In this special off-season episode of Rightly Decided, Laura Beth Latimer and Chance Weldon sit down with Judge Kevin Yeary of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Stepping away from standard case breakdowns, the team dives straight into the philosophy, career, and guiding principles of a judge sitting on Texas's highest criminal court.

From his unexpected shift from civil trial law to his nearly 12-year tenure on the bench, Judge Yeary explains exactly how he approaches the separation of powers and why he believes the judicial branch must stay in its lane.

In This Episode:

"Opinions Are Not Law": Judge Yeary breaks down his foundational principle that only the legislature makes law, whereas judicial opinions merely establish subordinate "rules of decision."

Separation of Powers & Originalism: A discussion on why judges must resist the cultural evolution of words and stick to the original public meaning of a statute.

Dusty Dictionaries: How the court utilizes historical dictionaries from the State Law Library to accurately interpret older legal texts.

The Power of the Dissent: A look at Justice Thomas's concurrence in Gamble v. United States, Judge Yeary’s dissents, and why writing side opinions is crucial for correcting the law.

The Inquisitorial Judge: Why the bench shouldn't blindly rubber-stamp plea deals or "friendly judgments" just because the adversarial parties agree.

The "Deer Case": A wild Texas war story involving a prized Hill Country Village buck, a butcher knife, and a massive legal fight over seized property.

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The Center for the American Future defends the Constitution through legal opposition to government overreach. The Center launches legal challenges at the administrative, district, and appellate court levels on behalf of ordinary people whose lives, liberty, and property are threatened by government action in defiance of the Constitution.

Website: https://texaspolicy.com/initiatives/center-for-the-american-future
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Can the government use a geofence warrant to track every cell phone near a crime scene without violating the Fourth Amendment?

Welcome back to Rightly Decided, the mostly originalist takes of the litigators of the Texas Public Policy Foundation! In our season finale, Laura Beth Latimer, Chance Weldon, Nathan Seltzer, and Clayton Calvin break down the Supreme Court's major digital privacy ruling in Chatrie v. United States.

The crew dives into a 2019 armed bank robbery where police used Google location history and an expansive "three-step" geofence warrant to identify their suspect. The team explores why the third-party doctrine threatens to swallow the Fourth Amendment in the digital age, breaks down Justice Gorsuch’s masterclass in property-based originalism, and engages in a fiery debate over whether the Supreme Court issued an unconstitutional "advisory opinion."

Plus, Laura Beth shares an exciting personal announcement and an update on what's next for the show!

Chapters:

0:00 - Season Finale & Bank Robbery Lore: Wrapping up the October 2025 SCOTUS term and breaking down a classic, movie-style $195,000 heist.

3:30 - How Geofence Warrants Work: Google location history, cloud data vs. on-device storage, and how police used a three-step warrant to unmask 19 devices.

6:50 - The Exclusionary Rule & Good Faith: Why immunity doctrines prevent citizens from suing officers directly, leaving judges to invent the exclusionary rule.

10:45 - The Third-Party Doctrine Trap: Looking back at Katz, Carpenter, and why clicking "I Agree" on an app shouldn't let the government search your entire digital life.

17:15 - Three-Step Warrants: Justice Jackson and Justice Sotomayor explain why leaving particularization to an officer's discretion fails Fourth Amendment scrutiny.

19:50 - Justice Gorsuch’s Originalist Masterclass: Why "reasonable expectations of privacy" is made-up vibes—and why digital location data constitutes your private "papers and effects."

27:10 - The Advisory Opinion Fight: Chance and Nathan go head-to-head over Article III jurisdiction, redressability, and limited grants of cert.

37:50 - Scorecard & Show Updates: The final 6-3 ruling, Laura Beth's big announcement, and what to expect during the off-season!

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s mission is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.

Funded by thousands of individuals, foundations, and corporations, the Foundation does not accept government funds or contributions to influence the outcomes of its research.

The public is demanding a different direction for their government, and the Texas Public Policy Foundation is providing the ideas that enable policymakers to chart that new course.

Website: https://texaspolicy.com
X: https://twitter.com/tppf
Facebook: https://facebook.com/texaspolicy
Instagram: https://instagram.com/texaspolicy
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/texas-public-policy-foundation/

Did you know that modern civil asset forfeiture laws originated from the seizure of 18th-century pirate ships?

Welcome back to Rightly Decided, the mostly originalist takes of the litigators of the Texas Public Policy Foundation! This week, Laura Beth Latimer and Chance Weldon break their usual rule against discussing policy to welcome a special guest: Dr. Derek Cohen, TPPF's Chief Policy and Research Officer.

If you want to know how Texas polices its judges, why the government can legally seize your property without a criminal conviction, and how think tanks turn ideas into law—this episode is for you!

0:00 - Intro & Harambe Lore: Welcoming Dr. Derek Cohen to the podcast (and clearing up some Cincinnati Zoo rumors).

2:40 - Judging the Judges: Dr. Cohen explains his role as Secretary of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Learn how Texas oversees its elected judges, handles judicial misconduct, and enforces strict rules on partisan campaigning.

11:10 - The Problem with Civil Asset Forfeiture: Breaking down how law enforcement can seize private property using a lower "preponderance of the evidence" standard, often without ever convicting the owner of a crime.

15:35 - The 8th Amendment & Timbs v. Indiana: How the Supreme Court is using the 14th Amendment's incorporation doctrine to protect citizens from excessive fines.

22:45 - Pirate Ships & Legal Fictions: Chance Weldon gives a fascinating originalist history lesson on how suing abandoned pirate ships evolved into modern civil forfeiture.

34:20 - Seizing a Plane for a 6-Pack of Beer? Discussing a pending Alaskan case where a bush pilot had his Cessna seized because a passenger brought beer into a dry municipality.

39:50 - How Policy Becomes Law: An inside look at TPPF's legislative strategy, the grueling internal "Policy Council" gauntlet, and why verifiable research dictates advocacy at the Texas Capitol.