UnCommon Law

mschwartz@bloombergindustry.com

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SPECIAL: Justice Stephen Breyer on Trump, the Rule of Law, and Whether the Supreme Court is Political

July 01, 2026

In this special episode of UnCommon Law, former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer sits down with Bloomberg Law's Matthew S. Schwartz to discuss the Court, executive power, Dobbs, judicial independence, and the rule of law. Reflecting on nearly three decades on the bench — and the perennial question of whether politics shapes when justices choose to retire — he explains how justices make decisions, and why preserving public trust in the Supreme Court and the Constitution is essential, even ...

How the DOJ Decides Who Gets Charged and Who Doesn't in America

June 18, 2026

How does the Justice Department decide who gets charged with a crime and who doesn't? In the post-Watergate era, the Justice Department developed policies and institutional safeguards intended to separate political considerations from prosecutorial decisions: typically career attorneys delve into the law and investigate the facts, evaluate the evidence needed to secure a conviction, and recommend whether a case should move forward. However, Trump administration critics say that process is u...

Justice Transformed: When DOJ Norms Disappear

May 06, 2026

When Robert Jackson stood in the Great Hall of the Justice Department in 1940 and told the country's federal prosecutors that they held more power over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America, he was not describing a rule written into law. He was describing a creed. For the better part of a century, attorneys general from both parties invoked Jackson's words as a kind of shared oath. The principle was simple: no fear or favor, just the law. The catch was that almost no...