Sarah VS Serial

Your motivations are insufficiently economical.

By and

Sarah and David spin through a carousel of cases, argue about theoretical swastikas, debate the merits of true crime content, and even bring on returning guest Christopher Bogart to discuss commercial litigation (and why you should really care!). The journey includes:

Show Notes:

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Comments (74)
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  1. Avatar photo
    Joves70

    Greetings! Ran across another Jack Daniels trademark dispute from the UK.
    Spoiler: J.D. lost.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65695647

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    Xsearnold

    I was shocked - shocked, I say! - that you would discuss the Texaco/Chevron (not that Chevron!) case and not include Kevin D. Williamson in the discussion! As you should know, he has followed this case for a LONG time, starting in the pages of National Review. You missed out on an invaluable resource!
    (I can understand Sarah not knowing this, but your Special Guest should have known!)

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  3. Liquidvacation

    Dearest Sarah and Frequent Guest,

    I've really been loving the history of English podcast that I heard about on AO. Is there such a thing as a podcast on the history of law? Something that covers common law etc., then down on through the years would be really awesome. If you know of a good one, please pass it on!

    Also, I'm sure this is a not-infrequent request, but is there some sort of glossary or basic level law book I could read, as a non-lawyer, to clear up all the stuff you assume people know coming in? I'm *not* suggesting you dumb down the material, but I sure would like to smart myself up.

    Thanks!

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Sarah Isgur vertical-nib Author

      Nope. I'm not aware of one. But I would LOVE it if some intrepid listener would create a list of terms from the pod and throw it into the comments section. I'll hop in and define them!

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      1. Liquidvacation

        I'll take some notes over the next few weeks and take you up on that, thanks!

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  4. Tom Johnson

    The case of Jack Daniels/Bad Spaniels made me think of a commercial law hypothetical I occasionally wonder about. Let's say some random individual decides to buy display ads in a bunch of major newspapers and magazines. And these ads consist of nothing more than a statement in black block letters against a white background devoid of graphics: COKE IS BETTER THAN PEPSI

    Coca-Cola, despite the affirmation of its product at a rival's expense, may not care to be associated with such a bland, prosaic, and oddly placed message. They may see these ads as an impingement on their marketing (which is so vast that "dilution" would likely be a stretch). So might the company be granted a cease and desist order against continuation of the ads? Or would that be a categorically undue restriction on free speech?

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  5. Scott Janetsky

    Are you familiar with the true crime pod: “Your Own Backyard”? (Am I allowed to put a question mark outside of the quotation marks?) The guy does substantial investigation into the murder in question and I think it is very well done. Infact, the suspected murderer had been arrested well after the podcast started (after nearly two decades of inaction). Do you have any thoughts on it?

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Sarah Isgur vertical-nib Author

      I haven’t but I’m great with cold case pods! I’m talking about pods where the person has already been tried and convicted and the point is to leave open the possibility that the person is innocent.

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    KP

    I demand a segment on this story! https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-30/goat-slaughter-shasta-county-fair

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Sarah Isgur vertical-nib Author

      It's too sad!!

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  7. Avatar photo
    Dave T

    Tiny quibble -- audio levels of David & Sarah were very noticeably lower than guest Christopher's, making him too loud or them too quiet in that section.

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    1. MathewA

      Agreed. The really need to put compression over each individual mic and then another on the whole mix to even things out, then probably follow it up with a loudness maximizer.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    Here is an excellent explanation of the most recent repeal of Adnan Syad’s release. It’s very helpful. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prosecutors-legal-briefs/id1627291687?i=1000606686996

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  9. Alan.Crystal

    Sarah and David - thanks for the discussion on theoretical swastikas (free speech vs harassment).
    I have a request for help - could you point me to some written materials on the subject?
    I am in a group of friends that are upset about the recent adoption of bylaws by some student clubs at Berkeley Law School - bylaws that prohibit the clubs from having “pro-Zionist “ speakers. I am trying to explain to my friends that these clubs have free speech / freedom of association rights of their own, so they can choose to not invite whatever speakers they don’t want to invite. Others in the group feel that this targeting of Zionism is a veiled form of anti-semitism (which in many cases it probably is), and creates a hostile environment for Jewish students at Berkeley. My argument is to fight back - not by getting the school administrators to ban the bylaws - but rather with more speech, counter speech, to educate the student body and provide moral support for the Jewish students. For example, how about inviting the chief Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court - who happens to be a woman - to the Berkeley women’s law club?
    In any case, it would help me to have some written materials that I could use to explain the legal aspects to my friends. I will share the enlightening AO podcast with them, but it’s hard to keep their attention on complex legal matters. ;-)

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Sarah Isgur vertical-nib Author

      i dont have any recs except this is kind of the whole kit and kaboodle of association cases---hurley, boy scouts to start!

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      1. Alan.Crystal

        It looks like this is an excellent resource on First Amendment rights…
        https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/page/first-amendment-encyclopedia

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      2. Alan.Crystal

        I guess I need to do my own homework ! ;-)

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  10. Bobby D

    The true-crime genre is a mixed bag. It often seems like the better podcasts in this genre aren’t the ones that are popular, while the popular ones are the ones that engage in wild speculation.

    I have listened to the original Murdaugh Murders Podcast for the past couple of years. It’s been interesting to observe its evolution. At the beginning, the podcast was basically an effort in investigative journalism. But, over the past 6-12 months, the podcast has veered more in the direction of speculation, conspiratorial nonsense, and biased narration. So, I’ve stopped listening to it. That said, I’m guessing that the shift was welcome by many listeners.

    The worst example is probably the Maura Murray podcast. There’s so little evidence in this case that it can be summed up in a few hours. But a couple of guys in Boston churned out hundreds of episodes that seemed to indulge in all manner of conspiracies, many of which were easily disproved by the few facts that are publicly known.

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