Shows / Minimum Competence
Minimum Competence
Minimum Competence is your daily companion for legal news, designed to bring you up to speed on the day’s major legal stories during your commute home. Each episode is short, clear, and informative—just enough to make you minimally competent on the key developments in law, policy, and regulation. Whether you’re a lawyer, law student, journalist, or just legal-curious, you’ll get a smart summary without the fluff. A full transcript of each episode is available via the companion newsletter at…
Episodes
Minimum CompetenceSCOTUS Mail-In Voting, J&J's $5.5B Talc Deal & Meta on Trial
This Day in Legal History: Sonia Sotomayor Advances to the Supreme Court On July 28, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the nomination of…
Minimum CompetenceTrump Mail-in Voting Attack Halted, Tom Goldstein Sentenced to Six Years
This Day in Legal History: The First Executive Department On July 27, 1789, President George Washington signed the act establishing the Department of Foreign…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 7/24 - SCOTUS Lawyer to be Sentenced, DOJ Drops NYTimes Subpoenas, Paramount Merger Frozen
This Day in Legal History: The Scottsboro Case On July 24, 1937, the state of Alabama dropped all charges against four of the nine young Black men known to…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 7/23 - Times Air Force One Subpoena StorY Rolls On, Teen Plaintiff Drops Mental Health Case Against Meta, Judge Doubts Science Behind Talc and Ovarian Cancer and Fund the IRS!
This Day in Legal History: Congress Shrinks the Supreme Court On July 23, 1866, Congress passed the Judicial Circuits Act, and in doing so did something that…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 7/22 - Meta AI Layoff Suit Chugs Along, Court Voids NLRB Union-Preserving Rule, Judge Saves Immigrant TPS Permits and CA Film Tax Credits Catching Strays
This Day in Legal History: The Senate Rejects Court-Packing On July 22, 1937, the United States Senate rejected President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 7/21 - Paramount WB Merger Frozen, Anthropic $1.5b Copyright Settlement for Piracy, DOJ Launches Probe into Harvard
This Day in Legal History: The Dodd-Frank Act On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 7/20 - NJ Assault Weapons Ban Struck Down, Judge Stops Admin from Clawing Back Grants, Meta Greenlight to AI-Fire and IRS Top Attorney Out
This Day in Legal History: The Declaration of Sentiments On July 20, 1848, at the close of the two-day Seneca Falls Convention in upstate New York, roughly a…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 7/17 - Appeals Court Restores Journalist Escort Policy at Pentagon, Judge Scolds DOJ Over Hallucinated Case, "Public Charge" Green Card Rule and DraftKings vs. Philadelphia
This Day in Legal History: The National Minimum Drinking Age Act On July 17, 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 7/16 - Trump's Personal Lawyer Blanche Grilled, Second Pro-Trump FL Judge Gets Appointed to Fed Bench, FTC Backs Curbing ABA Role
This Day in Legal History: The White House Tapes Revealed On July 16, 1973, before the Senate Watergate Committee and a live national television audience, a…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 7/15 - Blanche BS AG Hearing, Free Speech Challenge to Trump ICC Sanctions on Judges etc., and End of Fed Oversight for LA School District
This Day in Legal History: The Housing Act of 1949 On July 15, 1949, President Harry Truman signed the Housing Act of 1949, a centerpiece of his “Fair Deal”…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 7/14 - Subpoenas for Times Reporters, Trump's IRS Deal Void, More Tylenol Autism Nonsense and Big Companies May Yet Miss Chevron Deference
This Day in Legal History: The Sedition Act of 1798 On July 14, 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, the most notorious of the four laws known collectively…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 7/13 - Apple and OpenAI in Legal Fight, Disability Telework Rights, TPS Work Permits for Haiti and Others Extended and Sanctions for Hallucinated Case Cites
This Day in Legal History: The Northwest Ordinance On July 13, 1787, the Confederation Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance, one of the most important laws…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 7/10 - DOJ Sues Maryland Over Sanctuary Policies, Grand Jury Transparency, Simpson Thacher Malpractice Suit in FL and Trump Guts Election Commission
This Day in Legal History: The Scopes “Monkey Trial” Opens On July 10, 1925, the trial of John T. Scopes opened in the sweltering courthouse of Dayton…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 7/9 - SAVE Database Weaponized Against Voter Rolls, DOJ Threatens State Election Officials and ex-Olympians Bogus DC Reflecting Pool Charges
This Day in Legal History: The Fourteenth Amendment Is Ratified On July 9, 1868, South Carolina and Louisiana became the final two states needed to push the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 7/8 - Judge Dugan Sentencing, Bayer's Roundup SCOTUS Win, CA Captive-audience Fight
This Day in Legal History: Vermont Bans Slavery On July 8, 1777, delegates meeting in Windsor adopted the Constitution of the Vermont Republic—and in doing so…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 7/7 - Meta Faces $1.4t Demand, Forced-labor Tariffs are Pretext, USPTO Abandon "Board of Peace" Trademark and Combatting DSTs with 100% Tariffs
This Day in Legal History: Sandra Day O’Connor Nominated to the Supreme Court On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced that he was nominating Sandra…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 7/6 - Detention Limits for Migrants, Final E. Jean Carroll Verdict Against DJT, and SCOTUS' Next Big Term
This Day in Legal History: The Execution of Sir Thomas More On July 6, 1535, Sir Thomas More was beheaded at Tower Hill in London, convicted of high treason…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 7/2 - SCOTUS Shadow Docket Swells, MN Shuts Down Wrongful Conviction Unit, Judge Blocks USPS Restrictions on Mail-in Voting
This Day in Legal History: Civil Rights Act of 1964 On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It was one of…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 7/1 - Birthright Citizenship Survives, Transgender Athletes Can Be Banned, and Trump's Power to Fire Independent Agency Heads
This Day in Legal History: Revenue Act of 1862 On this day in legal history, July 1, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1862, one of the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 6/30 - SCOTUS Calls Fed Independent, OKs Late-arriving Mail Ballots, and Coca-Cola's Post-Chevron Tax Fight Trial Balloon
This Day in Legal History: Ada Kepley Graduates On June 30, 1870, Ada H. Kepley became the first woman in the United States to graduate from law school. She…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 6/29 - Luigi Hearing, TPS Migrants Told to Prepare to Leave, and $69m Bail Bond Price Fixing Settlement
This Day in Legal History: Furman v. Georgia On June 29, 1972, in a narrow 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court delivered what many thought was a death blow to…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 6/26 - SCOTUS Immigration and Gun Rights Signals Pretty Clear, Real Estate Class Action Transparency Ruling Major Shift
This Day in Legal History: Windsor and Obergefell On two separate June 26ths, exactly two years apart, the Supreme Court made history by recognizing marriage…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 6/25 - Sanctuary City Protections and Facial Recognition Transparency in NJ, and Trump Admin Must Explain Covering Civil Rights Mural with Tarps
This Day in Legal History: Shelby County v. Holder On this day in legal history, June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Shelby County v. Holder, a major…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 6/24 - NY Hate Speech Social Media Law, YouTube Settles Social Media Algorithmic Harm Case, Federal Judge Vacates Trump Courthouse Immigration Arrest Policy
This Day in Legal History: Dobbs On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 6/23 - LA "Sanctuary City" Fight with Feds, Voter Roll Database Limits, and OpenAI, Cloud Computing, and the R&D Credit
This Day in Legal History: Title IX On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Education Amendments of 1972, a sweeping federal education law that…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 6/22 - CA Parental Notification Ruling, Trump Birthright Citizenship Fight Rolls on and Cameras in Federal Courtrooms?
This Day in Legal History: Plessy v. Ferguson On June 7, 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in the United States. In…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 6/18 - Polymarket is Gambling in Michigan, Temu Wiretap Suit Survives and a Do Not Call Class Action
This Day in Legal History: Susan B. Anthony Fined for Voting On this day in 1873, in a federal courtroom in Canandaigua, New York, Judge Ward Hunt fined Susan…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 6/17 - Judge Dugan Loses Bid to Vacate, Goldstein Loses Acquittal Motion, Guardant Patent Loss, and Problematic IRS Data Sharing with ICE
This Day in Legal History: The Watergate Burglary On this day in 1972, at roughly 2:30 in the morning, a security guard at the Watergate office complex on…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 6/16 - SCOTUS Denies Certs on Student Speech and Gun Industry Suits, TCS' $165m Trade-Secret Liability
This Day in Legal History: The End of Roosevelt’s Hundred Days On this day in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt signed three pieces of legislation that closed out what…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 6/15 - Judge McConnell Scolds DOJ, Google Sues Chinese Gemini Phishing Ring, Judge Blocks Trump's Xenophobic Parks Orders
This Day in Legal History: Magna Carta Sealed at Runnymede On this day in 1215, in a meadow at Runnymede on the south bank of the Thames, King John of England…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 6/12 - SCOTUS Saba ICA Private Suit, Judicial Estoppel in BK, and Abouammo's Twitter FBI Obstruction Conviction Tossed on Venue
This Day in Legal History: Loving v. Virginia Decided On this day in 1967, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous opinion in Loving v. Virginia striking…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 6/11 - Brinkema Declines to Block Abandoned Anti-Weaponization Fund, Environmentalists Sue Over SpaceX Refuge Swap, and CA Jury Awards $198m in Ex-MLB Pitcher Case
This Day in Legal History: Wallace Stands in the Schoolhouse Door On this day in 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace physically stood in the doorway of…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 6/10 - Fed Circ Nixes Purdue Purer Crush Resistant OxyContin, Anti-Weaponization Foes Question its Death, SCOTUS Relists Rundown
This Day in Legal History: Kennedy Signs the Equal Pay Act On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, the first federal statute…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 6/9 - SCOTUS Vacates Biden Gas-appliance Reg, Campaign to Overrule Obergefell, WH Ballroom Suit Sprints Toward SCOTUS and the Poorly Draft SALT Cap
This Day in Legal History: The Burning of the Gaspee On this day in 1772, a Royal Navy revenue schooner called HMS Gaspee, captained by a notably overzealous…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 6/8 - RI Judge Undoes USCIS Travel Bans, E.D. of VA Judge Freezes Trump Slush Fund and 7th Circuit on Process Access in Indiana Executions
This Day in Legal History: Madison Introduces the Bill of Rights On this day in 1789, James Madison rose from his seat in New York’s Federal Hall — then the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 6/5 - SCOTUS Greenlights Skinny Labels, SEC Disgorgement a go, and FCC In-house Fine Process Survives
This Day in Legal History: Congress Repeals the Gold Clause On this day in 1933, Congress passed the Joint Resolution that voided the gold clauses written into…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 6/4 - PACER Upgrades Coming (?), DOJ looks into George Santos on Kalshi and Income Tax != Wealth Tax
This Day in Legal History: Congress Passes the Nineteenth Amendment On this day in 1919, the U.S. Senate voted 56 to 25 to approve the Nineteenth Amendment…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 6/3 - 2 Live Crew Sets BK and Copyright Precedent, Trump's Weak AI EO, Senate Seats a "Not Qualified" Judge in Montana
This Day in Legal History: The National Defense Act of 1916 On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Defense Act, the law that quietly…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 6/2 - FL Sues ChatGPT, SCOTUS Lets Texas Two-Step Stand, IKEA Shoppers Sue for Tariff Refunds
This Day in Legal History: The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 On this day in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, also called the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 6/1 - Hallucinations in Uber MDL, 7th Circuit Says no Email Service to China, Roundup MDL Fight Continues and Trump's IRS Deal Scrutinized
This Day in Legal History: The First Act of Congress On this day in 1789, President George Washington signed the first statute ever enacted by Congress under…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 5/29 - SCOTUS Mississippi Batson Claim, Fertitta Buys Caesars, HHS NSA Arbitration Revamp and WABC Calls out FCC
This Day in Legal History: Rhode Island Ratifies the Constitution, 1790 On this day in 1790, Rhode Island became the thirteenth and final original state to…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 5/28 - Dutch Takeover Law and AkzoNobel, Feds Threaten Sanctuary-city Airports, Immigration Judge Free Speech Fight and Standing post-hobbs
This Day in Legal History: The Indian Removal Act of 1830 On this day May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 5/27 - Biden Sues DOJ Over Interview Audio, Trump "Litigation Safari" Brief, Billionaire Lindberg Gets 12 Years, CO Tightens Debt-buyer Rules
This Day in Legal History: Black Monday and the End of the NIRA On May 27, 1935 — a day quickly dubbed “Black Monday” by the press — the United States Supreme…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 5/26 - Bipartisan Support for Transportation Bill, DOJ Pushes Ballroom Project for "Security" Purposes, and Taxing Cloud Dependent Software
This Day in Legal History: Andrew Johnson Impeachment Trial Ends On May 26, 1868, the United States Senate ended the impeachment trial of President Andrew…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 5/22 - Bad Spaniels at 9th Circuit, Meta Mental School Health Settlement, OpenAI Law Firm Associations
This Day in Legal History: Truman Doctrine On May 22, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed legislation authorizing American aid to Greece and Turkey, giving…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 5/21 - MN Sued Over Prediction Market Ban, 1/6 Slush Fund Lawsuit, Peanuts Copyright Fight Over Snoopy Music
This Day in Legal History: First Speed Limit Law On May 21, 1901, Connecticut became the first U.S. state to pass a law regulating the speed of motor vehicles…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Wed 5/20 - Trump IRS Slush Fund, Wells Fargo Union Retreat, Anthropic Fights Supply Chain Risk Label, Morgan and Morgan in Harvard Morgue Case
This Day in Legal History: Homestead Act On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, creating one of the most consequential…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 5/19 - Title IX at Supreme Court, Mangione Backpack Evidence Partially Out, MAHA Vaccine BS Losses, and Gas Tax Holidays are Bad Policy
This Day in Legal History: 27th Amendment On May 19, 1992, the 27th Amendment to the United States Constitution was officially published in the Federal…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 5/18 - Amazon Sued for Tariff Refunds, Fed Circuit Theme Song Debuts, and Trump Drops Suit vs. IRS
This Day in Legal History: Plessy v. Ferguson On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Plessy v. Ferguson, a case that became one of the most infamous…
Minimum CompetenceLegal news for Fri 5/15 - Musk Case Goes to Jury, Major Crypto Bill Advances in Senate, Trump Law Firm Orders Face Skeptical Judiciary
This Day in Legal History: Abe Fortas Resigns SCOTUS On May 15, 1969, Justice Abe Fortas resigned from the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 5/14 - PayPal DOJ Settlement, Musk and SEC Strike Deal, Law Firm Revenue and Expenses Up, Trump's Global Tariff Pause Paused
This Day in Legal History: Frontiero v. Richardson On May 14, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Frontiero v. Richardson, a major case in the development of…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 5/13 - TX vs. Netflix, Criminal Charges in Baltimore Bridge Crash, Refundable Adoption Tax Credit
This Day in Legal History: Mexican-American War On May 13, 1846, Congress approved President James K. Polk’s request for a declaration of war against Mexico…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 5/12 - Short Seller on Trial, Law Students Race to Beat Federal Loan Caps and Judge Scrutinizes Musk's SEC Settlement
This Day in Legal History: Anti-Spitting Laws On May 12, 1896, New York City adopted one of the country’s best-known early anti-spitting laws, aimed at…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 5/11 - Legal Hiring Up, VA Redistricting Battle, Canvas Suits for Breach and Trump's Latest Tariff Appeal
This Day in Legal History: Christmas is Canceled in Massachusetts On May 11, 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law making it illegal to celebrate…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 5/8 - Trump Tariff Womp Womp, NY Proposed ICE Mask Ban, IL Push to Limit Investor Influence in Firms
This Day in Legal History: V-E Day On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, after Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Thurs 5/7 - Apple AI Settlement, Bayer $2.45B eye-drug deal and "Duty to Innovate?"
This Day in Legal History: Salmon P. Chase Dies On May 7, 1873, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase died, ending one of the most unusual legal and political careers…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Weds 5/6 - Musk v. OpenAI Drama Continues to Unfold, Publishers Sue Meta over AI Training, SCOTUS Fast Tracks VRA Ruling
This Day in Legal History: Chinese Exclusion Act On May 6, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law. The law imposed a…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Tues 5/5 - Abortion Pill By Mail Access, Meta Youth Harm Trial Ctd., Kalshi Sport Betting Fight in MA and Crypto Tax Privacy
This Day in Legal History: Prayer in … Local Government Meetings? On this day in legal history, May 5, 2014, the Supreme Court decided Town of Greece v…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Mon 5/4 - NM Takes Meta to Task, Pentagon AI Deals, Court Ruling Blocking Mifepristone
This Day in Legal History: Freedom Riders On May 4, 1961, the first Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., by bus for New Orleans, beginning a direct challenge…
Minimum CompetenceLegal News for Fri 5/1 - Musk OpenAI Trial Whoopsie, Purdue's McKinsey Settlement, Big Law Still a Long Shot for Most
This Day in Legal History: May Day vs. Law Day On May 1, 1958, the United States marked the first Law Day, a civic observance created after President Dwight D…