What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law

The Trump administration’s attacks on Venezuelan boats defy even the broadest interpretation of the president's war powers.

Transcribed - Published: 28 November 2025

A Senate fight over Lady Chatterley’s Lover paved the way for Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Now the Supreme Court will decide if presidents can use emergency powers to sidestep Congress on trade.

Transcribed - Published: 27 September 2025

The United States generally does not allow a standing army to be used against civilians. But Trump has been exploiting an exception to keep troops in Los Angeles to protect ICE agents, with terrifying implications.

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2025

Announcing The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Constitution and the return of What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2025

No matter what happens on Election Day, Trump and his allies have already put legal challenges in motion. Here’s what a nerdy agency, hanging chads, and zombie lawsuits can tell us about how all this could play out.

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2024

Falsely claiming there is a wave of violence perpetrated by migrants, Trump has threatened mass deportations under the broad and terrifying powers of the Alien Enemies Act.

Transcribed - Published: 29 October 2024

The United States has a strange way of electing presidents.

Transcribed - Published: 8 October 2024

Election deepfakes have the potential to change people's opinions about a presidential election in ways that can be harmful to democracy and the truth itself. But what does the Constitution say about regulating these manipulated images? One place to look: Hustler Magazine.

Transcribed - Published: 24 September 2024

As students go back to school, colleges and universities across the country are preparing for the continuation of protests against the Israel-Hamas war—and claims by other students that the protests are violating their own civil rights. Institutions and courts are now weighing the question: whose free speech matters more?

Transcribed - Published: 10 September 2024

What’s the connection between former President Donald Trump's attacks on the so-called “Deep State" and a tiny silvery fish? The Supreme Court, of course.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2024

Preview: Not Built For This from 99% Invisible

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2024

What does it mean for punishment to be cruel and unusual?

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2024

After an unprecedented several weeks in politics, some on the right are advancing far-fetched arguments to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and a federal judge in Florida threw out the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump. Neither of these are based on established constitutional precedent.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2024

The concept of presidential immunity is not explicitly stated anywhere in the Constitution. That hasn’t stopped the Supreme Court from essentially creating a law-free zone around the President.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2024

Does the 14th Amendment's Disqualification Clause apply to Trump?

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2023

Why do courts issue gag orders and when do they conflict with the First Amendment?

Transcribed - Published: 2 November 2023

What’s the connection between Trump, margarine, and Mark Meadows?

Transcribed - Published: 19 September 2023

19th century "zombie" laws are shambling into the abortion debate

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2023

The presumed criminal charges against former President Trump and role of the New York Grand Jury

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2023

What does the Constitution say about lies, punishing lies, and punishing someone who lies to get elected?

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2023

What if a business owner asserts that serving a gay customer violates their first amendment rights?

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2023

How the Dormant Commerce Clause tries to stop states from passing laws that put an undue burden on interstate commerce. Plus, what's going on with student debt relief: who filed a lawsuit against it and why.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2022

When the FBI executed a search warrant on his home, Trump and his lawyers filed their complaints in a district where they thought they’d get sympathetic treatment from Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed. The assignment of a particular judge is not up to Trump, but in this case, he got lucky, and Cannon was assigned. How did Trump’s gamble on getting his case in front of Judge Cannon work out? Let’s find out.

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2022

Elizabeth teaches Roman about which crimes the Justice Department is interested in as described in the Mar-a-Lago search warrant

Transcribed - Published: 10 September 2022

We go through the other Supreme Court decisions that were released the same week Roe was overturned.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2022

What have we learned from the January 6th Committee hearings and what does is mean for a potential Justice Department investigation of Trump?

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2022

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision has overturned Roe v. Wade and revoked the right to abortion, a Constitutionally guaranteed right we have had for about 50 years. What happens now?

Transcribed - Published: 29 June 2022

The recent mass shootings and a New York gun carrying permit case calls for an examination of the current interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Transcribed - Published: 7 June 2022

What happens when a case in front of the Supreme Court involves the spouse of one of the justices?

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2022

The leaked draft majority opinion that threatens to strike down the constitutional right to abortion and potentially many other rights

Transcribed - Published: 4 May 2022

Trump's improper dealing with Ukraine was what led to his first impeachment. While most of us were focused on the domestic political implications of Trump's action, the country of Ukraine was put into jeopardy in a way that many didn't fully realize until the recent Russian invasion.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2022

What can the government do about the school library and the classroom and what does the Constitution say about it?

Transcribed - Published: 2 March 2022

What two SCOTUS rulings about COVID vaccine mandates tell us about the future of the Administrative State

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2022

What are the current precedents when it comes to abortion rights and how solid do they feel right now?

Transcribed - Published: 17 December 2021

An update on SB 8, Executive Privilege of presidential records, and a short digression into criminal law with the tragic death on a movie set

Transcribed - Published: 1 November 2021

John Eastman, a mainstream conservative lawyer working for Trump, outlined a plan for VP Pence to declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election regardless of the votes. It didn't happen, but should we be worried about the memo when it comes to future elections?

Transcribed - Published: 6 October 2021

The Shadow Docket, Texas's SB 8, and the state of abortion rights in the US

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2021

As people argue over public policy regarding the COVID vaccine, Jacobson V. Massachusetts (1905) is invoked a lot. Plus, Trump is in court and the first Capitol riot conviction.

Transcribed - Published: 3 August 2021

A quick roundup of three Supreme Court decisions that came down at the end of June

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2021

On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. What exactly is a hate crime and what does the Constitution say about them?

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2021

What can a President do when it comes to reforming the approximately 18,000 locally governed police departments around the US?

Transcribed - Published: 3 May 2021

On January 6th, a mob stormed the US Capitol to try to stop the certification of the presidential election results. Many of the insurrectionists will be tracked down and charged with crimes, in part, because their cell phone placed them in the Capitol Building during the attack. The case of Carpenter v. United States is the closest the Supreme Court has come to weighing in on the matter of historical cell phone data, but the decision didn’t not offer an opinion on law enforcement’s use of a location specific cell phone tower data dump without an individual suspect in mind. This brings up questions about the way warrants usually work under the Fourth Amendment.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2021

Following the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill, the major social media platforms banned former President Donald Trump, and many accounts related to far-right conspiracy theories. In response, conservative activists have called for the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, saying it would prevent ‘censorship’ of right-wing viewpoints in the future. But what does Section 230 actually say? How are the social media companies determining what can be on their platforms?

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2021

On January 13th, former President Donald Trump became the first person ever to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives. But with Trump out of office, it’s unclear if there will be enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority needed to convict him in the Senate. With the trial looming, we look at whether Trump has a good argument against the charge he incited a riot on Capitol Hill, and whether or not it’s constitutional to impeach someone after they leave office.

Transcribed - Published: 30 January 2021

How Trump is failing to overturn the election and how he might use his pardon power in his final days. This episode was recorded on December 21, 2020.

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2020

In late November, most states have certified the Presidential election for Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris. But Donald Trump continues to deny the results of the election and insist (without a shred evidence) that he lost because of voter fraud. What does the constitution have to say about the transfer of power? What if Donald Trump fails to concede? What does the constitution say about the period of time after an incumbent loses but remains in power?

Transcribed - Published: 26 November 2020

During the 2000 Presidential Election, it wasn’t immediately certain who had won the electoral college votes in Florida, throwing the entire process into chaos. Eventually, the SCOTUS had to step in to rule on the outcome. With the 2020 election only a few days out, we take a look back at how the Supreme Court played a role in adjudicating the election in Bush v. Gore, and then we look forward to what might happen this time around.

Transcribed - Published: 31 October 2020

On September 18th, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87. She was a trailblazing jurist who fought for the equality of women before the law. But her legacy is in peril, as Donald Trump and Senate Republicans prepare to nominate a conservative successor. What can Democrats do to alter the course of the SCOTUS? And what does the constitution tell us about so-called ‘judicial supremacy’?

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2020

With only two months before the election, the Republican Party got a lot of attention - and scorn - for using the White House as a backdrop during their nominating convention. The convention appeared to be in contradiction of The Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from political campaigning while they’re on duty. Even if the convention broke the law, will anyone be held accountable? Plus, we tackle the President’s recent comments casting doubt on mail-in balloting.

Transcribed - Published: 29 August 2020

We review some of the big cases that were decided during the SCOTUS term and assess the constitutionality of the federal policing of the Portland protests

Transcribed - Published: 1 August 2020