Seamus Hughes

Editor, Court Watch. Academic at NCITE. I read a lot of court records because I like a good story. Won a Pulitzer that one time. “A well-known PACER watcher” - DOJ

Weekly Roundup

Jul 31, 2026

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5 min read

#185: A Quarter-Life Crisis for a Court

Being the oldest court in judicial kindergarten is confusing. Plus: DoD defamation lawsuit, DOJ settling over water, Wilmer Hale breach, and shotgun complaints.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

First Alien Terrorist Removal Court Case Revealed

Jul 29, 2026

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1 min read

First Alien Terrorist Removal Court Case Revealed

The Justice Department seeks to remove a Texas woman linked to ISIS plot.

Seamus Hughes

The Rabbit Hole

Jul 26, 2026

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15 min read

The Rabbit Hole: The Rip Van Winkle Court

Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. We dive into DOJ’s awakening of a controversial court.

Peter Beck, +1

Weekly Roundup

#184: An Outbreak of Cyclospora Lawsuits

Jul 24, 2026

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5 min read

#184: An Outbreak of Cyclospora Lawsuits

The FDA may not know the source, but ambulance chasers do. Plus: Post Office Melee, Fake Cop, and a 500 billion dollar lawsuit.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Alien Terrorist Removal Court Has Its First Case

Jul 18, 2026

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1 min read

Alien Terrorist Removal Court Has Its First Case

Created in 1996, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court has never reviewed an application. Until now

Seamus Hughes

Weekly Roundup

#183: Bribing an Immigration Official With A Bottle of Patron.

Jul 17, 2026

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5 min read

#183: Bribing an Immigration Official With A Bottle of Patron.

Come on, it’s not even añejo. Plus: Flock threats, Trump Genius, K-Pop’s nationwide injunction, and DOJ supports court transparency

Seamus Hughes, +1

The Rabbit Hole

Jul 12, 2026

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9 min read

The Rabbit Hole: All the Court’s a Stage

Welcome to the era of performative lawsuits.

Peter Beck, +1

Weekly Roundup

Jul 10, 2026

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5 min read

#182: Can You Really Own a Meme?

Chicken companies fight over ‘6 7’. Plus: Tennis Power Struggle, Repeat Stowaway, WSJ lawsuit, and is DOGE actually dead?

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

#181: ‘An exercise of Kafkaesque futility’

Jun 26, 2026

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6 min read

#181: ‘An exercise of Kafkaesque futility’

We just wanted to look at a document. Plus: Waffle House Antics, Trump Coin, Would Be Pulse Night Club Copycat.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

#180: Prediction Market Didn’t Predict This Lawsuit

Jun 19, 2026

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5 min read

#180: Prediction Market Didn’t Predict This Lawsuit

Chicago bankers are angry, and we give them good odds to cover the lawsuit spread. Plus: Denaturalization cases on the rise, recusals, the fear of god and... daddybiden?

Peter Beck, +1

The Rabbit Hole

Jun 14, 2026

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12 min read

The Rabbit Hole: Freeing the Courts

New legislation offers the possibility of free and searchable access to court records. But there are other systemic issues within the judiciary that still hinder transparency

Peter Beck, +1

Weekly Roundup

#179: Congress Can Legally Say Horrible Things about You on Social Media

Jun 12, 2026

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5 min read

#179: Congress Can Legally Say Horrible Things about You on Social Media

With the help of the Trump Administration, a defamation lawsuit against an anti-Trump Congresswoman goes down. Plus: Judicially-ordered religious training cancelled, ISIS is in vogue again, NFT arrest, and the Post Office has a corruption problem.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

Jun 5, 2026

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5 min read

#178: Stop the (mint) Presses

A Pro Se Litigant Mostly Wins against DOJ. Plus: FIFA and Whales, Guns and JFK Airport, P. Diddy’s Lawyer Goes Venezuela, and a 77 year old discovers a new brother thanks to one federal judge.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

May 29, 2026

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5 min read

#177: CSI: Courts

In a misconduct investigation, they sent a judge’s couch cushion to the lab? Plus: Rihanna, Bolt cutting ICE handcuffs, AI screwups, and Latvian passports

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

May 22, 2026

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5 min read

#176: Moon Rocks and White Ethnostates

The U.S. Courts had a versatile week. Plus: Loomer Appeals, Lamborghinis Seized, Candace Owen-related subpoena, and a 400 Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

May 15, 2026

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6 min read

#175: Can You Trust Your Wife?

Prosecutors are quietly trying to limit marital communications privilege. Plus: Anthropic doesn’t cc the right military general. ISIS Trial Postponed. Candace Owens’ Folks May Be Dodging a Charlie Kirk Subpoena. Finally, Public Defenders are Adorably Petty.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Judge Orders ‘Known Suspected Terrorist’ Released

May 13, 2026

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3 min read

Judge Orders ‘Known Suspected Terrorist’ Released

Ahmadzai Ghafoor says he fled Afghanistan to escape Taliban retaliation. The government says he was once a “known suspected terrorist” and designated for a “high-profile removal” from the United States. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered him released.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

May 8, 2026

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5 min read

#174: Forrest Gumping the News

Like a beloved movie character who always gets himself into interesting historical moments, we’re as surprised as you are that we wandered into a Pulitzer. Plus: Epstein Suicide Note, Car Washing Threats, Reuters/WestLaw sued, and DOGE’s ChatGPT.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

#173: Are we quietly detaining a terrorist in Texas?

May 1, 2026

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5 min read

#173: Are we quietly detaining a terrorist in Texas?

Prosecutors will let a judge know today. Plus: Epstein suicide note, racist public defender, AUSA’s AI gets benchslapped, and tear gas is so back.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

#172: Did You Feed This Deposition Into ChatGPT?

Apr 24, 2026

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6 min read

#172: Did You Feed This Deposition Into ChatGPT?

Turns out using AI in real-time while getting disposed is not privileged. Who knew? Plus: Trump(s) settles, lawyer sanctioned, foreign coup, and CFTC comes back from the DOGE dead to collect a gambling bet.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

Apr 17, 2026

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6 min read

#171: SantaCON?

25,000 poorly dressed drunks in NYC may have gotten fleeced. Plus: DOJ Lawyer sanctioned, 438 pounds of explosives, and OpenAI is making up things about the attack against its CEO. And The Gang Updates Our Favorite Website.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

Apr 3, 2026

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14 min read

#170: The Opinion No One Wrote About

The Fourth Estate falls down on the job. Plus: BigLaw Tries to Delete News Story Link.

Seamus Hughes, +1

Weekly Roundup

Mar 27, 2026

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14 min read

#169: Us 🤝 Fifth Circuit

A scrappy news org influences the courts. Plus: Muslim Charity Sues Muslim Charity, Epstein Survivors Survive Legal Challenge, and Ric Grennell is Not Legally Defamed.

Peter Beck, +1

Mar 26, 2026

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4 min read

Be Our Algorithm.

We need you to vouch for us.

Seamus Hughes

The Rabbit Hole

Mar 22, 2026

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16 min read

The Rabbit Hole: Saints and Killers

A rising number of mass shootings can be traced back to a young and violent online community obsessed with death.

Peter Beck, +1