⚖ 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

United States v. Pena — 10th Cir. (Sep 17, 2026)

No. 25-2090 Argued September 17, 2026 Published September 26, 2026

The Tenth Circuit hears Solomon Peña's appeal. Peña lost a New Mexico state House race in 2022. In the following weeks, gunfire struck the homes of four state and local officials around Albuquerque. A federal jury convicted him for directing the shootings, including interference with federally protected election activity and related gun offenses; he received an eighty-year sentence. Nicholas Hart of Harrison and Hart will argue for Peña that Congress's election power cannot reach retaliation against state officials after voting ended. The judges also ask whether the election-interference convictions are legally crimes of violence needed for the gun counts. That question turns on what the law required the jury to find, not merely how violent the shootings were.

United States v. Pena (No. 25-2090) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argued September 17, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Tenth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/files/oralarguments/25-2090.mp3
Argument listing — Tenth Circuit:https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/oralargument/search-results?field_oa_hearing_date_value%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=08%2F01%2F2026&field_oa_hearing_date_value%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=09%2F26%2F2026
Appellate docket and counsel — Tenth Circuit:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca10/25-2090
Peña post-trial order — District of New Mexico:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-nmd-1_23-cr-00748/pdf/USCOURTS-nmd-1_23-cr-00748-18.pdf
Verdict and sentence — U.S. Attorney's Office:https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/eighty-year-sentence-former-candidate-who-orchestrated-shootings-and-murder-hire-after
Independent case report — Associated Press:https://apnews.com/article/d8fab1b29248579ba855c96f3b41fd68
Federally protected activities, 18 U.S.C. § 245:https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/245
Firearm offenses, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c):https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/18/924
United States v. Taylor — Supreme Court:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1459_n7ip.pdf
Issues on appeal — Federal Public Defender, District of Kansas:https://ks.fd.org/sites/ks/files/media-library/issues-pending-20260402.pdf
Nicholas Hart — Harrison & Hart:https://www.harrisonhartlaw.com/
William Connor Winn — U.S. Department of Justice:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca4-24-04039/pdf/USCOURTS-ca4-24-04039-0.pdf

0:00
0:00