Shows / Unwritten Law
Unwritten Law
Every day, unelected federal agencies make decisions that affect your job, your business, your speech, your property, and your constitutional rights—often without Congress ever voting on them. From the rules that govern small businesses to the regulations that shape everyday life, the modern administrative state reaches further than most Americans realize. On Unwritten Law, constitutional lawyers Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down the biggest legal battles involving federal agencies…
Episodes
- Unwritten Law
Can Agency Guidance Add Time to Your Prison Sentence?
Can government officials effectively increase someone's prison sentence through guidance that never went through the same approval process as the law itself?…
- Unwritten Law
Federal Agency Bans Lobbyist Who Challenged Its Chairman
A longtime Washington lobbyist raises concerns with a federal agency, takes those concerns to the White House, and nearly a year later finds himself banned…
- Unwritten Law
Federal Judges Cannot Shield U.S. Attorneys from Presidential Removal
Can the president fire a federal prosecutor appointed by judges? That's the constitutional question at the center of Trump v. Rogoff, a dispute now before the…
- Unwritten Law
Can the SEC Block Your Right to a Jury Trial?
Can the government deny you a jury trial—and then refuse to let you challenge that denial in federal court? NCLA is asking the Supreme Court to hear Smith v…
- Unwritten Law
Jack Smith, Secret Subpoenas, and Senator Blackburn's Phone Records
What happens when a federal investigator secretly obtains a U.S. senator's phone records—and prevents her from challenging the search? NCLA has filed a lawsuit…
- Unwritten Law
Judge Newman's Fight Takes a Major Turn After 3 Years
After more than three years, Judge Pauline Newman's judicial conduct and disability proceeding has been transferred out of the Federal Circuit. It's a…
- Unwritten Law
CPSC Called a Baby Product Unsafe. Where Was the Evidence?
What happens when a federal agency publicly declares a product unsafe—but can't adequately explain the evidence behind that declaration? NCLA has secured an…
- Unwritten Law
A New Supreme Court Ruling Could Spell Trouble for the SEC’s CAT
The SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail collects information on virtually every stock-market transaction in the United States, creating an enormous database that…
- Unwritten Law
A Win for the Right to Self-Defense at a Maryland Synagogue
NCLA has won an important preliminary victory for members of the Silver Spring Jewish Center who want to protect their congregation. In this episode of…
- Unwritten Law
Who Can Challenge the White House Ballroom?
The Supreme Court has allowed construction of the new White House ballroom to continue—but the Court's 5–4 decision turned largely on a threshold question: Who…
- Unwritten Law
NCLA Asks SCOTUS to Rein In the SEC
Can the SEC force someone to give up money when it cannot identify a single harmed investor? NCLA is asking the Supreme Court to take Spartan Securities Group…
- Unwritten Law
60 Years Without Congressional Authorization
For roughly 60 years, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforced a sweeping regulatory regime governing federal…
- Unwritten Law
Why Is Washington Tracking Crabbers 24/7?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss Franey v…
- Unwritten Law
When Regulatory Shortcuts Become the Rule
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss the D.C. Circuit’s…
- Unwritten Law
Should Federal Judges Get to Pick Federal Prosecutors?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
BASE Jumping, Bureaucrats, and Criminal Law
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to discuss NCLA’s appeal in BASE…
- Unwritten Law
Education Is Speech: NCLA's Groundbreaking Case for Parental Choice
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss Jacobsen v…
- Unwritten Law
“Make Congress Great Again”? The Problem Isn’t the Supreme Court
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione take on a provocative…
- Unwritten Law
Can a Federal Agency Be Your Prosecutor and Judge?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
Can the Government Force You to Join a Private Organization?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
Can Government Disarm a Synagogue?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
Should SCOTUS Revisit Its 120-Year-Old Vaccine Precedent?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss NCLA's Supreme…
- Unwritten Law
Can the Government Escape Accountability for Censorship?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Can Agency Commentary Increase Your Prison Sentence?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS Special (Part 4): Title IX Means Sex
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are again joined by NCLA…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS Special (Part 3): A Major Win for Digital Privacy
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Staff…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS Special (Part 2): The Federal Reserve Exception?
Part 2 of our Supreme Court Special. In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS Summer Series (Part 1): The End of Humphrey's Executor
In this special Supreme Court edition of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are…
- Unwritten Law
Justice Thomas's Warning to Federal Agencies
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Staff Counsel Christian Clase to discuss a remarkable concurrence…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS Rejects Hawaii's Gun Rights Workaround
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert to discuss the Supreme Court's…
- Unwritten Law
The SEC Case That Could Expand Jury Trial Rights
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Russ Ryan to discuss Smith v. SEC, a…
- Unwritten Law
Why Is the SEC Tracking Every Stock Trade?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Peggy Little to discuss the SEC's…
- Unwritten Law
The Fight Over Who Decides Constitutional Claims
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
Did the SEC Repeal Its Gag Rule to Avoid SCOTUS?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth, Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione, and Senior Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Can Congress Let EPA Pick Winners and Losers?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth, Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione, and General Counsel Zhonette…
- Unwritten Law
A Tale of Two Judicial Discipline Cases
Why did one federal judge receive only a reprimand after engaging in sexual activities in her chambers, while Federal Judge Pauline Newman remains sidelined…
- Unwritten Law
The Licensing Board That Ignored Due Process
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
The SEC Repealed the Gag Rule. While It's a Victory for Free Speech and NCLA, It's Not Over.
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth, Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione, and Senior Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Can Illinois Require Permission to Touch a Gun?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Loper Bright Keeps Reshaping Agency Power
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss developments in…
- Unwritten Law
Can EPA Decide Who Stays in Business?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General…
- Unwritten Law
How Loper Bright Is Changing the Courts
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss the growing…
- Unwritten Law
Government Doesn’t Appeal NCLA’s Victory in Labor Rule Case
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss a major victory in…
- Unwritten Law
Judges Rally Behind Judge Newman at SCOTUS
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Sztrom v. SEC and Your Right to a Jury Trial
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
16 Amicus Briefs Back Challenge to SEC Gag Rule
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
When the SEC Takes a Decade to Decide
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior…
- Unwritten Law
21 States Back Challenge to EPA Power: SCOTUS Push
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General…
- Unwritten Law
Standing, Security, and the “Trump Ballroom”
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione break down a recent…
- Unwritten Law
Birthright Citizenship at the Supreme Court
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione break down Trump v…
- Unwritten Law
State Department Admits First Amendment Violations
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth, Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel…
- Unwritten Law
Who Gets to Decide What’s a Crime?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to discuss Pheasant v. United…
- Unwritten Law
The Massachusetts Phone Spyware Case
Did the government install tracking software on people’s phones without permission? In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are…
- Unwritten Law
The Inside Story of Murthy v. Missouri: How the Government Pressured Social Media
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione and NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown discuss their work on Murthy v…
- Unwritten Law
Judge Newman and the Right to a Day in Court
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Litigation Counsel Andy Morris…
- Unwritten Law
The First Amendment vs. the SEC Gag Rule
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Peggy…
- Unwritten Law
Geofencing, Google Data, and the Fourth Amendment
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA Staff Attorney Andreia Trifoi to discuss a major Fourth…
- Unwritten Law
Disparate Impact and the Limits of Agency Power
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione welcome Caitlin Moyna, Senior Litigation Counsel…
- Unwritten Law
Can Congress Hand EPA the Power to Pick Winners?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown…
- Unwritten Law
The Supreme Court Slaps Down Presidential Tariff Power
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione and NCLA President Mark Chenoweth are joined by Andy Morris to discuss the…