⚖ 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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Welch v. Rowley, et al. — 9th Cir. (Oct 29, 2026)

No. 25-4606 Argued October 29, 2026 Published October 30, 2026

The Ninth Circuit hears Welch v. Rowley, a prisoner’s lawsuit over exposure to COVID-19. Welch alleges that officers repeatedly refused to wear masks while working around prisoners, despite a prison masking policy and his requests. He says he was housed near inmates with COVID and was especially vulnerable because of pre-existing health conditions. The district judge allowed his Eighth Amendment claim to proceed, rejecting the officers’ request for dismissal. The officers now appeal, arguing that earlier decisions did not clearly establish that their particular conduct violated the Constitution. They invoke qualified immunity, which can protect government officials from civil-damages suits when the unlawfulness of their conduct was not clearly established. Their advocate will speak first.

Welch v. Rowley, et al. (No. 25-4606) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 29, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — official Ninth Circuit recording, October 29, 2026. Official recording note: all advocacy is complete; the file cuts off during the judge’s administrative closing after the case is submitted. The gap is preserved, not reconstructed.:https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/10/29/25-4606.mp3
Official case and argument-date listing:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=25-4606&hearingDate=2026-10-29
Original district order allowing the claim to proceed — order 34:https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/nevada/nvdce/3%3A2022cv00557/160014/34/0.pdf
Qualified immunity — Pearson majority, Parts II-A and IV:https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/555/223/
Prisoner complaint screening — 28 U.S.C. § 1915A:https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1915A
Law of the case — Christianson majority, Part C:https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/486/800/

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