Law and Chaos

Liz Dye

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.

  1. Ep 225 — SCOTUS Breaks Democracy

    2D AGO

    Ep 225 — SCOTUS Breaks Democracy

    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 returns in 2020 has appointed a whole squad of lawyers to serve as amici. They’ll brief the issue of whether the court has jurisdiction to preside over a case where the president appears to be suing himself. L&C’s Doofus of the Day is Pete Hegseth. MAIN SHOW: James Comey has been indicted again. This time his “crime” is posting a picture of seashells arranged to say “8647.” It is exceptionally stupid, but we will break it down in exceptional detail. As a companion to our written post, we unpack Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais effectively gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Subscribers will get a deep dive into what the new districts might look like with Joe Dye. Finally, we’ll cringe our way through the DOJ’s latest motion in the ballroom case — it’s the most inappropriate, unprofessional thing we’ve ever seen, including from pro se litigants. Louisiana v. Callais [Supreme Court opinion] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf The Supreme Court Just Effectively Repealed The Voting Rights Act  https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/the-supreme-court-just-effectively US v. Comey https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256624/united-states-v-comey Trump DOJ Pursuing Separate Comey Probe for Classified Leaks https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-doj-pursuing-separate-comey-probe-for-classified-leaks Trump v. IRS https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI https://www.theverge.com/tech/917225/sam-altman-elon-musk-openai-lawsuit National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    59 min
  2. Ep 224 — Musk v. Altman … May The Best Asteroid Win

    5D AGO

    Ep 224 — Musk v. Altman … May The Best Asteroid Win

    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 snag as a federal judge in Florida said she may not have jurisdiction over a case where the plaintiff and the defendant are the same person — Donald Trump. And EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is being so weird at Congress. Is he bad at law, or just lying? MAIN SHOW:  It’s a courtroom brawl between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over the past and future of AI. Musk claims he was swindled out of seed money by claims that OpenAI would be operated as a non-profit, only to watch the company pivot to a trillion-dollar for-profit enterprise. The jury is empaneled, and the trial begins this week.   The Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday in Chatrie v. US. The case involves law enforcement's use of “geofencing” data to find criminal suspects based on their cell phone location data. Should the government have to get a warrant to collect that info? What should those warrants look like? Court Side-Eyes Trump's Plan To Sue Himself And Loot The Treasury https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/court-side-eyes-trumps-plan-to-sue Shuffle Up And Deal [Subscriber Bonus Episode] https://www.patreon.com/posts/ep-subscriber-up-156633231 Musk v. Altman https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69013420/musk-v-altman National Trust rejects Trump demand to drop ballroom suit in wake of shooting https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/27/trump-ballroom-national-trust-lawsuit/ Oral argument in Chatrie v. US [geofencing warrants] https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/25-112_o758.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 1m
  3. Ep 223 — They Started It. We Finished It. (Ft. Joe Dye)

    APR 24

    Ep 223 — They Started It. We Finished It. (Ft. Joe Dye)

    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 public schools to display the Ten Commandments. We wrote about it on the blog, and it’s even worse than you imagine. And  And In the main show, we have an extended interview with electoral maps expert Joe Dye over the Virginia Constitutional Amendment that passed on Tuesday and will replace Virginia’s existing Congressional districts (that are 6 Democratic and 5 Republican) with a new map that is 10-1 Democratic. For now, a Republican judge in Tazewell County has enjoined the amendment.\ SUBSCRIBER BONUS: We discuss the Trump administration’s bogus indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kerkhoff v. Blaze Media, LLC [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73220023/kerkhoff-v-blaze-media-llc/ “Fifth Circuit Cosplays As Historians So It Can Burn Down The Wall Between Church And State” [lawandchaospod.com] https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/fifth-circuit-cosplays-as-historians Rosado v. Bondi [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72259284/rosado-v-bondi/ Text of Virginia’s Constitutional Amendment https://www.elections.virginia.gov/election-law/proposed-amendment-for-april-2026-special-election/ Existing Virginia Congressional District Map (6-5 Democratic, drawn by independent commission) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress_%282%29.svg New Virginia Congressional District Map (10-1 Democratic) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_120th_Congress_%282026_Redistricting_Amendment%29.svg Judge Hurley’s injunction issued in Tazewell County, Virginia [text via Meidas Touch News] https://meidasnews.com/news/virginia-judge-voids-redistricting-amendment-invalidates-all-votes-from-tuesdays-special-election Indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center [via CourtListener] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.almd.90264/gov.uscourts.almd.90264.1.0.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 7m
  4. Ep 222 — Chief Justice Roberts Burned Down Democracy To Save Coal Plants

    APR 21

    Ep 222 — Chief Justice Roberts Burned Down Democracy To Save Coal Plants

    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 taxpayer money to pay Trump for the illegal disclosure of his tax returns in 2020. The statutory max is $1,000 per return. He wants $10 billion.  The DOJ has hired Joe diGenova, a Reagan-era US Attorney, to spice up the grand conspiracy investigation into all Trump’s enemies taking place in Florida under the watchful eye of Judge Aileen Cannon. And Pennsylvania’s intermediate appellate court rules that the state’s ban on abortion coverage under Medicaid violates both the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment and the state constitution's equal protection provisions. MAIN SHOW: FBI Director (for now) Kash Patel is big mad over an article in The Atlantic reporting that his drinking is freaking out everyone around him. He’s rounded up wonderweasel lawyer Jesse Binnall and filed a defamation trollsuit in DC. This will be amazing content, and we are grateful in advance! And we’ll break down the blockbuster article from the New York Times on Chief Justice Roberts’ invention of the modern shadow docket ten years ago to stop the “emergency” of states being asked to come up with a way to reduce carbon emissions. The Times got the receipts, and they are ugly. So much for Mister Balls and Strikes! SUBSCRIBERS: Alan Dershowitz is indulging his humiliation kink at the Supreme Court. He’s asking the justices to overturn the actual malice standard from New York Times v. Sulllivan so he can sue CNN for reporting what he said during Trump’s first impeachment. Are his arguments good? NO. Are they hilarious? HELL YES. The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html US v. Amore [Rhode Island voter rolls] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982644/united-states-v-amore AG Nessel, Governor Whitmer, Secretary Benson Denounce DOJ Demand for 2024 Ballots https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/04/19/ag-nessel-governor-whitmer-secretary-benson-denounce-doj-demand-for-2024-ballots Trump v. IRS https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/ U.S. Installs a Trump Loyalist to Lead ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Case Into Trump Foes https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/26MD19_4-20-26.pdf?cb=1 Patel v. The Atlantic Monthly Group https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/ The FBI Director Is MIA https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/ “The Shadow Papers: The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court,” New York Times, April 18, 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html “Read the Supreme Court’s Shadow Papers,” New York Times, April 18, 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html Dersh at SCOTUS https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    59 min
  5. Ep 221 — Live Nation Is About To Get Hit With One Hell Of A Surcharge

    APR 17

    Ep 221 — Live Nation Is About To Get Hit With One Hell Of A Surcharge

    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 to bang on the door demanding to inspect the ongoing renovations. The Trump administration uses the threat of administrative sanctions to force changes it can’t get from Congress or the courts. The Justice Department extorted $17 million from IBM — which just so happens to have billions of dollars in government contracts! — for committing DEI “fraud.” And the FTC forced brand advisers to agree not to “discriminate” against conservative media outlets. On a more positive note, a judge in Maryland continues to block the ICE facility being constructed in the state, and Judge Richard Leon put the kibosh on Trump’s ballroom … again. MAIN SHOW: A jury slapped Live Nation and Ticket Master in the antitrust lawsuit filed in New York. The feds noped out two days into trial, but the states who picked up the baton and ran with it. The jurors found the company liable on all counts. We talk about the ins and outs of the decision and some pending legal questions still waiting for resolution.  We also break down a new lawsuit brought by a lawful resident of Maine with no criminal record who was seized by ICE during “Operation Catch of the Day” and brutalized. Can he sue under the Maine Civil Rights Act? And if so, is this a path forward for blue states to fill the gap left by inadequate federal laws? Penis costume protester prevails in court https://www.courthousenews.com/penis-costume-protester-prevails-in-court/ Tulsi’s “Criminal Referral” of the Ukraine Whistleblower and ICIG https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2026/4154-pr-06-26 Prosecutors from Jeanine Pirro's office tried to access Federal Reserve headquarters, but were turned away https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prosecutors-jeanine-pirro-office-visit-federal-reserve-headquarters-jerome-powell/ Justice Department settles with IBM over alleged DEI practices https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/04/16/justice-department-settles-with-ibm-over-alleged-dei-practices/ Ad firms settle with Trump FTC over claims they boycotted conservative media https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/ad-firms-settle-with-trump-ftc-over-claims-they-boycotted-conservative-media Maryland v. Mullin https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72313096/state-of-maryland-v-mullin National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national US v. LiveNation [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68557723/united-states-of-america-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc/?order_by=desc&page=1 Carvajal-Munoz v. Ravencamp [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73186770/carvajal-munoz-v-ravencamp/ Maine Civil Rights Act, 5 M.R.S. 4682 https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec4682.html “State Law, the Westfall Act, and the Nature of the Bivens Question,” [2013 U. Penn. L. Rev.] https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1976&context=facpub Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    55 min
  6. Ep 220 — Pray For the PRA

    APR 14

    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 still limping along. Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Education Josh Kleinfeld makes an interesting pitch to George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, which is currently under investigation by … the Department of Education. And Trump’s ballroom blitz takes a tumble in court. MAIN SHOW: Trump discovers one weird trick to make the Presidential Records Act disappear. All he has to do is order the Office of Legal Counsel to come up with a memo saying it’s unconstitutional and — hey, presto! — he can steal or shred or delete any document he likes. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Are we the pirates now? Trump v. Murdoch https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70843413/trump-v-murdoch Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation Fifth Circuit Home Distillers Ruling https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/24/24-10760-CV0.pdf Trump Admin Lawyer Applies To Be Law School Dean, Suggests It Might Help Investigations Go Away https://abovethelaw.com/2026/04/trump-admin-lawyer-applies-to-be-law-school-dean-suggests-it-might-help-investigations-go-away/ Ballroom Blitz Blocked https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/ballroom-blitz-blocked National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73127510/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-v-nps April 1, 2026 OLC Memorandum on the Presidential Records Act https://www.justice.gov/olc/media/1434131/dl Judicial Watch v. NARA (“Socks Case”), 845 F.Supp.2d 288 (DC Cir. 2012) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15818036517066124081 Trump v. Mazars, 591 US 848 (2020) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2096461232780826445 Nixon v. Administrator of General Svcs. et al., 433 US 425 (1977) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11884364268460571560 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    57 min
  7. Ep 219 — DOJ In Disarray

    APR 10

    Ep 219 — DOJ In Disarray

    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: Crazytimes continue at the DOJ as Trump’s goons jockey to replace Pam Bondi. Acting AG Todd Blanche is professing his love for Trump at the podium. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro can’t indict a ham sandwich, and juries are telling her to take a hike. Politico says Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, is in the running for the top job. She’s currently trying to indict January 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson for perjury — which has exactly nothing to do with civil rights. And Dhillon’s office keeps losing when she sues states demanding they turn over their voter rolls.  Will Republicans invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office? (No.) But the fact that we’re asking the question shows how far we’ve come. And in Tennessee, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is trying to get his human smuggling case dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution. Both the government and Garcia filed their briefs this week. The government claims that prosecution started with an article in the local paper, the Tennessee Star. Which is weird because the case was reopened in Baltimore the week before the article was published — and DHS is actually the source of the reporting! Blanche Steals Bondi's Brown Nose https://lawandchaospod.substack.com/p/blanche-steals-bondis-brown-nose Justice Dept.’s Civil Rights Division Is Investigating Star Witness Against Trump https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/doj-cassidy-hutchinson-investigation-trump.html Kilmar Abrego Garcia [TN criminal docket] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/ 2022 TN Traffic Stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Day Three of Trip That Originated in Houston, Took Detour to St. Louis, Crossed Trafficking Hubs and Areas with MS-13 https://tennesseestar.com/justice/2022-tn-traffic-stop-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-was-day-three-of-trip-that-originated-in-houston-took-detour-to-st-louis-crossed-trafficking-hubs-and-areas-with-ms-13/tpappert/2025/04/21/ African Communities Together v. Noem [TPS for Ethiopians] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72178312/african-communities-together-v-noem/ Mullin weighs using airport customs as leverage against sanctuary cities https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mullin-weighs-using-airport-customs-leverage-against-sanctuary-cities Judge Jeanine’s Big Audition https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/judge-jeanine-pirro-attorney-general-trump-jerome-powell.html Inside the battle to be Trump’s next attorney general ​​https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/09/trump-attorney-general-blanche-dhillion-pirro-00864988 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 8m
  8. Ep 218 — Bondi, Birthright, Baldoni, and Ballroom

    APR 7

    Ep 218 — Bondi, Birthright, Baldoni, and Ballroom

    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 ridiculous appeal! Justin Baldoni is back to teach us CivPro. This time, he’s largely prevailing on his motion for judgment on the pleadings, as Judge Liman dismisses ten of Blake Lively’s 13 counts. Turns out, she never signed her contract, and the contract established that she was an employee, not an independent contractor. Since independent contractors can’t sue for discrimination under Title VII, her harassment claims are out. And the contract had a choice of law provision that agreed to abide by California law. No contract … no automatic California law. And of course we’ll break down the Supreme Court’s birthright decision hearing. So many clips! SCOTUS Orders List April 6, 2026 https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/040626zor_5iek.pdf Trump Executive Order to De-Woke the NCAA https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/urgent-national-action-to-save-college-sports/ National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [Ballroom trial docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/ National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [Ballroom appeal docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73127510/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-v-nps/ Lively v. Wayfarer https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69510553/lively-v-wayfarer-studios-llc/?order_by=desc Blake Lively’s (unsigned) Actor Loan-Out Agreement [Exhibit 263] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.964.121.pdf Birthright Citizenship SCOTUS Transcript https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/25-365_l6gn.pdf Birthright Citizenship SCOTUS Audio https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2025/25-365 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 14m
4.6
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

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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