⚖ 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.

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Lee v. Kennedy — 9th Cir. (argued August 31, 2026)

No. 26-1820 Argued August 31, 2026 Published September 1, 2026

The Ninth Circuit hears Dr. Mansur Lee's appeal over a Medicare affiliation sanction. CMS revoked his enrollment, placed him on the preclusion list, and imposed a ten-year reenrollment bar because he served as medical director of a hospice whose billing privileges were revoked. The district court dismissed his suit before agency review ended. Lee says due process required a meaningful pre-deprivation hearing and the statute did not authorize the ten-year bar. The Secretary says Lee must finish agency review before going to federal court. Ultra vires means beyond an agency's statutory authority.

Lee v. Kennedy (No. 26-1820) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued August 31, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/media/2026/08/31/26-1820.mp3
Argument page — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/streams-videos/archive?case=26-1820&hearingDate=2026-08-31
Argument calendar — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases/calendar/calendar-week/?date=2026-08-31&loc=SF
Appellate docket — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca9/26-1820
District-court docket — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/8%3A2026cv00444/1008325
Administrative ruling — HHS Departmental Appeals Board:https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/dab/decisions/alj-decisions/2026/alj-ruling-2026-18/index.html
Administrative decision — HHS Departmental Appeals Board:https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/dab/decisions/alj-decisions/2026/alj-cr6930/index.html
42 U.S.C. § 1395cc — U.S. House of Representatives:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title42-section1395cc
42 C.F.R. § 424.535 — eCFR:https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-B/part-424/subpart-P/section-424.535
Counsel calendar — U.S. District Court for the Central District of California:https://apps.cacd.uscourts.gov/JpsApi/file/dd5d16d2-bc22-42fb-9262-08de86bcdd42
Patric Hooper — State Bar of California:https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/57343
Alexander Layne Farrell — State Bar of California:https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/335008

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