Recent reporting suggests the President is flirting with issuing more blanket pardons for political allies and those willing to court his favor. Liz Oyer joins Lindsay Langholz to discuss how the president's pardon power has been used (and abused) in recent years and to understand just how far outside the norms we have strayed.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Liz Oyer of Lawyer Oyer, Former United States Pardon Attorney

Link: Justice Dept. Sets Up $1.8 Billion Fund That Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies, by Glenn Thrush, Andrew Duehren, & Alan Feuer

Link: Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office, by Josh Dawsey

Link: Lawyer Oyer

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

It has been a tough few weeks for democracy. The US Supreme Court's recent demolition of what remained of the Voting Rights Act, the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to trump the express will of Virginia voters to redraw congressional lines, and southern state legislatures racing to the bottom to strip Black voters of political power have weighed heavily on us all. For our 200th episode, Joyce Vance joins Valerie Nannery to discuss her book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, and what it will take from all of us to save our democracy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Valerie Nannery, Senior Director of Policy and Program

Guest: Joyce Vance, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, The University of Alabama School of Law; ACS Board Member

Link: Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy, by Joyce Vance

Link: Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

Link: ACS 2026 National Convention details and registration

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.

As ACS staff prepares for our 2026 National Convention in Washington, DC, we invite you to revisit two highlights of our 2024 convention for a little inspiration and encourage you to join us for this year's event if you are able. Judge Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.) and then-New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin delivered remarks on the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, the role attorneys and law students can play as social engineers, and being a hero for democracy.

Join the Progressive Legal Movement Today: ACSLaw.org

Host: Lindsay Langholz, Vice President of Policy and Program

Guest: Hon. Carlton Reeves, District Judge, Southern District of Mississippi; Chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission

Guest: Matt Platkin, 62nd Attorney General of New Jersey; Partner, Platkin LLP

Link: Register Here for ACS's 2026 National Convention

Visit the Podcast Website: Broken Law Podcast

Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org

Follow ACS on Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | LinkedIn | YouTube

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Broken Law: About the law, who it serves, and who it doesn’t.
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Production House: Flint Stone Media

Copyright of American Constitution Society 2025.