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Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy

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Cite

Isgur, S., & French, D. (2026, November 10). Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy. The Dispatch. https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/confirming-a-justice-before-a-vacancy/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Dispatch · collected 2026-11-10 · by Sarah Isgur, David French

Quick Summary

Sarah Isgur discusses confirming a Supreme Court justice before an existing vacancy, defending her view against criticism. The podcast episode also covers topics like the National Popular Vote Compact, the DOJ's investigation into leaks related to the Dobbs decision, and legal strategies such as forum shopping. Guests Sarah Isgur and David French explore these issues from various angles, including constitutional interpretations and potential criminal implications of leaking confidential court information.
Written by AI on 2026-11-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss various political topics on their show "Advisory Opinions," including the possibility of confirming a Supreme Court justice before an existing one retires. They delve into the Department of Justice's criminal investigation related to the leak of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, and debate the National Popular Vote Compact as a way to bypass the Electoral College. Additionally, they cover the conflict between the Berkeley Homeless Union and the City of Berkeley over efforts to clear out homeless encampments. The show emphasizes that while normally one should avoid risky actions like hitchhiking, there are exceptions when it comes to legal and constitutional matters in politics.

Written for “Confirming A Justice Before Vacancy” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

Confirming A Justice Before Vacancy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
2 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Dispatch's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-10 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Dispatch · 467 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-11-03
What We Got Wrong in October
2026-10-06
What We Got Wrong in September

Who wrote this

Sarah Isgur
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
But for some reason, this was seen as the most right-wing thing I ever could have described.
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy
The Agenda: –Texas attorney general is now blue –Will Justice Samuel Alito retire? –How President Donald Trump will legislate Show Notes: Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective.
2026-11-05 · assertive framing · Legal Ramifications of a Bluenami
And we are bringing you a special Election Day episode, where David will ask Grifter Sarah questions, and Grifter Sarah will do her best to be a little less grifty than usual, maybe, maybe just more operative than grifter.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Election Day Surprises
Steve Hayes is joined by Jonah Goldberg, Sarah Isgur, and Mike Warren to discuss Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Mike Rogers and whether this will affect the race for a Michigan Senate seat for Tuesday’s midterm elections.
2026-11-02 · assertive framing · Why Haley Stevens Endorsed Mike Rogers
Will the Democrats maintain their momentum, or could Republicans defy expectations?
2026-10-27 · mixed framing · Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
Another statement on the denial of cert by Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch that's gonna set our libertarian friends jumping out of second-floor windows.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice?
On today's roundtable, we'll discuss a large number of Americans who say they want substantial change or complete and total upheaval in these midterm elections, and whether the prevailing anti-incumbent and anti-Trump sentiment will lead to a blue wave, a rogue wave, or something else entirely.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · A Blue Wave or an Anti-Incumbent Wave?
And have we got maybe the most thrilling, sexiest advisory opinions to date on sealing orders.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
The Agenda: –An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito? –“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.” –Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · SUNCOR Gets Complicated
Also by Sarah Isgur
Legal Ramifications of a Bluenami
2026-11-05 · The Dispatch
Election Day Surprises
2026-11-03 · The Dispatch
Why Haley Stevens Endorsed Mike Rogers
2026-11-02 · The Dispatch
Bringing Charges Against the President’s Political Enemies
2026-10-29 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 20 articles by Sarah Isgur →
David French
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
But for some reason, this was seen as the most right-wing thing I ever could have described.
2026-11-10 · assertive framing · Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy
And then, what will the Democrats do with this new power, and what should we expect in the coming civil war on the right?
2026-11-06 · assertive framing · An Extinction-Level Event for MAGA
The Agenda: –Texas attorney general is now blue –Will Justice Samuel Alito retire? –How President Donald Trump will legislate Show Notes: Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective.
2026-11-05 · assertive framing · Legal Ramifications of a Bluenami
And we are bringing you a special Election Day episode, where David will ask Grifter Sarah questions, and Grifter Sarah will do her best to be a little less grifty than usual, maybe, maybe just more operative than grifter.
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · Election Day Surprises
Another statement on the denial of cert by Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch that's gonna set our libertarian friends jumping out of second-floor windows.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice?
And have we got maybe the most thrilling, sexiest advisory opinions to date on sealing orders.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
The Agenda: –An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito? –“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.” –Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · SUNCOR Gets Complicated
So, the judge is, is calling down the names, and he gets to me, and I go up and I say, "Your Honor, you know, look, I could definitely be fair.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Not a MAGA Court
The two also discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Missouri redistricting case, and Sarah Isgur makes a provocative argument that may trigger any true crime fans.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Is Press Access a Constitutional Right?
Also by David French
An Extinction-Level Event for MAGA
2026-11-06 · The Dispatch
Legal Ramifications of a Bluenami
2026-11-05 · The Dispatch
Election Day Surprises
2026-11-03 · The Dispatch
Bringing Charges Against the President’s Political Enemies
2026-10-29 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by David French →

Topics

the Berkeley Homeless Union the City of Berkeley the Department of Justice the Electoral College the National Popular Vote Compact

Subjects

Dobbs PERSON · 3× David PERSON · 2× David French PERSON · 2× Sarah Isgur PERSON · 2× the Department of Justice ORG · 2× Sarah PERSON · 1× Supreme Court ORG · 1× the Berkeley Homeless Union ORG · 1× the City of Berkeley ORG · 1× the Electoral College ORG · 1×

Narrative

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss bypassing the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Compact, review the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the Dobbs decision leak, and break down the fight between the Berkeley Homeless Union and the City of Berkeley trying to clear out homeless encampments.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-10
But for some reason, this was seen as the most right-wing thing I ever could have described.
2026-11-10 · The Dispatch
Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 2 hedged)

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss bypassing the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Compact, review the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into the Dobbs decision leak, and break down the fight between the Berkeley Homeless Union and the City of Berkeley trying to clear out homeless encampments. asserted
Isgur → discuss → encampments
But first, Sarah defends her online take of how you can confirm a Supreme Court justice before a current justice retires. asserted
justice → defend → justice
The Agenda: –Don’t hitchhike, except when it’s really important –What exactly was the crime in the Dobbs decision leak? asserted
crime → hitchhike → leak
–Stop worrying and learn to love forum shopping Show Notes: [metal clinking] Ready? I was born ready. [upbeat music plays] Welcome to Advisory Opinions. asserted
music → stop → Opinions
Definitely don't hitchhike, except when it's really important. asserted
it → hitchhike → ?
We'll talk about that. asserted
We → talk → that
I need to explain further the constitutional and legal reasons that we don't always wait for a judicial vacancy to do a judicial confirmation. asserted
we → need → confirmation
Signing the commission, not the same as Senate advise and consent, so says the Biden administration at least. asserted
administration → sign → advise
But for some reason, this was seen as the most right-wing thing I ever could have described. uncertain
I → see → thing
The National Vote Compact, why David thinks it's a bad idea, but also Professor Akhil Amar, who kind of came up with the idea, has said it's a Dr. Strangelove baby he created. asserted
he → think → idea
The Department of Justice opens an investigation into the Dobbs leak. asserted
Department → open → leak
What crimes could have been committed? uncertain
crimes → commit → ?
We finally get to talk about that Boumaite dissent I've been waiting on. asserted
I → get → dissent
Maybe we should stop worrying and learn to love the forum shopping. asserted
we → stop → shopping
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