Latest news with #unconstitutional
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Judge rejects another Trump executive order targeting the legal community
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday struck down another of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting law firms. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled that the order against the firm of Susman Godfrey was unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked. The order was the latest ruling to reject Trump's efforts to punish law firms for legal work he does not like and for employing attorneys he perceives as his adversaries.
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
The Supreme Court's ‘Zone of Lawlessness'
What can individual federal courts immediately do when the president issues a blatantly unconstitutional order? The Supreme Court gave its answer on Friday morning: Not much. In an astonishing act of deference to the executive branch, the Supreme Court essentially said that district judges cannot stop an illegal presidential order from going into effect nationwide. A judge can stop an order from affecting a given plaintiff or state, if one has the wherewithal to file a lawsuit. But if there's no lawsuit in the next state over, the president can get away with virtually anything he wants. The executive order at issue in this case was one issued by President Trump on his first day back in office, depriving citizenship to babies born in the United States to undocumented parents or even temporary residents, and it is as unconstitutional as they come, violating the clear wording of the 14th Amendment. Three federal judges, supported by three courts of appeals, have already ruled that it is illegal to end birthright citizenship. But that didn't matter to the Supreme Court's six conservative justices, who said the lower courts had exceeded their power. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the majority opinion, said the judiciary does not have 'unbridled authority to enforce' the executive's obligation to follow the law, because doing so would create an 'imperial judiciary.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds gather outside Massachusetts State House in solidarity with Los Angeles anti-ICE protestors
Protestors said what is happening on the streets of Los Angeles and on the streets of Massachusetts is unconstitutional and illegal, and everyday Americans need to raise their voices in protest.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Trump administration to appeal court ruling against tariffs
The US Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs was unconstitutional.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Judge rules Trump's order to curtail birthright citizenship
A federal judge struck down one of President Donald Trump's most controversial executive orders - and punctuated his fiery 73-page ruling with over two dozen exclamation points. The president issued a series of executive orders in March suspending major law firms' security clearances and restricting their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work. In each case, Trump cited the firms' past work for his political or legal opponents. But on Tuesday US District Judge Richard Leon (pictured) torpedoed Trump's executive order against New York-based WilmerHale. His ruling marked the third time this month that a federal judge deemed the orders targeting the law firms unconstitutional and permanently barred their enforcement. Leon's opinion included over two dozen exclamation points - a rare form of punctuation in court filings - as he scolded the Trump administration for its actions, according to Mediaite. 'The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The Founding Fathers knew this!' wrote Leon, who was appointed to the federal bench by former Republican President George W. Bush. 'Accordingly, they took pains to enshrine in the Constitution certain rights that would serve as the foundation for that independence. 'I have concluded that this Order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional,' Leon continued. 'Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!' His fiery tone did not end there, as Leon repeatedly shared his exasperation with the Trump administration in his ruling. In rejecting the government's argument that any injury claimed by WilmerHale was conjecture because the law firm had not argued it was a federal contractor or intended to bid for such a contract, Leon wrote: 'Please - that dog won't hunt!' He then noted that he agreed with the law firms' argument that Trump's executive order 'discourages clients from retaining or maintaining WilmerHale as their counsel' by threatening to cancel the contracts of any entity associated with the group. Leon also called other Trump administration arguments 'absurd!' and responded with an exasperated 'Please!' to the government's request to delay relief for the law firm until federal agency heads could issue guidance on its lawyers' revoked security clearances. In the end, the judge characterized the executive order as 'impos[ing] a kitchen sink or severe sanctions on WilmerHale' for its Constitutionally-protected conduct. 'Any one of those sanctions would cause clients to strongly reconsider their engagements with WilmerHale,' Leon said of the restrictions the executive order imposed. 'Taken together, the provisions constitute a staggering punishment for the firm's protected free speech! 'This Order is intended to and does, in fact, impede the firm's ability to effectively represent its clients!' Leon then went on to highlight what he called the 'retaliatory' nature of the executive order - which explicitly cited the fact that the firm employed former Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller (pictured), who led the investigation into alleged collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian authorities. 'The Order shouts through a bullhorn: If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!' he concluded, arguing that the executive order's 'viewpoint discrimination' violates the First Amendment. He also argued that the Trump administration failed to show how WilmerHale threatened national security or demonstrate how the order would address those concerns. Additionally, he ruled the Trump administration violated the Fifth Amendment because the executive order was vague and infringed upon the right to counsel. WilmerHale applauded the ruling Tuesday afternoon 'The Court´s decision to permanently block the unlawful executive order in its entirety strongly affirms our foundational constitutional rights and those of our clients,' it said in a statement. 'We remain proud to defend our firm, our people, and our clients.' Leon's ruling had echoes of other federal judge's opinions striking down similar edicts. On Friday, US District Judge John Bates ruled that Trump's executive order against Jenner & Block was unconstitutional - sayin it 'seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like,' according to The Hill. Earlier this month, US District Judge Beryl Howll also eviscerated Trump's order against Perkins Coie, which he said 'draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."' A fourth suit brought by Susman Godfrey challenging the legality of the executive order against it is still pending. But many other prominent law firms have sought to avert the orders against them by preemptively reaching settlements that require them to collectively dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal services in support of causes the Trump administration says it supports. Those areas include assisting veterans and public servants, members of the military, Gold Star families, law enforcement and first responders, and 'ensuring fairness in our justice system' as well as combatting antisemitism, the president previously wrote on his Truth Social platform. He also suggested he may use the law firms to help the coal industry in leasing and negotiate trade deals. All together, the deal cut by five law firms brings Trump's legal kitty close to $1 billion. The settlement money, Trump claimed, were 'for damages that they've done. But they give you $100 million and then they announce but we have done nothing wrong. And I agree they've done nothing wrong.' 'But what the hell – they give me a lot of money considering they've done nothing wrong.' The president has not yet commented on Leon's ruling, and has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
