The Supreme Court does one good thing on immigration, which made Sam Alito BIG MAD. And although the administration has been stymied (for now) in its efforts to rendition detainees out of the country with no notice, the Supreme Court did allow the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. Then, since we all need a good chuckle, we spend some time pointing and laughing at California’s plan to outsource the bar exam to an AI chatbot. And in the patreon bonus, we describe how one of America’s worst trial court judges just tried to overrule the Supreme Court.

Links:

Alito Gets Fragged in Supreme Court Order

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/alito-gets-fragged-in-scotus-order

New York Times, “Emil Bove, Top Justice Dept. Official, Is Considered For Circuit Court Nomination”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/us/politics/emil-bove-circuit-court-federal-appeals.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IU8.KLV8.yndwN6PJV_HE

Noem v. National TPS Alliance et al. [SCOTUS Miscellaneous order]

https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/051925zr1_5h26.pdf

Washington Post, “Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/05/17/trump-justice-department-prosecutions/

State of Texas v. EEOC order (Kacsmaryk)

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.393489/gov.uscourts.txnd.393489.59.0.pdf

DOJ OCR Letter Harmeet Dhillon to Brandon Johnson

https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1400811/dl?inline

Show Links:

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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

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Today, Liz and Andrew interview Prof. Leah Litman about her book Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. And, as if to prove the point, the Supreme Court today entertained absolutely nonsense arguments in the birthright citizenship cases about how district courts can’t issue the kind of injunctions they’ve issued for the past two centuries because it would make Trump sad.

Links:

Leah Litman’s Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

https://www.amazon.com/Lawless-Supreme-Conservative-Grievance-Theories/dp/1668054620/

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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

Threads: @LawAndChaosPod

Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

Meta thinks that if you steal tens of millions of books, the value of each individual theft rounds down to zero. Is that the law? (No.) Also, the Qatari Royal family wants to give Donald Trump a half-billion-dollar plane and make the US government pay to renovate it. Turns out, that hasn’t been legal for more than two hundred years, but who’s counting? Oh, and the administration arrested the Mayor of Newark. Rumeysa Ozturk is free, though, so it’s not all bad news.

Links:

Ozturk v. Hyde

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69845539/ozturk-v-hyde/

W.M.M. v. Trump (Alien Enemies Act case in Northern District of Texas)

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69898198/wmm-v-donald-j-trump

US v. Baraka

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70242142/united-states-v-baraka/

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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

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While SCOTUS is MIA, trial judges across the country are stepping up. The full Circuit Court in DC leaps in to save Voice of America from the May hell panel hearing emergency appeals. A judge in Maryland orders the government to facilitate the return of a man wrongly deported to the Salvadoran gulag. No, not Kilmar Abrego Garcia — another one! In New York, a third trial judge rules that we are NOT under invasion by Venezuela. And in Alabama, trial judges ordered the state to fix its racist maps again.

Links:

DHS Courts Contempt In Its Zeal To Deport As Many Harmless Grannies As Possible

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/dhs-courts-contempt-in-its-zeal-to

Widakuswara v. Lake [Circuit Court Docket]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69940505/patsy-widakuswara-v-kari-lake

Dragon Law Docket

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69837453/jane-doe-no-2-v-clinton-county-of/

J.O.P. v. Department of Homeland Security [District Court Docket]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15867241/jop-v-us-department-of-homeland-security

U.S. v. Watkins (SDNY 1946)

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2209995717379331353

G.F.F. v. Trump [SDNY Docket]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69857769/gff-v-trump/

Milligan v. Allen Docket

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61494291/milligan-v-allen/

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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

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On today’s episode, we break down how Radio Free Europe just might be the key to preserving the separation of powers in America. We talk the Tucker Act and all of the pretextual, vapid, and/or just plain wrong arguments coming out of Trump’s Department of Justice. Perkins Coie wins their case in front of Our Favorite Beryl, a dingus is trying to sue Chief Justice John Roberts, and Maine’s Governor Janet Mills promised the President she’d see him in court. Four days later, the administration caved, meaning Maine kids will get to eat their school lunches after all.

Links:

Trump Admin Unveils Exciting Plan To Magic Away Impoundment Lawsuits

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/trump-admin-unveils-exciting-plan

RFE/RL v. Lake (USAGM) D.D.C. docket [via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69752936/rferl-inc-v-lake/

US Agency for Global Media DC Circuit docket [via Court Listener]

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.42001/

America First Legal Foundation v. Chief Justice Roberts [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69924761/america-first-legal-foundation-v-roberts/

Perkins Coie LLP v. Dept. of Justice [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69725919/perkins-coie-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/

US v. Kirk [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69580642/united-states-v-kirk/

US v. Smirnov

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68254959/united-states-v-smirnov

Show Links:

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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

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Well, it’s finally happened. A federal judge has finally ruled that we are not being invaded by Venezuela and so the president can’t just shout “ALIEN ENEMIES ACT” as an excuse to kidnap people and send them to a torture gulag in El Salvador. And it was a Trump appointee who did it! Also, Mike Lindell is somehow still here.

Links:

Conservative Judge Saves VOA, Savages SCOTUS

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/conservative-judge-saves-voa-savages

J.A.V. v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69862833/jav-v-trump

‘Historical loss’: Alleged gang leader evades US justice with deportation to El Salvador

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/politics/ms-13-leader-deported-el-salvador-boasberg-order/index.html

Madawhi v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69888582/mahdawi-v-trump/

Eric Coomer: Pawn Plant or Perp?

https://www.scribd.com/document/511804143/1-5019632676605264266

Dominion v. Lindell DC Docket (Judge Nichols)

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59670901/us-dominion-inc-v-my-pillow-inc/

Coomer v. Lindell Colorado Docket

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.215068/

Redline of “draft” versus final opposition filed in Colorado

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cod.215068/gov.uscourts.cod.215068.311.2_1.pdf

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Judges across the country are calling BS on the Trump administration’s lies in court. But the government has come up with a genius plan to impress the judiciary by perpwalking a Wisconsin judge out of her own courthouse. If that doesn’t work, they’ll try contaminated milk.

Links:

STRENGTHENING AND UNLEASHING AMERICA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PURSUE CRIMINALS AND PROTECT INNOCENT CITIZENS

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/strengthening-and-unleashing-americas-law-enforcement-to-pursue-criminals-and-protect-innocent-citizens/

State of NY v. Department of Education [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69944116/state-of-new-york-v-department-of-education/

American Bar Association v. DOJ [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69934429/american-bar-association-v-us-department-of-justice/

NTEU v. Vought [DDC docket]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69624423/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought/?

NTEU v. Vought [DC Cir docket]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69821739/national-treasury-employees-union-v-russell-vought/

Trump Administration Previews Genius New Legal Strategy

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/trump-admin-previes-genius-new-legal

US v. Dugan docket (E.D. Wisc.)

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69943130/united-states-v-dugan/

Russell W. Currier and John A. Widness, A Brief History of Milk Hygiene and Its Impact on Infant Mortality from 1875 to 1925 and Implications for Today: A Review, Journal of Food Protection (Oct. 2018)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X22087610

Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking. Jerusalem Post, April 25, 2025

https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes/article-851470

Show Links:

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After burning down its credibility with every judge in the country, the Trump administration finds itself slapped with injunctions in every courtroom. Coincidence? Plus, the Department of Homeland Security discovers one weird trick to get around court orders barring deportations. And it is … to stand back and let the Defense Department do it for them!

Links:

MTA v. Duffy (NY Congestion Pricing) [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69652290/metropolitan-transportation-authority-v-duffy

House Dems Demand Letters to Vichy Bar

https://min.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/min.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/04.24.25-letters-to-law-firms-on-trump-administration-agreements-all.pdf

SDNY resignation letter

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/22/nyregion/prosecutor-letter.html

City and County of San Francisco v. Donald J. Trump [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69623767/city-and-county-of-san-francisco-v-donald-j-trump/

Abramowitz v. Lake [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69791808/abramowitz-v-lake/

J.A.V. v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69862833/jav-v-trump/

D.V.D. v. Homeland Security (Notice of Removal to Third Country) [Docket via Court Listener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69775896/dvd-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/

Show Links:

https://www.lawandchaospod.com/

BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

Threads: @LawAndChaosPod

Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod