Reflecting on four years of Law Dork

It's a difficult time, but I'm extremely grateful that so many of you trust me to be a part of helping you to understand what is happening.

The view of the Reflecting Pool and beyond on the National Mall from the base of the Lincoln Memorial on June 21, 2026.

The National Mall was not crowded on the first day of Summer 2026.

The three main — and overlapping — attractions at the Lincoln Memorial end of the Mall were the effort to prevent algae from retaking control of the Reflecting Pool, the varying law enforcement entities preventing whatever it is they’re allegedly preventing in service to President Donald Trump, and the small but dedicated group of “TEAM ALGAE” protesters.

The whole endeavor has been a painfully simple metaphor, a speed-run encapsulation of what happens with virtually every move in Trump’s second term: Unnecessary actions followed by embarrassing public failure — often raising questions of corruption — that spurs some sort of overreaction.

I walked down to the Reflecting Pool on Sunday to see it all for myself. I missed the high-algae days, but what remained was its own set of embarrassments.

I think seeing a member of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force spending his Sunday assigned to protecting the water from former Olympians and other similar people in order to keep Trump happy was probably the low point.

This was not how I would have liked to have spent this Sunday afternoon.

I doubt it’s how any of those involved wanted to spend this Sunday.

But, because this is where we are at, that is where I was at.

And so, being at the Reflecting Pool, I reflected.

Four years ago today, I launched Law Dork. This is how I opened that first post:

There will be news.

As we enter Summer 2022, that seems to be one of the few things that I’d be willing to bet on.

As the 6-3 conservative — and ever-more-reactionary five-justice majority — Supreme Court nears the end of its term and the January 6 Committee continues its hearings and the far right goes after drag queens (and continues to attack trans people), the coming months could be increasingly complicated at best and dangerous at worst for many people across the country.

I will be using this space to cover those developments and more.

But I need your help. I want to do this independently. I want to talk to the people who I think are essential to understanding what’s happening and tell you what I think matters and why. And I want to do so in a way that will allow this to become my job. That means I need subscribers and, ultimately, it means I need paid subscribers.

I think that opening note holds up quite well, both as to what was important to cover and as to what I have prioritized in my coverage — 862 posts at Law Dork over the past four years.

The past 17 months — the second Trump administration — have featured 343 of those posts, with a coverage focus on the Supreme Court, Trump and democracy, and the attack on transgender people and LGBTQ people more broadly.

It’s what I told you I was focused on on day one, and it’s where I’m focused now.

Of course, there has been, is, and will be much more that I cover here — and that is being covered elsewhere. I’ve spent significant time focused on the post-Roe landscape, immigration issues, and criminal justice and the death penalty. I imagine that other topics will come to the fore in year five of Law Dork as well.

It is a difficult time for countless people — and for the United States — but a remarkable number of people are working in and out of court trying to make things right. I am glad that so many of you trust me to be a part of helping you to understand what is happening in this moment.

I am so grateful that more than 80,000 people have subscribed to Law Dork and that enough of you have supported this work with a paid subscription to make this possible. As I rode the train to Baltimore earlier this month for a hearing on the Justice Department’s trans care subpoenas, as I went to the Supreme Court last week for opinions, as I walked to the Mall today, and countless other times in between, I have found myself full of gratitude that people have supported me doing this work and doing it independently.

As we head into the fifth year of Law Dork, I do want you to take a moment and make sure that you are supporting this work with a paid subscription if you can do so. I sincerely appreciate it, and I know that so many people who can’t afford to pay for Law Dork’s coverage but need it appreciate those who make this possible.

Aside from that, it’s going to be a busy week at the Supreme Court, with opinions expected both Tuesday and Wednesday. Twelve of the 13 cases I discussed last week remain outstanding — including those over birthright citizenship, presidential firing powers, and trans sports bans. In total, there are still 17 argued cases awaiting action, with 16 opinions expected in those cases.

There will be news, and I will be there.