The Supreme Court’s last day of the term was an exercise of raw power. The six conservative justices gave lower courts the back of their hand, making clear that they — and only they! — will decide the law. Nationwide injunctions are out, and so is stare decisis. Andrew and Liz will break down the power grab, along with Mahmoud v. Taylor, in which the howler monkey wing allowed religious parents to opt their kids out of the “religious coercion” of reading books about gay people. Links: Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-316_869d.pdf Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-354_0861.pdf Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1122_3e04.pdf Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf Mahmoud v Taylor https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-297_4f14.pdf Trump v. CASA https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a884_8n59.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 145 — SCOTUS Aims For Photo Finish … Gives Us Disaster Porn
The Trump administration’s war on the judiciary continues, and this time he’s suing judges. Also, he’s trying to install his henchman Emil Bove in the Third Circuit as a reward for burning down the firewall between the White House and the DOJ. Luckily SCOTUS is distracting us by cramming as many horrible decisions as possible into the last two days of the term. Links: SCOTUS 23-1002 Hewitt v. United States https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1002_1p24.pdf SCOTUS 23-1275 Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1275_e2pg.pdf SCOTUS 23-7809 Gutierrez v. Saenz https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-7809_3e04.pdf A judge sided with Trump. Behind the scenes, he was lobbying for a nomination. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/20/ed-artau-trump-judge-nomination-florida-00415408 Erez Reuveni DOJ Whistleblower Report https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/e285ec96adf8d443/5868d536-full.pdf Law and Chaos, The Trump Administration Is Lawless. Judges Are Adapting. [Substack post] https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/the-trump-administration-is-lawless Tatis v. Big League Advance Fund https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/tatis-vs-big-league-advance-fund.pdf US v. Russell [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70627303/united-states-of-america-v-russell/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 144 — Don’t Make Us Side With Disney And Harvard
The Supreme Court’s howler monkey wing greenlights Trump’s third country renditions without notice and cuts the legs out from underneath the entire federal judiciary. So much for CJ Roberts, protector of the courts! And the Ninth Circuit lets Trump steal California’s National Guard for a fictitious emergency. In better news, Harvard gets an injunction against the government’s effort to kneecap it by blocking foreign students. And Disney takes on Midjourney, the AI company whose business model appears to rest on wholesale copyright infringement. Links: Supreme Court Shadow Docket Order DHS v. DVD https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1153_l5gm.pdf President and Fellows of Harvard College v. United States Department of Homeland Security [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70349156/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-united-states-department-of/ Newsom v. Trump [Trial Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70496361/newsom-v-trump/ Newsom v. Trump [9th Circuit Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70527602/newsom-et-al-v-trump-et-al/ US v. Abrego [TN Criminal Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-garcia/ Disney v. Midjourney (C.D. Cal.) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70513159/disney-enterprises-inc-v-midjourney-inc/ Midjourney Terms of Service https://docs.midjourney.com/hc/en-us/articles/32083055291277-Terms-of-Service 2022 Midjouney interview in The Register https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/01/david_holz_midjourney/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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1:01:38
Ep 143 — SCOTUS Bullies Trans Kids
This week the Supreme Court’s conservatives greenlit an all-out attack on trans kids and their healthcare. So much for parents’ rights! At least Alex Jones is still bankrupt. And the trustee in his bankruptcy case just sued him to claw back millions of dollars in “fraudulent” transfers to his friends and family. Plus, we’ll discuss NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Judge Hannah Dugan, and everyone else swept up in ICE’s deranged dragnet. Links: US v. Skrmetti (S. Ct. 2025) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf Alex Jones bankruptcy (S.D. Texas) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66583024/alexander-e-jones-and-official-committee-of-unsecured-creditors Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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Ep 142 — Who Is The Administrator of DOGE (feat. Anna Bower)
Liz and Andrew welcome Lawfare’s Anna Bower back to the show to discuss her singular obsession: who is the administrator of DOGE? Find out why that’s still a critical question and what discovering the answer might mean in terms of undoing policy, preserving records, and more. Links: Who Is The Administrator of DOGE, by Anna Bower https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawfare-daily--witaod 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.
Italia