Ep 124 — So Much For SCOTUS’s Brilliant Plan To Head Off That Judicial Crisis
If Chief Justice Roberts thought he was going to protect the judiciary by throwing trial judges under the bus, he was spectacularly mistaken. The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is hurtling toward contempt proceedings, with the government in open defiance of the court’s order to un-kidnap him. And meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi is running the Justice Department like an arm of the Trump campaign. And for subscribers: Trump steals lunch from poor kids in Maine because the state’s governor is nice to trans kids in accordance with Maine law. The state is suing, in a test case for the administration’s plan to use tax dollars as a cudgel to force social policy without having to pass laws. Links: AP v. Budowich [DC Circuit Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69869862/associated-press-v-taylor-budowich/ AP v. Budowich [DC District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69662918/associated-press-v-budowich/ Susman Godfrey LLP v. Trump [Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69881953/susman-godfrey-llp-v-executive-office-of-the-president US v. Smirnov [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68254959/united-states-v-smirnov US v. Smirnov [Circuit Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69605315/united-states-of-america-v-smirnov/ US v. Mangione [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69486519/united-states-v-mangione/ US v. Villatoro Santos [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69804416/united-states-v-villatoro-santos/ Abrego Garcia v. Noem [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/ Maine v. USDA [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69853711/state-of-maine-v-united-states-department-of-agriculture/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
--------
1:00:08
Ep 123 — SCOTUS Will Protect Due Process. A Little Bit. If It Has To.
The Supreme Court had two big immigration rulings this week on deportees to the Salvadoran gulag prison: One terrible and one … marginally okay. Meanwhile at the White House, Tariff Man is running amok! Luckily, he extorted hundreds of millions of dollars worth of big firm billable hours to defend the government. But not from Susman Godfrey, the target of his latest wildly illegal executive order. Links: Tech Policy Podcast with Corbin Barthold (Liz and Andrew guest appearance) https://podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/403-the-constitutional-crisis Abrego Garcia v. Noem (D.Md. docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/ Abrego Garcia (SCOTUS Docket) https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a949.html Perkins Coie Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69725919/perkins-coie-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/ J.G.G. v. Trump (SCOTUS docket) https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a931.html SCOTUS: Rendition Is Fine Actually https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/scotus-rendition-is-fine-actually Jenner & Block Docket https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278932/ J.A.V. v. Trump (S.D. Texas docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69862833/jav-v-trump/ G.F.F. v. Trump (S.D.N.Y. docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69857769/gff-v-trump/ Susman Godfrey EO https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/modernizing-defense-acquisitions-and-spurring-innovation-in-the-defense-industrial-base-5 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
--------
48:40
Ep 122 — Hang Together or Hang Separately (feat. Ken White)
Liz and Andrew sit down with fellow legal podcaster Ken White, AKA “Popehat,” to discuss the Trump administration’s attack on law firms. Who’s fighting? Who’s folding? And who’s f—ed? Plus an update on the case of the Maryland man deported to a torture prison in El Salvador, and the legal effort to get him home. And for subscribers: The DC Circuit considers if Humphreys Executor is dead, or just mostly dead? Links: Serious Trouble Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serious-trouble/id1630160928 Wilcox docket (DC Cir) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69714705/gwynne-wilcox-v-donald-trump/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc Abrego Garcia v Noem Docket (4th Cir) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69847836/kilmar-abrego-garcia-v-kristi-noem/ Perkins Coie Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69725919/perkins-coie-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/ Jenner & Block Docket https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278932/ WilmerHale Docket https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278933/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
--------
1:05:11
Ep 121 — Trump’s Tariff Math … It’s Dumber Than You Think
Why does the President of the United States not know what tariffs are, why does he want to crash the world economy, and can he do any of it? We answer as many of those questions as we can. Come for phi times epsilon times m sub i, stay for the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917. Plus! Judge James Boasberg in D.C. is NOT HAPPY the administration flouted his orders and intends to figure out who was responsible and why. Also, things are about to get ugly at the D.C. Circuit. Links: DC Circuit Local Rules https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/sites/cadc/files/rules-RulesFRAP20241212c.pdf Trump Tariff EO https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/ Trump Annex I to Tariff EO https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Annex-I.pdf USTR on how tariffs are calculated https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations The Economist, “President Trump’s Mindless Tariffs Will Cause Economic Havoc” https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/04/03/president-trumps-mindless-tariffs-will-cause-economic-havoc Forbes, “How Much Would An iPhone Cost If Apple Were Forced to Make it In America?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/01/17/how-much-would-an-iphone-cost-if-apple-were-forced-to-make-it-in-america/ Emily Ley Paper Inc. v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69842090/emily-ley-paper-inc-v-trump/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
--------
1:05:46
Ep 120 — All The President’s Restraining Orders
Time to round up the latest in lawsuits against the Trump administration. The trans military ban is blocked. Renditioning Venezuelans to El Salvador without due process is blocked. The shutdown of the CFPB is blocked. The shutdown of the US Inst of Peace … not blocked. Yet! Liz and Andrew run down a bunch of the Trump cases and explain why it seems like every day brings another restraining order. (Hint: It’s because Trump wants to do lots of illegal stuff in a hurry.) Links: Name & Shame https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/name-and-shame Shilling v. Trump Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69617888/shilling-v-trump/ Jenner & Block v. DOJ Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807126/jenner-block-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/ WilmerHale v. Executive Office of the President Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807328/wilmer-cutler-pickering-hale-and-dorr-llp-v-executive-office-of-the/ Georgetown students’ letter to Skadden https://bsky.app/profile/heidilifeldman.bsky.social/post/3llon26enmc2o US v. Sanders (5th Cir. 2025) https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/15/15-31114-CR0.pdf Eakin v. Adams County Board of Elections Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65738841/eakin-v-adams-county-board-of-elections/ J.G.G. v. Trump (D.D.C. - Judge Boasberg - Alien Enemies Act) docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump/ Trump v. JGG (SCOTUS Docket) https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a931.html US Institute for Peace v. Jackson Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69754533/united-states-institute-of-peace-v-jackson/ NTEU v. Vought (DDC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69624423/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought/? NTEU v. Vought (DC Cir Appeal) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69821739/national-treasury-employees-union-v-russell-vought/ 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.
Polska