WashU Law’s Admitted Student Days included a live taping of Divided Argument, bringing prospective students into the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom for a real-time look at how legal scholars break down the Supreme Court’s latest decisions.
Hosted by Daniel Epps, Howard and Caroline Cayne Distinguished Professor of Law, and William Baude, Harry Kalven Jr. Professor of Law at University of Chicago Law, the episode opened with a discussion of recent shadow docket activity before turning to Olivier v. City of Brandon, a unanimous March 2026 decision authored by Justice Elena Kagan. The case centers on a Mississippi street preacher who, after pleading no contest and paying a $304 fine for violating a protest-zone ordinance, later filed a §1983 claim to block future enforcement. The Fifth Circuit held that Heck v. Humphrey barred the suit, a conclusion the Court ultimately rejected.
Epps and Baude unpacked the unusual contours of the Heck doctrine, the Court’s resolution of a circuit split, and what the decision signals for the fraught relationship between §1983 claims and habeas law. The live recording offered admitted students a front-row seat to the kind of rigorous, engaged legal analysis that defines the classroom experience at WashU Law.
Listen to the full podcast episode: https://dividedargument.com/episodes/jezebel-shouting
