Ignorance of the law is no excuse! That’s true for a traffic stop, and it’s true if you want to participate in whatever’s left of American democracy. If the eve...
Ep 117 — DOGE Destroys Another Agency As DOJ Courts Contempt (Ft. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick)
Musk’s fash-coders take out the US Institute for Peace. Mahmoud Khalil’s case gets transferred to New Jersey. And the DOJ is daring the court to find it in contempt in the case of the kidnapped Venezuelans. Plus, we have the second half of our interview with immigration expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. Links: JGG v. Trump (DC) docket (removal under the Alien Enemies Act) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump US Institute for Peace v. Jackson (docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69754533/united-states-institute-of-peace-v-jackson/ Khalil v. Joyce (docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69719040/khalil-v-joyce/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 116 — DOJ Courts Contempt In Immigration Case (feat. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick)
Today, we’ve got an all-immigration show. We break down J.G.G. v. Trump, the lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s effort to summarily deport Venezuelan nationals under a 227-year-old law left over from the Alien and Sedition Acts. Then, we have Part One of our interview with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council. Links: Presidential Proclamation https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/invocation-of-the-alien-enemies-act-regarding-the-invasion-of-the-united-states-by-tren-de-aragua/ JGG v. Trump (DC) docket (removal under the Alien Enemies Act) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 115 — The Rightwing’s War On NYT v. Sullivan (Ft David Enrich)
New York Times financial editor David Enrich joins us to discuss his new book, Murder the Truth, about the history of defamation litigation and the right wing’s plan to gut the Sullivan standard to make it easier for politicians to bankrupt journalists for saying mean, true things Links: Murder the Truth https://www.harpercollins.com/products/murder-the-truth-david-enrich?variant=42734343421986 Brehm v. Morocco (DDC) (USADF) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69711562/brehm-v-marocco/ Talbott v. Trump (DC) (trans servicemembers ban) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69583866/talbott-v-trump/ American Federation of Government Workers v. OPM (Cal.) (probationary employees) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69655364/american-federation-of-government-employees-afl-cio-v-united-states/ Trump SCOTUS birthright citizenship docket https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a884.html Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 114 — After Stealing Congress’s Spending Power, Trump Is Back For Advice And Consent
It’s another week where the DOGE bros are trying to burn down the government, and another week where the courts are trying to stop it. For our main story, we focus on the Trump administration’s crazy shenanigans at the United States Africa Development Corp. Trump may have tried to fire Senate-confirmed principal officers by email… to an email address that doesn’t exist. Links: Perkins Coie Executive Order https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/addressing-risks-from-perkins-coie-llp/ Climate United Fund v. Citibank [Docket via CL] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69718818/climate-united-fund-v-citibank-na/ Trump’s false claim that Stacey Abrams headed a group that got $1.9 billion https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/06/trump-stacey-abrams-fact-checker/ US v. Adams docket (SDNY) (charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.628916/ Brehm v. Morocco (DDC) (USADF) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69711562/brehm-v-marocco/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc USADF Act https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/chapter-7/subchapter-XXIII USADF Bylaws https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278118/gov.uscourts.dcd.278118.7.5.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 113 — Hey, DOJ, Some Idiot Is Signing Your Name On Pleadings
Today’s episode is another roundup of how trial judges are playing whack-a-mole with the Trump administration, and how all of it fits in with Trump’s plan to usurp Congress’s power to reshape the country in his image. Plus, we’ve got some crazy stories featuring the Interim US Attorney for DC trying to strongarm Georgetown University, a blast from the past with bigoted Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis, and a subscriber bonus on an obscure Civ Pro rule that Trump plans to use to make terrible losing arguments in court. Links: Ermold v. Davis [Sixth Circuit Opinion, Gay Marriage Clerk Case] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca6.151496/gov.uscourts.ca6.151496.6015541768.2.pdf AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition v. Department of State (DC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69627654/aids-vaccine-advocacy-coalition-v-united-states-department-of-state/ Harris v. Bessent DC Circuit appeal https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69704122/cathy-harris-v-scott-bessent/ Some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters https://www.loweringthebar.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/browns_letter_1974.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
Ignorance of the law is no excuse! That’s true for a traffic stop, and it’s true if you want to participate in whatever’s left of American democracy. If the events since the 2016 election taught us anything, it’s that tuning out is not an option. Legal journalists Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez break down the week’s most important courtroom stories, so you can keep on top of this crazy news cycle. Whether it’s Texas giving two middle fingers to the Supreme Court, or Donald Trump in all the courts at once, we’ve got you covered.
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