Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Prison Industry, Right To Dissent, Supreme Court, Torture, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister, Whistleblowers
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Remembering Michael Ratner
Hosts Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith interviewed some of Michael Ratner’s closest friends and colleagues as part of a special broadcast highlighting Michael Ratner’s legal work and mentorship. The special also marked the upcoming release of Michael Ratner’s autobiography Moving The Bar: My Life As A Radical Lawyer published by OR Books. We hear from attorneys including Eleanor Stein, Richard Levy, Ray Brescia and David Cole.
Michael Ratner’s pathbreaking legal and political work is unmatched. He provided crucial support for the Cuban Revolution and won the seminal case in the Supreme Court guaranteeing the right of habeas corpus to Guantanamo detainees. Michael also challenged U.S. policy in Iraq, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Israel-Palestine. This book is a testament to his unflagging efforts on behalf of the poor and oppressed around the world.
– Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Michael Ratner personified lawyering that brought both radical and human values into challenges to the use of governmental power to violate the essence of the Bill of Rights. From the torture of prisoners after 911 to the massive racial profiling by the New York Police Department, Michael’s voice and vision continue to resonate. This book provides a powerful testament to the spirit of this extraordinary man.
– Attorney Bill Goodman
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In Memory of Attorney Peter Weiss
Attorney Peter Weiss was a frequent guest here on Law and Disorder. He was a guest several times to discuss pressing issues of nuclear policy, International Human Rights Law and the Royal Dutch Shell Settlement and in 2007, Peter was a Lawyers You’ll Like guest.
We go now to hear that 2007 interview co-hosted by Michael Ratner and Michael Smith. Peter Weiss died one month short of his 100th birthday on November 3, 2025. Peter was the founder and head of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy. His field was international law. He won the historic case for universal jurisdiction which allowed foreign war criminals to be tried in the United States under certain circumstances.
Mr. Weiss is a graduate of Yale Law School and was the principle author of the draft brief on the illegality of threat or use of nuclear weapons used by many countries in making written submissions to the International Court of Justice in the 1996 nuclear weapons advisory opinion. Mr Weiss served as counsel to Malaysia at those hearings. He has published several articles on the ICJ opinion, including in the fall 1997 issue of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems. Mr. Weiss litigated the seminal case establishing the right of victims of torture to sue their torturers in US courts (Filartiga v. Pena-Irala).
Since his retirement in 1996 from Weiss Dawid Fross Zelnick & Lehrman, a leading trademark firm, he has been Senior Intellectual Property Counsel to The Chanel Company Limited. He is also a founder and former President of the American Committee on Africa and former Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. He has also long been an activist for peace in the Middle East and is currently a member of the Arab-Jewish Peace Group in New York and of the Executive Committee of Americans for Peace Now, which supports the Peace Now movement in Israel.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Criminalizing Dissent, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, Targeting Muslims, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister
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Jewish Voice For Peace: West Bank Divided and Conquered
Our guest today is Leta Hirschmann-Levy, a young Jewish New Yorker, who just returned from a solidarity delegation to the Israeli militarily occupied West Bank of Palestine. Ms. Hirschmann-Levy is a leading activist in Jewish Voice Peace, a writer and an actress. Her grandparents on her mother’s side were German Jewish refugees from the holocaust.
Israel has killed at least 1000 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023. The murders are part of their project to ethnically cleanse the West Bank and East Jerusalem and make them free of Palestinians. Peace seems less and less possible.
The West Bank was invaded and taken by Israel during the 1967 war, a war that was initiated by Israel against its neighbors, especially Egypt and Syria. The West Bank has been occupied by the Israeli military ever since. It is the longest occupation in history. Despite Israeli propaganda, there’s no such thing as a liberal occupation.
Over 700,000 Israeli settlers have since moved into the occupied territory with the intent of preventing the West Bank from being part of a future Palestinian state, a Palestinian hope which the Israelis have vowed to never allow.
The territory is run on an apartheid basis with complete segregation of Jews and Arabs who are isolated by a 20 foot cement wall that snakes through their land. Arabs must use their own roads, are issued distinct license plates, suffer the indignity of military checkpoints, go to their own schools and live in separate communities at the base of hills occupied by Israeli settlers.
They are constantly surveilled and harassed by the military which keeps thousands of Palestinians, including children, in prison, many tortured and detained with no charges against them. Hundreds of their homes have been destroyed, their ancient olive trees uprooted, and their water supplies stolen. It is this situation that our guest went to observe.
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The Blue Road To Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved The Way For Autocracy
In 2016, a man famous for humiliating people on television with the catch phrase, “You’re fired,” was elected president of the United States. Many were surprised – chief among them, his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
But others, like our guest for this segment, saw it coming, and believes the Democratic Party could have done so much more than it did to avoid it.
Today, in the midst of Trump presidency #2, the country is as polarized as ever. How did we get here? And where are we headed? Is there a way to avoid the US slipping into a country where only the wealthiest enjoy power, resources, liberty and justice?
Guest – Norman Solomon, author of the new book, The Blue Road to Trump Hell: How Corporate Democrats Paved the Way for Autocracy. Norman is the national director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of more than a dozen books including War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine. Solomon has written about politics for many publications including The Hill, The Nation, the Guardian, Common Dreams, the LA Times and Salon.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Human Rights, U.S. Militarism, Violations of U.S. and International Law
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Locals On Edge As Right Wing Christian Company Builds Community
A quiet rural county in Tennessee has become an unexpected frontline in a national struggle over identity, democracy, and belonging. Jackson County—a small Appalachian community of rolling hills, family farms, and a slowly revitalizing town center—is now at the center of a political and ideological clash. Longtime residents are facing a wave of out of state White Christian nationalists developers. Their stated goals include rolling back civil rights gains, discouraging women from higher education or voting, and expelling immigrants who are already U.S. citizens.
At the heart of this effort are developers RidgeRunner and New Founding; they’re buying up hundreds of acres to create an ideological enclave and consolidating local political power. RidgeRunner’s CEO, Josh Abbotoy, has sold land to two podcasters, Andrew Isker and C. Jay Engel. These “ambassadors” state publicly that they want to attract “hundreds or thousands” of people to Jackson County who share their Christian nationalist vision.
Locals fear the county is being used as a pilot site for a broader national strategy: intentional migration to reshape rural America and take over local governments. In a place where county elections are often decided by fewer than 300 votes, the danger isn’t theoretical. A disciplined ideological bloc of just a few hundred people could rewrite policy, alter governance, and silence dissent.What’s happening in Jackson County is an example of a growing pattern across the country: planned ideological enclaves, politically motivated relocation, and increased activity under the banner of Christian nationalism.
Guest – Kimberly Silvestri is a homeowner in Gainesboro, she’s a former professional pilot with a background in science. She’s currently working on her Master’s degree.
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International Law And U.S. Soldiers Refusing Illegal Orders
The extent to which Donald Trump is willing to go to dismantle of the rule of law at home and abroad is breathtaking and dangerous. In some cases, leaders are pushing back but in other cases major institutions are enabling Trump’s lawlessness. In a recent 90-second video organized by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (Democrat of Michigan), two senators and four Congress members, all U.S. military or CIA veterans, took turns reading a statement addressed to active service members, urging them to refuse to follow illegal orders. “Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution,” the lawmakers said. “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders…. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”
In Truth Social, Trump immediately responded: “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL.” In subsequent posts, Trump wrote: “LOCK THEM UP???” … “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Trump also reposted a statement saying: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” Now the Department of War is investigating one of the Senators, Mark Kelly for “serious allegations of misconduct,” threatening to call him back to active duty and court-martial him.
Meanwhile, on November 17, 2025, the UN Security Council enshrined Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, put its imprimatur on Israel’s genocide, and granted colonial control over the lives of the Palestinians to the United States, which has aided and abetted the genocide. The Council adopted Resolution 2803, by a vote of 13-0. Russia and China, both permanent members of the Security Council, could have vetoed it. But they abstained. The resolution incorporates Donald Trump’s “peace plan.” It grants control over Gaza to the U.S.-led “Board of Peace” and it orders the deployment of a U.S.-led occupation force called “International Stabilization Force (ISF).” Trump will oversee both colonial bodies, in collaboration with Israel. Palestinians will not be allowed to participate in their own governance.
Guest – Marjorie Cohn is Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Dean of the People’s Academy of International Law, and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a legal and political analyst who does media commentary and writes columns on Truthout and other outlets, and she a former host on Law and Disorder radio. Her most recent book is Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues.
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Censorship, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Economics, Freedom Of Speech, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, U.S. Militarism, Violations of U.S. and International Law
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From The Flag To The Cross: Fascism American Style
From The Flag To The Cross: Fascism American Style is the title of a recently published anthology edited by Zachary Sklar and our own Michael Smith. Co-host Jim Lafferty wrote the introduction. The book draws from seven key interviews with prominent socialist thinkers in the United States and Canada. They include Margaret Kimberly, Henry Giroux, Dianne Feeley and Bill Mullen. Bill will also be joining Michael and Jim in the guest seat. He’s Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Purdue University and author of We Charge Genocide! American Fascism and the Rule of Law.
Chris Hedges who is also included in this book, writes “when fascism comes to America, it will be mass of recitations of the pledge of allegiance, the Christian cross and the flag.” We’ll explore these frayed boundaries of Christian fascism, capitalism, and the assaults on free speech and censorship while highlighting the strategies of community based actions.
Guest – Michael Steven Smith is the author, editor, and co-editor of many books, mostly recently Imagine: Living In A Socialist U.S.A. and “The Emerging Police State,” by William M. Kunstler. He has testified before committees of the United States Congress and the United Nations on human rights issues. Mr. Smith lives and had practiced law in New York City with his wife Debby, where on behalf of seriously injured persons he sues insurance companies and occasionally the New York City Police Department.
Guest – Jim Lafferty is the Executive Director Emeritus of the National Lawyers Guild in Los Angeles and the host of The Lawyers Guild Show on Pacifica Radio’s Los Angeles station, KPFK. Jim has been a national leader in the peace and social justice movement for 60-years. He served as a national Coordinator of the National Peace Action Coalition, the group that organized the largest protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam, and in leadership positions in other peace coalitions opposing various imperialist U.S. wars. In the early 1960’s he was the national Director of the National Lawyers Guild during its historic work in the South. In the mid-1960’s until the 1980’s, Jim was in the private practice of law in Detroit, Michigan, where he specialized in Selective Service law, employment discrimination law, and civil rights law. He serves on the governing board of the A.C.L.U. of Southern California, is a member of the steering committee of the national Julian Assange Defense Committee, and a Fellow at the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Southern California.
Guest – Bill Mullen is professor emeritus of American studies at Purdue University and the co-founder of The Campus Anti-fascist Network. He’s also co-author of The Black Antifascist Tradition and We Charge Genocide: American Ashes and the Rule of Law. He’s a contributor to the just published Law And Disorder book From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style.
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Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Supreme Court, Violations of U.S. and International Law
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Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote The Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights
Early in his second term, after addressing a joint session of Congress, as he shook hands walking down the aisle, President Donald Trump turned to Chief Justice John Roberts, patted him on the back, and said, “Thank you again. Thank you again. I won’t forget.” What had Roberts done to deserve such gratitude? A lot.
In her withering and revealing new book, Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote The Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights, Lisa Graves describes in detail how Roberts “has established himself not as a fair referee but as a diabolically effective player rewriting the Constitution and remaking America in accord with his reactionary political agenda, as he strategizes how to move the ball forward and disarm the opposition.” Sound too hyperbolic? Read the book.
Guest – Lisa Graves – before her work as Deputy Assistant Attorney General under Attorneys General Janet Reno, a Democrat, and John Ashcroft, a Republican, she was Chief Counsel for Nominations for Senator Patrick Leahy on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, where she investigated the careers and ideologies of judicial nominees, including John Roberts. She also learned how to examine the finances of sitting judges as Deputy Chief of the Article III Judges Division of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts with oversight of the Financial Disclosure Office. She was an adjunct law professor at George Washington University Law School and worked as the Senior Legislative Strategist for the ACLU on national security and civil liberties. From 2009-2017, she led the Center for Media and Democracy. Most recently, she co-founded Court Accountability and is also the Executive Director of True North Research, a national investigative watchdog group that describes its mission as exposing “the dark money fueling regressive agendas targeting vital institutions in our republic, such as our courts and public schools.”
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Cuba, Executive Branch Law Breaking, Gaza, genocide, Human Rights, Violations of U.S. and International Law, War Resister
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Taxpayers Against Genocide and the National Lawyers Guild Submit Petition To UN
Eighty years ago, after 2 world wars claimed millions of lives, nations worldwide — including the United States — came together and established the UN system “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” The UN Charter requires that all states settle their disputes peacefully and refrain from the use of armed force, except in self-defense after an armed attack against a UN state by another state, or when the Security Council authorizes it.
But, motivated by American exceptionalism — the notion that the U.S. is unique and morally superior and thus not bound by the rules — successive U.S. governments have violated the commands of the UN Charter and illegally attacked other countries with impunity. Trump has ignored the straightforward rules about the lawful use of force, but he is not the first U.S. president to do so. The last five presidents have launched armed attacks without Security Council approval against countries that had not carried out armed attacks on the U.S. or other UN member countries.
Besides violating the Charter’s prohibition on the use of force, the U.S. government – under both Biden and Trump – has aided and abetted Israel’s commission of genocide in Gaza. As the number of Palestinians killed by Israel exceeds 66,000, and famine has reached the “catastrophic” phase, thousands of taxpayers across the country have united with Palestinian-Americans to file an international legal complaint against the U.S. government for funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
An initial petition was filed in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in May by Taxpayers Against Genocide and the National Lawyers Guild. It charged the U.S. with aiding and abetting Israel in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Tomorrow, the petitioners will file a new petition with the Commission. It includes substantial evidence of the U.S. role in Israel’s campaign of starvation.
Guest – Marjorie Cohn is Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Dean of the People’s Academy of International Law, and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a legal political analyst who does commentary and writes columns on Truthout and other outlets, and she a former host on Law and Disorder radio. Her most recent book is Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. Marjorie wrote an article published last week on Truthout about U.S. violations of the UN Charter. Her article about the petition to be filed in the Inter-American Commission will be published tomorrow on Scheer Post.
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Lisa Cook is ‘Low Hanging Fruit—While Jerome Powell Is a Bridge Too Far
Sharon Kyle is the publisher of the L.A. Progressive. She has written a couple of fine articles about racism in American life in that publication. One of them, written at the end of August, is titled, Lisa Cook is ‘Low Hanging Fruit—While Jerome Powell Is a Bridge Too Far. She maintains that when political commentators, and the corporate media, describe Cook as “low hanging fruit” they expose the racism in American life and politics.
So, we’ve invited Sharon Kyle to be our guest today to explain her claim of racism in connection with Trump’s efforts to get rid of Cook on the vitally important Federal Reserve Board, and replace her with someone who would do his bidding.
Guest – Sharon Kyle is not only the publisher of the L.A. Progressive, a must read, online daily newsletter for all serious political thinkers and activists in and around L.A. She is also the former president of the Peoples College of Law, a former member of the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Southern California, and is on the editorial board of the BlackCommentator.com.
Remembering Assata Shakur (1947-2025)
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