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
Does SEC Disgorgement Require Investor Harm?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Kara Rollins to discuss Sripetch v…
- Unwritten Law
The Supreme Court’s Emergency Docket Turns Ten
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione mark the ten-year anniversary of what’s often…
- Unwritten Law
Student Loan Pauses, Standing, and Lost Subsidies
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Russ Ryan to discuss a recent oral…
- Unwritten Law
The SEC’s Stock Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Of Counsel Margot Cleveland to discuss one of NCLA’s most consequential…
- Unwritten Law
Can DOE Regulate Water Use Without Congress?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione discuss John’s recent oral argument at the U.S…
- Unwritten Law
Seven Amicus Briefs, One Big Question After Loper Bright
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione and NCLA President Mark Chenoweth discuss a major development in NCLA’s…
- Unwritten Law
Cross-Deputized—and Above the Law?
What happens when a state or local police officer violates someone’s constitutional rights—and courts say there’s no practical way to sue? In this episode of…
- Unwritten Law
Trump v. Cook: Can a President Fire a Fed Governor “For Cause”?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down the Supreme Court’s oral argument in Trump v. Cook, a case that puts…
- Unwritten Law
The SEC’s Massive Surveillance Database: Davidson, et al. v. Atkins
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by Peggy Little, Senior Litigation Counsel at NCLA, to discuss one of the most…
- Unwritten Law
Can Agencies Force You to Fund Your Own Regulation?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, John Vecchione and Mark Chenoweth unpack the latest chapter in Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, a case that sits…
- Unwritten Law
When Agencies Hold the Keys: FTC Investigations and the Right to Go to Court
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by Peggy Little, Senior Litigation Counsel at NCLA, to discuss NCLA’s amicus…
- Unwritten Law
An Accidental Landmark? How VanDerStok Could Revive Deference to the Administrative State
Chevron deference may be gone—but is the Supreme Court quietly laying the groundwork for something even worse? In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth…
- Unwritten Law
The Supreme Court at 250: Chief Justice Roberts, Judicial Independence, and a Court That Takes Too Few Cases
As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Chief Justice of the United States reflects on America’s founding…
- Unwritten Law
Government by the Unelected: How the Administrative State Took Over
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione dig into a major new essay by R.J. Pestritto, Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute…
- Unwritten Law
Why The Little Sisters Are Still Fighting the ACA Mandate
Why are the Little Sisters of the Poor still being dragged into court over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate—years after the Supreme Court ruled…
- Unwritten Law
Mass Surveillance by License Plate: The City of Marco Island Fourth Amendment Case
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by Andreia Trifoi to discuss NCLA’s constitutional challenge to the City of…
- Unwritten Law
Executive Power on Trial: Trump v. Slaughter, Part II
In this follow-up episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione continue their deep dive into the Supreme Court’s oral argument in Trump v…
- Unwritten Law
Trump v. Slaughter: Is Humphrey’s Executor Finally Dead? Part I
Just days after oral argument, Unwritten Law hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down one of the most consequential separation-of-powers cases in…
- Unwritten Law
FERC’s Duty of Candor Rule: Dead on Arrival
In this episode, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA Litigation Counsel Casey Norman to break down a major regulatory win: stopping FERC’s…
- Unwritten Law
BASE Jumping, Bureaucracy, and the Law
In this episode, Casey Norman joins Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione to unpack BASE Access, et al. v. National Park Service, a remarkable case about whether a…
- Unwritten Law
When SEC Receivers Go Too Far: Russ Ryan on Barton v. SEC
Senior Litigation Counsel Russ Ryan joins Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione to break down Barton v. SEC, a newly filed cert petition that challenges the SEC’s…
- Unwritten Law
Trump v. Slaughter: The Supreme Court Case That Could End Humphrey’s Executor
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione welcome Margot Cleveland to unpack the Supreme Court case Trump v. Slaughter, a historic…
- Unwritten Law
Inside the 2025 Federalist Society Convention: Debates, Direction, and What Stood Out
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione recap the 2025 Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention, offering candid insight into what made this year’s gathering…
- Unwritten Law
Necessary Discretion: Kara Rollins on Statutory Power and Agency Limits
John Vecchione sits down with Kara Rollins to explore her recent piece in the Yale Journal on Regulation titled “Necessary” Discretion: A Primer for…
- Unwritten Law
Auto-Pen & Accountability: What the Oversight Committee Found About the Biden White House
Senior Litigation Counsel Margaret Harker joins Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione to unpack the House Oversight Committee’s auto-pen investigation — a 100-page…
- Unwritten Law
Judicial Impartiality Meets Fiction: Inside the Dondero Recusal Petition
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione welcome NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Russ Ryan for a jaw-dropping judicial-ethics cases. A Texas judge—currently presiding…
- Unwritten Law
Inside the Supreme Court: Trump’s Tariff Case and the Limits of Executive Power
Fresh from the Supreme Court, Mark Chenoweth, John Vecchione, and Andy Morris break down oral arguments in the Trump tariffs case — a landmark challenge over…
- Unwritten Law
Can the President Fire Lisa Cook? Trump v. Cook and Executive Power
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione welcome NCLA’s new Senior Litigation Counsel, Jacob Huebert, to unpack Trump v. Cook — a…
- Unwritten Law
Trump, the FTC, and the Fight Against the Headless Fourth Branch
The Supreme Court is set to hear Trump v. Slaughter, a landmark case that could finally overturn Humphrey’s Executor—the 1935 decision that created…
- Unwritten Law
Tariffs on Trial: The Supreme Court Weighs Presidential Power
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by NCLA’s Andy Morris to discuss one of the most consequential Supreme Court cases of the term — whether the…
- Unwritten Law
The Mount Rushmore of Originalism — Heritage Guide Part 2
In part two of Unwritten Law’s conversation with John Malcolm and Professor Josh Blackman, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione explore the deeper substance…
- Unwritten Law
Inside The Heritage Guide to the Constitution: How 150 Scholars Reframed Originalism for a New Era - Part 1
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with John Malcolm and Professor Josh Blackman to discuss The Heritage Guide to the…
- Unwritten Law
Title IX and Women’s Sports: The Supreme Court Takes Up West Virginia v. B.P.J.
Staff attorney Andreia Trifoi joins Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione to discuss West Virginia v. B.P.J., one of the Supreme Court’s most consequential…
- Unwritten Law
The Roberts Court Turns 20: Triumphs, Trials, and Calling Balls Strikes
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione look back on two decades of the Roberts Court, reflecting on its most consequential rulings—from overturning Roe and Chevron…
- Unwritten Law
Silenced by the SEC: Fighting Against the Gag Rule
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by Peggy Little to discuss the latest challenge to the SEC’s unconstitutional gag rule. After years of litigation…
- Unwritten Law
Judge Newman’s Fight: En Banc Petition and the McBride Problem
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by Andy Morris to discuss their en banc petition in Newman v. Moore. The case raises serious questions about…
- Unwritten Law
Baby Loungers and Big Government
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione welcome Kara Rollins to unpack her latest brief challenging the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s attempt to expand…
- Unwritten Law
SEC Backs Down: Father Lemelson’s Decade-Long Fight Ends in Victory
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Russ Ryan to celebrate a major win for Father Emmanuel Lemelson. After more than…
- Unwritten Law
Tariffs on Trial: Supreme Court Showdown Ahead
Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione dig into the upcoming Supreme Court arguments over presidential tariff powers. With billions in disputed tariffs at stake…
- Unwritten Law
Biden’s Censorship Network Unraveled
Mark Chenoweth is joined by Margot Cleveland to discuss new revelations about the State Department’s role in Biden-era censorship, uncovered through NCLA’s…
- Unwritten Law
SCOTUS 2025: Firing, Tariffs & Spending on the Line
On Constitution Day, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione dive into John’s new article in Cato’s Supreme Court Review, previewing the Supreme Court’s 2025 term…
- Unwritten Law
Fighting the SEC: Father Lemelson’s Decade-Long Battle
When Father Emmanuel Lemelson criticized a pharmaceutical company, the SEC came after him. Ten years later, the fight continues — with questions of jury…
- Unwritten Law
You’re Fired: Presidential Removal Power on Trial
The D.C. Circuit’s Slaughter v. Trump decision spotlights a constitutional clash: Can the president remove FTC commissioners, Federal Reserve governors, and…
- Unwritten Law
Federal Circuit Pushes Back on Presidential Power
A recent Federal Circuit ruling has thrown the administration’s sweeping tariff program into doubt, raising major questions about presidential emergency…
- Unwritten Law
NIH v. American Public Health Association—Can a President Cancel $800M in Grants?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione unpack the Supreme Court’s split, middle-of-August orders in NIH v. American Public…
- Unwritten Law
Who Can Appoint a U.S. Attorney? Vacancies Act, Appointments Clause, and the New Jersey Ruling
In this episode of Unwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione unpack a 77-page district-court opinion from New Jersey that halted prosecutions…
- Unwritten Law
Rule 28(j) or Political Theater? DOJ’s Tariff Letter in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump
In this episode of Unwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione dissect DOJ’s unusual Rule 28(j) filing in the Federal Circuit tariff appeal, V.O.S…
- Unwritten Law
NY State Supreme Court Scraps Illegal Fine Against Trump
In this episode of Unwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA's Greg Dolin to unpack the New York Appellate Division’s 323-page…
- Unwritten Law
Stewart v. Walz: When a Professor’s Speech Becomes Grounds for Termination
In this episode of Unwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA Litigation Counsel Jenin Younes to unpack her recent oral argument…
- Unwritten Law
Nondelegation on Ice: EPA’s Refrigerant Rule and the DC Circuit’s Constitutional Workaround
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s General Counsel Zhonette Brown joins Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione to unpack the DC Circuit’s ruling in Choice…
- Unwritten Law
CAT’s Out of Cash: SEC’s Surveillance Scheme Suffers a Legal Blow
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione unpack a major federal court ruling that struck down the SEC’s funding mechanism for its…
- Unwritten Law
Tariffs on Trial—Inside the Federal Circuit’s Showdown Over Presidential Trade Power
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down the high-stakes en banc oral argument in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, a…
- Unwritten Law
Who’s Holding the Autopen? Pardons, Accountability, and the Unwritten Law
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione dissect an overlooked constitutional controversy: presidential pardons signed by an…
- Unwritten Law
Trump v. Boyle: Executive Power, Agency Chaos, and the Future of Humphrey’s Executor
In this episode of Unwritten Law, Mark and John dive into the Supreme Court’s emergency order in Trump v. Boyle, a little-noticed but potentially seismic…
- Unwritten Law
Jury Trials vs. Administrative Power—Did the Third Circuit Misread Jarkesy?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down the recent Third Circuit decision in Axalta Coating Systems v. Federal…
- Unwritten Law
Criminalizing Insider Trading—Did Courts Just Give the SEC Unlimited Power?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s Mark Chenoweth, John Vecchione, and Kara Rollins analyze the troubling decision in U.S. v. Sacanell, an…
- Unwritten Law
Relentless Post-Chevron—Is the Administrative State Still Winning?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s Mark Chenoweth, John Vecchione, and Kara Rollins are joined by Professor Eric Bolinder (Liberty University), former…
- Unwritten Law
Kennedy v. Braidwood—Did the Supreme Court Just Expand Unelected Agency Power?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, guest host Andy Morris, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel, is joined by constitutional law expert Josh Blackman to unpack the…
Unwritten LawFCC vs. Consumers' Research—Did the Supreme Court Just Greenlight Unlimited Agency Fees?
In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA's John Vecchione and Zhonette Brown break down the recent Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Consumers' Research, a…
- Unwritten Law
Chaos at CPSC—Trump, Humphrey’s Executor, and the Future of Independent Agencies
In this compelling episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s John Vecchione is joined by litigation counsel Kara Rollins to discuss the unprecedented turmoil at the…