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Unwritten Law

Unwritten Law

by Mark Chenoweth & John Vecchione

Latest episode
Corner Post: A Small Gas Station Takes Down a Federal Reserve Rule

About this podcast

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, government overreach, and the Constitution. Each episode explores real cases challenging the expanding power of the administrative state, explaining how these disputes affect ordinary Americans, businesses, and the future of limited government.

Whether the topic is the Supreme Court, free speech, property rights, due process, jury trials, executive power, or the separation of powers, Unwritten Law explains the legal issues behind today's biggest constitutional debates in clear, accessible language. You'll hear directly from the attorneys litigating landmark cases, as well as clients whose lives and livelihoods have been changed by unlawful government action.

Produced by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), Unwritten Law takes listeners behind the headlines to explain how federal agencies exercise regulatory power, how constitutional challenges move through the courts, and why these cases matter—even if you've never stepped inside a courtroom.

If you've ever wondered who really writes the rules that govern your life, why unelected bureaucrats hold so much authority, or how the Constitution protects individual liberty, Unwritten Law will give you the context, the legal insight, and the real-world stories behind today's most important fights for civil liberties.

Whether you're a lawyer, business owner, public servant, student, or simply someone who wants to better understand how government power affects everyday life, Unwritten Law gives you the legal insight behind the headlines—and the constitutional principles that protect individual liberty.

Subscribe each week for conversations about Supreme Court litigation, constitutional law, the administrative state, federal agencies, government accountability, civil liberties, free speech, property rights, due process, separation of powers, regulatory power, and the legal battles shaping the future of American government.

Episodes

The newest 20 of 149 episodes

  • Corner Post: A Small Gas Station Takes Down a Federal Reserve Rule · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 149A small North Dakota gas station challenged a Federal Reserve regulation that had been on the books before the business even existed. After winning a landmark Supreme Court…
  • Can Agency Guidance Add Time to Your Prison Sentence? · 26 min · Season 1 Episode 148Can government officials effectively increase someone's prison sentence through guidance that never went through the same approval process as the law itself? That's the issue at…
  • Federal Agency Bans Lobbyist Who Challenged Its Chairman · 19 min · Season 1 Episode 147A longtime Washington lobbyist raises concerns with a federal agency, takes those concerns to the White House, and nearly a year later finds himself banned from the agency's…
  • Federal Judges Cannot Shield U.S. Attorneys from Presidential Removal · 22 min · Season 1 Episode 146Can 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 U.S. Court of…
  • Can the SEC Block Your Right to a Jury Trial? · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 145Can 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. SEC, a case…
  • Jack Smith, Secret Subpoenas, and Senator Blackburn's Phone Records · 17 min · Season 1 Episode 144What 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 on behalf of…
  • Judge Newman's Fight Takes a Major Turn After 3 Years · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 143After more than three years, Judge Pauline Newman's judicial conduct and disability proceeding has been transferred out of the Federal Circuit. It's a significant and…
  • CPSC Called a Baby Product Unsafe. Where Was the Evidence? · 24 min · Season 1 Episode 142What happens when a federal agency publicly declares a product unsafe—but can't adequately explain the evidence behind that declaration? NCLA has secured an important ruling for…
  • A New Supreme Court Ruling Could Spell Trouble for the SEC’s CAT · 29 min · Season 1 Episode 141The SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail collects information on virtually every stock-market transaction in the United States, creating an enormous database that regulators can search…
  • A Win for the Right to Self-Defense at a Maryland Synagogue · 22 min · Season 1 Episode 140NCLA 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, NCLA…
  • Who Can Challenge the White House Ballroom? · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 139The 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 actually has…
  • NCLA Asks SCOTUS to Rein In the SEC · 34 min · Season 1 Episode 138Can 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 v. SEC, a case that…
  • 60 Years Without Congressional Authorization · 20 min · Season 1 Episode 137For roughly 60 years, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs enforced a sweeping regulatory regime governing federal contractors—one rooted…
  • Why Is Washington Tracking Crabbers 24/7? · 16 min · Season 1 Episode 136In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss Franey v. Washington Department of…
  • When Regulatory Shortcuts Become the Rule · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 135In 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 recent decision in…
  • Should Federal Judges Get to Pick Federal Prosecutors? · 27 min · Season 1 Episode 134In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob…
  • BASE Jumping, Bureaucrats, and Criminal Law · 18 min · Season 1 Episode 133In 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 Access v. National…
  • Education Is Speech: NCLA's Groundbreaking Case for Parental Choice · 16 min · Season 1 Episode 132In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione is joined by NCLA General Counsel Zhonette Brown to discuss Jacobsen v. Spellerberg, NCLA's newly…
  • “Make Congress Great Again”? The Problem Isn’t the Supreme Court · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 131In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione take on a provocative argument from The New…
  • Can a Federal Agency Be Your Prosecutor and Judge? · 23 min · Season 1 Episode 130In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth and Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione are joined by Senior Litigation Counsel Russ…

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