Bad Law by Elie Mystal is a bold, thought-provoking read that takes a critical look at some of the most influential laws shaping America today. Mystal does an excellent job breaking down complex legal concepts in a way that’s accessible and engaging. His sharp wit and unapologetic tone make for a compelling read that challenges readers to think about the flaws in the legal system. Each chapter tackles a different law, unpacking its impact on society and why it’s doing more harm than good. What I really appreciated was Mystal’s ability to blend humor with serious analysis, making even the most complex topics interesting. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in law, politics, or social justice, as it shines a light on some of the deep-rooted issues that often go unchallenged. Bad Law isn’t just an informative read—it’s a call to action. If you want a book that makes you think and sparks conversation, this one’s for you. 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Bad Law, Mystal critiques the state of America’s democracy (if you can call it that) and explores the important hot topics of immigration, voting rights, abortion, neoliberalism, the criminal justice system and religious freedom, among others. In doing so, he highlights which laws have enabled the white male ruling class to turn the US government into a tool for subjugation and reflection of archaic Christian ideology.

Being an Australian who is not well versed in US laws did not prevent me from being fully involved in this book. Mystal uses accessible and clear language to explain the laws and concepts and then critiques them with wickedly irreverent humour that had me genuinely laughing out loud at times.

As with any work of critical nonfiction, the book is infused with the author’s biases. However, it was incredibly refreshing that Mystal did not feign neutrality and was upfront about how his experience and identity informed his opinions. This allowed for a transparent and informed reading experience that I wish was more common in this genre.

The only major downfall about this book is that the people who need to read it most are unlikely to ever pick it up.

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Elie's on-the-ground legal experience gives him deep knowledge of his subject that goes well beyond the theoretical understanding I find in other sources. He speaks about a system of broken laws with a wry and often impatient tone that jumps off the page and compels me to keep turning the page.

4.75/5 rounded up - Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I was intrigued by this book frankly because of the author's twitter account, in which he is always coming in with smart, thoughtful, biting, and hilarious takes on social justice and our political system. I was hoping this book would have all of that clear-cutting logic combined with wit and humor and boy did it deliver. The introduction is one of the best introductions that I've ever read, because it gives us a succinct portrait of who the author is, the exact perspective he is coming from when writing this, and who his audience is:

"If you are new here, hello. My name is Elie Mystal. I'm no longer a lawyer, but I play one on TV. I'm also a columnist and author. I talk and write because I'm not good at marching and fighting. I approach law from the perspective of activism and advocacy, which is an intellectually acceptable way to say I'm biased as fuck."..."Obviously, I think my biases are righteous and other people's biases are misguided, but its important to understand when reading me that I'm not trying to convince other people. You can read many books that try to appeal and persuade people on 'both sides' of an issue, but that is not my mission."

So if you read the introduction and its not for you, I would not read further. In fact if you read the table of contents and feel yourself getting defensive, this book is not for you. Chapter titles include but are not limited to "Why isn't everyone registered to vote?...Why do we incarcerate so many people?...Why do we give White guys a license to kill Black people?...How did they fit the federal budget inside people's wombs?...Why can't we say gay?". However, if these chapters address issues that you think about a lot, that cause you a great deal of pain, that you spend much of your time worrying about and feel helpless to change, then I think you will enjoy this book immensely. Because each chapter outlines a single law - what it actually says, how it came to be, the historical context and motivations for its creation, the consequences resulting from it, and how the singular action of repealing it would cause a great deal of structural change. In a system that feels so impossibly complicated and overbearing, it is refreshing and motivating to understand how pushing for a single action on a single issue in the form of a repeal can cause the change we are hoping for. Not to say that repealing laws is easy, the author explains exactly why and how it is so difficult in each case, but it is a clear, possible path, that cuts through the chaos and helplessness (at least in my mind).

While fully explaining his bias, the author sets up the no-nonsense tone of the book by also not leaving anyone safe. He is on HIS side, which doesn't mean one political party is always good. Everyone can be at fault. There is no objective ultimate truth or goodness, only the rules that imperfect people have set up. Again this is set up immediately in the introduction:

"The law is not a set of objective rules. It's an amalgam of our subjective choices....Our choices have ben shitty. That's because, for the most part, 'we' do not get to participate in the choosing of our laws. Not all of us, not in this country. America is a place where we specifically prohibited Black people and women from participating in the decisions about which laws we'd have for nearly two hundred years."

I also cannot emphasize enough how much I learned from this book about just basic civics and legal terms. Its a little embarrassing how much I didn't know, and how these definitions and details are absolutely crucial to how these laws are set up and carried out. For example, he discusses in the second chapter that most of U.S. Immigration law falls under civil law, that deportation is a civil penalty, and because it is under civil law, violations leading to deportation do not receive the same legal protections we think of being assumed in criminal law such as due process and access to a lawyer. He then goes on to explain that some immigration offenses ARE criminal violations, illegal entry and illegal reentry, and that those are very different things. In chapter 4 he uses airline regulation to discuss the concept of neoliberalism and why it appealed to so many democratic leaning folks at the time but often ended up serving a conservative agenda. Another example is in chapter 6 where he discusses the felony murder law and how the way that it is worded and applied allows for a felony murder charge when there is no murderous intent (instead of manslaughter which is the usual charge when someone dies but there was no intent). This is maybe revealing more about my ignorance than telling you about the book, but hopefully its giving you some sense of the kind of information discussed.

The epilogue again is so well-crafted and mirrors the introduction and the main thesis of the book: "Every law in this book can be repealed by an act of Congress or an act of state legislatures. Every bad law can be replaced by a good one. Nothing is written in stone. Our world is not inevitable."

And then he just hits with an absolute stunner out of nowhere "The United States has the least representative democracy among the wealthy nations of the world. Thats not a vibe, its a fact. Each member of the U.S. House of Representatives (our most local member of the national government) represents on average 760,000 people. The next least representative government after us is Japan, where each proportionally representative member of the Japanese Shugiin (Japan's equivalent of our lower house) is responsible for an average of 270,000 people." And then goes on to explain much more about that.

So yes I found it super eye-opening, engaging, and funny. If you are more versed in legalese this may be basic but I think the tone and quips will still make it entertaining. The only negative thing I have to say is that it could have been a bit longer and more fleshed out. It went really fast through some of the concepts in certain chapters and I'm having a hard time remembering them because I don't think I fully understood in the first place. That's not really the book's fault of course. Anyway, I will be definitely going back to read the author's first book and look forward to any future works!

As a European law student, it's fascinating to explore the intricacies of the U.S. common law system and how deeply it is entrenched in societal inequalities. The way it has been used to perpetuate systems of oppression is particularly eye-opening, especially in light of events like the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the threat to other crucial laws under the current administration. Elie Mystal’s Bad Law is an unflinching exploration of the ten most damaging laws in America, where he exposes their harmful effects on everyday people and argues for their repeal. With his signature blend of sharp legal insight and unapologetic humor, Mystal takes on issues like voting rights, abortion, immigration, and more, breaking them down with precision and clarity.

What sets Bad Law apart is not just its in-depth legal analysis, but also Mystal’s commitment to making complex legal concepts accessible and engaging. His witty, often irreverent tone keeps the material from feeling overly dense, making it approachable without sacrificing substance. Mystal delves into the historical and political underpinnings of each law, showing how they were created to serve the interests of the powerful, rather than the people. The result is a book that doesn’t just critique the legal system—it calls for meaningful change, urging readers to question the supposed sanctity of laws that perpetuate inequality.

Ultimately, Bad Law is both a powerful critique and a call to action. Mystal emphasizes the need for reform, pointing out that as long as these laws remain intact, they will continue to shape the nation’s future in ways that harm the most vulnerable. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the legal mechanisms that sustain injustice and is determined to see them undone.

This should be required reading for every voter in America, and, more importantly, every politician in America. One by one, Mystal goes through the ten worst popular laws, expxlains what they were supposed to do, what they actually do, why they are so awful, and what to do about them. But it isn't until the epilogue that he reaches what I considered the most important point: that among large representative government, we are the *least* representative, and how and why this almost guarantees bad laws remaining on the books. Highly recommended.

Elie Mystal is right about everything! People tend to conflate legality with morality, and Mystal points out how some laws are bad and what we can do about it when the legal system doesn't work for the people like it is supposed to.

An informative book, definitely important to read in 2025. I really appreciate the acknowledgement that readers may have supported the laws written about and that it is alright, what really matters is being open to learn. I don’t love books with clear bias, but I do respect that the author is very upfront about said bias.

Bad Law is a sharp, insightful, and, at moments, unapologetically candid examination of the U.S. legal system. It exposes its many flaws and biases while offering a critique of the ways it serves the interests of the powerful rather than the general public.

The book tackles issues such as racial injustice, the power dynamics at play in legal decision-making, and the often-unseen ways in which the system perpetuates inequality. The author's style is direct, engaging, and often humorous, making a topic that could be dense and inaccessible to many feel both understandable and urgent.

The central idea is that much of American law, particularly in the realms of constitutional interpretation and court rulings, is fundamentally “bad” in the sense that it consistently reinforces existing power structures. The book challenges the myth of “neutral” law, arguing instead that the law often upholds oppressive systems, from policing practices to corporate power. The legal system is not an impartial arbiter but a mechanism that sustains and legitimizes injustice.

Mystal’s ability to explain complex legal concepts and cases in a manner that is accessible to the general reader is a key strength. He uses real-world examples, historical context, and clear analysis to break down how the law functions in practice and how it can be used (and misused) by those in positions of power.

At its core, Bad Law is not just a critique but a call to action. He urges readers to reconsider the law’s supposed sanctity and to advocate for reform that genuinely upholds justice, equity, and fairness. His writing urges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the American legal system and to demand a system that works for everyone—not just the privileged few.

Overall, the book is compelling and timely as critique of the American legal system that is likely to resonate with those interested in social justice, civil rights, and legal reform.

“The people who pass bad laws need us to be uninformed. The ignorance of the electorate is their greatest weapon. Knowledge is their kryptonite.”

Elie Mystal is not trying to convince the other side of anything at all in this book about the most harmful laws in the United States and how we can repeal them. This book isn’t for the people who voted for Trump and his minions, because these very laws were put in place intentionally by them and their sympathizers to do exactly what they set forth to do. The intent of Elie’s book is to call these laws out, to inform those of us who actually want a real representative democracy for the first time since the birth of the nation, and to give us a road map for what needs to be done to accomplish it.

I am one of those people who reads stacks and stacks of political science and history books for fun, but I learned so much from this book that I thought I was going to break my KIndle highlighting as much as I did. The tone is conversational and irreverent, never condescending or unapproachable, and very frequently righteously indignant and raucously profane. If you don’t like F-bombs, this book won’t be for you. That’s too bad, though, because the amount of knowledge contained in these pages should be required for all voters everywhere.

On the eve of the anniversary of January 6th, imagine my surprise when I read the words, “How then does the Right arise in the Majority to govern the Minority against their will?” John Adams believed that if the minorities (back then the poor and the slaves and women) ignored their “obligation to obey,” that the “powerful white men simply won’t submit to the authority of the government if that government is based on the majority rule of all the people in the country or in a state. He’s saying, straight out, that wealthy whites will reject democracy if democracy does not produce the outcomes desired by the rich and powerful.” This passage stopped me in my tracks. As the “broligarchy” is about to take over the country, the prescience of this book stands supreme. It’s important, it’s gutting, and it’s fiercely defiant. I couldn’t put it down and will be ordering his previous book, “Allow Me to Retort,” immediately.

Thank you, Net Galley, for this Advance Reader Copy.

I really enjoyed this book. As an AP Government teacher with an undergraduate degree in Political Science it was right up my alley. It read very quickly with just enough political information to not bore the average reader but enough to allow me to laugh out loud at certain points. I would love to recommend this book to all readers but I fear this book won’t make it into the hands of the people that need it the most. The author does not hold back on his opinions, which I appreciate. He attacks both sides of the aisle in order to make his points about bad laws.

This book will sit with me for a while and I truly hope those in power will take note and begin the process for change. Our country will never advance if we do not allow for change. Our constitution was not meant to be an unchanging document, for it to only change 17 times since its ratification is unheard of for many democratic governments around the globe.

This was the first book I read from this author but I am immediately going to purchase his other book. The honesty that he provides in his work is much needed and I would highly recommend reading.

Elie Mystal does a fantastic job in writing this type of book, it had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall concept of this book. It had that legal element that I was looking for and was interested in the humor from the book. It had that research behind it and was informative and fun.

Elie Mystal, Bad Law Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, The New Press, March 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Elie Mystal does not disappoint in this fiercely passionate, but so cleverly analytical, exposure of the inherent inequality espoused in the ten laws he addresses in this volume. Some of Mystal’s language, as for the first of his books I read, Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution could possibly offend. But, how on earth can his language be more offensive than the laws he opens to scrutiny? Let us try to be fair at least in this small contribution to fairness amongst the appalling unfairness Mystal exposes and read with as open a mind as possible. There is plenty to offend, and it is certainly not Mystal and his arguments. He asserts that the facts he presents are correct – he has no problem with having a fact checker! He also acknowledges that this being so, that a reader who disagrees is doing so because of the conclusions he draws from the facts. Although this statement is made in the acknowledgements, I believe it is imperative that it forms part of this review and underpins the reading of this book.

The laws Mystal writes about are related to voting, immigration, airline deregulation, incarceration, shootings in America and arms dealers, the U.S. Capitol attack, murders of Black people, the Second Amendment, abortion, homosexuality, and the influence of religion on laws. In the epilogue he sets out how to deal with the laws that he has effectively argued are ‘bad laws.’ The extensive notes are valuable.

Mystal suggests that readers could question the inclusion of airline deregulation after the horrendous accounts of the impact of the laws governing voting and immigration. However, his explanation for including airline deregulation adds weight to understanding Mystal’s concerns. The background this deregulation provides so much information about the thinking that went into the process, from the perspectives of the political parties’ roles to the political ideology that is the foundation for such deregulation.
I was particularly impressed with Mystal’s criticism of the proposal that bad laws, judgements based in inequality and questionable moral behaviour can be excused as ‘being of their time.’ He correctly suggests that commentators who use this excuse should consider what was happening at the time. Were there no alternative views? No questioning of the inequalities in proposed legalisation? No moral ambiguity about the behaviour? Did every contribution to the debate support the bad laws Mystal exposes? Mystal makes such a valid point here – one that should make us question the ‘of their time’ an argument.

The last point is one of the reasons I find Mystal’s work engrossing. Perhaps it is not necessary to agree with every point he makes. But it certainly is worth coming to grips with these points. “Bad Law Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America” is an overwhelming work. While the exposure of bad laws and why they have been developed makes for difficult reading, this is trivial when compared with how the laws impact and the injustices exposed. Thank you, Elie Mystal, for getting the interrogation started.

Thank you, The New Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, by Elie Mystal.

This book will be released on March 25, 2025. It is my second book that I have read by this author. I previously gave Allow Me To Retort an A+ in 2022.

There are so many great points that the author makes and so much material in this book that I’ve decided to go chapter by chapter on his 10 laws (OK, 9 laws plus one constitutional amendment).

Mystal starts with how voter registration laws are a form of voter suppression. He goes into history of voting and explains that John Adams, among others, wanted to restrict voting the “right people” (aka rich white men) and registration is just a modern day way to attempting to limit voting rights. He then tackles immigration in the next chapter on our immigration laws.

After that, we get a discussion of neoliberalism (or, as the author correctly points out, Democrats acting like Republicans) and deregulation—using the airline industry as his example. He then moves on to criminal law. At first, it appears the chapter will be about the 1994 Crime Bill, which while bad, wasn’t the worst federal criminal law on the books. Mystal says “The best way to think about the bill is as the capstone to a decade-long project of criminalizing Blackness and locking up Black youths for the titillation and applause of white voters.” But, instead, the focus is on Reagan’s 1984 crime bill (the Armed Career Criminal Act) and other criminal laws.

We then get a chapter of giving liability immunity to gun manufacturers. Then comes felony murder statutes. For those smart enough not to go to law school, that means charging someone with murder even though they didn’t intend to kill someone while they were committing a different crime. We then move up to the Castle Doctrine, which allows one to kill trespassers even though they presented no threat to them. And when you look at how the law is actually implemented, it means it allows whites to kill blacks who accidentally trespass onto their land without presenting any harm. The same chapter also covers Stand Your Ground laws, which extends that doctrine to anywhere in which a white person feels as if they are threatened by the presence of a black person.

There are also chapters on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal money from being used for abortions. That would be the easiest to repeal, since it is an annual provision in the budget and would just need to have that line deleted.Then there is coverage of “Don’t Say Gay” laws. The book concludes with the RFRA, which “has become the biggest tool in the shed of Christian fundamentalists looking to force their God down other people’s throats. It has perverted the free exercise clause from a shield for the oppressed into a weapon of the oppressors.”



There are so many great arguments in this book. I give it a well-deserved A+ and induct it into the Hall of Fame.

I hope that it will also come out in audiobook version, so I can also listen to it.

Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on December 10, 2024.