What if your spouse has severe food allergies? You planned your trip to Disney World to find restaurants that prioritize patrons with such allergies. You asked your waiter several times, if your meal could be prepared without your allergens. Your waiter reassured you each time that it would be. When your food arrived without the labels marking them as safe, you expressed concern and the waiter again tells you that it is fine to eat. So you enjoy your meal. An hour later, your spouse drops to the ground struggling to breathe, and dies. You sue Disney and the company that owns the restaurant for negligence. Disney immediately moves to remove your suit from open court, to the shadows of forced arbitration, a private system of so-called justice that favors corporate defendants. Because you had signed up for the Disney + streaming service 4 years before, and had bought tickets to Disney World, and one of Disney’s lawyers was a former justice of the Florida Supreme Court, Disney had the law on its side.

This is just one scenario our guest, Brendan Ballou, cites in his latest book, WHEN COMPANIES RUN THE COURTS: HOW FORCED ARBITRATION BECAME AMERICA’S SECRET JUSTICE SYSTEM, published by Public Affairs. Perhaps you recall our 2023 interview with Brendan Ballou, when his earlier book, PLUNDER: PRIVATE EQUITY’S PLAN TO PILLAGE AMERICA, came out. https://forthright.media/2023/06/06/brendan-ballou-plunder-private-equitys-plan-to-pillage-america/

He served in the Department of Justice in the first Trump administration, and resigned because of Trump’s immigration bans. In the Biden administration, he was a Special Counsel for private equity at the DOJ’s Anti-trust Division, from 2020 – 2025. As a federal prosecutor, he prosecuted rioters, who had attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He also served in the National Security Division of the DOJ. So, he has a thorough knowledge of justice and injustice; how we got to this point; and what can be done.

We spoke with Brendan Ballou on June 22, 2026 via Zoom.

We end this edition of Forthright Radio with an analysis of the appeals prospects for the Texas anti-ICE Prairieland protestors, who were sentenced to between 30 and 100 years in prison.

Articles, etc. pertinent to this episode:

He Signed Away His Right to Sue by Subscribing to Disney+ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/opinion/arbitration.html?searchResultPosition=1

One Man Stole $660 Million. He’ll Never Pay It Back. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/opinion/corruption-trump-accountability.html?searchResultPosition=2

Why are US consumers so angry? It’s not just high prices https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/04/us-consumer-rage-prices-economy

US supreme court backs FCC in clash with wireless carriers over fines https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/04/verizon-att-supreme-court-decision

The States Should Override Trump’s Indefensible Pardons https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/opinion/trump-presidential-pardons.html

Exclusive: FBI Files Counter Government Argument in Texas “Antifa” Trial https://inthesetimes.com/article/prairieland-antifa-trial-protest-repression-fbi

Judge blocks defense attorneys from arguing Texas ICE shooting was justified https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article314874894.html read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article314874894.html#storylink=cpy

‘This is injustice’: how leftist zines were used to sentence anti-ICE protesters to decades in prison https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/24/prairieland-texas-ice-protests-zines

Claiming an Antifa Plot, U.S. Charges 15 in Minneapolis With Conspiracy https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/us/minnesota-immigration-charges-antifa.html

The spectacular collapse of a case against ICE protesters: ‘It’s not justice, but it is a win’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/chicago-broadview-six-trump-administration

Federal jury finds army veteran and two other ICE protesters guilty of conspiracy https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/ice-protesters-conspiracy-charges