⚖ 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.

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United States v. Ilija Ristik — 7th Cir. (Sep 29, 2026)

No. 25-1987 Argued September 29, 2026 Published September 30, 2026

Federal prosecutors accused trucking-company owner Ilija Ristik of paying a transportation executive to steer business to his companies. They charged honest-services wire fraud, alleging the payments deprived the executive's employer of his loyal service. Ristik says he was an FBI cooperator whose handling agent authorized the conduct—a public-authority defense. That agent, Michael Mangan, invoked the Fifth Amendment and did not testify; prosecutors declined to grant him immunity. After his conviction, Ristik says the absence of that witness unfairly tilted his trial, especially because other FBI agents testified about the supposed authorization. Alex Little of Litson represents Ristik and will ask the Seventh Circuit for a new trial.

United States v. Ilija Ristik (No. 25-1987) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued September 29, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Seventh Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/sound/external/gw.25-1987.25-1987_09_29_2026.mp3
Argument date and docket — Seventh Circuit:https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/oralArguments/oar.jsp?amonth=09%2F2026&aMonth=List+case%28s%29
Indictment allegations — signed district court order:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_21-cr-00323/pdf/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_21-cr-00323-2.pdf
FBI authorization and witness privilege — district court order:https://app.midpage.ai/document/united-states-v-ristik-1000402940088
Appeal and defense counsel — Seventh Circuit docket:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca7/25-1987
Alex Little — Litson PLLC:https://www.litson.co/team/alex-little
Michelle Parthum — U.S. Attorney's Office filing:https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/media/1419701/dl?inline=

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