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Law and Chaos: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Liz Dye; Andrew Torrez
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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- 3 days ago1h 16m
Ep 274 — DOJ v. Voters
Congratulations to Maurene Comey, who won her wrongful termination suit against the DOJ, which fired her last year despite a decade of exemplary performance. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro proudly announced a criminal complaint against two former FBI officials for lying to Congress. Let's see if she can actually get an indictment from a grand jury. Arizona AG Kris Mayes sued Maricopa County Record Justin Heap and forced him to restore the registrations of 25 citizens wrongly flagged as illegal voters by the SAVE database. HHS got caught submitting fake case cites in a judicial proceeding. Again. MAIN SHOW: The government sued California to force it to purge its voter rolls with the election underway. When the trial judge failed to rule within 15 hours, they filed an emergency appeal to the Ninth Circuit. We wrote about Sunday's oral argument. And now the panel has smacked down the government hard. The DOJ is suing to block certification of Alaska's Senate race, but only if Democrat Mary Peltola wins. DOJ is trying to charge James Comey again, this time with leaking classified information ten years ago … outside the statute of limitations. Comey v. DOJ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71348216/comey-v-united-states-department-of-justice/ US v. Floris https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75010510/united-states-v-floris Maricopa County recorder restores 25 voters wrongly flagged as noncitizens, ending lawsuit https://azmirror.com/2026/10/23/maricopa-county-recorder-restores-25-voters-wrongly-flagged-as-noncitizens-ending-lawsuit/ Over 80 Percent Of Citations 'Fictitious, Erroneous, or Irrelevant' In Trump Admin Brief https://abovethelaw.com/2026/10/over-80-percent-of-citations-fictitious-erroneous-or-irrelevant-in-trump-admin-brief/ US v. California [9th Circuit appellate docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75011344/united-states-of-america-v-state-of-california-et-al/ US v. California [CA District court docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74967108/united-states-v-state-of-california/ Ninth Circuit Bats Around DOJ Lawyer in CA 'Emergency' Vote Purge [lawandchaospod.com] <a href= "https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/ninth-circuit-b
- 1 weeks ago1h 2m
Ep 273 — Trump v. Voters
DOCKET ALERTS: Alina Habba is newly married and locked in a knife fight with fellow Trumplander Ric Grenell. She says he failed to deposit a $6 million check to the Kennedy Center. And — hey, what a coincidence! — a week later, the New York Times reported that Habba got a $50 million contract from a Venezuelan billionaire seeking a pardon for campaign finance violations. Virginia State Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas got indicted for running a chain of unlicensed marijuana dispensaries with her family. A magistrate judge in Florida says Trump has to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his defamation trollsuit against the BBC. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: It's a pitched battle between the bottom of Donald Trump's personal lawyers, Daniel Epstein, who filed a motion to please decide this quickly because being sanctioned by a federal judge is embarrassing, and Alex Jones's, who got two extensions of time to file their Fifth Circuit brief and somehow still managed not to turn in their homework on time. Now the Fifth Circuit might toss Alex Jones's appeal without a hearing. MAIN SHOW: Two weeks before the midterm elections, the Department of Justice is demanding that California "segregate" 20,000 mail-in ballots from voters it says are noncitizens. Trump's henchmen filed a lawsuit and tried to steer this case to one of his appointees, but the move backfired and landed on the docket of one of the administration's harshest critics, Judge David Carter. Whoops! Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued an injunction blocking HSI thugs from harassing citizens for voting. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Civil procedure FTW! In a lawsuit filed by the NAACP seeking to prevent Homeland Security from sending goons to the polls. A federal judge just ordered expedited discovery in an effort to protect the security of the midterms. Exclusive: White House probes claims of missing Kennedy Center money in "MAGA blood feud" https://www.axios.com/2026/10/14/trump-kennedy-center-donation-maga-feud A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/politics/julio-herrera-pardon-alina-habba.html US v. Lucas https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/75002838/united-states-v-lucas/ Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation/ Donald Trump v. Thirty Five Federal Judges [11th Cir. appeal of attorney sanctions in IRS case] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73710657/donald-trump-v-thirty-five-former-federal-judges/ Jones v. Heslin [Alex Jones 5th Cir. appeal] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73472491/jones-v-heslin/ </strong
- 1 weeks ago1h 31m
Ep 272 — SCOTUS vs. All Living Things
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court is back in session. In Monday's orders list, the justices agreed to hear two important cases. In DOJ v. McNutt, they'll decide whether the government can ban home distilling under its taxation power. In Association for Educational Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education, they'll decide whether facially neutral policies which have a disparate impact on a particular ethnic group, are illegally discriminatory. The justices did not decide the copyright case BMG v. Vetter, because it involved the parent company of Penguin Random House, which published books by Justices Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson. MAIN SHOW: Trump's defamation suit against the BBC is mired in discovery disputes. Who knew you had to sit for deposition when you sue someone, even if you're the president. Trump is also big mad that Auntie Beeb wants to depose Jack Smith. DOOFUS of the Day, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, is trying hard to get himself sanctioned by Judge Ana Reyes in the litigation over the East Potomac Golf Course. The DC Circuit heard oral argument in Trump's effort to overturn the Presidential Records Act so that he can steal all the documents from the White House and sell them to the highest bidder. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Let's pack the Supreme Court … or not. We'll shout about recent pieces by law professors Steve Vladeck and Beau Baumann. DOJ v. McNutt https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26-204.html Association for Educational Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26-12.html BMG v. Vetter https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-1391.html Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation/ DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior [Golf Course] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72278895/dc-preservation-league-v-department-of-interior American Historical Ass'n v. Trump (DC Cir.) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73432626/american-historical-association-v-donald-trump/ Beau Baumann, 'The Vladek Tragedy' https://bbaumann.substack.com/p/the-vladeck-tragedy Steve Vladek, 'Hard Questions About Court Expansion' <a href= "https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-257-ha
- 2 weeks ago1h 7m
Ep 271 — Birtherism 2.0
DOCKET ALERTS: Maryland Congressman Andy Harris is confused about who gets to record him losing his mind in public. Judge Tim Kelly issued a preliminary injunction, continuing the TRO which blocked the White House from banning reporters from CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from accessing the White House grounds. Naturally the White House has appealed to the DC Circuit. And now the DOJ is investigating media outlets who boycotted pool coverage for potential antitrust violations. (No, it's not an antitrust violation, STFU.) Judge Ana Reyes is pissed that the Park Service razed hundreds of healthy trees at East Potomac Golf Course after repeatedly assuring her that they'd do no such thing. She issued a TRO and vowed to put officials on the stand Monday until she finds out who is to blame. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: The new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is very bad at her job. She's also not a lawyer, despite years of holding herself out as one. MAIN SHOW: Can the Trump administration really denaturalize and deport Rep. Ilhan Omar? The J.M. Smucker Company has sued Trader Joe's for trademark infringement and dilution over its knockoff "Uncrustables." Is this another "Buc-ee's" overreach, or does Smucker's have a point? SUBSCRIBER BONUS: An appeals court in Ohio just struck down the state's voucher program that funnels taxpayer money to religious schools. We talk about that case and the separation of church and state and so much more. CNN v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74823502/cable-news-network-inc-v-trump/ Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, claims she's a lawyer. Is she? https://popular.info/p/trumps-new-press-secretary-katie DC Preservation League v. Department of Interior [Golf Course] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72278895/dc-preservation-league-v-department-of-interior J.M. Smucker Co. v. Trader Joe's https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71631587/jm-smucker-company-v-trader-joes-company/?order_by=desc Columbus City School District v. Ohio [10th District Ohio Court of Appeals] https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/10/2026/2026-Ohio-4047.pdf Ohio Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 2 https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-constitution/section-6.2 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
- 2 weeks ago50 min
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 attorneys when behavior calls for it. GLOW Law https://glowlaw.org/about/ Akiva Cohen https://www.kusklaw.com/akiva-cohen Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
- 3 weeks ago1h 15m
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 book. Bari Weiss's fake university in Texas wants to add a fake law school, and they're looking for a dean. Send in your blog post and let their AI agent read it! Election denying weirdos Cleta Mitchell and Tina Peters want Trump to seize the voting machines for "national security." DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Texas AG Ken Paxton has questions about kids' underpants. MAIN SHOW: The criminal case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn was dismissed, and now he's requesting that the inspectors general of both the Justice Department and the Department of Interior investigate how this abuse of prosecution happened. In Chicago, Marimar Martinez, was shot five times by CBP agents and then charged with assault with a deadly weapon. That case fell apart when it emerged that the agent was lying, and now Martinez has sued DHS under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The successor entity to Dominion Voting Systems is suing Patrick Byrne, AKA "the Overstock dot com weirdo," for defamation. Byrne is represented by Trump's former boarding school roommate, Peter Ticktin. Ticktin just accused Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, of obstructing justice in the case by enforcing a protective order. What is even happening???? Beatty v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72069932/beatty-v-trump/ US v. Commonwealth of Virginia [In-state tuition] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72085714/united-states-v-commonwealth-of-virginia/ Ken Paxton kids' underpants https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-launches-investigation-kids-clothing-companies-over-potential-presence Supreme Court Wannabes Head Search Committee For Bari Weiss University Law School Dean https://abovethelaw.com/2026/10/supreme-court-wannabes-head-search-committee-for-bari-weiss-university-law-school-dean/ Hearn IG Request https://www.democracydefendersfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/100626_DDF-Request-for-Concurrent-IG-Investigations-Hearn-Arrest-and-Prosecution.pdf Martinez v. US https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74919226/martinez-v-united-states/ </
- 3 weeks ago1h 3m
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-on-native-land-rebecca-nagle/288762f2ed30e05a McGirt v. Oklahoma https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-9526_9okb.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
- 4 weeks ago1h 1m
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 District of Minnesota for talking to the New York Times about what it was like to have their orders blatantly disregarded day after day. A judge in Washington ruled that the president has no power to fire US Attorneys installed by judges when there is an unfilled vacancy. The three hat dance is so back, baby! DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Revisionist historian Geoff Shepard, a former Nixon aide, is making the rounds at DOJ pitching his hot take: "Watergate As Lawfare." The WSJ reports that there's an appetite inside the Justice Department for the theory that all those guys who went to jail for Nixon were persecuted victims. MAIN SHOW: JGG v. Trump, the first major case where the Trump DOJ defied a court order, sending hundreds of men to CECOT in El Salvador, is back at the DC Circuit. This week, the entire court sitting en banc, heard oral argument on the issue of whether Judge James Boasberg has the power to do anything about flagrant contempt of his rulings. Audio here! SUBSCRIBER BONUS: The US Supreme Court, via a 6-3 shadow docket order, stayed two lower court rulings prohibiting the administration from deporting immigrants to third countries without due process, without notice or the opportunity to raise a credible fear or torture or persecution. The New York Times reported that the administration was unable to comply with the court's order to stop, so it immediately ran to the Supreme Court for help, which it got. US v. Raffensperger [Georgia voter rolls] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72193752/united-states-v-raffensperger/ Arizona court says judge wrongly allowed AI-generated victim video https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/arizona-court-says-judge-wrongly-allowed-ai-generated-victim-video-2026-09-30/ Hearn Dismissal Order https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28713072-hearn-dismissal/ Decades After Watergate, Justice Department Reviews Whether Nixon Got a Raw Deal https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/decades-after-watergate-justice-department-reviews-whether-nixon-got-a-raw-deal-8e25380f Rogoff v. Trump [Three hat dance] <p d
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About Law and Chaos
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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