Joyce White Vance

Public outcry pushed DOJ to investigate the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota. But can we trust the outcome? @preetbharara.bsky.social and I discuss on a new episode of @cafedotcom.bsky.social Insider. Listen: cafe.visitlink.me/5S-Wgd

Wow. 'Hold me in contempt, Judge, so I can get some sleep,' says DOJ attorney defending its unconstitutional detentions. "The system sucks. I hate my job." Saving this post for the #ICETribunal, 'just-doing-my-job good soldier' edition.

Today In Court What a prosecutor in Minnesota said

A young prosecutor tells a judge what’s really going on joycevance.substack.com/p/today-in-c...

*not doing. Sorry about that.

Bill Clinton testified under oath about Monica Lewinsky. He will now testify under oath about Epstein. There is no excuse for Donald Trump doing that too. Either you want to learn the truth about Epstein’s crimes & who else was involved or you don’t.

Epstein Files: “Some suggested the Clintons ‘caved’ to Congress’ demands. More likely they’ve set a precedent that requires people with far stronger linkage to Epstein—& their wives—to testify. If they don’t, the GOP-led investigation in Congress will face claims that it’s trying to hide the truth”

Today was one of those days where it was difficult to keep up with everything of significance that happened. Here’s a little help that should get you up to speed on at least some of it. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

DOJ is apparently taking all this time & violating the Transparency Act deadline in order to protect criminals, not the victims.

"It's too classified for Congress."

Elected officials don't have to have a security clearance because the People have decided that there is nothing "too classified" for them to know. There's a SCIF at The Capitol.

Opinion | We Were Top Homeland Security Lawyers. You Can’t Wish Away the Fourth Amendment.

Former DHS top lawyers for Dem & GOP admins agree: no judicial warrant, no entry. “Attempting to tarnish department attorneys as “deep state” operatives for giving legal advice that is faithful to the Constitution is not only offensive but also dangerous.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/o...

The Week Ahead February 1, 2026

The Judge who ordered the release of five-year-old Liam wrote quite an opinion. Come read it with me.
open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

If you liked reading the judge’s opinion with me in my newsletter, I do that kind of thing frequently & you can subscribe for free. Joycevance.substack.com

The Government Published Dozens of Nude Photos in the Epstein Files

“The Justice Department published dozens of unredacted nude images on its website, showing young women or possibly teenagers whose photos were contained in files related to the wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...

The Week Ahead February 1, 2026

The Judge who ordered the release of five-year-old Liam wrote quite an opinion. Come read it with me.
open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

The Sunday Morning Wrap-Up This past week has been the kind of week that I write the newsletter for.

All the Civil Discourse columns from the past week, collected in one place so you can get caught up if you missed anything. joycevance.substack.com/p/the-sunday...

If They Call Me A Domestic Terrorist This morning, I stumbled across an amazing poem by a wonderful man named Michael F.

Sharing this amazing poem with the kind permission of the author. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

Judge orders release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and father from ICE detention center A photo of Ramos wearing a bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack as he was being detained went viral, sparking national criticism.

“U.S. District Judge Fred Biery excoriated the federal government, saying the case ‘has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.’” www.ms.now/news/liam-ra...

The Law of the Chicken of the Sea Podcast Episode · #SistersInLaw · 01/31/2026 · 1h 20m

New episode of the #SistersInLaw Podcast out now! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Judge Menendez denies Minnesota plaintiffs’ request to end Operation Metro Surge because they don’t meet the high bar set by the 10th Amendment, but she also points to what she doesn’t decide, including the legality of what ICE is doing on the ground.

DM me? We used to get hundreds of highly qualified applicants for a single job posting. Good prosecutors are increasingly hesitant to work for this DOJ.

Why Indict Don Lemon? Don Lemon was taken into custody Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.

It’s not about convicting Don Lemon. That’s very unlikely on these facts and given the legal charges DOJ brought. So what’s it all about? Read about that here: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

2/ Here's one possibility: They'll "investigate" & let the public temperature on this go down. Then they'll find Pretti was, in Trump's words, an insurrectionist & the shooting was justified. That's not true, but they won't care & they control the timing & the investigation.

1/ Sure DOJ has opened an investigation into Alex Pretti's homicide. But not Renee Good's. What's the difference? There's no logical reason to investigate one but not the other. So what's going on?

Have you seen our newest feature on the #SistersInLaw podcast? Every week, we're answering more of your questions in the new Sisters' Sidebar. What questions do you have for us today? Drop them in the comments and we'll get to as many as we can.

This isn’t about convicting Don Lemon. It’s unlikely that will happen. It’s about intimidating journalists & making them censure themselves out of fear of consequences. It’s about eroding the free press because the administration can’t afford the criticism.

Today Fulton County, Tomorrow??? On Wednesday, the FBI executed a search warrant on the Fulton County, Georgia, Elections Operation Center.

The Fulton County search warrant & its implications for the 2026 & future elections is critically important news & not getting the coverage it merits. Read my most recent piece to get the download & understand why this is such a significant development. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

Maybe DOJ should focus on the law it’s violating, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, instead of speculating a crime might have been committed (despite multiple ballot recounts) in Fulton County or declining to investigate two homicides in Minneapolis?

Rand Paul: "After seeing this, if you call this a good shooting you aren't watching the video. This was a real tragedy and a mistake. The man had been disarmed and then shot 10 times ... if we say things that are obviously not true, the situation is going to get worse."

Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Blocks Spending Bill Amid D.H.S. Funding Fight

For Renee & Alex & everyone whose rights ICE has & continues to violate: Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a spending package needed to keep the government open past a Friday midnight deadline
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Minnesota and Elsewhere Today, more from Judge Schlitz in Minnesota.

At this point, the predominant emotion so many of us are feeling is anger. Anger that people are being treated like this. Anger that our government is doing it. Anger that it’s doing it with our tax dollars. joycevance.substack.com/p/minnesota-...