⚖ 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

Cortes Rodriguez v. Blanche — 9th Cir. (argued August 11, 2026)

No. 25-4049 Argued August 11, 2026 Published August 12, 2026; updated August 17, 2026

The Ninth Circuit reviews the denial of immigration protection to Eduardo Cortes Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico. The argument concerns two forms of protection. Withholding of removal can bar removal to a country where the applicant's life or freedom would be threatened for a protected reason, but a particularly serious crime can make the applicant ineligible. Protection under the Convention Against Torture requires proof that torture is more likely than not with government involvement or acquiescence. The court will examine how the agency applied those rules to Rodriguez's case.

Cortes Rodriguez v. Blanche (No. 25-4049) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 11, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/08/11/25-4049.mp3
Argument listing — Ninth Circuit media archive:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-4049&hearingDate=2026-08-11
Oral argument calendar — Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/calendar/calendar-sitting/?casenum=25-4049
Appeal docket — Justia Dockets:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca9/25-4049
8 U.S.C. § 1231 — U.S. House of Representatives:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title8-section1231
8 C.F.R. § 1208.16 — eCFR:https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-1208/subpart-B/section-1208.16
8 C.F.R. § 1208.18 — eCFR:https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-1208/subpart-B/section-1208.18
Mendoza-Garcia v. Garland — Ninth Circuit opinion:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/06/10/20-73583.pdf
Particularly serious crime precedents — U.S. Department of Justice:https://www.justice.gov/eoir/precedentchartrefend
Armando Aguilar Lopez — State Bar of California:https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/345704

0:00
0:00