Unwritten Law

In this episode ofUnwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione unpack John’s recentWall Street Journal op-ed calling for the abolition of CIGIE—the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.This obscure-sounding bureaucracy wields outsized power, launching secretive investigations that can derail careers with zero presidential oversight or Senate confirmation. The kicker? Even the President can’t rein them in. Mark and John explain why CIGIE violates the Constitution’s

Who really controls the executive branch? In this episode ofUnwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione break down a high-stakes legal battle over presidential power—Trump’s firing of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel.The case sparked a fierce debate over whether the president can remove executive officials at will or if statutory “for-cause” protections limit his authority. The team unpacks Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s controversial injunction, the D.C. Circuit’s

Are vaccine mandates constitutional? In this episode ofUnwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA’s Jenin Younes to discussHealth Freedom Defense Fund v. Carvalho, a critical case before the Ninth Circuit challenging Los Angeles Unified School District’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.The lawsuit questions whether government agencies can force employees to take a non-sterilizing vaccine—one that does not stop transmission—under the long-misinterpretedJacobson v

Does the IRS have the right to seize your financial records—without a warrant, without suspicion, and without you even knowing? In this episode ofUnwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA’s Sheng Li to discussHarper v. IRS, a Supreme Court petition challenging the government’s warrantless search of cryptocurrency users’ financial records.Sheng explains how the IRS demanded Coinbase hand over customer data—without any evidence of wrongdoing—and why the case could

Is it a crime to jump off a cliff in a national park? The National Park Service seems to think so. In this episode ofUnwritten Law, hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA’s Casey Norman to discuss NCLA’s100thcase—a legal challenge to the Park Service’s unconstitutional ban on base jumping.The lawsuit exposes a bigger issue: how unelected bureaucrats create criminal laws without congressional approval. From vague regulations to arbitrary enforcement, this case isn’t just about

Should the government be able to deny you a jury trial for a criminal charge?Unwritten Lawhosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione sit down with NCLA’s Jenin Younes to discussLesh v. United States, a case that could force the Supreme Court to reconsider its long-standing “petty offense” exception to the Sixth Amendment’s jury trial guarantee.Jenin breaks down how a skier and Instagram influencer ended up facing federal charges—and why two Tenth Circuit judges think the Supreme Court needs to revisit

Welcome to the inaugural episode ofUnwritten Law, the New Civil Liberties Alliance’s podcast exposing unlawful administrative power. Hosts Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione kick off the series by breaking down the Supreme Court’s landmarkLoper BrightandRelentlessrulings, which dismantled Chevron deference.What happens next in the fight against bureaucratic overreach? How will courts interpret statutes now that agencies can’t dictate the meaning? Mark and John unpack the latest legal developments,