Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

As of this morning, the remnants of Tropical Storm Dolly are moving westward across the Caribbean. They are bringing rain showers and thunderstorms to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and parts of the northern Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. But that’s about it for Dolly. I know so many of you had high hopes for her path. But the NHC says redevelopment is unlikely over the next day or two as Dolly’s remnants continue to spread some rain.

I suppose the title for this piece is a purely rhetorical question at this point. But the Court’s inability to tell Trump no may end up being the most concerning feature of his two terms in office. It’s as if the Justices, or five to seven of them, depending on the case, can’t summon a collective recollection of the constitutional system of checks and balances that is the foundation for the legal system they sit at the apex of.

What to expect from the Supreme Court: The Court could issue a decision in the White House ballroom case any time now, after Chief Justice Roberts issued an administrative stay last Friday that let Trump keep working.

Here’s the highlight reel of last week’s posts and events. It was a particularly eventful week, and there’s one piece in particular that you’ll want to read now if you haven’t already. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to catch up on anything you missed—links to all of last week’s columns below.

This has been one of those weeks when it's been difficult to cover all the important developments at the intersection of law and politics. I invited California Attorney General Rob Bonta to join us today so we could catch up on: The landmark settlement state attorneys general reached with Meta to take steps to protect minors across its platforms. AG Bonta explains what prompted Meta to settle the case mid-trial.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been keeping us up to speed on legal developments as state attorneys general try to provide a check and balance on the president that wouldn’t exist without them. I’m grateful that he’s able to join us today, Saturday, to catch us up on three major developments this week.

Wherever you live, you probably have a trusted meteorologist you rely on when extreme weather hits. That’s especially true in parts of the country prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, heat waves, floods, and other severe weather. And For some folks in Florida, that meteorologist is award-winning John Morales. Morales went viral last year for his plain-spoken warnings and has tried to continue spreading science, despite all the misinformation about climate and weather.

As a friend wrote to me this morning, “I need a break.” On top of everything else, I’ve been working you overtime, writing about the legal challenges to Trump’s executive order on voting, along with everything else. We’ve talked not just about standing, but about ripeness. We’ve discussed the legal standard for getting an injunction and the distinction between a court that rules on purely procedural grounds and one that decides the substance of the matter before it.

On September 2, 2025, as Trump continued to deploy National Guard troops in American cities and openly blustered about militarizing American streets, I wrote an explainer about the law prohibiting federal troops from being stationed at the polls. When Trump first sent Marines and National Guardsmen into California, we caught the subtext. He was testing the waters. He wanted to see how much he could get away with.

I’m giving us all a much-deserved night off. We'll have plenty to discuss in the days ahead. For tonight, I’ll just share this picture from one of my happy places. See you tomorrow! We’re in this together, Joyce Share