Opening Arguments

Today's episode takes a deep dive into two developments concerning the right to an abortion in the U.S., followed by our continuing discussion on plea bargaining with listener comments from prosecutors, public defenders, the U.S. judiciary, and even international listeners.  You won't want to miss it! We begin with an in-depth examination of the so-called "gag rule" just proposed by Trump's Department of Health and Human Services.  Is it really a gag rule?  (Yes.) After that, we look into the Supreme Court's recent decision not to grant certiorari in Planned Parenthood v. Jegley, allowing an 8th Circuit decision to stand that, in turn, denied a preliminary injunction blocking a restrictive Arkansas abortion law, HB1394.  Is this a bad sign?  (Yes.) After that, we return to the subject of plea bargaining that's been a hot topic in our inbox for weeks, capped off by the Iowa Supreme Court's discussion of the issue in  Schmidt v. Iowa. Finally, we end the answer to Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #78 regarding whether