A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump illegally seized control of the California National Guard. We tell you everything that means and what happens next. Also, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is home and facing trumped-up charges in Tennessee. And Alina Habba is still cosplaying as a prosecutor, and this time she’s decided to try and indict a sitting member of Congress for doing her job. Links: Newsom v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70496361/newsom-v-trump/ Abrego Garcia v. Noem [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/ US v. Abrego Garcia [docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-garcia/ US v. Mciver [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70317726/united-states-v-mciver Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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1:04:41
Ep 140 — Protest =/= Rebellion
The Trump administration is trying to provoke a riot in California by “federalizing” the National Guard. We’ll tell you what that means and what legal recourse blue states and cities have to resist being occupied by the military. Plus, it turns out that the Trump administration could facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after all, it just needed to gin up a dubious criminal indictment first. And finally, Justin Baldoni’s trollsuit against Blake Lively meets precisely the demise we told you it would. Links: US v. Abrego Garcia [docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-garcia/ DHS Referral to DOJ (Abrego Garcia) https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2025/25_0418_hsi_referral-abrego-garcia.pdf Abrego Garcia v. Noem [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/ Harvard College v. Department of Health and Human Services [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69921962/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-us-department-of-health-and/ White House Memo Federalizing National Guard https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/department-of-defense-security-for-the-protection-of-department-of-homeland-security-functions/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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1:13:29
Ep 139 — You Get A Civ Pro, And You Get A Civ Pro…
Justin Baldoni’s lawyers are wilding out, the Justice Department is suing to purge North Carolina’s voter rolls, and Pillow Pumper Mike Lindell is teaching us about journalism shield laws. And for subscribers: Have Trump’s minions discovered one weird trick that will allow them to steal Congress’s tariff authority? Links: Kingdom v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69717615/kingdom-v-trump/ Trump's Justice Department examining pardons issued by Biden https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-justice-department-examining-pardons-issued-by-biden-2025-06-02/ US v. Navarro https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63359365/united-states-v-navarro/ J.G.G. v. Trump [District Court Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump/ Wayfarer Studios v. Lively https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69550325/wayfarer-studios-llc-v-lively/ Lively v. Wayfarer Studios, LLC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69510553/lively-v-wayfarer-studios-llc/ Coomer v. Lindell https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63296393/coomer-v-lindell/ Covington & Burling tariffs article https://www.cov.com/-/media/files/corporate/publications/2016/12/law360_the_presidents_long_forgotten_power_to_raise_tariffs.pdf 19 USC 1338 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1338 US v. North Carolina State Board of Elections [docket via Court Listener] ttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70380331/united-states-v-north-carolina-state-board-of-elections/ Help America Vote Act, 52 USC 21083 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/21083 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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1:03:01
Ep 138 — Trump Admin Courts Contempt In Every Court At Once
The Trump Administration is putting the Justice Department in a terrible bind. DOJ lawyers can tell judges the truth and admit that the government is deliberately violating court orders. Or they can bob and weave and prevaricate and cross their fingers and hope it all comes out okay. But that strategy is running into a brick wall as courts are increasingly ruling against the government. Plus for subscribers: How low will SCOTUS go to protect the sacred right to walk around with a giant murder cannon slung over our shoulders? Links: The Trump Administration Is Lawless. Judges Are Adapting. https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/the-trump-administration-is-lawless Judge Russell Standing Order https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/sites/mdd/files/Amended%202025-01.pdf Trump v. Selzer [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69476247/trump-v-selzer/ Arevalo Millan v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70294725/darwin-antonio-arevalo-millan-v-donald-j-trump/ Melgar-Salmeron v. Bondi https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70409956/melgar-salmeron-v-bondi/ SCOTUS Orders List for June 2, 20025 https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/060225zor_4f15.pdf J.O.P. v. Department of Homeland Security [District Court Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15867241/jop-v-us-department-of-homeland-security Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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1:00:03
Ep 137 — Trump’s Bad Week In All The Courts
This week Trump got his ass kicked in courts no one’s ever heard of! From tariffs to immigration, Harvard to WilmerHale, it’s been a week of losing bigly. Andrew and Liz will break it down and explain what’s next. Links: Harvard College v. Department of Health and Human Services [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69921962/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-us-department-of-health-and/ V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump [District Court Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69888953/vos-selections-inc-v-donald-j-trump V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump [Federal Circuit Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70394463/vos-selections-inc-v-trump/ WilmerHale v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807328/wilmer-cutler-pickering-hale-and-dorr-llp-v-executive-office-of-the/ Jenner & Block v. DOJ [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807126/jenner-block-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/ MTA v. Duffy (Congestion Pricing) [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69652290/metropolitan-transportation-authority-v-duffy/ D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security [Trial Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69775896/dvd-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/ Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. [SCOTUS Docket] https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a1153.html The Punch That Launched Trump’s War on American Universities https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-college-university-federal-funding-fight-91c2a274 How to Hide a Constitutional Crisis https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/05/legalistic-noncompliance/682927/ 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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