Law and Chaos

DOCKET ALERTS:
 
The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is on hold well into next year. The parties stipulated that the merger would not go through pending trial in the antitrust case brought by twelve state AGs, despite massive financial penalties for Paramount if the deal is delayed. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has filed a similar antitrust action, which has also been assigned to Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.
 
Trump's newest tariff scheme, based on findings of anticompetitive use of forced labor by our trade competitors, drew multiple legal challenges. Learning Resources v. US, Take 3! 
 
Fired US Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Roger Rogoff, is suing to get his job back.
 
MAIN SHOW:
 
In March, Trump put out an executive order instructing DHS to compile a list of voters. The states would then be forced to submit all mail-in ballot recipients to a portal and supply each with an individual bar code. The Post Office was instructed to refuse to deliver ballots to anyone not on the list. That order is now being litigated in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the DC Circuit, the US District for Massachusetts, the First Circuit and, as of today, the Supreme Court.
 
James Comey has moved to dismiss the two-count federal indictment against him for posting an instagram photo of seashells that spelled out "8647." We discuss the "true threat" doctrine and the administration's larger war on freedom of speech when it comes to his critics and journalists.
 
Speaking of which, in the subscriber bonus, we discuss the case of Atlanta "Stop Cop City" protester Sam Tunick, who was charged with destroying evidence when he tricked CBP agents into bricking his phone.



California v. Paramount-Skydance
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73606877/the-state-of-california-v-paramount-skydance-corporation/
 
Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. v. Paramount Skydance Corporation
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73614167/writers-guild-of-america-west-inc-v-paramount-skydance-corporation/
 
Fact Sheet: USTR Section 301 Action in Response to the Failure of 60 Economies to Ban Imports Produced with Forced Labor
https://ustr.gov/about/policy-offices/press-office/fact-sheets/2026/july/fact-sheet-ustr-section-301-action-response-failure-60-economies-ban-imports-produced-forced-labor
 
Learning Resources v. US [Section 301 tariffs]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73668290/learning-resources-inc-v-the-united-states-of-america/
 
Burlap and Barrel v. Greer [Section 301 tariffs]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73667352/burlap-and-barrel-inc-v-greer-in-his-official-capacity-as-united-states/
 
Rogoff v. Trump
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73647676/rogoff-v-trump
 
California v. Trump [Mail-in ballots, First Circuit]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73568304/state-of-california-v-trump/?order_by=desc
 
League of Women Voters v. Trump [Mail-in ballots, D. Mass.]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73133197/league-of-women-voters-of-massachusetts-v-trump
 
NAACP v. US [Mail-in ballots, D.D.C.]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17461792/national-association-for-the-advancement-of-colored-people-v-united-states
 
NAACP v. USPS [Mail-in ballots, DC Circuit]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73595574/naacp-v-usps/
 
Trump v. California [Mail-in ballots, SCOTUS]
https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docket/docketfiles/html/public\26a124.html
 
US v. Comey [North Carolina criminal indictment for 8647; docket via CourtListener]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256624/united-states-v-comey/?order_by=desc
 
US v. Tunick [Georgia criminal indictment for bricked phone; docket via CourtListener]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71998357/united-states-v-tunick/



Show Links:
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BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod
Threads: @LawAndChaosPod
Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

DOCKET ALERTS:
 
After SecDef Hegseth ordered testosterone testing for all troops over 30 and offered hormone replacement therapy to all, Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to explain how this is different from the healthcare for trans men which they just banned. 
 
On Tuesday, a judge in Florida ordered Trump to turn over his financial records to the BBC in his defamation trollsuit. Turns out, when you say you've been damaged to the tune of a $10 billion, they make you show your work!
 
Every House Democrat signed a discharge petition to force a floor vote on Rep. Jamie Raskin's No Corrupt Agreements Requiring Taxpayer Expenditures Benefitting Lawbreakers and Assorted Non-Prosecution Covenants, Handouts, and Emoluments Act, AKA the NO CARTE BLANCHE Act.
 
MAIN SHOW:
 
After his first two attempts to steal Congress's tariff power were blocked in the courts, Trump has now reached back 90 years for the next tool. Sure the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act massively deepened and extended the Great Depression. But Trump is really mad at Canada, so maybe this time it won't massively backfire?
 
Meanwhile, the US Trade Representative announced a new wave of tariffs on 86 countries — putatively to retaliate against countries that sell or import goods created using child labor. Inflation is fun!
 
Nintendo is being sued by customers who bought Switch devices during the first round of illegal tariffs. They figure if the company is getting a refund from the government, they ought to get a refund from the company.
 
The FBI subpoenaed five New York Times journalists over reporting on the president's Qatari bribe jet. Claiming a national security emergency, the DOJ seized their phone records and demanded that they testify before a grand jury. This required prosecutors to disregard binding Second Circuit precedent and the DOJ's own published regulations — but Acting AG Todd Blanche said it was cool. At a hearing on Thursday over the motion to quash, Judge Arun Subramanian told the government to withdraw the subpoenas or he'd quash them. Eventually the DOJ agreed to withdraw, but now the court wants to know how the Justice Department came to tell so many whoppers to him, the magistrate, and opposing counsel.
 
Talbott v. Trump [Trans service members]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69583866/talbott-v-trump
 
Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/21/trum-bbc-lawsuit-finances
 
Trump v. BBC
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation/
 
Raskin HR 7007 [No CARTE BLANCHE Act]
https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/hr7007_ans.pdf
 
Ambassador Greer Issues Statement on President Trump Imposing Section 338 Tariffs on Canada
https://ustr.gov/about/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2026/july/ambassador-greer-issues-statement-president-trump-imposing-section-338-tariffs-canada
 
Hoffert v. Nintendo [seeking consumer recovery of tariff refunds; docket via CourtListener]
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.361585/
 
Nintendo v. USA [seeking corporate IEEPA tariff refund; docket via CourtListener]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72373888/nintendo-of-america-inc-v-united-states-of-america/
 
CIT Rule 25-02
https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/Administrative%20Order%2025-02.pdf
 
CIT Rule 26-01 (July 13, 2026)
https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/Administrative%20Order%2026-01.pdf
 
In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Dated July 10, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73641399/in-re-grand-jury-subpoenas-dated-july-10-2026/
 
Show Links:
https://www.lawandchaospod.com/
BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod
Threads: @LawAndChaosPod
Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

DOCKET ALERTS:
 
Minnesota passed the "Grandparents' Happy Hour" law making it legal to serve wine to grown adults in assisted living. Skol!
 
The DOJ's Civil Division got tossed out of court in Massachusetts because it failed to respond to a motion to dismiss its lawsuit over the state's refusal to issue undercover license plates to ICE.
 
Former Olympian David Hearn moved to dismiss the charge that he vandalized the Reflecting Pool since the government has drained the pool and is now destroying the evidence.
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued a temporary restraining order blocking the merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers in the antitrust case brought by California and eleven other states.
 
DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Senator Darline Graham Nordone who decided she'd like to be a real senator, not just a placeholder for her brother until the election. So now she's ditched her last name and gotten the nod from Trump.
 
MAIN SHOW:
 
Trump's defamation trollsuit against the BBC is going terribly. Who knew he'd have give discovery, not just take it? So now the DOJ is bigfooting in trying to save him.
 
There's a sealed proceeding in DC involving the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a five-judge panel created in 1996 to hear secret cases against terrorists who need to be removed from the country immediately and without process. It has heard zero cases in the past 30 years, until last week, when the Trump administration tried to use it to deport someone without process. Is this a new ONE WEIRD TRICK the government will use to shove people out of the country?
 
Judge Todd Eddins of the Supreme Court of Hawai'i let loose on the Supreme Court for burning down democracy in an opinion interpreting the Due Process Clause in the state's constitution. State judges are not okay!
 
SUBSCRIBER BONUS:
 
Wired Magazine has published multiple stories about the massive data Madison Square Gardens collects on its patrons. The venue has filed a defamation lawsuit against Wired, its parent company Condé Nast, and journalists Noah Shachtman, Maddy Varner, and Katie Drummond. SLAPP-ity slap!
 
Andrew was a guest on the "Make It Make Sense" podcast with Grant Hermes.
 
Andrew's episode of Make It Make Sense
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-john-roberts-broke-the-supreme-court-this-term/id1756553746?i=1000777268503
 
US v. Massachusetts [Undercover plates]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73400637/united-states-v-the-commonwealth-of-massachusetts/
 
Hearn Motion to Dismiss
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28498026-hearnmtd/
 
California v. Paramount-Skydance
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73606877/the-state-of-california-v-paramount-skydance-corporation/
 
Trump v. BBC
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation/
 
Granillo v. Hawai'i
https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SCWC-22-0000740.pdf
 
Granillo v. Hawaii [Supreme Court of Hawaii; majority opinion]
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SCWC-22-0000740.pdf
 
Granillo v. Hawaii [Supreme Court of Hawaii; concurrence]
https://www.courts.state.hi.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SCWC-22-0000740con.pdf
 
Madison Square Gardens v. Advance Magazine Publishers [Wired/Shachtman]
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=L6rt5/_PLUS_WLpjJoHCLRczc_PLUS_A==
 
Alien Terrorist Removal Court [docket 2026-TRC-1]
https://www.atrc.uscourts.gov/docs/2026-TRC-1-Order.pdf
 
Show Links:
https://www.lawandchaospod.com/
BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod
Threads: @LawAndChaosPod
Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

DOCKET ALERTS:
 
This week, the Senate confirmed Jeffrey Kuntz as a judge in the Southern District of Florida, making him the second former Florida state jurist who did Trump a solid in his trollsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board and got himself promoted to the federal bench. Also this week, the Senate confirmed Matthew Schwartz to the Second Circuit, making him the third of Trump's personal lawyers to be made appellate judges. This is fine!
 
The Trump administration sued Maryland to stop it providing in-state tuition to undocumented students.
 
Trump's media company plans to sell early access to his posts to high-frequency traders. 
 
DOOFUS OF THE DAY:
 
Trump's teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez got caught betting on what his boss might say on Kalshi. He's negotiating a settlement with the CFTC, but is apparently still employed at the White House.
 
MAIN SHOW:
 
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Any Republican defection will tank his nomination to be permanent AG. He got raked over the coals and forced to sit down with the Epstein survivors, but will probably make it through.
 
The beloved service station Buc-ee's is suing everyone and their mother for trademark infringement. But the Buc-ee Beaver may have bitten off more than he can chew picking a fight with Mickey the Moose.
 
SUBSCRIBER BONUS:
 
In December, X/Twitter rolled out new image generation capabilities for its AI Grok, after which users created an avalanche of non-consensual intimate images. The site is facing a class action by minor victims. But it hopes to avoid liability by seeking a ruling from a friendly judge in Texas that the blame lies with the users who generated the images, not the site itself.
 
US v. Maryland [In-state tuition]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73629368/united-states-v-state-of-maryland/
 
White House teleprompter operator made more than $100K betting on Trump's speeches: Sources
https://abcnews.com/US/white-house-teleprompter-operator-made-100k-betting-trumps/story?id=134764573
 
Trump Media to Sell Faster Access to President's Social Posts
https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-media-to-sell-faster-access-to-presidents-social-posts-7a7054e8
 
xAI LLC v. Harwood
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73616819/xai-llc-v-harwood/
 
Doe v. XAI Corp
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72495765/doe-1-v-xai-corp/
 
Buc-ee's is on a Rampage and No Mascot is Safe, Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/buc-ees-is-on-a-rampage-and-no-mascot-is-safe-80b7f03d
 
Buc-ee's, Ltd. v. Coles IP Holdings, LLC [2026 docket]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72296862/buc-ees-ltd-v-coles-ip-holdings-llc/
 
Buc-ee's, Ltd. v. Panjwani [2015 docket]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72296862/buc-ees-ltd-v-coles-ip-holdings-llc/



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

DOCKET ALERTS:
 
Todd Blanche will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week as it considers his nomination to be Attorney General. Can he advance without Senator Lindsey Graham, his biggest protector?
 
Judge Tim Kelly in DC reluctantly dismissed the charges against several Proud Boys gang members convicted for their roles in the January 6 assault on the Capitol after the Justice Department walked away from the appeal.
 
Twelve states filed an antitrust suit in California to block the merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers.
 
DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com, who managed to lose a defamation suit against Hunter Biden.
 
MAIN SHOW:
 
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham passed away this weekend. We'll discuss his failures as a lawyer and the fight to replace him in Congress.
 
Open AI is having a rough week in court. Apple sued it in California under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, alleging that the company stole proprietary information to help it design a new phone-type gadget. And in New York, plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing Open AI of scraping data in violation of copyright moved for sanctions because of systemic discovery violations.
 
SUBSCRIBER BONUS: 
 
Trump's "settlement" with the IRS establishing the weaponization compensation fund for J6 criminals was ruled illegal by the court. Judge Kathleen Williams also referred Trump's lawyers, Alejandro Brito and Daniel Epstein, for bar discipline and sent records of this case to the courts considering discipline of Todd Blanche and Stanley Woodward.
 
US v. Nordean [Proud Boys]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59704048/united-states-v-nordean
 
California v. Paramount-Skydance
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73606877/the-state-of-california-v-paramount-skydance-corporation/
 
Biden v. Byrne
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67990012/robert-hunter-biden-v-patrick-m-byrne
 
In re OpenAI 
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69879510/in-re-openai-inc-copyright-infringement-litigation
 
Apple v. Liu 
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73602437/apple-inc-v-liu/
 
Trump v. IRS [docket via CourtListener]
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/



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