

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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 29, 2024 • 55min
Ep 78 — The Independent State Legislature Theory Is Back Bigly
Republicans have discovered ONE WEIRD TRICK to win elections, and it is for the legislatures to steal all the electoral votes. Or if that can’t be arranged, they’d accept an intervention from SCOTUS. We’ll discuss the independent state legislature theory, as well as Trump’s latest filing in the stolen documents appeal. Links: Musk Petition https://petition.theamericapac.org/ Pennsylvania v. America PAC complaint https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25255630-philly-v-musk Pennsylvania SCT appeal (Genser v. Butler County) https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25255962/scotus-24a408-stay-application-pa.pdf 5th Circuit provisional ballots case (RNC v. Wetzel) https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/24/24-60395-CV0.pdf US v. Trump (11th Circuit appeal) docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68955302/united-states-v-donald-trump/ US v. Trump (SDFL documents case) docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67643393/united-states-v-trump/ 28 CFR § 600.1 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.1 Inside the Movement Behind Trump’s Election Lies https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/28/us/politics/inside-the-movement-behind-trumps-election-lies.html Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 25, 2024 • 48min
Ep 77 — Bush v. Gore On Steroids
What will happen on November 5 if Vice President Harris is narrowly ahead of Trump? Will it look like 2020? Or is it more likely to resemble 2000, with a knock down, drag out fight over every ballot? Liz and Andrew break it down. Links: Musk Is Going All In to Elect Trump https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/11/us/politics/elon-musk-donald-trump-pennsylvania.html Press Release: Benedictine Sisters subject of fraudulent claim https://eriebenedictines.org/news-stories.html/article/2024/10/23/press-release-benedictine-sisters-subject-of-fraudulent-claims Wand et al., The Butterfly Did It: The Aberrant Vote for Buchanan in Palm Beach County, Florida, American Political Science Review (2001) https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/butterfly-did-it-aberrant-vote-buchanan-palm-beach-county-florida Bush v. Gore (Supreme Court 2000) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2298973060085224552 Gore v. Harris (FL Supreme Court 2000) https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1489353.html Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 22, 2024 • 60min
Ep 76 — Elon Is Evil, But He’s Not Buying Votes
Elon Musk is giving Trump’s campaign $75 million. Plus he’s paying out $1 million per day to “registered voters.” Is that a crime, or just a photo op? Meanwhile in DC, what can we learn from the Special Counsel’s latest filing in the Trump election case? And we answer questions about how to watch early election night returns. Links: Musk Petition https://petition.theamericapac.org/ US v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656595/united-states-v-trump/?order_by=desc Elon Musk Veers Into Clearly Illegal Vote Buying by Rick Hasen https://electionlawblog.org/?p=146397 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 21, 2024 • 50min
Ep 75 BONUS — How Kentucky and Indiana Can Tell Us If Kamala Harris Has Won on Election Night
In this BONUS episode, elections expert Joe Dye returns to tell us what to watch for when the very first returns on Election Day come in at 6 pm Eastern from Indiana and Kentucky. Learn how those deep red states will help us test six different bits of conventional wisdom we’ve all heard from the pundits, like whether Kamala Harris is facing a backlash from college students, or whether she has made inroads with educated white voters & so much more! Links: The Republican Feelings Industrial Complex https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/bonus-the-republican-feelings-industrial Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 18, 2024 • 58min
Ep 74 — Judge Blows Up Billion Dollar Boeing Settlement For Excessive WOKE
Lt. Gov. Mark “Horndog” Robinson is suing CNN and a former porn shop worker named Louis Love Money for $50 million. And Texas’s worst(?) federal judge threatens to tank a Boeing plea deal because the federal monitor might do DEIs. Can’t have the airline pay victims of airline crashes unless the deal is 100 percent woke free! And for subscribers, a deep dive into the latest Trump election interference case foolishness. Links: Liz on Andrew Bailey: “Missouri AG Andy Bailey Face Plants All Over Federal Docket In Media Matters Case” https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/missouri-ag-andy-bailey-face-plants Judge McBurney Order re Georgia Hand Count Rule https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25214879-file_0479 ‘I’m a black NAZI!’: NC GOP nominee for governor made dozens of disturbing comments on porn forum https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/kfile-mark-robinson-black-nazi-pro-slavery-porn-forum/index.html The Lt. Governor Owes Me Money https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4CbWIXGzvE Ex-Porn Shop Employees Say Mark Robinson Was A Regular. He Denies It. https://www.theassemblync.com/politics/nc-election-governor-republican-mark-robinson-porn-allegations/ Robinson v. CNN complaint https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25215289-robinson-cnn-complaint NC Pattern Jury Instructions https://www.sog.unc.edu/resources/microsites/north-carolina-pattern-jury-instructions/north-carolina-pattern-jury-instructions-civil-cases NC Rule 8(a)(2) https://ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_1A/GS_1A-1,_Rule_8.html Boeing Order https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.342881/gov.uscourts.txnd.342881.275.0_1.pdf US v. Trump (DC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656595/united-states-v-trump/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 15, 2024 • 1h
Ep 73— Everything Must Go: The Alex Jones Edition
The courts are closed, but crazy never takes a break. We’ll check in on Alex Jones’s bankruptcy liquidation, Donald Trump’s shenanigans in the election interference case, and the horror show now that the mifepristone case is back before Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. Subscribers catch up with Peter Navarro, who seems to be working at cross purposes to his old boss in federal court — although perhaps it hasn’t yet occurred to him. Links: Free Speech Systems Auction Page https://360assetadvisors.com/events/fssmh/ US v. Trump (DC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656595/united-states-v-trump/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc L&C on Trump Revoking CBS’s “license” https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/no-the-fcc-cant-revoke-cbss-license Oklahoma RFP 00000555 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JbS0fT-wBSpLhKojxAv_BN5htPPKSi1g1d8bfbz-wWE/edit?tab=t.0 Alex Jones TX plaintiff appeal https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsb.457706/gov.uscourts.txsb.457706.1028.0.pdf FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (2024) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-235_n7ip.pdf Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine docket (ND Tex.) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.370067 Navarro order https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941/gov.uscourts.dcd.245941.53.0.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 11, 2024 • 45min
Ep 72 — Did SCOTUS Leave A Second Escape Hatch For Trump In The Election Case?
The Trump election interference case is back, and the immunity ruling isn’t the only way the Supreme Court tried to kneecap it. A case called Fischer v. US may prove fatal as well. Also, we take your questions of Florida’s abortion and marijuana ballot initiatives. And for subscribers, we catch up with Kraken weirdos Stefanie Lambert and Patrick Byrne. Links: FL Stat. 101-161 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0101/Sections/0101.161.html Fischer v. US (2024) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-5572_l6hn.pdf US v. Trump (DC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656595/united-states-v-trump/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc Trump opp redacted appendix https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.259.0_2.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 8, 2024 • 59min
Ep 71 — Trump Judges Discover One Weird Trick To Get Rid Of Federal Regs (Hint: It Is A Sharpie!)
They’re baaaaaack! The Supreme Court’s October term starts this week, and the howler monkey wing is ready to FSU. Down in Florida, Trump appointee Judge Kathryn Mizelle is doing her best Aileen Cannon impersonation. That story has an old school deep dive from Andrew into 13th century Saxony and beyond. And, for subscribers, we’ll unpack an amazing grift in Oklahoma. Links: ABA Letter rating Mizelle “Not Qualified” https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/government_affairs_office/2020-09-08chair-rating-letter-to-graham-and-feinstein-re-nomination-of-kathryn-kimball-mizelle.pdf?logActivity=true False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. Subchapter III https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/subtitle-III/chapter-37/subchapter-III US ex rel Clarissa Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.364103/gov.uscourts.flmd.364103.346.0.pdf 2007 OLC Memo re Relators https://www.justice.gov/file/494641/dl?inline OKLAHOMA TRUMP BIBLES https://www.lawdork.com/p/oklahoma-ryan-walters-bible-inhalers OKLAHOMA RFP https://sde.ok.gov/ev00000555 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 4, 2024 • 1h 13min
Ep 70 — “Make Them Riot. Do It!!!”
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed his opening salvo since the Supreme Court invented a new doctrine of absolute presidential immunity. Trump complained that the immunity brief is functionally a mini-Special Counsel report, and he’s not wrong. But if you don’t want your crimes on the public docket, maybe don’t try to overthrow democracy! Liz and Andrew break down the latest in Trump’s election interference case. Links: US v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67656595/united-states-v-trump/?order_by=desc Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Oct 1, 2024 • 1h 1min
Ep 69 — Alex Jones, Eric Adams, And Donald Trump Walk Into A Bar
It’s a regular Star Wars bar on today’s show, with updates in Donald Trump’s election interference case and Alex Jones’s bankruptcy. But the real star is New York Mayor Eric Adams, who wants to dismiss his indictment because the Supreme Court says it’s not a bribe if you don’t get paid until after you do the official act. It’s a gratuity, which is as American as apple pie! Links: US v. Adams [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69197933/united-states-v-adams/ Free Speech Systems Bankruptcy [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64868456/free-speech-systems-llc-and-official-committee-of-unsecured-creditors-of/ Alex Jones Bankruptcy [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66583024/alexander-e-jones-and-official-committee-of-unsecured-creditors/ Alex Jones' Company To Be Broken Up And Sold For Scrap https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/alex-jones-company-to-be-broken-up Tell Alex Jones to Eat Shit: Let’s Buy Infowars https://thebarbedwire.com/2024/09/30/tell-alex-jones-to-eat-shit-lets-buy-infowars/ Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective v. State of Georgia, Order https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25178630-mcburney-sistersong-final-order Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod