Law and Chaos

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' https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-257-hard-questions-about-court



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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

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

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/
 
Liberty Vote Holding v. Byrne [Dominion Voting Systems]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60120428/liberty-vote-holdings-inc-v-byrne/



Show Links:
https://www.lawandchaospod.com/
BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod
Threads: @LawAndChaosPod
Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

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:
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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod
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Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod