What the law just changed —
and what it means for you.

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The Docket explains US law news, plainly

When the Supreme Court rules on something, or a new state or federal law takes effect, we say what it actually says, who it covers, and when it starts — in plain English, checked against the opinion or the statute itself. That is all this is: news and education, not legal advice. We are not lawyers, this is not a law firm, and nothing here is advice about your situation.

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Plain-English guides to what changed

Everything The Docket has built, in one place. Sourced, dated, and clearly marked: news and education, not legal advice.

Guides you can read or download today

Plain-English guides, printable, each sourced to the rule it stands on.

Featured · free web edition

Summer 2026 Consumer Rights Cheat Sheet — Airline Refunds + Subscription Cancellation

What you are legally owed when a flight is cancelled or a bag is lost, plus the exact wording to cancel a subscription that fights back, sourced to the federal rule.

PDF (letter-size, printable) — also published free as a web page

$7 launch / $9 regular · free web edition live

Read the free web edition

Digital download

What Just Changed in the Law — Plain-English Roundup of New State and Federal Rules

The state and federal rules that just changed, each in plain English with its effective date and source, reissued as a Current Edition when the rules move.

PDF (letter-size, printable)

$9

Get the July 2026 New State Laws Cheat Sheet ($9)

Guide + tool

The Consumer Rights Letter Kit — 12 Letters That Get Answered

Twelve fill-in letters — deposit, repair, unordered merchandise, undelivered order, doorstep cancellation, warranty, subscription, data deletion, records, pre-small-claims — each printed beside the statute it stands on, plus what they will say back.

PDF pack + a self-contained web letter-builder tool

$12

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Digital download

The Debt Collector Rulebook — What Federal Law Actually Lets Them Do

Plain-English walkthrough of what a debt collector may and may not do under federal law, and what to do when they cross the line.

PDF (letter-size, printable)

$14

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Digital download

The Supreme Court Opinion Decoder — Read Any Ruling Yourself

How to open a real Supreme Court opinion and find the holding, the split, and the part that actually affects you, without a law degree.

PDF (letter-size, printable)

$12

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Visual guide

The Courtroom Explained

A visual guide to who is who in a courtroom and what each step of a case actually is.

PDF (two editions built: v1 and 2.0) + HTML source

$6.99

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Visual guide

The 2025 Supreme Court Term Explained — 8 Rulings That Change Your Life

Eight decided rulings from the term, each as holding plus practical effect, in a designed print-ready guide with sources listed.

Self-contained, print-ready HTML guide (letter kit)

$14 launch / $19 regular

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Visual guide

Your Right to Repair 2026 — State-by-State Visual Guide

Which states give you a right to repair your own devices, what each law covers, and a script for requesting parts and manuals from a manufacturer.

Self-contained, print-ready HTML guide (rulebook)

$9 launch / $12 regular

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Visual guide

Delete Your Data 2026 — Privacy Rights & Opt-Out Playbook

State privacy rights explained plainly, plus a Delete My Data request template you can send.

Self-contained, print-ready HTML guide (decoder)

$9 launch / $12 regular

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

Infographic poster

The 2026 New-Laws Map — What Changed, and Where

One designed infographic showing which laws changed in which states in the 2026 cycle, delivered as a print PNG and a scalable SVG.

Infographic poster (PNG + SVG + HTML)

$19 launch / $24 regular

Finished — not yet listed for sale on this site

In the works

Know Your State's New Laws — annual guide

A plain-English annual guide to what changed in your state. It ships only when it clears the same accuracy bar as everything else here — no sooner.

Coming soon — follow the channel for the release

Free reading

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Watch

Short plain-English breakdowns. These are cut and ready; they go live on the channel once approved. We do not link individual videos here unless we have verified the URL — everything below is on the channel.

Watch all of it on the channel →

Every guide, article and video above carries the same standing line: this is general news and education, not legal advice.

Questions people actually ask

Consumer-rights questions, answered with the citation

Short answers, each sourced to the statute or regulation it comes from and verified against that text on August 7, 2026. This is general news and education, not legal advice; consult a licensed attorney for your situation.

What Qualifies as Debt Collector Harassment Under the Law?

15 U.S.C. § 1692d prohibits threats of violence, obscene or abusive language, publishing lists of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay, and calling repeatedly with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass. Regulation F adds a countable presumption at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)(i). Lying about the debt is separately barred by § 1692e, and collecting fees not authorized by the agreement or by law by § 1692f.

What Is the 7-in-7 Rule for Debt Collectors?

It is the call-frequency presumption at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)(i): more than seven calls within seven consecutive days about a particular debt — or a call within seven days of a conversation about that debt — is presumed to violate the harassment prohibition. The count is per debt, not per person. The full rule, with its edges.

Can I Tell a Debt Collector to Stop Calling?

Yes, in writing. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), once you notify a collector in writing that you refuse to pay or want contact stopped, it must stop — except to tell you collection efforts are ending or to state that it may or will invoke a specific remedy. Know the trade-off: stopping contact does not cancel the debt or stop a lawsuit.

How Long Does a Landlord Have to Return My Security Deposit?

Your state sets it. In five verified states: California 21 days with an itemized statement (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5); New York 14 days (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108); Florida 15 days to return or 30 days to give written notice of a claim (Fla. Stat. § 83.49); Texas 30 days after surrender (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.103); Illinois 30 days to itemize and 45 for the balance (765 ILCS 710/1). The verified-states table.

What Deductions Can a Landlord Make From My Security Deposit?

The categories are set by statute, not by the lease. California's list at Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5(b) is representative: unpaid rent, repair of damages caused by the tenant exceeding ordinary wear and tear, and cleaning to return the unit to the level of cleanliness it had at the inception of the tenancy. Ordinary deterioration sits outside those categories.

What Is the Penalty if a Landlord Wrongfully Keeps My Deposit?

In Texas, bad-faith retention makes a landlord liable for $100 plus three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus attorney's fees (Tex. Prop. Code § 92.109). In Illinois, bad-faith refusal costs twice the deposit plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees (765 ILCS 710/1(c)). In New York, missing the 14-day deadline forfeits the right to retain any part of the deposit (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108).

Five verified states only — read your own state's section before relying on any table. General news and education, not legal advice.