Law and Chaos

This weekend Donald Trump compared himself to Nelson Mandela. Liz talks with Lawfare's Anna Bower, who lives out of a suitcase covering the Trump trials beat, to see if she agrees. Plus, WTF is going on with Trump's bond in the New York civil fraud trial?   Links:   Trump's Lawyers Told the Court That No One Would Give Him a Bond. Then He Got a Lifeline, but They Didn't Tell the Judges. https://ww...

Liz talks to veteran legal journalist Mike Sacks about the Supreme Court and the decades-old plan to enshrine minority rule into law. How did the Chief Justice wind up frantically tapping the brakes as his own conservative colleagues are going pedal to the metal? And WTF is going on with Judge Cannon in the Trump docs case?   Links: US v. Trump [SDFL Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlis...

Have anti-choice astroturf groups gone too far? Will SCOTUS save medication abortion from the loons at the Fifth Circuit? Liz discusses the arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine with reproductive rights reporter Susan Rinkunas.    Links: FDA v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine, Transcript and Audio of Oral Arguments https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2023/23-235   The '...

States are banning it, employers are blocking it, and now the US government is trying to steal it. What's with all the noise around TikTok? TechFreedom's Corbin Barthold explains why politicians need to take several giant steps back and stop trying to tell kids how to do the internet.    Links: A Breakdown of the Bizarre Factions Fighting Over the TikTok Ban Bill, by Corbin Barthold https://plus.t...

Liz discusses all the Trump civil and criminal trials with New York litigator Mitchell Epner. Will Trump be able to pay that $454 million bond with the proceeds from taking Truth Social public? We'll break it down.   Links:   Carroll v. Trump (I) [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18418220/carroll-v-trump/   Carroll v. Trump (I) — Denial of Rule 59 Motion https://stor...

Recent revelations have shone a spotlight on the Supreme Court's broken ethics rules, and boy are the justices mad about it. We talk to Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court about the problem and what to do about it. But first, a breakdown of Trump's appeal of Judge McAfee's denial of the motion to disqualify DA Fani Willis in Georgia.   Links:   Fix the Court https://fixthecourt.com/    ...

Liz talks to voting rights expert Jamie Lynn Crofts about the court order which forced Republicans in Wisconsin to surrender their stranglehold gerrymander. How will fair maps affect the Badger State? And what lessons can we learn for the country as a whole?   Links:   All Voting Is Local https://allvotingislocal.org/     Clarke v. Wisconsin Election Commission, OPINION https://www.wicourts.gov/sc...

Liz talks to Diana Florence, a litigator in New York who spent 24 years in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. They break down the upcoming Trump trial for creating false business records as part of the scheme to disguise the Stormy Daniels hush money payment as legal fees. What should you expect in the first Trump criminal trial? Tune in for a former NY prosecutor's take!   Links:   Trump N...

Liz talks to Arizona litigator Tom Ryan about how his state's GOP learned to stop worrying and love the loon. We'll cover all Kari Lake's litigation — she's having no luck as a plaintiff, and even less as a defendant. And we'll talk about what's next for Democrats and Republicans in the Grand Canyon State.   Links: Richer v. Lake Complaint https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23858088-richer-v-...

On the eve of Ken Paxton's trial for securities fraud — a mere nine years after he got indicted — Liz talks to Texas Monthly reporter Dan Solomon about the state's embattled Attorney General. How much worse has he gotten since surviving impeachment? Will he play a role in a future Trump administration? And is this literally hell we are living in now?   Links: Carroll Bond Ruling https://storage.co...

Should the government be able to order social media platforms to host political speech? Does the First Amendment even exist any more? And do we really have to side with Justice Kavanaugh on this one? Liz talks to TechFreedom's Corbin Barthold about the Netchoice cases.    Links: Tech Policy Podcast ​​ https://podcast.techfreedom.org/   Moody v. Netchoice (Texas Docket) https://www.supremecourt.gov...

Liz talks to national security law expert Kel McClanahan about the Trump documents case in Florida and how he could use classified materials to derail the trial until after the election.   Links: SCOTUS Order Granting Cert on Trump Immunity Claim https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/022824zr3_febh.pdf US v. Trump [SDFL Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6749...

Liz talks to repro law expert Ellen Trachman, host of the podcast "I Want to Put a Baby in You" about the recent Alabama decision which functionally outlaws in vitro fertilization. Is this the beginning of a trend, or will Republicans course correct out of fear of the wrath of women voters?   Links: Ellen Trachman at Above the Law https://abovethelaw.com/author/ellentrachman/ The "I Want to Put a...

Liz talks to reporter Brandi Buchman about the prosecutions of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy and how those prosecutions paved the way for Trump's election interference case.    Links: In Re: Lindell Management LLC Litigation [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67410449/in-re-lindell-management-llc-litigation/ Brandi Buchman at Law and Cri...

Liz talks to Daily Beast reporter Jose Pagliery about the $355 million verdict that's really a $450 million verdict in Trump's civil fraud trial. Plus the Carroll defamation suits, and the upcoming criminal trial in March for falsifying records to cover up the Stormy Daniels payoff. And … the state of American democracy! Justice Engoron Holding https://eddsa.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/public/4525...

With Trump's ballot disqualification on the docket, all eyes were on SCOTUS last week. Liz talks about the argument at the Supreme Court with guest Eric Segall, and lays out the various off-ramps the justices might take to keep a criminal insurrectionist on the ballot this November. "Originalism as Faith" by Eric Segall https://www.amazon.com/Originalism-as-Faith-Eric-Segall/dp/1316640469   "Supre...

After allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is romantically involved with the special prosecutor hired by her office, the sharks are circling both legally and politically. Is this case totally boned? Liz asks Georgia defense attorney Andrew Fleischman what's next in this crucial election interference case.   Show Links:   Fulton County Docket: State of Georgia v. Donald J. T...

Description: Liz hosts former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner to discuss last week's massive $83 million damage award in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case. What happens when he appeals? Was it smart for Trump to testify? And WTF is up with his lawyers?    Show links: Carroll v. Trump I [District Court Docket via Court Listener] Carroll v. Trump II [District Court Docket via Court Listen...

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 journalist Liz Dye breaks down the week's most important courtroom stories, so you can keep on top of this crazy news cycle.