Podcast 314: Andrew Gould on the Courts and Donor Privacy, Mike Garcia on Women’s Sports, and the Cost of the Charlie Kirk Trial

Episode Introduction

Andrew Gould has worked on both sides of the bench. He served as a justice on the Arizona Supreme Court and now argues cases as a partner at Holtzman Vogel. In Podcast 314 of Breaking Battlegrounds, he tells Chuck Warren and Sam Stone how those two jobs differ and why he is worried about the politicization of the courts. He also explains why donor privacy and anonymous political speech deserve protection.

Former Congressman Mike Garcia joins to talk about women’s sports and why Republicans need to campaign in person. Comedian Lou Perez weighs in on Sophie Cunningham’s comments and an unusual 2007 study on tips. Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner explains what the Charlie Kirk murder trial is costing local taxpayers. B’s Crime Corner covers a Florida manhunt.

Quick Answer

Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 314, released July 24, 2026, features former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould on judicial independence, donor privacy, and Fourth Amendment concerns. Former Congressman Mike Garcia discusses women’s sports and grassroots campaigning, and comedian Lou Perez discusses Sophie Cunningham. Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner estimates the Charlie Kirk trial could cost the county $2 million to $2.5 million through 2028.

Episode Overview

This episode moves from constitutional law to campaign strategy, a manhunt, a comedy segment, and the local cost of a national murder trial.

Andrew Gould on the courts. The former Arizona Supreme Court justice explains how being a judge differs from being a litigator. He discusses the politicization of the judiciary and claims that the Trump administration has ignored court orders. He also covers compelled donor disclosure, anonymous political speech, threats against justices, and how surveillance technology affects Fourth Amendment rights.

Mike Garcia on women’s sports and grassroots politics. The former congressman and America First Policy Institute California chair discusses biological males competing in women’s sports and the pressure pulling Democrats to the left. He argues Republicans need to reach voters directly, not just online. He also explains how AFPI works with the White House on policy.

B’s Crime Corner. B covers the search for Isabelle Rose Johnson, who was wanted in the death of Jason Coulthart in Florida.

Lou Perez on Sophie Cunningham. The comedian and author discusses the reaction to the Indiana Fever guard’s comments on transgender athletes and the WNBA’s position. He then explains a 2007 University of New Mexico study on lap dancers’ tip earnings.

Amelia Powers Gardner on the Charlie Kirk trial. The Utah County commissioner explains the financial and logistical strain the case puts on her county.

Episode details: Podcast 314 · Released July 24, 2026 · Hosts Chuck Warren and Sam Stone

About the Guests

About Andrew Gould

Andrew Gould is a partner at Holtzman Vogel, where he focuses on appellate, commercial, and constitutional litigation. He served on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2016 to 2021, on Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals from 2011 to 2016, and on the Yuma County Superior Court for 11 years before that. After leaving the bench he was senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, litigating religious liberty cases. He was also a candidate for Arizona Attorney General in 2022 and teaches torts and the First Amendment as an adjunct professor at ASU Law. On the Arizona Supreme Court, he wrote the majority opinion in Brush & Nib Studio v. City of Phoenix.

This is Gould’s third Breaking Battlegrounds appearance. He discussed his attorney general campaign in Podcast 87 and argued against Arizona’s Prop. 140 and ranked-choice voting in Podcast 215.

About Mike Garcia

Mike Garcia represented California in the U.S. House from May 2020 to January 2025. He won a special election to fill Katie Hill’s seat and lost his 2024 reelection bid. Before Congress, he was a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot and flew combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He now chairs the America First Policy Institute’s California chapter. Follow him on X at @mikegarcia1776.

About Lou Perez

Lou Perez is a comedian, producer, and author of That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore: On the Death and Rebirth of Comedy. He is a returning guest. He previously discussed a surrogacy case in an episode with Dusty Johnson, Noah Rothman, and Chuck Flint. Follow him on X at @LouPerez.

About Amelia Powers Gardner

Amelia Powers Gardner is one of three elected Utah County commissioners, who together oversee the county’s policy, operations, and finances. Follow her on X at @Amelia4Utah.

Key Topics Discussed

Judge vs. litigator: why neutrality defines the bench and advocacy defines private practice.
Politicization of the judiciary: attacks on judges, and claims that lower courts are resisting Supreme Court rulings.
The Trump administration and court orders: Gould’s view that the administration has tested executive power but complied after losing in court.
Donor privacy and anonymous speech: compelled disclosure, the Federalist Papers, and NAACP v. Alabama.
Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment: drones, private data collection, and new technology.
Women’s sports and grassroots campaigning: Mike Garcia on transgender athletes and in-person voter outreach.
Sophie Cunningham and the WNBA: Lou Perez on the controversy.
Charlie Kirk trial costs: how a nationally watched capital case strains a county budget.

Judge vs. Litigator: Andrew Gould on Moving Between the Bench and Private Practice

Gould opens by explaining the most basic difference between his two careers. As a litigator, he advocates for a client or a cause. As a judge, his job was to stay neutral, follow the Constitution, and apply the law no matter which side it favored or how much political pressure surrounded a case. During the Breaking Battlegrounds interview, he describes what it was like to move back and forth between those roles.

Is the Judiciary Becoming Too Political?

Gould raises concerns about the growing politicization of the courts. He argues that judges should not be attacked for following the Constitution, even when the outcome is unpopular. He also discusses recent cases in which state and federal courts have been accused of resisting or defying U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

The conversation also takes up claims that the Trump administration has ignored court orders. Gould’s view is that the administration has pushed the boundaries of executive authority but has followed court decisions once it lost. That question remains actively debated, and readers can weigh his assessment against the court record in specific cases.

Donor Privacy and Anonymous Speech: From the Federalist Papers to NAACP v. Alabama

Gould explains why forcing organizations to reveal their donors can expose people to harassment, retaliation, and political intimidation. He places the issue in a long American tradition of anonymous political speech. That tradition runs from the Federalist Papers, which were published under a pen name, to NAACP v. Alabama, where the Supreme Court protected the civil rights group’s membership lists from forced disclosure.

The issue was in the news when the episode was recorded. Three months earlier, on April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport. In an opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Court held that a nonprofit subpoenaed by a state attorney general for donor information had already suffered a First Amendment injury and could challenge the subpoena in federal court. The ruling relied on NAACP v. Alabama.

Threats Against Justices, Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment

Gould also discusses threats against conservative Supreme Court justices. He then turns to privacy, explaining how government surveillance, private data collection, drones, and other new technology are testing Americans’ Fourth Amendment protections. Breaking Battlegrounds returned to this theme in Podcast 322, when Cato Institute’s Laura Bondank-Harmon discussed Flock cameras and automated license plate readers.

Mike Garcia on Women’s Sports, Democrats, and Winning Voters in Person

Garcia discusses biological males competing in women’s sports and what he describes as political pressure pushing Democrats further left. His main campaign argument is that Republicans have to move beyond social media and reach voters directly through town halls, door knocking, and grassroots outreach.

He also explains the America First Policy Institute’s role in developing policy and influencing White House executive orders. In AFPI’s own published accounting from February 2026, Garcia wrote that 90.8% of the group’s federal agenda recommendations had been implemented or advanced by the administration 300 days into the term.

B’s Crime Corner: The Manhunt for Isabelle Rose Johnson

B covers the search for Isabelle Rose Johnson, who was wanted on an open count of murder in the death of 43-year-old Jason Coulthart of Niceville, Florida. Coulthart was reported missing in May. Detectives found his remains in a shallow grave on a property in Freeport on June 25. When the episode was recorded, five people had been arrested for allegedly helping Johnson avoid capture. A combined $11,000 reward was being offered: $6,000 from Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers and $5,000 from the Florida Sheriffs Association.

Update (August 2026): The reward later rose to $16,000 after the U.S. Marshals Task Force added to it. On August 13, 2026, after a 45-day search, a U.S. Marshals task force arrested Johnson at a home in Cottondale, Florida. She was extradited to Walton County the next day.

Lou Perez on Sophie Cunningham, the WNBA, and a 2007 Study on Tips

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham set off a national debate with comments in a July 21, 2026 ESPN feature, where she said she wanted to “protect women’s sports.” Perez examines the WNBA’s position on the issue. He also notes that the league currently has no transgender women playing in it.

The segment then takes a turn toward evolutionary psychology. Perez breaks down a 2007 study by Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur, and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, published in Evolution and Human Behavior. Eighteen professional dancers logged their menstrual cycles, shifts, and tip earnings for 60 days. Dancers earned more during the fertile phase of their cycle, while dancers using birth control pills showed no peak. Perez uses the findings to raise questions about biology, attraction, and whether customers respond to signals they don’t consciously notice.

He also previewed his “Parental Advisory” comedy show in New York City, held July 30, 2026.

What the Charlie Kirk Trial Is Costing Utah County

Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in September 2025 at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Utah County. The county must pay for both the prosecution and the defense of Tyler Robinson, the man charged in the killing. During the Breaking Battlegrounds interview, Powers Gardner estimates that security, staffing, court operations, and other trial-related expenses could cost the county between $2 million and $2.5 million through 2028. She explains why taxpayers may end up covering much of that.

Estimates have varied over time. In October 2025, Powers Gardner told Fox News the total could reach around $5 million over a year and a half. By September 2026, Utah County had paid $1.6 million to Robinson’s public defenders alone and had used up the $1 million the Utah Legislature set aside after the county asked for $2 million.

Update (October 2026): Robinson has pleaded not guilty. At an October 23, 2026 hearing, prosecutors proposed starting the trial on January 31, 2028, while the defense asked for the second half of 2029. Judge Tony Graf said he would set a date on November 9.

Key Takeaways From the Conversation

Gould argues that judicial neutrality, not political alignment, is what makes courts legitimate. He says judges should not be attacked for following the Constitution.
In Gould’s assessment, the Trump administration has tested the limits of executive power but has complied with court rulings after losing.
Gould frames donor privacy as part of a long American tradition of anonymous political speech, reaching back to the Federalist Papers and NAACP v. Alabama.
Garcia says Republicans need town halls and door knocking, not just social media, to win voters.
Powers Gardner’s segment shows how a nationally watched capital case can strain a county budget for years.

Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes

Andrew Gould has been part of the show since his 2022 attorney general campaign, which he discussed with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in Podcast 87. He returned before the 2024 election to argue against Prop. 140 in Podcast 215. For more on the Supreme Court, Senator Mike Lee discussed the Court in his Breaking Battlegrounds interview. The surveillance thread continues in Podcast 322.

Lou Perez’s previous visit covered a surrogacy case involving a convicted sex offender. You can learn more about hosts Sam Stone and Chuck Warren or browse the guest directory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Andrew Gould?
Andrew Gould is a former Arizona Supreme Court justice who served from 2016 to 2021 and is now a partner at the law firm Holtzman Vogel. He previously served on the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Yuma County Superior Court. He ran for Arizona Attorney General in 2022. He has appeared on Breaking Battlegrounds in Podcasts 87, 215, and 314.

What did Andrew Gould say about the Trump administration and court orders?
On Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 314, Gould argued that the Trump administration has pushed the boundaries of executive authority but has followed court decisions after losing its legal challenges. He also expressed concern about the politicization of the judiciary and said judges should not be attacked for following the Constitution.

How much is the Charlie Kirk trial costing Utah County?
In this July 2026 episode, Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner estimated security, staffing, court operations, and related expenses at $2 million to $2.5 million through 2028. Separately, the county had paid $1.6 million to Tyler Robinson’s public defenders by September 2026. Earlier estimates from Powers Gardner were as high as $5 million.

Was Isabelle Rose Johnson caught?
Yes. After a 45-day multistate search, a U.S. Marshals task force arrested Isabelle Rose Johnson in Cottondale, Florida, on August 13, 2026. She was wanted on an open count of murder in the death of Jason Coulthart. Five people had previously been arrested for allegedly helping her avoid capture. The episode aired while the search was still underway.

What study did Lou Perez discuss on Breaking Battlegrounds?
Lou Perez discussed a 2007 University of New Mexico study by Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur, and Brent Jordan. It was published in Evolution and Human Behavior and tracked 18 professional lap dancers’ tip earnings across their menstrual cycles. Dancers earned more during their fertile phase, while dancers using birth control pills showed no peak.

Conclusion

Podcast 314 brings together two kinds of stories: the structural questions about how courts and political speech work, and the concrete costs and consequences of high-profile cases. Gould’s segment offers a former justice’s view of judicial independence and donor privacy at a time when both are contested. Powers Gardner’s segment shows what a nationally watched trial means for a county budget. Garcia, Perez, and B’s Crime Corner round out an episode that captured the summer of 2026’s debates in real time.

Sources

Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.