This week on Broken Law, we are circling back on stories we've previously covered, providing updates you may have missed before we head into a new SCOTUS term and a new academic year.  Lindsay Langholz and Christopher Wright Durocher bring you the latest on Harvard's lawsuit against the Trump Administration, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook's purported termination, the conservative majority's continuing and egregious misuse of the Supreme Court emergency docket, and how the federal government and states are handling death row cases.

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest:  Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Link: Harvard College v. HHS (D. Mass.)

Link: Appeals court judges publicly admonish Supreme Court justices: ‘We’re out here flailing,' by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

Link: Judge temporarily blocks Trump's firing of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, by Steve Kopack 

Link: Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo

Link: Mid-Year Review 2025: New Death Sentences Remain Low Amidst Increase in Executions, Death Penalty Information Center

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

The Trump administration has sought to advance its extreme and often unlawful agenda through the strategic use and abuse of the law and legal system, including Executive Orders targeting law firms and litigation and misconduct complaints against district court judges. While some lawyers and courts are holding the administration accountable, others are quick to capitulate. Mark Lemley joins Christopher Wright Durocher to talk about the administration’s abuse of the law and legal system and what can be done to stop it. 

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Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Mark Lemley, William H. Neukom Professor of Law and Director of the Program in Law, Science and Technology, Stanford Law School; Partner, Lex Lumina, LLP

Link: Amicus Brief of 676 Law Professors in Support of Plaintiff, WilmerHale v. U.S. Dep’t of Just., 25-cv-917 (Apr. 11, 2025)

Link: As July 4 Approaches, Supreme Court Signs Away American Democracy, by Mark Lemley

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

Over the past few years, no technological development has been more discussed than the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. AI is changing how we work, how we make art, and even how we access healthcare. Jennifer Oliva joins Taonga Leslie to explore the ways AI and algorithms are being used to restrict access to healthcare nationwide and how lawyers and patients can advocate for greater fairness and transparency.   

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial Justice

Guest: Jennifer Oliva, Professor of Law and Val Nolan Faculty Fellow, Indiana University Maurer School of Law 

Link:  Jennifer Oliva, How Artificial Intelligence Controls Your Health Insurance Coverage, The Conversation, (June 20, 2025).

Link: T. Christian Miller, et al., Not Medically Necessary”: Inside the Company Helping America’s Biggest Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Care, ProPublica (Oct. 23, 2024).  

Link: Benefits Tech Advocacy Hub 

Link: TechTonic Justice 

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

Sixty years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law one of the most transformative bills in United States history - the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Michael Li joins Lindsay Langholz to take stock of the VRA's impact on American democracy, the real wins pro-democracy advocates are still able to achieve in spite of an increasingly hostile Supreme Court, and what the future holds for this critical law.

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice

Link: Growing Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout, 2008–2022, Brennan Center for Justice

Guest: A New Cycle of Texas Gerrymandering: Your Questions Answered, Bolts Magazine

Guest: The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term, by Rick Hasen

Guest: The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Fact Sheet, The Brennan Center for Justice

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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

ACS recently completed our 2025 National Convention Series, taking a deep dive into states' responses to the pressing issues of immigration, democracy and voting, economic and racial justice, and transgender rights. This week, we bring you brief excerpts from that series, highlighting perspectives from a diverse set of experts on the stakes of this moment and what we can do in response.  

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Aura Bogado, Senior Reporter, Injustice Watch

Guest: Alina Das, James Weldon Johnson Professor & Co-Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic, New York University School of Law

Guest: Marina Multhaup, Senior Associate, Barnard Iglitzin, & Lavitt LLP (Counsel for Starbucks United)

Guest: Kylar W. Broadus, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Public Speaker, Strategist, Legislative, Policy, Management

Guest: William McGinty, Assistant Attorney General, Washington State Office of the Attorney General

Guest: Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director, Emancipate NC

Link: Then They Came for Me: Protecting Our Neighbors and Ourselves

Link: Resisting Oligarchy + Building Power 

Link: Combatting a Campaign of Erasure: Upholding the Rights of Trans People to Exist and Thrive

Link: Power Plays

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The Supreme Court recently wrapped up its 2024-2025 term and the ACS Policy and Program team is here to break down the headline cases, those that may have slipped under your radar, and several that came and went via the shadow docket.

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Taonga Leslie, Director of Policy and Program for Racial Justice

Guest: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Link: John Roberts’ Anti-Trans Opinion Is a Garbled Mess. It’s Easy to See Why., by Mark Joseph Stern

Link: Supreme Court Rules Some Americans Have a Constitutional Right to Insist on Theocracy, by Heidi Li Feldman

Link: Don’t Let Trump Erase Immigrants from the Citizenship Clause, by Taonga Leslie

Link: SCOTUS allows Trump admin to deport people to random countries with no notice, by Chris Geidner

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

The country has recently experienced a series of escalating instances of political violence, perpetrated by individuals as well as state actors wielding governmental power.  Christopher Wright Durocher is joined by Lindsay Langholz to discuss the ways in which our legal system is being weaponized against disfavored groups and the toll that political violence takes on our rights and our communities.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Link: When Guns Threaten the Public Sphere: A New Account of Public Safety Regulation Under Heller, by Joseph Blocher and Reva Siegel

Link: Episode 159: The Relationship Between Guns and Democracy

Link: Proud Boys’ lawsuit is legally weak — but Trump’s DOJ will likely just surrender, by Shan Wu

Link: Good Trouble Lives On - July 17th

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

In these first months of his second term, President Trump has fired or attempted to fire thousands upon thousands of federal workers.  Notable among those affected by this unprecedented flexing of executive authority are leaders of independent agencies.  Peter Shane joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss two recent cases that have significant implications on our system of checks and balances and just how far the president is allowed to go when it comes to control over independent agencies.

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Peter Shane, Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law Emeritus at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Link:  Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions, Just Security

Link:  Lawfare

Link: Does Evidence Matter? Originalism and the Separation of Powers, by Cass Sunstein

Link: The Supreme Court's Fed Carveout: An Initial Assessment, by Lev Menand

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has escalated intimidation efforts against Harvard University and other private colleges, by canceling billions in federal funding and threatening to revoke tax-exempt status unless the schools make major changes to their hiring and teaching practices.  Andrew Manuel Crespo joins Taongal Leslie to discuss the legal strategies behind the administration's attacks on higher education and how the academy can defend its independence.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Andrew Manuel Crespo, Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law at Harvard University and General Counsel of AAUP-Harvard Faculty Chapter

Link: Complaint, AAUP-Harvard v. United States Dept. of Justice

Link: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network

Link: ACS National Convention Series

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

Far from satisfied with Dobbs, the antiabortion movement is energized and taking aim at their next objective - fetal personhood.  Mary Ziegler, author of Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction, joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss the antiabortion movement’s historical aims, where they are focused three years after the fall of Roe v. Wade, and how President Trump’s second term factors into those plans.

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Host: Lindsay Langholz, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS

Guest: Mary Ziegler, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law

Link: Personhood: The New Civil War over Reproduction, by Mary Ziegler

Link: Trump’s New Abortion Pill Decision Was a Big Surprise. Here’s What It Really Means., by Mary Ziegler

Link: Pregnancy Justice

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.