It's the Brian Larry Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Have you ever heard about a law and thought, geez, that's really dumb. There's countries full of odd and silly laws. Here's some I read

on a Fox News listicle from early last year. In Arkansas, no person shall sound the horn on a vehicle

at any place where cold drinks or sandwiches are served after 9 p.m., according to Little Rock's

Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18, Section 1854.

Section 8, 1 of Georgia law prohibits chickens from crossing the road.

We could ask why they did it, but we can't because they can't do it.

Title 97, Chapter 29 of Mississippi law prohibits profanity.

You can be fined $100 if you get caught

cursing or cussing, as they sometimes call it there. And while a lot of bad laws are relatively

harmless, many have caused major harm. That's at least the premise of where Ellie Mistal comes in.

You know him as Justice Cor justice correspondent and columnist for

the Nation magazine and host of the podcast, Contempt of Court with Ellie Mistal. He's got a new book

out called Bad Law, 10 Popular Laws that are ruining America. And he joins us now to talk about it,

as well as some current events. Ellie, welcome back to WNYC. Always good to have you.

Hi, Brian.

How are you?

In New Jersey, you can't flip off a police officer, which I think is a terrible law, but did

not make my book.

And you start the book with a pretty novel blanket statement just to set this up.

You automatically deem any law before the Voting Rights Act of

1965 as fundamentally unconstitutional. What? Presumptively unconstitutional, right? Look, before

1965, this country was functionally an apartheid state. Not everybody who lived here was allowed to vote here and participate in the government here, right?

...