⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

Court recordings can be difficult to follow, and many suffer from poor audio quality. This podcast enhances the audio, provides a brief introduction to each case, and explains legal concepts that may be unfamiliar to some listeners.

We hope these enhancements make oral argument recordings easier to understand, more accessible, and more enjoyable to listen to.

Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube /feed.xml Open RSS

Pung v. Isabella County — SCOTUS (argued February 25, 2026)

No. 25-95 Argued February 25, 2026 Published July 26, 2026; updated August 19, 2026

The Supreme Court considers how to value a home taken and sold to collect a disputed property-tax debt of about twenty-two hundred dollars. Isabella County sold the Pung family home for seventy-six thousand eight dollars, although it had been assessed at one hundred ninety-four thousand four hundred dollars. The Court later ruled unanimously that a fairly conducted tax sale is measured by its auction price, not hypothetical fair-market value, and that the Excessive Fines Clause requires no more. It nevertheless sent the case back so the Sixth Circuit could consider any preserved challenge to whether this sale was fair.

Pung v. Isabella County (No. 25-95) — Supreme Court of the United States, argued February 25, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/media/audio/mp3files/25-95.mp3
Argument transcript — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/25-95_32q3.pdf
Case docket — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-95.html
Brief for Michael Pung:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-95/385968/20251201104412403_25-95%20Merits%20Brief%20efiling.pdf
Brief for the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-95/386784/20251208191320751_25-95_Pung_FINAL.pdf
Brief for Isabella County:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-95/391408/20260112132632586_Pung%20v%20Isabella%20County%20-%20Respondent%20Brief.pdf
Decision — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-95_dc8e.pdf
Decision coverage — SCOTUSblog:https://preview.scotusblog.com/2026/06/justices-send-compensation-dispute-over-seized-home-back-to-lower-court/
Philip L. Ellison — Outside Legal Counsel:https://www.olcplc.com/public/profile-ellison
Matthew T. Nelson — Warner Norcross + Judd:https://www.wnj.com/people/matthew-t-nelson/

0:00
0:00