

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

Nov 15, 2024 • 57min
Ep 83 — The Worst Person You Know … Is Getting Eaten By The Onion
The Onion is making waves by attempting to acquire Infowars, though a bankruptcy judge might put a halt to that. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani finds his legal team pulling out of significant cases. The discussion also touches on the ethics of an unexpected new Attorney General nominee, amplifying skepticism about their qualifications. The intricacies of bankruptcy proceedings surrounding Infowars reveal the complex landscape of asset distribution and legal maneuvering, showcasing the chaotic intersection of politics and media.

Nov 12, 2024 • 56min
Ep 82 — Trump Won The Presidency. He’s Seizing Congress By Fiat.
A week after the election, Trump is already demanding that Congress bend the knee and allow him to staff his administration without bothering to get Senate confirmation. Can he do that? And will the new Senate majority leader let him? Links: Musk's X seeks to steer lawsuits to conservative court in Texas https://www.reuters.com/legal/musks-x-seeks-steer-lawsuits-conservative-court-texas-2024-10-17/ Federalist No. 67 (Hamilton) https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/federalist-no-67/ Noel Canning v. NLRB https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=67923386243166640 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Nov 8, 2024 • 43min
Ep 81 — What Now?
Well, it happened. We talk about what the election of Donald Trump means for you, for the country, for this show, and for the efforts to hold Trump accountable for his crimes against the American people. Special Counsel Jack Smith has announced that he intends to “wrap up” his office; we tell you why and what that means. We’ll be here with you, and we’ll always tell you the truth. Links: NPR report: Smith To Wind Down https://www.npr.org/2024/11/06/g-s1-33021/trump-trials-jack-smith-election-2024 28 CFR Part 600 (Special Counsel regulations) https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/part-600 Trump v. US (2024) https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/23-939.pdf 24 Op. OLC 222 (2000) - Presidential immunity https://www.justice.gov/file/146241-0/dl?inline Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Nov 5, 2024 • 1h 21min
Ep 80 — How To Watch The Election Hour By Hour
Joe Dye is back to talk us through how to watch the election returns. How similar are Wisconsin and Iowa? When will we know the results out of Georgia? And what’s up with that Selzer poll? Andrew and Joe break it all down. Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

Nov 1, 2024 • 1h 4min
Ep 79 — Pennsylvania Gets A Jump On Election Litigation
Election litigation is well underway in Pennsylvania, even before election day. The Trump campaign has already racked up a win, since they decided that early voting is … good now? Meanwhile Elon Musk is dodging a civil action by Philadelphia’s DA over his million dollar “lottery,” and Trump filed an absolutely gonzo trollsuit in Texas against CBS. Links: Workers Say They Were Tricked and Threatened as Part of Elon Musk’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-america-pac-blitz-canvassing-michigan-uhaul/ Lancaster County officials should deliver real answers on voter registration issues — not shut down questions [editorial] https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/lancaster-county-officials-should-deliver-real-answers-on-voter-registration-issues-not-shut-down-questions/article_6f9b8ae8-9640-11ef-8723-dfe8afbc7b37.html Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 48 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_48 Baxter v. Philadelphia Board of Elections (Pa. App. Oct. 30, 2024) https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/1305CD24_10-30-24.pdf?cb=1 Trump v. CBS Texas Consumer Protection Law Complaint https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.396451/gov.uscourts.txnd.396451.1.0.pdf Krasner v. Attorney General https://casetext.com/case/commonwealth-v-the-attorney-gen-1 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod Patreon: patreon.com/LawAndChaosPod

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