GHOST”: The bizarre tale of how a victim’s testimony from beyond the grave helped to convict her killer in an 1896 West Virginia murder trial “CANDYMAN 5: SUMMARY JUDGMENT”: In a tasty conclusion to last year’s Halloween footnote on consumers disappointed with the spookiness of their seasonal treats, a Florida federal judge finds as a matter of law that there is no wrong way to make a Reese’s. Finally, we close on a serious note with Jenessa’s guide to how every registered voter can do their part next week to change the plot of our ongoing American horror story. Order in Ghost Adventures LLC v. Miss Lizzie’s Coffee, LLC, No. 23-2000 (1st  Cir.)(Selya, J.)(11/15/2024) “Federal Judge Known for Polysyllabic Prose Dies at 90,” Trip Gabriel, The New York Times, (3/21/2025) “Would You Confess Your Criminal Misdeeds to This Skeleton?,” Cara Giaimo, Atlas Obscura (5/16/2017) “Apparatus for Obtaining Criminal Confessions and Photographically Recording Them,” Patent #1749090, H.A. Shelby (filed 8/10/1927) “The Greenbrier Ghost Reexamined,” Greenbrier Historical Society, Arabeth Balseko (1/20/2022) Summary judgment order in Munoz v. Six Flags St. Louis LLC (10/12/2022)(Wallach, J.) Order granting motion to dismiss in Vidal et al v. The Hershey Company, FLSD No. 24-60831 (9/19/2025)(Damian, J.) “Your Cheat Sheet To The 2025 General Elections,” Daniel Nichanian, Bolts (10/1/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1202 - We are pleased to welcome American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick for this unique conversation between a practitioner and a policy expert. The AIC is one of the country's leading sources of information and advocacy on US immigration matters, and Aaron watches and comments on these issues like no one else out there right now. Topics include, among many other things, how the Trump administration keeps getting in its own way on immigration issues, how the law of who can be released from ICE custody on bond has been radically reinterpreted within the past few months, and our  hopes for the future in this critical moment for American immigration law.   Aaron Reichlin-Melnick’s bio on the American Immigration Council website Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on Bluesky Donate to support the American Immigration Counsel

OA1201 - This Rapid Response Friday, Matt and Jenessa play a few rounds of “Can They REALLY Do That?”, with topics including: The legal mechanism and filings behind Trump’s $230 million demand for DOJ having the audacity for investigating him for crimes that he did Arizona’s lawsuit against House Speaker Mike Johnson asking a DC federal court to require him to seat incoming Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva after her election DOJ’s first-ever “Antifa” terrorism indictment Finally, in today’s footnote Jenessa reports back from her recent experience sitting for the federal patent bar. Donald Trump’s Form 95 seeking damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the FBI’s execution of a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago (filed 8/7/2024) Transcript of former FBI agent Steven D’Antuono’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee  (6/7/2023) Complaint in Arizona v. U.S. House of Representatives (filed 10/21/2025) Martin v. U.S., 605 U.S. _____ (6/12/2025) Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969) Indictment with additional “Antifa”-related charges against Autumn Hill & Zachary Evetts (10/15/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

VR11 - Today on Vapid Response Wednesday: Thomas, Lydia, and Matt review some of the worst takes to last weekend’s 2700+ “No Kings” events around the U.S. But first, we savor an instant classic of an amuse douche: a recent video of a real-life encounter between a drunk-driving ICE officer and actual law enforcement. We then learn why the National Review is definitely not mad about the No Kings events going so well, and why House Majority Leader Steve Scalise IS mad about the raving socialists of the radical left who have shut down a government full of social programs which Republicans would otherwise absolutely want to fully fund if only they could. Full 30 minute video of ICE officer’s DUI arrest (August 2025) Democrats Look to Rewrite the Narrative with ‘No Kings’ Protests, Brittany Bernstein, National Review (10/20/2025) LEADER STEVE SCALISE: Schumer shutdown hurts families while Democrats rally in DC | Fox News (10/19/2025) “Videos Show ‘No Kings’ Protests Around U.S., World,” CBS News (10/19/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1200 - We've got another great law and science episode for ya! Are polygraphs admissible? Do they work? Matt and Jenessa talk about the history, law, and science of polygraphs, and how criminal courts treat scientific testimony in general. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

OA1199 - Voting rights expert Jenessa Seymour takes us through this week’s oral arguments in one of the most important cases before the Supreme Court this term: Louisiana v. Callais, which has the potential to end some of the most important protections in the Voting Rights Act and allow states to openly racially gerrymander their electoral districts. Also discussed: a related New York state case which may be affected by Callais, and a footnote on what one lying Chicago cop was willing to do to get out of dozens of traffic and speeding tickets--and how actual justice has finally caught up with him. Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court docket Oral arguments in Louisiana v Callais(10/15/2025) 52 U.S.C. § 10301 (Sec 2 of the Voting Rights Act) Thornburg v Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986) Rucho v. Common Cause 588 U.S. 684 (2019) Full text of NY’s John L. Lewis Voting Act Submit a comment on the Election Assistance Commission’s proposal to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voting registration form “Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison,”  Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica (10/2/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

It’s Vapid Response Wednesday, and Thomas, Lydia, and Matt are back to take apart more bad-faith nonsense from some of the worst people in public life. First up: The Atlantic's Caitlyn Flanagan on why it is totally fine that her good friend Bari Weiss is taking over one of the most prestigious news organizations in the United States after running a glorified blog which has been liberated from any reasonable idea of journalistic standards.  MAGA law professor Johnathan Turley then completely fails to explain why capital-A “Antifa”--a set of tactics and ideas which he has previously acknowledged in writing is not actually a “group” and should not be treated as one--is actually a group which should be treated as one. Finally, Newsweek-ruiner Josh Hammer makes his second appearance on Vapid Response Wednesday as he responds to some weird nonsense from Candace Owens. “Don’t Bet Against Bari Weiss,” Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic (10/7/25) “They Became Symbols for Gazan Starvation. But All 12 Suffer from Other Health Problems,” Olivia Reingold and Tanya Lukyanova, The Free Press  “Antifa Denial: How a Violent Anti-Free Speech Group Became a Non-Entity in American Politics,” Jonathan Turley, JonathanTurley.org (10/13/2025) “Declaring Antifa A Terrorist Organization Could Achieve Its Anti-Free Speech Agenda,” Jonathan Turley (6/4/2020) “Are Antifa Members Domestic Terrorists? Background on Antifa and Federal Classification of Their Actions,” Congressional Research Service (6/9/2020) “Antiracist Skinheads and the Birth of Anti-Racist Action: An Interview With Mic Crenshaw,” Kelly Hayes, OrganizingMyThoughts.org (4/8/2024) “Josh Hammer Responds Directly to Candace Owens’s Attack on Him,” Youtube (10/10/2025)