Law and Chaos
Legal journalists Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez break down the week's most important courtroom stories, covering topics from Texas defying the Supreme Court to Donald Trump's legal battles. The podcast aims to keep listeners informed about American democracy and the legal system, emphasizing that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. It provides accessible analysis of complex legal events for a general audience.
Episodes
Ep 270 — Attorney Accountability (feat. Akiva Cohen)
The rule of law is under attack and the DOJ's prestige and presumption of regularity have crumbled. How do we fix this moving forward? Akiva Cohen joins us to discuss GLOW Law (Government Lawyers Oversight Watchdog). Their objective is to hold attorneys accountable for acting unethically or illegally in service of POTUS & DOJ. GLOW also seeks to highlight instances of legal courage by government
Ep 269 — Star Wars Bar
DOCKET ALERTS: Trump's cronies on the Kennedy Center board have come up with a new reason to stonewall discovery in the lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty: executive privilege. A federal judge in Virginia dismissed the Trump DOJ's lawsuit challenging Virginia's law providing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants. Justice Sam Alito says you have to stop being so mean and buy his bo
Ep 268 — Book Club: Unpacking McGirt v. Oklahoma
Today we're doing something a bit different. We're discussing the excellent book "By the Fire We Carry," by Rebecca Nagle and the fight for Cherokee sovereignty, through the lens of the 2020 Supreme Court cast McGirt v. Oklahoma. By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land https://bookshop.org/p/books/by-the-fire-we-carry-the-generations-long-fight-for-justice-o
Ep 267 — DOJ Loves Nixon
In Georgia, DOJ celebrates its 26th courtroom loss in the battle to steal state voter rolls. An Arizona appeals court overturned a manslaughter sentence because of an absolutely bonkers use of AI. A judge in DC Superior Court dismissed vandalism charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn with prejudice. The Justice Department filed an ethics complaint against almost every judge in the
Ep 266 — Trump Says LOVE ME On The Taxpayer Dime
Congratulations to now-former FBI director Andrew Bailey, who resigned this morning and got out of the way of whatever scandal is coming down the pike. On Friday, a jury ordered Apple to pay $5.7 billion to a company called Taction for infringing its haptic patents. The White House is still blocking CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the Oval Office and excluding CNN from pool duties. Does that v
Ep 265 — Brett Kavanaugh, U Up?
DOCKET ALERTS: ProPublica published a bombshell story about Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), who was allegedly the subject of an FBI corruption investigation until Trump killed it. The Department of Homeland Security is still looking for the vote fraud. In July, they announced that they found over 250,000 illegally-registered voters in four states. By August, that number declined to just under
Ep 264 — Mission Accomplished-ish
DOCKET ALERTS: Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and the 11 other members of the Open Markets Committee voted to raise interest rates 0.25 percent, and Trump is pissed. The New York Times published a blockbuster story, interviewing almost all of the federal judges in Minnesota about what it was like to hold the line during the Trump administration's immigration surge into the Twin Cities. T
Ep 263 — SCOTUS Saves The Midterms … Eventually
DOCKET ALERTS: This podcast won a victory today in its lawsuit against the Trump administration to kick loose the document the DOJ used as the basis for a frivolous ethics complaint against Judge James Boasberg in DC. Judge Abelson ordered the DOJ to produce discovery to us so we can evaluate the administration's claims that "Attachment A" isn't subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The
Ep 262 — Any Time Now, SCOTUS!
DOCKET ALERTS: The president is promising to send out $5,000 checks to every American if Republicans win the midterms. The Fourth Circuit became the ninth appellate court to find that the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy for all immigrants without legal status is patently illegal. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let it install US Attorneys without Senat
Ep 261 — If You're Gonna Steal, Steal Big With AI
DOCKET ALERTS: New Jersey became the latest state to beat back a Trump administration challenge to its sanctuary jurisdiction laws. After the Supreme Court's conservatives (less CJR) allowed Trump to build his ballroom, he's demanding to be able to go ahead and build the fascist arch. A federal judge in Minnesota denied X.ai's motion to enjoin the state from enforcing a law barring AI nud
Ep 260 — The State of the Senate 2026 (feat. Joe Dye)
DOCKET ALERTS: The fight over Trump's attempt to seize control of state mail-in ballots is headed for the Supreme Court. After a hearing before Judge Indira Talwani, the government didn't wait for a ruling — and it didn't wait for the First Circuit to weigh in either. It immediately demanded that the justices step in. Justice Jackson, who sits over the First Circuit, did not issue an admin sta
Ep 259 — COINTELPRO 2: Defective Boogaloo
The J. M. Smucker Company notched a win in its trademark dilution case against Trader Joe's over the Uncrustable dupes. A judge in Ohio refused to dismiss the case or transfer it to California. For the third time, Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump's attempt to remove his hush money conviction case to federal court from New York State court. The Supreme Court allowed Trump to build his
Ep 258 — Florida Corruptionpalooza
DOCKET ALERTS: Washington Post opinion writer Karen Attiah, who was fired for her remarks after the death of Charlie Kirk, has been reinstated to her job after winning in arbitration. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook responded to Trump's latest effort to fire her by pointing out that multiple members of Trump's own cabinet made the same paperwork error she did on a mortgage application, and
Ep 257 — That Time When EBay Lost Its Mind
DESCRIPTION: It's a special episode today. We'll spend the whole show diving into the debacle of eBay, a $50 billion company, launching a harassment campaign against a middle-aged couple in Massachusetts. Come for the corporate bigwigs sending live roaches by mail, stay for the national security kerfuffle. It's a wild story, and it even has a happy ending. Steiner v. EBay https://www.courtlisten
Ep 256 — Natalie, Hide the Ketchup!
DOCKET ALERTS: US Attorney Jeanine Pirro wants to leave the door open to re-charging David Hearn for damaging the reflecting pool, although she concedes that literally everything she said in her original indictment was a lie. Pirro is also doing her darnedest to keep a lady locked up for the high crime of spraypainting. Judge Reed O'Connor is trying for a third time to allow manufacturers
Ep 255 — Double the Jeopardy, Double the Fun
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court denied Trump's motion for rehearing in the first E. Jean Carroll case. Time to pay up, creep! Federal Judge Lynn Winmill invalidated Idaho's abortion ban insofar as it contains no exception to preserve the health of the pregnant person — including mental health. Along the way, he took apart the Supreme Court's hack historical analysis in Dobbs. DOOFUS OF THE
Ep 254 — More Like the Department of Manifest Injustice
DOCKET ALERTS: The Kennedy Center board of trustees is back on its BS. After being ordered to take Trump's name off the side of the building, they've now voted again to put it back on. They also voted to close the facility for two years. Rep. Joyce Beatty, who brought the lawsuit that forced them to back off the first time, vows to fight on. Meanwhile musician Chuck Redd was just awarded $252,
Ep 253 — The One Weird Trick Presidency
DOCKET ALERTS: Todd Blanche was confirmed as permanent attorney general after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy remembered that he's an unprincipled hack. Trump's lackey Will Scharf is being promoted from staff secretary to White House Counsel in advance of the midterms. The White House is once again trying to fire Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook after the Supreme Court blocked it the fi
Ep 252 — Blanche, Boutros, and Buc-ee's
DOCKET ALERTS: Todd Blanche advanced out of the Judiciary Committee and faces a vote by the full Senate on whether to confirm him as Attorney General. Will Republicans defy—JK,LOL. Journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit against Blanche for failing to disclose all documents required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act hit a snag when the government just plum forgot to file an answer to her comp
Ep 251 — You Whack The Guy, You Don't 86 Him
Andrew is flying solo today. He's got three stories about the petty incompetence of this administration. First, we start off with the likely impending confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General after the DOJ finally put in writing that the $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization" slush fund is dead. The Trump tax giveaway is still alive, though, and that means so is Judge Williams's investigation
Ep 250 — Trump Corruption-palooza (Ft. Zach Everson)
It's our semiquincentennial! And we're celebrating with a long-form interview with Zach Everson, research director of the Trump Accountability Project. Zach joins us to discuss how cryptocurrency powered Donald Trump's massively successful grift of billions of dollars, and what we can do about it. Along the way, we also discuss the proposed CLARITY ACT, and how the fake ethics provisions added by
Ep 249 — DHS Voter Lists?
DOCKET ALERTS: The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is on hold well into next year. The parties stipulated that the merger would not go through pending trial in the antitrust case brought by twelve state AGs, despite massive financial penalties for Paramount if the deal is delayed. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has filed a similar antitrust action, which has also been assigned to Judge
Ep 248 — Tariff Man Returns
DOCKET ALERTS: After SecDef Hegseth ordered testosterone testing for all troops over 30 and offered hormone replacement therapy to all, Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to explain how this is different from the healthcare for trans men which they just banned. On Tuesday, a judge in Florida ordered Trump to turn over his financial records to the BBC in his defamation trollsuit. Turns
Ep 247 — They See Me Trollin'
DOCKET ALERTS: Minnesota passed the "Grandparents' Happy Hour" law making it legal to serve wine to grown adults in assisted living. Skol! The DOJ's Civil Division got tossed out of court in Massachusetts because it failed to respond to a motion to dismiss its lawsuit over the state's refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE. Former Olympian David Hearn moved to dismiss the charge
Ep 246 — Blanche and Buc-ee's
DOCKET ALERTS: This week, the Senate confirmed Jeffrey Kuntz as a judge in the Southern District of Florida, making him the second former Florida state jurist who did Trump a solid in his trollsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board and got himself promoted to the federal bench. Also this week, the Senate confirmed Matthew Schwartz to the Second Circuit, making him the third of Trump's personal la
Ep 245 — Lindsey Graham: Bad Lawyer
DOCKET ALERTS: Todd Blanche will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week as it considers his nomination to be Attorney General. Can he advance without Senator Lindsey Graham, his biggest protector? Judge Tim Kelly in DC reluctantly dismissed the charges against several Proud Boys gang members convicted for their roles in the January 6 assault on the Capitol after the Justice De
Ep 244 — Trump Says SCOTUS Must Reconsider 'IMMEDIATELY
DOCKET ALERTS: Trump says he's going to get the Supreme Court to reconsider its birthright citizenship ruling "IMMEDIATELY." (He's not.) He also says he's going to get SCOTUS to reconsider its denial of certiorari in the E. Jean Carroll case, and thus he shouldn't have to pay the $5 million he owes her. (Again, he's not.) Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the escrowed funds to be disbursed to Kaplan
Ep 243 — Judgefight
DOCKET ALERTS: As Trump tries to get out of paying E. Jean Carroll what he owes her, his supporters have filed a scandalously irresponsible bar complaint against her lawyer Roberta Kaplan. US Attorney Andrew Boutros is in hot water with yet another court. The Chicago prosecutor appears to have violated a court order and publicly discussed a sealed case and has to come in and explain himself
Ep 242 — SCOTUS Wanders Off For Summer, But State Judges Keep Delivering
DOCKET ALERTS: House Speaker Mike Johnson sent everyone home for vacation rather than deal with a dissident faction in his own caucus that keeps demanding a vote on the vote-suppressing SAVE America Act Trump keeps braying for. A federal judge in New Hampshire became the tenth to dismiss a DOJ lawsuit seeking full, unredacted state voter rolls — or eleventh if you include the Sixth Circuit.
Ep 241 — SCOTUS Burns Down The Government For Sport
DOCKET ALERTS: From the SCOTUS orders list, petitions for certiorari denied in E. Jean Carroll's defamation suit against Trump and Alan Dershowitz's defamation suit against CNN. Pay up, a-hole! And of course, a big Nelson Muntz HA HA for Dersh. The DC man who followed National Guard troops around while playing the Imperial March from Star Wars has settled his lawsuit against DC cops, but not a
Ep 240 — The Only Consistent Thing About The Supreme Court
DOCKET ALERTS: The administration says it's going to prosecute anyone who touches the algae-ridden Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial. So far, that seems to be more bluster than reality. Sadly, what isn't bluster is that Judges Reed O'Connor and Mark Pittman in Texas are handing down extraordinarily long punitive sentences for Antifa protestors to "send a message" not to criticize the gove
Ep 239 — Slush Fund Funtimes
DOCKET ALERTS: Maryland became the ninth state to beat back a lawsuit from the DOJ's Civil Division seeking to seize its full, unredacted voter rolls. In Massachusetts, a judge allowed states to proceed with a lawsuit to block an executive order requiring DHS to maintain a master list of voters and barring USPS from delivering mail-in ballots from anyone on the list. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Six
Ep 238 — Speech Crimes
DOCKET ALERTS: Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is facing a residency challenge to his gubernatorial campaign. The Justice Department dismissed a case seeking to enforce a moratorium on offshore and onshore windfarm permits. Instead they're buying back leases for windfarms, so that energy companies can develop natural gas plants in the midwest. Murica! The DOJ is trying to take advantage o
Ep 237 — A Slush Fund By Any Other Name Would Still Reek
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court issued orders today, opinions coming Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reports that Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, is investigating banks for "debanking" conservatives. Judge James Boasberg benchslapped Pirro's effort to magic away his order quashing her abusive subpoena on the Federal Reserve. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: A judge in Mississippi disquali
Ep 236 — Is Trump's Newest Lawyer WORSE Than Alina Habba?
DOCKET ALERTS: Will Trump's name come off the Kennedy Center in time for the court-ordered deadline? New York congressional candidate Brad Lander was acquitted of charges related to a peaceful protest inside the federal building where ICE is warehousing immigrants. The House failed to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. We'll explain what this has to do with
Ep 235 — The Only Thing Bigger Than The UFC Claw Is The Grift
DOCKET ALERTS: Doofus of the Day: George Santos, who is clearly trying to get himself back into jail. NPR reported that the former congressman bet against his own appearance at the State of the Union in February. After NPR reported that Kalshi had frozen his accounts and referred him to the CFTC and DOJ, Santos called up journalist Bobby Allyn and threatened him with "a gun in your face." Al
Ep 234 — Holy Grand Jury, Batman!
DOCKET ALERTS: A federal judge in Colorado enjoined the National Science Foundation from shutting down the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. APA, FTW! The DC Circuit ruled that Pete Hegseth's policy kicking out all trans service members and barring enlistment by anyone who ever had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is rooted in animus and cannot stand. But the remedy was narro
Ep 232 — The Vindictive DOJ
DOCKET ALERTS: Joe Dye begins a series on the second phase of the redistricting wars at his Substack. Multiple states are threatening to tax payouts from Trump's slush fund at 100 percent. The Trump Administration is suing Massachusetts for failing to give "confidential," hard to trace license plates to ICE and CBP. A panel of federal judges in Alabama once again rejected the state's
Ep 231 — Abrego Garcia Wins Again
DOCKET ALERTS: Judges in Maine and Wisconsin hand DOJ two more losses as they sue to get access to state voter rolls to check for non-existent election fraud. Associate Attorney General Stan Woodward is back with another batsh*t ballroom filing. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Attorney D. Hayden Fisher, who filed a bumptious SLAPP suit against locals in Norfolk who dared to disparage a MAGA-coded bre
Ep 230 — DOJ Tiptoes Around The Sh*tpile!
DOCKET ALERTS: Congressional Republicans abstain courteously from blessing Trump's ICE/CBP allocation after Trump torpedoes several sitting GOP politicians and demands cash for the ballroom and the $1.8 billion J6 slush fund. They're heading home until June, TYVM. DOJ indicts former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, age 94, for shooting down two flights of dissident exiles dropping leaflets back in 19
Ep 229 — Judicial Warfare
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court stayed a lower court decision out of Texas banning doctors from dispensing the abortion drug mifepristone. The Colorado Supreme Court barred Children's Hospital from cutting gender-affirming care, calling it a denial of treatment on the basis of sex and gender identity. The DOJ is suing the DC Bar to stop it disciplining upstanding government lawyers like Ed M
Ep 228 — Gerrymanders For Me But Not For Thee
DOCKET ALERTS: As Trump rants at "Neil and Amy" for betraying him in the IEEPA tariffs case, the next tariff battle is already taking shape. Reuters legal reporters analyzed court stats in Minnesota and proved that federal prosecutions cratered during the immigration surge. So much for "cleaning up" crime. Doofus of the Day: Pete Hegseth, who is vowing to put Senator Mark Kelly in jail …
Ep 227 — Presumption of Irregularity
DESCRIPTION: Kash Patel is not as think as you drunk he is … again. And if you tell someone about it, he'll strap you to a polygraph. The DC Circuit seems likely to side with Senator Mark Kelly in his lawsuit against Pete Hegseth for trying to steal his pension. The DOJ subpoenaed a hospital in Rhode Island for medical records of kids receiving gender affirming care. While the parties wer
Ep 226 — SCOTUS and Louisiana Go Mask Off
DOCKET ALERTS: Sadly, recurring L&C segment "Justin Baldoni Teaches CivPro" is canceled. He and Blake Lively settled their civil suit today. Now we'll just have to rely on Trump and his minions to show us how law does not work. The DOJ subpoenaed a Rhode Island hospital for patient records on gender affirming care. When the hospital failed to respond (oh no!), the DOJ moved to enforce the sub
Ep 225 — SCOTUS Breaks Democracy
DESCRIPTION: Elon Musk discovers that filing a lawsuit against Sam Altman and sh*tposting about it on social media is a lot more fun than testifying Alex Jones is back on his BS. He managed to delay a proposed deal to license InfoWars assets to the satirical news outlet The Onion. Again. The judge presiding over Trump's shakedown case against the IRS for the wrongful disclosure of his tax r
Ep 224 — Musk v. Altman … May The Best Asteroid Win
DOCKET ALERTS: Never one to let a good crisis go to waste, Republicans are insisting that the lone gunman at the White House Correspondents Dinner means that Trump can — in fact, must! — build his illegal ballroom. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tweeted out a demand for the National Historic Trust to drop its lawsuit. The Trust told him to get bent. Trump's shakedown of the IRS hit a
Ep 223 — They Started It. We Finished It. (Ft. Joe Dye)
DESCRIPTION: Capitol police officer Shauni Kerkhoff has sued Glenn Beck's outfit The Blaze for defamation after they said she "kinda walked like a criminal" – and she's brought out the big guns. The Trump administration funneled another $1.25 million in taxpayer dollars to campaign stooge Carter Page. The Fifth Circuit hit us with another terrible decision, this one permitting states to force
Ep 222 — Chief Justice Roberts Burned Down Democracy To Save Coal Plants
DESCRIPTION: The Onion's plan to take over Infowars looks to have succeeded at last. A judge in Rhode Island became the fifth to reject the DOJ's voter roll grab. But Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, is undeterred. Now she's trying to snatch ballots from Wayne County, Michigan. Trump's Justice Department is negotiating with Trump's lawyers to decide how much tax
Ep 221 — Live Nation Is About To Get Hit With One Hell Of A Surcharge
DOCKET ALERTS: The lady who wore a penis costume to a No Kings protest in Fairhope, Alabama was acquitted of disturbing the peace. DNI Tulsi Gabbard referred the Ukraine Whistleblower and former Intelligence Community Inspector General to the DOJ for criminal prosecution. Crime: TBD. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro continues to harass the Federal Reserve. This time she sent prosecutors t
Ep 220 — Pray For the PRA
The Fifth Circuit is crossing out laws just for sport. This time it's a 140-year-old ban on making homebrew hooch, because YOLO. Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over an article describing his creepy birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein was dismissed. But … that dismissal was without prejudice, so he can take another swing at it. The trollsuit against the BBC is s
Ep 219 — DOJ In Disarray
DOCKET ALERTS: Judge Brian Murphy blocked termination of TPS for 5,000 Ethiopians. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin will continue Noem's tradition of announcing his intention to violate the law in advance, so as to give litigants a heads up. Michael Avenatti moves to a halfway house, remains a full-way non-lawyer. And Democrats overperformed in Tuesday's special elections. MAIN SHOW:
Ep 218 — Bondi, Birthright, Baldoni, and Ballroom
DOCKET ALERTS: Pam Bondi is GTFO! But the mess she leaves will take a generation to repair. The Supreme Court paved the way to disappear Steve Bannon's conviction for contempt of Congress. Trump commands the NCAA to quit being woke. He also has thoughts about the transfer portal. MAIN SHOW: Judge Richard Leon! Preliminarily enjoins! Trump's tackyass ballroom! Administration files rid
Ep 217 — Trump Admin Finds New Ways To Be Racist In Birthright Citizenship Case
DOCKET ALERTS: The House Judiciary Committee wants to change the US Attorney statute to say what Attorney General Bondi claimed it did in court. This would involve the Senate voluntarily surrendering their power to vote on nominees, so … lotsa luck. Back in New Jersey, prosecutors say they'll seek superseding indictments in cases with Alina Habba's name on them, to remove the stink of illegiti
Ep 216 — Zuck and Musk Get Pantsed In Court … Twice
DOCKET ALERTS: Anthropic got its injunction against the Department of Defense and Pete Hegseth's designation of the company as a supply chain risk. Elon Musk lost a shareholder class action suit in California over sh*tposts he made when he was trying to get out of buying Twitter. He demands a new trial because the jury made a 420 joke, and everyone knows that only he is allowed to do that. M
Ep 215 — DOJ, Why Are You Like This?
DOCKET ALERTS: Lots of legal news out of US Agency for Global Media, the parent agency for Voice of America. Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Kari Lake was never legally appointed CEO of USAGM, and thus her orders shutting the sub-agencies down and firing all the employees were null and void. The government appealed, but in the sloppiest way possible. Now the agency is getting sued again for v
Ep 213 — As DOJ Implodes, Judiciary Shows Signs Of Life
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court rebuffed the Trump Administration's "emergency" request to revoke temporary protected status for half a million Haitian and Syrian nationals. It granted cert before judgment and set oral argument for April. The DOJ dropped charges against Jay Carey, a veteran who burned a flag in Lafayette Park to protest Trump's executive order purporting to ban flag-burning
Ep 214 — We Were Gonna Do A Show…And Then We Got High
We've got two deep dives for you today, each with a lot of laughs (and almost no Donald Trump)! First, we break down the lawsuit brought by seven police officers against rapper Afroman for hurting their feelings, which ended in a total victory for the defense. It's still legal to make fun of cops in America! We dissect the claims, discuss what it means to sue for false light invasion of privacy
Ep 212 — Trump Comes Up With Magical Insurance Plan To Make Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz
DOCKET ALERTS: Kash Patel brings UFC to FBI. WTF??? A federal judge in Maryland issued a TRO blocking the construction of an ICE detention facility without first undertaking the legally required environmental impact assessment. The Trump administration filed an "emergency" petition to the Supreme Court demanding that it be allowed to immediately deport 350,000 Haitians who have enjoyed Te
Ep 211 — Go Woke, Go … KA-CHING!
DOCKET ALERTS: War Powers Resolution fails in both Houses of Congress. DHS is ramping up for an immigration surge in Maryland and has purchased an 825,000-square-foot warehouse in Hagerstown. The state is suing to block the facility on environmental grounds. In Baltimore, Judge Julie Rubin joins judges in New York and Los Angeles in holding that ICE is systematically violating the Fifth Ame
Ep 210 — TX/AR/NC Primary Redux (Ft. Joe Dye)
Law and Chaos wishes a big mazal tov to Kristi Noem on her new, very real job as assistant principal of the Yeehaw American Hegemony Club. And to Lindsey Halligan on catching a Florida Bar investigation. We'll discuss our recent post on Pam Bondi's very timely announcement that she intends to take over state bar complaints against DOJ employees. It comes at a moment when district court judges
Ep 209 — Gorsuch, Gummies, and Government Lies About Iran
DOCKET ALERTS: The Trump administration is tapping out on the lawsuits defending executive orders attacking law firms. Too bad, so sad for the Vichy law firms that pledged a billion dollars in "conservative pro bono" work. Justice Gorsuch says we can't take guns away from drug users because the Founders were drunk all the time. The Federal Circuit declines a request by the Trump administrati
Ep 208 — You Get A Show Cause Order! And You Get A Show Cause Order!
DOCKET ALERTS: The Justice Department is suing New Jersey for not letting ICE use state buildings and parks for immigration enforcement. Because the Tenth Amendment is basically a suggestion? CBP agents dumped a blind, sick, refugee who spoke no English outside a doughnut shop in Buffalo because they couldn't deport him. Local police are investigating his death. Defense Secretary Pete Hegs
Ep 207 — Tariff Decisions Reveals SCOTUS Slapfight
DOCKET ALERTS: Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on the stolen documents case must remain sealed forever in perpetuity. Kouri Richins goes on trial for murdering her husband in Utah. She's not being charged for writing a terrible children's book about dealing with grief over the loss of a parent … but maybe she should be? The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc,
Ep 206 — Who's Afraid of the Fourth Amendment?
DOCKET ALERTS: Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier is getting paid $50,000 a semester to teach a single class at University of Florida's law school. The Trump Administration finally obeyed the court order and put the exhibit on enslaved people back at President's House in Philadelphia. The Supreme Court has decided to eliminate corruption by asking litigants to add their stock tick
Ep 205 — Happy (All But One) Presidents Day!
DOCKET ALERTS: Trump celebrated President's Day by filing a trademark for Donald J. Trump International Airport — just in time for Florida's move to rename Palm Beach International Airport in his honor. KA-CHING! In Colorado, a state judge ruled that throwing prisoners in solitary confinement as a penalty for refusing to work violates the state constitution's ban on involuntary servitude. I
Ep 204 — Horsefeathers!
Docket Alerts: Exactly zero grand jurors voted to indict the members of Congress who made a video in November reminding active duty service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders. And Judge Richard Leon told Secretary Hegseth to pound "Horsefeathers!" with his attempt to demote Senator Mark Kelly and dock his naval retirement. The Justice Department hasn't stopped trying to evade sen
Ep 203 — The Fifth Circuit Goes Full Korematsu
Docket Alerts: In Jeffrey Epstein news: Ghislaine Maxwell showed up for congressional testimony, but says she's taking the Fifth unless and until she gets a pardon. Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed to testify, averting a vote to refer them to DOJ for contempt of Congress. Paul Weiss managing partner Brad Karp stepped down after his emails to the noted pedophile were published. Luigi Mangione w
Ep 202 — From Atari to NVIDIA: We Don't Care, We Don't Have To!
Andrew flies solo on today's show, which… coincidentally features a bunch of law from the 1980s. Learn how a 1981 advertisement for a soon-to-be defunct video game system shaped the law of copyright into what it is today after Atari sued Magnavox to pull a Pac-Man clone off the shelves. In the second story, we talk about the death of antitrust law. What once broke up the phone company's mono
Ep 201 — Ed Martin, Don't Let That Doorknob Split Ya!
DOCKET ALERTS: We bid a fond goodbye to Ed Martin … well, fond-ish. Liam Ramos, the little boy kidnapped by ICE in Minneapolis along with his father is back home after a judge in Texas granted his habeas petition. Read the scathing order here. Judge Jia Cobb re-imposed a temporary restraining order barring DHS from excluding legislators from immigrant detention facilities. Two immigran
Ep 200 — JGG + CASA = CHAOS
Docket Alerts: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard led a raid on the Fulton County Election Hub and Operating Center in Atlanta. ProPublica got the warrant. Mo Ivory, a Democratic commissioner for Fulton County, breaks it down on Instagram. In Chicago, Marimar Martinez has moved to unseal evidence from DOJ's failed effort to prosecute her for getting shot by ICE. Reuters repor
Ep 199 — Minnesota Nice Is Stronger Than ICE
Hats off to Minnesota! The Twin Cities kicked Greg Bovino's a** so hard he's limping back to California and then retiring altogether. We'll discuss the Trump administration's apparent pivot on the invasion of Minneapolis and the many legal cases pending there. First up, Minnesota v. Noem, where the state is trying to convince Judge Katherine Menendez to order DHS out of Minneapolis. Their Tenth
Ep 198 — Kristi Noem's Lawyers Are Making Sh*t Up
An ICE whistleblower reveals a secret memo where DHS lawyers say agents can arrest people in their homes without a warrant. The Fourth Amendment says otherwise! And the Supreme Court's conservatives were extremely unimpressed with Trump's plan to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Truth Social. We'll break down Wednesday's oral argument in detail but first, we've got approximately one mi
Ep 197 — OBBBA the Hut
Breaking! The president is bugf*** insane! But first … docket alerts. Dun-dun-DUNNNNN. We've reached the "yelling at chestnuts for being lazy" stage of the presidency, as Trump barks out ever-nuttier orders. Meanwhile in Texas, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk managed to moot the appeal of an LGBTQ+ student group at West Texas A&M which sued in 2023 to enjoin their school's ban on drag shows. All he
Ep 196 — None of this sh*t is legal!
The Trump administration's war on Minnesota continues, and now the president is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act. Clearly he thinks that is synonymous with declaring THE PURGE. But he's wrong, and we'll tell you why. Plus we've got good news(!) on California redistricting, green energy, and voting rights. Links: Tangipa v. Newsom [CA gerrymander] https://storage.courtlistener.com/rec
Ep 195 — Protect Jerome!
Markets are freaked out about the DOJ's threats to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. And so are we! We've got a deep dive into a court order barring Trump from adding an extra-legal proof of citizenship requirement to voter registration forms and a breakdown of Illinois and Minnesota's respective lawsuits against ICE and CBP. And for subscribers, we'll explain why JD Vance's claim that "Every p
Ep 194 — Justice For Renee Good?
Congressional Republicans defect to support two Democratic resolutions. It's not exactly a show of spine — maybe a vertebrae — but is it the beginning of something? Yet another US Attorney gets disqualified, this time in New York. Meanwhile Judges in Virginia wonder how it's remotely ethical for Lindsey Halligan to present herself in court filings as a US Attorney. The DOJ is violating the Epstein
Ep 193 — The Fog of War … Crimes
On our first show back after the holidays, Brian Finucane, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, explains the legal ramifications of invading Venezuela and kidnapping its leader for "law enforcement." We'll break down the Supreme Court's ruling eviscerating Trump's effort to conscript National Guard troops to terrorize cities. And for subscribers, Justin Baldoni will once again teach
Ep 192 — 2025 — It Was A Lot!
We come full circle, discussing the most important cases of the year and what we expect to happen in 2026. Kilmar Abrego Garcia is home with his family. The Epstein files are out … sort of. Lindsey Halligan is out … again, sort of. And the Alien Enemies Act case that started it all, J.G.G. v. Trump, comes roaring back to life. Links: US v. Abrego Garcia https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7
Ep 191 — Legal Journalism in the Age of Trump
Liz and Andrew discuss the state of legal journalism. Trump is attacking the judiciary in the media — sometimes both at once. How is covering Trump different this time around? And what gives us hope for journalism and democracy? Plus: what's going on in the trial of Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan? Links: AllRiseNews.com US v. Dugan https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70255566/united-states-v
Ep 190 — How Many Things Did Chief Justice Roberts Break Today?
What do the National Labor Relations Board, Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, and Lindsey Halligan have in common? They're all swimming in the chaos soup cooked up by a Supreme Court that engages in motivated reasoning and jettisons precedent whenever it gets in the way. Eat up! Links: Richman v. US https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982634/richman-v-united-states/?order_by=
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