Recent reporting suggests the President is flirting with issuing more blanket pardons for political allies and those willing to court his favor. Liz Oyer joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss how the president's pardon power has been used (and abused) in recent years and to understand just how far outside the norms we have strayed.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Liz Oyer of Lawyer Oyer, Former United States Pardon Attorney

Link: Justice Dept. Sets Up $1.8 Billion Fund That Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies, by Glenn Thrush, Andrew Duehren, & Alan Feuer

Link: Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office, by Josh Dawsey

Link: Lawyer Oyer

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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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.

It has been a tough few weeks for democracy. The US Supreme Court's recent demolition of what remained of the Voting Rights Act, the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to trump the express will of Virginia voters to redraw congressional lines, and southern state legislatures racing to the bottom to strip Black voters of political power have weighed heavily on us all. For our 200th episode, Joyce Vance joins Valerie Nannery to discuss her book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, and what it will take from all of us to save our democracy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law; ACS Board Member

Link: Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, by Joyce Vance

Link: Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

Link: ACS 2026 National Convention details and registration

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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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.

As ACS staff prepares for our 2026 National Convention in Washington, DC, we invite you to revisit two highlights of our 2024 convention for a little inspiration and encourage you to join us for this year's event if you are able. Judge Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.) and then-New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin delivered remarks on the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, the role attorneys and law students can play as social engineers, and being a hero for democracy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Hon. Carlton Reeves, District Judge, Southern District of Mississippi; Chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission

Guest: Matt Platkin, 62nd Attorney General of New Jersey; Partner, Platkin LLP

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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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.

Since January 2025, the District of Columbia and its more than 700,000 residents have been under near-constant attack by both the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. The federal officials attempting to control the District through legislative action and physical force are not elected by D.C. residents and are not accountable to them. Keya Chatterjee joins Broken Law to describe what has been happening, why everyone should care, and how people are fighting for the right of the people of D.C. to govern themselves.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director, Free DC

Link: May Day DC

Link: Anti-DC Congressional Bills Attempt Federal Takeover of DC Criminal Justice and Home Rule, Maryland State & DC AFL-CIO

Link: Putting D.C. in the Chain of Command: Congress Should Reform the DC National Guard’s Outdated and Dangerous Command Structure, by Elizabeth Goitein

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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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 Roberts Court has recently used its docket to indulge in growing antidemocratic tendencies, collecting power for itself as it shuts the courthouse doors on those seeking to vindicate their constitutional rights and uphold checks and balances. David Sloss joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss his new book, People v. The Court: The Next Revolution in Constitutional Law, and how power might be rebalanced through a change in judicial review standards.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: David Sloss, John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law

Link: People v. The Court: The Next Revolution in Constitutional Law, by David Sloss

Link: The Roberts Court's Assault on Democracy, by Judge Lynn Adelman

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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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.

What trust remains in antitrust enforcement under the Second Trump Administration? Diana Moss joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss the Nexstar-Tegna merger, what impact the deal would have on consumers, and why the politicization of regulatory bodies like the FCC threatens due process and the rule of law.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Dr. Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy, Progressive Policy Institute

Link: The Nexstar-Tegna Merger Will Raise Your Cable Bill, and Then Some, by Diana Moss

Link: Resisting the Politicization of Antitrust and Regulation, by Diana Moss

Link: Competition, Progressive Policy Institute

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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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.

Katie Gima and Jess Zalph join Ashley Erickson to discuss ACS's Constitution in the Classroom program, including a look at newly released curriculum entitled "Separation of Church and State and the U.S. Constitution" and how to bring this important piece of civic education to a classroom near you.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Ashley Erickson, Senior Director of Network Advancement

Guest: Katie Gima, Senior Director of Legal Programs & Networking, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Guest: Jess Zalph, Constitutional Litigation Fellow, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Link: Constitution in the Classroom

Link: Elementary School Lesson Plan

Link: Middle School Lesson Plan

Link: High School Lesson Plan

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

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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.

Kim Lane Scheppele joins Valerie Nannery to discuss how America’s slide into autocracy is similar to and different from autocratic shifts around the world, how far America is on the path to autocracy, and what we can all do to stop the descent.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs & Director of the Program in Law and Normative Thinking at the University Center for Human Values, Princeton University

Link: Autocratic Legalism, by Kim Lane Scheppele

Link: Trump’s Counter Constitution, by Kim Lane Scheppele

Link: The ‘Big Lie’s’ Autocratic Assault on the Rule of Law: Attorneys Can Stop It, by Jim Saranteas

Link: Become a Poll Worker

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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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.