Ep 242 — SCOTUS Wanders Off For Summer, But State Judges Keep Delivering

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Summary <p dir="ltr">DOCKET ALERTS:</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">House Speaker Mike Johnson sent everyone home for vacation rather than deal with a dissident faction in his own caucus that keeps demanding a vote on the vote-suppressing SAVE America Act Trump keeps braying for.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">A federal judge in New Hampshire became the tenth to <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nhd.66250/gov.uscourts.nhd.66250.86.0_1.pdf"> dismiss a DOJ lawsuit</a> seeking full, unredacted state voter rolls — or eleventh if you include the Sixth Circuit.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">In 2024, Florida <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782.1.0.pdf"> sued</a> to force DHS to bulk verify citizenship data so states could "audit" their voter rolls. In 2025, DHS entered into a <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782.30.1.pdf"> "settlement"</a> with Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and Indiana agreeing to do it, and handing power to a Trump-appointed judge in Florida to ensure compliance. But that database has now been enjoined by a judge in DC for violating the Privacy Act of 1974, so Florida is <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782/gov.uscourts.flnd.527782.32.0_1.pdf"> moving to enforce</a> the settlement in Florida. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">And in DC, Judge Emmet Sullivan <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.221243/gov.uscourts.dcd.221243.182.0_2.pdf"> barred</a> the Post Office from complying with Trump's executive order requiring the mailman to claw back ballots from any voter not on an approved list. This order violates a <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.221243/gov.uscourts.dcd.221243.170.0.pdf"> 2021 settlement</a> the government made with the NAACP after Trump's last postmaster general tried to mess with mail-in ballots.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">A judge in Louisiana has <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.199277/gov.uscourts.lawd.199277.222.0.pdf"> dismissed</a> a lawsuit against several academics associated with the now-shuttered Stanford Internet Observatory. The online wingnut plaintiffs alleged that they had been "censored" by scholars who pointed out that they were violating Facebook's TOS.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Former CIA Director John Brennan is <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102/gov.uscourts.dcd.294102.2.1.pdf"> suing</a> Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in DC, seeking an injunction forcing prosecutors investigating him to retain all records. He hasn't been indicted yet, but, with Trump's minions planning a giant conspiracy indictment in Florida, he wants an order to preserve evidence for an eventual motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Prosecutors trying to convict a former US Attorney in Florida for emailing herself a copy of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on the stolen documents case were forced to <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653/gov.uscourts.flsd.648653.802.0.pdf"> admit</a> that they'd done the exact same thing, sending copies of it to defense counsel in discovery disclosures. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">MAIN SHOW:</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The Supreme Court issued its final opinions of the term. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">In <a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-365_4hdj.pdf">Trump v. Barbara</a>, a narrow majority upheld birthright citizenship, refusing to invent some kind of exception to the plain terms of the 14th Amendment.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The conservative justices continued to tear down barriers to corruption in politics, <a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-621_h315.pdf">invalidating</a> the Federal Elections Campaign Act's bar on campaigns coordinating spending with outside committees in NRSC v. FEC. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">And in West Virginia v. BPJ/Little v. Hecox, the six conservatives <a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-43_2b35.pdf">allowed</a> states to ban trans athletes from sports.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Finally, we discuss a new <a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73332976/doe-bd-v-roblox-corporation/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc"> class action lawsuit</a> challenging labor practices at the online gaming platform Roblox for violating child labor laws.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">US v. New Hampshire Secretary of State [Voter rolls]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71453646/united-states-v-nh-secretary-of-state/"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71453646/united-states-v-nh-secretary-of-state/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">State of Florida v. DHS [SAVE voter verification database]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69271601/state-of-florida-v-department-of-homeland-security"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69271601/state-of-florida-v-department-of-homeland-security</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Hines v. Stamos [Stanford Internet Observatory]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67310145/hines-v-stamos">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67310145/hines-v-stamos</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">NAACP v. US [Mail-in ballots]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17461792/national-association-for-the-advancement-of-colored-people-v-united-states"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17461792/national-association-for-the-advancement-of-colored-people-v-united-states</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Brennan v. Blanche</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73562893/brennan-v-blanche/">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73562893/brennan-v-blanche/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">SCOTUS</p> <p dir="ltr">Trump v. Barbara (14th Amdt birthright citizenship)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-365_4hdj.pdf">https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-365_4hdj.pdf</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">NRSC v. FEC (PAC Coordination/campaign finance)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-621_h315.pdf">https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-621_h315.pdf</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">West Virginia v. BPJ/Little v. Hecox (trans athletes)</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-43_2b35.pdf">https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-43_2b35.pdf</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Doe B.D. v. Roblox Corp. [docket via CourtListener]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73332976/doe-bd-v-roblox-corporation/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73332976/doe-bd-v-roblox-corporation/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Eurogamer, Roblox Studio boss: children making money on the platform isn't exploitation, it's a gift [April 4, 2024]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.eurogamer.net/roblox-studio-boss-children-making-money-on-the-platform-isnt-exploitation-its-a-gift"> https://www.eurogamer.net/roblox-studio-boss-children-making-money-on-the-platform-isnt-exploitation-its-a-gift</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Show Links:</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.lawandchaospod.com/">https://www.lawandchaospod.com/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p dir="ltr">Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p> </p>

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