Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Criminalizing Dissent, Supreme Court
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U.S. Supreme Court Decisions July 2026
Last week, the US Supreme Court ended its 2025-2026 Term with a barrage of long-awaiting blockbuster decisions altering the entire structure of the American government and seriously undermining the crucial separation of powers between Congress, the President, and the courts. The Supreme Court, which is dominated by a conservative super-majority of Republican justices – including 3 justices appointed by Donald Trump – confronted such important issues as Birthright citizenship; whether the President can fire the heads of independent agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve; whether states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day; whether states can ban concealed weapons on private property; and whether Trump can expel hundreds of thousands of migrants and turn others away at the southern border.
To help us understand what the Roberts Court is up to and what it means for our constitutional democracy, we’ve invited Law and Disorder co-host Steve Rohde to switch seats and serve as our guest today.
Guest – Stephen Rohde is a journalist, lecturer and political activist. For almost 50 years, he practiced civil rights, civil liberties, and intellectual property law and has won significant First Amendment victories in state and federal appellate courts.Steve is past chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Chair Emeritus of Bend the Arc, a Jewish Partnership for Justice. He is a founder and current chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace; and a member of the Board of Directors of Death Penalty Focus. He is the Special Advisor on Free Speech and the First Amendment for the Muslim Public Affairs Council.Steve is the author of the books American Words of Freedom: The Words That Define Our Nation and Freedom of Assembly and numerous articles and book reviews on civil liberties and constitutional history. He is co-author of Foundations of Freedom published by the Constitutional Rights Foundation.In addition to being a co-host of Law and Disorder Radio, Steve is also the host of a10 episode podcast called Speaking Freely: A First Amendment Podcast exploring the most important Supreme Court cases in the area of free speech and free press. It is produced by Ms Studios and is streaming online at Spotify, Apple, and I Heart Radio.
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Draconian Sentencing Of Prairieland Nine Case
We look at a staggering display of judicial overreach coming out of a federal courtroom in Texas. On June 23 and July 1, 15 individuals were handed prison sentences totaling centuries. That followed a July 2025 demonstration outside the Praireland Detention Center. Among those condemned to spend the rest of her natural life behind bars is Maricela Rueda. She received a 70-year sentence. Her husband, Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, wasn’t even present at the protest. Yet, he was sentenced to 30 years.
The core of the conspiracy charge against Daniel ties directly into Maricela’s sentence. It centers on a recorded jailhouse phone call. The government alleged Maricela asked her husband to move items from her house and car. Surveillance footage also showed Daniel dropping off a cardboard box, though that was prior to his call with Mariela. Inside that box? Not weapons. Not explosives. Just politically charged, constitutionally protected independent pamphlets and zines, all belonging to Mr. Sanchez himself.
Joining us to dissect this draconian sentencing is Sufia Khalid. Sufia is the Deputy Director of the National Security Criminal Defense Center at the Muslim Legal Fund of America. There, she represents defendants in federal national security prosecutions nationwide. She took on Maricela’s case for sentencing and currently represents her on appeal. Sufia has exclusively worked on national security prosecutions and appeals, FBI Counterrorism investigations, and terrorism sentencing and their associated constitutional issues for 8 years
Guest – Sufia Khalid is the Deputy Director of the National Security Criminal Defense Center at the Muslim Legal Fund of America. There, she serves as Senior Staff Attorney, representing defendants in federal national security cases. She currently represents Maricela Rueda in the “Praireland Nine” case. Before joining the MLFA, Khalid worked with the United Nations, including the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia and the UN Development Programme in New York.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Supreme Court
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U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Resetting Precedent
There have been several major U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts. These decisions include abortion rights cases, anti-immigrant cases, cases enhancing administrative or executive power and, of course, voting rights cases. We’ll also learn about the role of the shadow docket. This is known as the emergency docket with a range of uses such as for routine procedural matters and last-minute requests. The cases we examine impact the fabric of democracy in the United States. We’ll talk about broader implications with our guest Professor Ellen Yaroshefsky.
Guest – Ellen Yaroshefsky is the Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics, Maurice A. Deane School of Law, at Hofstra University. She is a leading educator and expert in ethics law and serves as an expert witness and advisor to lawyers and law firms. Prof. Yaroshefsky is a former Commissioner on the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics. She has previously worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights and has been in private practice. Prof. Yaroshefsky has received numerous awards, including the New York State Bar Association’s honor for Outstanding Contribution in Criminal Law Education.
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Grito 2048
Ursula Leguin is one of the most admired writers of speculative science fiction in America. Her work challenges the rationality and desirability of our capitalist system. LeGuin has written “We live under capitalism. Its power seems indestructible. So did the divine right of kings.“
Our guest today is Brooklyn based writer Maritza Arrastia, who has just had published her climate science fiction novel Grito 2048. Her novel is set in the last remaining Caribbean colony of the collapsing empire of the Diez Familias, where climate catastrophe and colonial extraction have reached their limits. As imperial elites prepare to abandon Earth for replica planets, beyond the reach of ruin, those left behind must decide whether the planet can still be reclaimed.
The novel follows the central figure Marina and others as they leave the imperial city for Palenque, a seaside encampment where rebels, families of the disappeared, and youth organizers are rebuilding life amid rising seas. It is there that Marina gathers the Grito Chronicles – war cries, threaded through centuries of Caribbean resistance – while the youth lead movement Todx prepares for the last Grito,, an uprising planned for 2048 to take back Earth.
Guest – Maritza Arrastia is a Cuban – Puerto Rican writer whose literary life spans five decades. She was a reporter and editor at Claridad, A bilingual newspaper of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. Ms. Arristia has published poetry, drama, fiction, journalism, and essays. She has taught literacy in English as a second language through collaborative, community-pedagogy. Her work explores climate futures, colonial afterlives, and insurgent memory.
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Artificial Intelligence, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Economics, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights
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Communities Nationwide Unite Against Data Center Resource Grab
Across the nation, communities are becoming ground zero in a growing fight over data centers. The explosive growth of AI, cloud computing, and cryptocurrency has triggered a massive boom in their construction. These sprawling facilities often cover hundreds of acres and consume enormous amounts of electricity and water. Residents from Virginia to Pennsylvania, Georgia to Arizona, are asking a simple question: who benefits, and who pays the price?
The answer has sparked one of the fastest-growing grassroots movements in the nation. In the past year, local campaigns have blocked or delayed dozens of proposed centers worth billions of dollars. Citizens are challenging developers over rising electricity costs, water consumption, noise pollution, loss of farmland, and the construction of new fossil-fuel infrastructure designed to power these facilities. Nationally, more than 230 organizations have joined calls for stronger regulation and even a moratorium on new large-scale data centers until environmental and community protections are in place.
Guest – Jim Walsh, Policy Director at Food & Water Watch in Washington, DC. It’s one of the leading organizations helping coordinate community resistance to the rapid expansion of data centers. Since joining Food & Water Watch in 2009, Jim has focused on energy, climate, and public water policy. He is a prominent advocate for policies prioritizing environmental protection and community control, from campaigns to ban fracking and challenges to carbon capture projects. Jim worked has also worked with New Jersey Citizen Action and the Progressive Action Network.
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The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State
Here at Law and Disorder we’ve been exposing how efforts that claim to be combating antisemitism have been weaponized in a concerted effort to silence criticism of Israel and demonize support for the Palestinians. One organization that is playing a leading role in these efforts is the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League.
Many people, including many Jews, may think of the ADL as a long-established civil rights organization that is known for opposing racism in general, and antisemitism, in particular. But as we’ll learn from our guest today, there’s a lot more we need to know about the ADL.
Guest – Emmaia Gelman is the author of the new book The Anti-Defamation League and the Racial State, and co-editor of The Anti-Defamation League: A Critical Reader. She also co-hosts the podcast Unpacking Zionism. Emmaia is co-chair of the American Studies Association Caucus on Academic and Community Activism, and is the founding director of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, which examines the political and ideological work of Zionist institutions in Palestine and transnational contexts. She has taught social and cultural analysis at NYU and social sciences at Sarah Lawrence College. Her writing appears in Jewish Currents, Boston Review, The Forward, and elsewhere.
CriticalZionistStudies.org
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Cuba, Economics, Human Rights, Racist Police Violence, Torture
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The Future of Cuba
When the Cuban revolution succeeded on January 1, 1959, it drove the American supported Batista dictator out of their country. One of the first things that the revolution government did was to create a law – which is very popular because a lot of people would have fought on the side of the revolution and benefited directly from it – to initiate a comprehensive land reform.
Previously, large tracks of land had been owned by American corporations. The average peasant worked part-time, seasonally, was not literate, and lived from hand to mouth. The revolutionary government nationalized the big properties – which was their right under international law.
Not only did it nationalize the large lands but the government told the former owners that they would be compensated for their losses. They said to the American owners “we will pay you exactly the amount you said the land was worth when you listed it for tax purposes.” The Cuban government was turned down.
In retaliation the United States, which was refining all Cuba oil in American owned oil refineries, stopped refining oil and Cuba was cut off from gasoline. What did the Cubans do? They nationalized the oil refineries, then the bus company was nationalized, the phone company was nationalized, the nickel mines were nationalized, the top levels of the economy were nationalized.
Instead of having production for profit, which is really irrational and anarchical, they had a planned economy – which is called a socialist revolution. That’s what happened very quickly to America’s surprise in Cuba. Getting that property back has been the aim of American foreign policy ever since.
Cuba has great respect and support internationally because of the example it set. It has free education, universal healthcare, inexpensive housing, wonderful art, and music and dance. The United States has aimed to overturn Cuba’s accomplishments and example. Its economic, political, and diplomatic aggression against Cuba has been relentless for 67 years. But under Trump, it’s never been worse. US-CubaNormalization.org
Guest – Ike Nahem, a founder and leader of the New York -New Jersey Cuba Si Coalition. He has organized labor and educational tours of Cuba.Mr. Nahem is a retired Amtrak locomotive engineer.
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The Conviction Machine: Prosecutors, Politicians and Police Violence in Chicago
The comedian Lenny Bruce used to joke that Chicago was so corrupt. It was thrilling. He had no idea. Bruce was referring to run of the mill bribery of a traffic cop or a police officer taking your floor mats in lieu of a ticket or a pay off from a local bar owner. The corruption in Chicago ran much deeper. It went from the prosecutors who were actually in the police station, listening to the screams of men being tortured, before they went and took a signed confession from them.
It was the commander of a whole section of police who learned how to torture people from a tour of duty in Vietnam. He brought back an electric machine that they had actually used in Vietnam Vietnamese. This machine was used on Black people in Chicago. Three hundred people were convicted on the basis of tortured confessions. The corruption ran all the way up to the mayor’s office. Mayor Richard J Daily knew about it and said nothing.
It was only the work of a few attorneys like Flint Taylor and the community, the Black Panther party, and activists and progressive politicians who exposed it. Their victory included reparations, The torture of people in police stations on the west side and southside of Chicago is now taught to eighth grade and 10th graders in the public schools.
“In the halls of justice the only justice is in the halls“ said H. Rap Brown, the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Guest – Flint Taylor, a founding member of Chicago’s Peoples Law Office. He represented the families of slain Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. He continues to represent many survivors of police torture and wrongful convictions. Attorney Taylor is co-counsel in the Malcolm X assassination case and is the award-winning author of the historical memoir “The Torture Machine“. Flint’s book is a captivating account of the most corrupt and blood soaked chapter In Chicago law-enforcement history.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, police accountability, Right To Dissent, Surveillance
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Cities Cancel Flock Camera Agreements After Brazen Privacy Breaches
In 2025, something shifted in the long, largely one-sided battle over surveillance technology in American cities. The Atlanta-based company Flock Safety sells AI-powered license plate readers, or ALPRs, to thousands of police departments. Last year, they started losing. At least two dozen cities and counties cancelled, rejected, or terminated Flock contracts after local communities organized and said no.
In Austin, more than 30 community groups formed a coalition that forced the city to cancel its contract. The city government of Cambridge, Massachusetts, terminated its agreement after catching Flock installing cameras without permission. In Evanston, Illinois, an audit revealed that cameras were quietly feeding data to federal immigration enforcement. The pattern is the same: surveillance sold as a public safety tool is covertly repurposed in ways communities never approved. At the center of this movement is Fight for the Future—the primary digital rights nonprofit running the Flock Out campaign opposing Flock’s80,000+ AI-powered ALPRs.
Guest – Reem Suleiman, Senior Campaign Director at Fight for the Future. She previously served as the U.S. advocacy lead for the Mozilla Foundation, and was an original member of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission, working to safeguard civil liberties against surveillance technology. FlockOut.org
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Prairieland Texas Case Update
The Prairieland cases have been grinding through both state and federal courts since a noise demonstration nearly one year ago. The demo was in solidarity with detainees at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, in early July 2025. It ended when an Alvarado Police Department officer arrived on the scene and became involved in a gunfire exchange. He allegedly sustained minor injuries—though the prosecution has withheld his medical records. What followed has become the nation’s first federal “Antifa” trial, with 22 defendants now facing a combination of state and federal charges, most of them held on bonds as high as $15 million.
In recent weeks, there have been new developments on multiple fronts: a third indictment of defendant Dario Sanchez over allegations that he removed people from group text chats, the quiet indictment of three additional defendants that defense teams say went unannounced, and an approaching trial date that has already been delayed twice. Today we’ll get an update on the cases and what the road ahead looks like for the Prairieland defendants.
Guest – Xavier de Janon is a criminal defense attorney and the Mass Defense Director at the National Lawyers Guild, where he provides protest defense and support for the right to dissent. Based in North Carolina, Xavier also represents individuals in politically motivated cases across the South.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Freedom Of Speech, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, Targeting Muslims, U.S. Militarism, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister
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The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
For more than two years, the world has witnessed not only a devastating war in Gaza, but also a fierce battle over how that war has been covered in the media. We’ve seen headlines repeated before facts were verified. We’ve seen civilian deaths described in passive language that obscures responsibility. We’ve watched journalists, students, doctors, and even U.N. officials dismissed or marginalized when their accounts challenged official narratives – sometimes costing their lives.
All the while, independent reporting and social media footage taken by individuals on the ground show a different reality than the Israeli and US government narratives that dominate corporate media coverage. So what happens when the press stops acting as a watchdog and instead becomes an amplifier for state power? How can the public make informed moral decisions when reporting is shaped by concentrated political and corporate interests? And what obligations do journalists have when governments are pushing narratives in times of war?
Guest – Robin Andersen is a professor, media critic, and longtime scholar of war propaganda and political communication. Her new book, The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza, examines how major U.S. media institutions covered the war after October 7th, 2023 and how corporate journalism helped manufacture public consent for catastrophic violence while, at the same time, narrowing the scope of speech and debate.
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The Future Of Cash Bail Reform
The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” has stood at the center of the criminal legal system in the United States for centuries. But in the real world, enjoying freedom before a trial has often depended less on guilt or innocence — and more on money. According to the Prison Policy Initiatives, among other sources, at least 400,000 people are in jail awaiting trial. In other words, they are legally innocent and have not been convicted of a crime, but remain behind bars. Many are there because they cannot afford to pay bail.
Supporters of the cash bail system claim it ensures people return to court for their trial, and therefore protects public safety. Critics, including our next guest, point to the unfairness of cash bail: it punishes poverty, pressures people into guilty pleas, tears apart families, and deepens racial and economic inequality. Out of this evolving debate, the bail reform movement was born. And on April 30, 2026, the California Supreme Court gave the bail reform movement the fortification it needed.
In the closely watched case In re Kowalczyk, the California Supreme Court unanimously affirmed constitutional limits on pretrial detention and expanded on earlier rulings that challenged wealth-based incarceration. The decision is already being viewed as one of the most significant state court rulings on bail and pretrial liberty in recent years — with possible implications far beyond California.
Guest – Carson White is a supervising attorney at Civil Rights Corps, where she raises systemic challenges to the criminalization of poverty. She currently leads CRC’s California Writ Project, which trains public defenders statewide and has litigated hundreds of pretrial habeas petitions raising the issues ultimately decided by In re Kowalczyk. Carson is a graduate of Stanford Law School and the University of Texas at Austin.
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