Is That Even Legal?

Send us Fan Mail Your license plate is not just a number, it is a key that can unlock a timeline of where you have been. We sit down with Robert Fromer, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, to unpack how automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) including Flock Safety camera networks collect vehicle data at scale, store it in searchable databases, and create opportunities for both error and abuse. From stalking scandals to misreads that end with innocent drivers pulled over at gunpoi...

Send us Fan Mail You can love your family and still leave them a legal mess. We sit down with attorney Eileen Spangrud to talk about the most common reason people avoid estate planning: it feels like inviting death into your calendar. Then we flip the frame. A will is not a superstition, it is a practical way to protect your spouse, your kids, and your future self with one clear set of instructions. We walk through how a straightforward will process works, including the kind of questionnaire...

Send us Fan Mail Business bankruptcies are rising, and it’s not just the big names making headlines. We’re seeing small businesses get squeezed by higher borrowing costs, inflation-driven expenses, and customers who simply aren’t spending the way they used to. When cash gets tight, owners often feel forced into quick-fix financing like merchant cash advances, and that can turn a temporary slowdown into crushing monthly debt service. We sit down with JoAnn Falgout, an experienced bankruptcy a...

Send us Fan Mail A beach looks simple until you ask one question that changes everything: where does private property end and public access begin? We sit down with Mark Massara, a “surf lawyer” who has spent decades inside California coastal law, land use fights, and environmental regulation. From the public trust doctrine to the mean high tide line, we break down why the shoreline is treated as a shared space and why attempts to rope off sand can trigger fast enforcement from the California ...

Send us Fan Mail Arizona’s housing growth just ran into a question that’s bigger than any one subdivision: who gets to change the rules for water, and how? We sit down with Phoenix water law attorney Michele Van Quatham to unpack a trial court ruling in Home Builders Association of Central Arizona v. Arizona Department of Water Resources, a case that turns on the 100-year assured water supply program and the power of agencies to shift policy without formal rulemaking. We walk through how a d...