Good Law | Bad Law

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by, Scott Ruskay-Kidd, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, to discuss Justice Kennedy’s retirement and what it could mean for the future of Roe v. Wade.   A graduate of Columbia Law School, Scott’s job is to work on developing new legal theories, manage strategic allies and strengthen the protections of reproductive rights. Scott says that the Center for Reproductive Rights is dedicated to advancing women’s’ reproductive health, self-determination, and dignity.   Today Aaron and Scott discuss what Justice Kennedy’s retirement might mean for the Supreme Court, as well as the country. As the longstanding swing vote, Kennedy was crucial as the pivotal position on the Court.  With his decision to retire, President Trump now can nominate a second Justice. As a candidate, Trump promised he would nominate judges who would overturn Roe. With his nomination of Brett Kavana

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by a very special guest this week, Dean Susan Freiwald, to discuss one of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Carpenter V. United States,, and the implications this ruling may have in the area of digital communications and privacy.   Dean of the Law School at the University of San Francisco, Susan Freiwald is one of the country’s leading experts on the intersection of law and new technology, specifically cell phone technology, internet technology, and privacy.  She also happens to be Aaron’s sister. A Harvard Law graduate, former classmate of President Barak Obama, and a former software developer, Susan joined the University of San Francisco in 1997 teaching privacy, internet law and first year law classes such as contracts law and criminal procedure.  She has authored and co-authored several amicus briefs in major appellate cases regarding surveillance laws and her academic work has been

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Dave Domina to discuss the national opioid crisis and the wave of litigation to hold the pharmaceutical industry responsible.  Dave has joined in this massive effort by filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska against more than two dozen opioid manufacturers and distributors.   The Complaint Dave has filed is a treatise on the origins of the opioid crisis, how pharmaceutical companies manipulated science and medicine to reap billions of dollars in profits, and why so many people are dying and so many communities, like the Ponca, are suffering today.  Here is a link to the Complaint: here.   A Nebraskan attorney, Dave has run for both Governor and Senate and he also holds the honor of having prosecuted two impeachment cases during his career. Dave is now taking on another very important case as he represents the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska in new litigation against a

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Brenda Skylstad to discuss her role in creating important anti-SLAPP legislation.   SLAPP stands for: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. SLAPPs are used as a measure to silence, and harass critics. By forcing them to spend time and money on a legal defense, SLAPP filers hope that these critics will abandon their charge or opposition even though these lawsuits are baseless. SLAPP filers don’t go to court to seek justice. Rather, SLAPPS are intended to intimidate those who disagree by draining their financial resources.   Back in 1987 when Brenda and her then husband tried to refinance their home they learned the real-state company that had sold the home failed to pay the excise, or transfer, tax. When she began looking into the situation more she learned she was not the only one. The company had failed to pay the excise tax on over 300 homes in the development that Brenda liv

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by LaDoris Cordell, retired judge of the Superior Court of California and former Independent Police Auditor for the city of San Jose, California. Judge Cordell joins the program to discuss the recall of Judge Aaron Persky.   Judge Cordell has been a leading voice in the fight against Judge Aaron Persky’s recall in California. He was recently recalled after he handed down what was seen as a lenient sentence to Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of three felonies that carried a maximum sentence of 14 years: assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.   If you are not familiar with the Brock Turner case, click here to learn more.   After hearing statements from both the Plaintiff and the Defendant in the case, as well as the Probation Dep

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Jennifer Pizer, Law and Policy Director for Lambda Legal, to discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado  case.   Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. A few months ago, on episode 79 we were joined by another Lambda Legal attorney, Currey Cook, to talk about faith-based adoption and child-welfare agencies that discriminate against LGBT individuals and receive state protection..   Today’s episode continues the discussion we had with Widener University Law School Dean, Rod Smolla, on episode 66. Dean Smolla did a fantastic job breaking down the case and giving opinions on how the Supreme Court might rule.

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Nan Aron, President of the Alliance for Justice and a leading progressive voice on matters related to the federal judiciary to discuss judicial selection. We wanted to continue talking about this incredibly important topic and present a different perspective having already talked with Grover Joseph Rees about Judicial Selection in episode 76.   The Alliance for Justice believes that all Americans have the right to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard when government makes decisions that affect their lives. The AFJ is a national association of 130 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society.   Nan is an unrivaled expert on the legal framework, importance, and assessment of nonprofit advocacy activities. She started the AFJ in 1979 after working as a staff attorney for th

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Dalene Hemerka, an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Public Interest Law Center to talk about the Work Experience for High School Students with Disabilities Act.   The Public Interest Law Center uses high-impact legal strategies to advance the civil, social, and economic rights of communities in the Philadelphia region facing discrimination, inequality, and poverty. They use litigation, community education, advocacy, and organizing to secure their access to fundamental resources and services.   Darlene focuses on representing parents in IEP meetings, advocating for teens with disabilities in the Philadelphia School District, and teaching students and their families about secondary transition services. This area of the law is a passion for Darlene because she was born with Cerebral Palsy.   During the episode she talks about her experience transitioning from high school to college and w

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Currey Cook an attorney and advocate for Lambda Legal to discuss discrimination in the foster care system.   Currey Cook is the Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project and Counsel in the National Headquarters Office of Lambda Legal which is the oldest and largest national legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and people with HIV.   On today’s show, Currey and Aaron talk about the new law passed in Oklahoma as well as laws passed in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Alabama, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Virginia that protect faith-based adoption agencies’ right to restrict child placement based on religious beliefs. Currey explains these organizations, like any other organization or business, can’t discriminate based on things like sex or gender because those are protected classes. But these

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Melissa Gomez, President of MMG Jury Consulting LLC., to talk about how Juries have changed over the past few years.   Melissa Gomez is a jury consultant with a PHD in psychology and a Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania. In her career as a jury consultant she has worked on over 600 jury trials across the United States and has written two books; Jury Trials Outside-in: Leveraging Psychology from Discovery to Decision, and The Witness preparation Partner: A Guide to Becoming the Ready Messenger.   We brought Melissa in today to talk about the second Bill Cosby trial which resulted in a conviction, to see if she thinks the changes in the political climate and the #MeToo movement had any impact on the jury’s decision. She explains that since 2017 she has seen a sharp increase in distrust among juries towards those who come from a position of power. And, this d

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Stephen Vladeck, co-host of the popular podcast “The National Security Law Podcast”, as well as a law professor at the University of Texas, School of Law. Stephen is also a consultant for CNN both on air and behind the scenes, as an analyst covering the Supreme Court.   Specializing in national security law, Stephen focuses his research on the intersection of the federal courts and national security law, access to justice, human rights law and more. In today’s episode, Aaron and Stephen discuss the Supreme Court case, Jesner Et Al. v. Arab Bank, PLC.   A matter with potentially wide-ranging implications, this case surrounds a series of five lawsuits that were filed against the Arab Bank in Federal District Court in Brooklyn between the years 2004 and 2010. The basic allegation uniting these five lawsuits and more than 6,000 plaintiffs is their claim as victims of terrorist attacks that

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Grover Joseph Rees, a retired US Ambassador, retired Chief Justice of American Samoa, and former General Counsel to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to talk about the judicial selection process.  Mr. Rees was also the chief judge picker in the Department of Justice during the mid-part of Ronald Reagan’s Administration.   Often the media focuses on many of the policies and changes a president wants to make or promises to make while they are in office.  But many of those changes can be un-done by another president. One of the few things a president can do that can’t be reversed later is appointing judges to the various federal courts throughout the country.   On this episode, Aaron and Joseph talk about his experience and background having worked under President Reagan as well as his experience working as a law professor at the University of Texas. They also reminisce about an i

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by George Bochetto, a nationally acclaimed trial lawyer and the former boxing commissioner in Pennsylvania, to talk about non-disclosure agreements.   Throughout his career, George has handled some major defamation cases. He came on the show today to help walk us through the NDA agreement Stormy Daniels signed in regards to her alleged affair with Donald Trump and explain whether or not he thinks it would be enforceable.    To follow along in the episode and read the NDA for yourself click the link below: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ocvnkwprbs7enje/Filed%20Complaint.pdf?dl=0   Some of the points George points out in the episode that could nullify this agreement are: David Dennison aka Donald Trump didn’t sign the agreement The penalties are overly one sided. Meaning, Peggy Peterson aka Stormy Daniels’s punishments may be too severe to enforce. Contracts for illegal acts are not enforcea

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Katie Fallow, a Senior Attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.   Before Katie joined the Knight First Amendment Institute, she was a partner at the law firm Jenner & Block, where she represented video game creators in the Supreme Court case EMA v Brown and defended news outlets like the Huffington Post against defamation claims.   Katie joins the show today to talk about a case she has brought on behalf of seven Twitter users that have been blocked from the @RealDonaldTrump Twitter account. She claims President Trump has violated the First Amendment by blocking these users because:   The President uses his Twitter account as a form of public forum, and a public official cannot silence or exclude someone from a public forum based solely on his or her viewpoint. The President’s Twitter account has become an important source of information and an indi

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined again by William (Bill) Myers Jr., author of “An Engineered Injustice,” to talk about his new book.   We had Bill on the show last summer to talk about his last book, “A Criminal Defense,” and his work as a trial lawyer in Philadelphia for the past 30 years. Today, we’re continuing that discussion and focusing on his new book, “An Engineered Injustice.”  Bill’s newest book takes a page out of his law practice (which specializes in FELA law, a type of law that applies to injured rail road workers) and focuses on a criminal defense attorney representing his cousin who is a train conductor.   Vaughn, a character from “A Criminal Defense” is thrust into the spotlight when his cousin Eddie is involved in a train crash. Bill tells us that Vaughn owes Eddie a debt so he is forced to represent him even though all of the evidence points to Eddie being at fault for the crash. Each page in this book r

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Robert Oshel, the former Associate Director of the National Practitioners Databank to discuss transparency in the medical field.   The National Practitioners Databank was established by Congress in 1986 to try and reduce healthcare fraud and improve health care quality. The Databank records anytime a medical professional pays a medical malpractice payment and when/if a medical professional has a disciplinary action taken against them.   However, despite the Databank, there is a serious problem in our country.  Recently outlined in a USA Today story, (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/20/doctors-licenses-medical-boards/2655513/) the issue of transparency is directly addressed as it is revealed that doctors can have their license revoked in one state but not another. This means that the doctor still has the opportunity to then go to a state where they are still allowed to

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Ben Geffen, an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, to talk about the recent landmark “gerrymandering” case in Pennsylvania.  Ben is one of the lawyers behind this historic Supreme Court case.   This case, a blow to partisan gerrymandering, not only has led to a redrawing of the Congressional map in Pennsylvania, but may contribute to more wide-ranging political change in the midterm elections this November.   Throughout our conversation, Ben details the normal process in which Congressional district lines are redrawn every ten years after the census.  The census determines how many seats a state has in Congress based on population shifts since the previous census.  That information is used in the drawing of district lines to ensure that each district is given an equal vote.   The political party in charge of the state legislature always has the upper hand in how district lines

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Kelsey Juliana and Attorney Julia Olson to talk about a federal lawsuit they have brought against the United States Government regarding Climate Change.   Kelsey Juliana is a 21-year old college student and the lead plaintiff in the case that has been dubbed “Youth v. Gov” and that some are also calling the “biggest lawsuit on the planet.”  Kelsey, along with 20 other children, filed suit in federal court in Oregon claiming that U.S. energy policies over the last 50 years that have favored fossil fuel companies and fossil fuel use have contributed to the climate change crisis we now face.  As a result, Kelsey and the others claim, the U.S. has violated their fundamental constitutional rights.   Julia Olson is the lead attorney on this roller coaster of a case and certainly has had her work cut out for her. Since the start of litigation in 2015, there has been significant pushback from th

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Hunter Shkolnik, Co-Liaison Counsel for the Flint Michigan Water Crisis Lawsuit. In today’s episode, Hunter explains what caused this crisis and how it has affected the citizens of Flint.   The Flint water crisis started in 2014 when the city of Flint decided to change the source of its water from the Detroit River to the Flint River. In a city that had declared a financial state of emergency 3 years early, the move was designed to save money.  The Flint water would have been fine had the officials in charge of the transition taken the proper precautions and conducted the proper tests.   Because Flint’s water service lines were over 100 years old, they were made of lead pipes. During the episode Hunter explains lead pipes alone don’t cause any harm because they are treated with a protective coating that keeps the lead from leaching into the water. As long as that coating is on the pipes,

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast series Good Law | Bad Law, is joined on this very special episode by Shira Goodman and Joshua Prince to talk about the gun debate that is raging in our country right now.   Shira Goodman has served as the Executive Director of Cease Fire PA, an organization dedicated to reducing gun violence in PA and, is currently running for congress in the 4th congressional district of PA.   Joshua Prince is a partner at Prince Law Offices and focuses his practice on 2nd Amendment and gun rights cases.   With all of the news coverage about the recent mass shooting in Parkland Florida, there is a lot of information being thrown around: proposed solutions like arming teachers and banning guns; opinions from students, teachers, news anchors, and politicians; definitions of “Assault Rifles” and “Semi-Automatic Weapons”; and various bills being proposed to try and prevent these tragedies from happening in the future.   One thing we felt was