Tag: Activist Judges

That means that each of the more than 600 federal district judges in the United States can enjoin a law or regulation throughout the country—regardless of whether the other 599 disagree.

These limitless injunctions are contrary to the structure of our government, to the role of our judiciary, and they hamper or even block the proper functioning of our government—and they importantly and dramatically undermine the power of the people to control their government.

Let me share some concerns.

First of all, these nationwide injunctions encourage forum shopping. There is a reason why so many lawsuits have been filed against the Trump Administration in California and Hawaii, and why others were filed against the Obama Administration in Texas.

Litigants are looking for the most favourable forum in which to advance their goal of binding the whole nation—virtually always to secure a policy outcome that could never win at the ballot box or in the legislature.

Second, limitless injunctions cut off the discussion among lower courts.

We know that the first court to rule on an issue isn’t always right. Our federal judicial system is set up so that district courts in different parts of the country can consider issues at the same time. Those issues may then be appealed to one of the twelve circuit courts. When those circuit courts disagree, then the Supreme Court can take up the case.

Non-party injunctions short-circuit our system. The federal government is forced to appeal the first nationwide injunction, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court—which can take 18 months or longer. The effect is to cut off opportunities for other courts to weigh in.

And often these are preliminary injunctions, meaning a full case record has not been developed before the vast scope of the injunction directs the policy of the government.

Third, when a single district judge issues a nationwide injunction while similar cases are pending elsewhere, the first ruling by the first district judge somehow becomes authoritative while contrary rulings by equally authoritative district judges have no effect.

A telling example of this is the litigation over the rescission of the DACA policy.

Parties have sued in several courts across the country, meaning that several judges are considering the issue and will issue rulings that should be binding on the plaintiffs in those cases only.

Yet a federal judge in San Francisco and a federal judge in New York both felt they had the authority to issue nationwide injunctions, granting relief to others who were not parties to the case.

Then, just this week, a federal judge in Maryland held that the DACA rescission was lawful. So the plaintiffs in that Maryland case lost—but by the rulings of the San Francisco and New York judges, they obtained relief anyway.

Fourth, limitless injunctions circumvent the class certification process required by statute and by Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. That’s because they provide the benefits of class certification without the procedural protections.

Fifth, limitless injunctions create an absurd situation in which a plaintiff only needs to win once to stop a national law or policy—but the government needs to win every time to carry out its policies. That makes governing all but impossible.

My predecessor, Attorney General Robert Jackson faced a similar problem. In 1937, he lamented that “no administration can halt its policies…to seek the judiciaries’ views.

The government cannot learn the judge’s views until after the law is passed and then only after a lapse of years…Moreover, the judicial contribution is always negative. It may tell what cannot be done…but it never tells what can be done. Government by litigation has destroyed effective enforcement of public policy.”

He didn’t know how good he had it.

The Department of Justice has been fighting the unprecedented number of limitless injunctions in the courts, and we are well aware of what is at stake.

For example, last year, I made the common sense decision that our state and local law enforcement grants should go to states and cities that actually cooperate with federal law enforcement, including the enforcement of the immigration laws.

To receive this grant money, jurisdictions need to certify their compliance with the federal law barring restrictions on communications between state and local agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.

They have to allow our ICE agents access to detention facilities to meet with aliens and inquire into his or her right to remain in the United States.

And third, they have to provide at least 48 hours advance notice to ICE before releasing an alien if ICE has asked for notice. These are small but important requests for cooperation.

This allows ICE to know about aliens who are arrested and can decide whether to take custody of them. These are aliens who have committed crimes or are suspected of having committed crimes. They are serious enough criminals that the local authorities have arrested them.

And yet some cities think only their law enforcement interests deserve vindication, not those of the federal government. Why, then, should the federal government give grants to these cities?

Well, unsurprisingly, several of these sanctuary cities have sued us. These cities want federal funding—but they don’t want the federal law or to comply with the most reasonable cooperation requirements.

Sure enough, the first city to the courthouse—Chicago—found a local district judge who agreed with its claims. We disagree with the merits of that ruling, and we think we will ultimately prevail on this legal question.

Normally, this would be a discrete error affecting one city’s grant, and we would correct it on appeal in due course. But instead of issuing an injunction for the city, the judge enjoined the federal government from imposing these conditions on any state or city across

What possible interest does Chicago have in this sweeping relief? Chicago’s only plausible interest—its own grant money—would have been fully and completely vindicated by an injunction applying only to Chicago.

Meanwhile, other judges are considering this question.

A judge in San Francisco recently denied a preliminary injunction to that city, but it doesn’t matter because the judge in Chicago decided to grant relief to every city.

By not acting as a district court of limited jurisdiction, this judge in Chicago has halted the grant process for the entire country and has created the need for an expedited appeal in the Seventh Circuit to correct this overreach.

The increasing frequency of limitless injunctions is simply unsustainable, and the ever-more extreme nature of these injunctions is only making it more obvious just how unconstitutional they are.

The Supreme Court has not yet issued a definitive ruling on the merits of nationwide injunctions. So far, when the Court has had relevant cases before them, it has resolved them on other grounds.

But we are hopeful that the Supreme Court will soon send a clear message to the lower courts that injunctions ought to be limited to the parties of the case.

The scope of relief is at issue in a number of high profile cases right now. We will soon be arguing the merits of the President’s travel ban, and we have asked for a review of this aspect of the case, as well.

This is not a political or a partisan issue. It is a constitutional issue and a rule of law issue.

This has been a problem for administrations of both parties. Until President Trump, the President with the most limitless injunctions was President Obama, and President Clinton was in second place.

But the Department of Justice—under Democratic and Republican administrations alike—has been consistent over these past several decades that nationwide injunctions gravely threaten the rule of law.

They threaten the proper respect for the separation of powers, and indeed the very functioning of the other two branches of the federal government.

The American people vote for those other two branches of government. They want their votes to count. They want their voices heard. The political branches need to be able to act.

This is my message: We hope the Supreme Court will resolve this issue.

There can be no question that courts should put an end to nationwide injunctions and keep activists on both sides of the aisle from paralyzing the federal government.

In order for our system to function, the Court must end government-by-litigation. I am hopeful that soon they will, and that—with your help—we will restore the rule of law in this country.

Thank you.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-sessions-delivers-remarks-federalist-society-s-student-symposium

3…………> Trump On The attack: PA

While President Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Moon Township, Pa., in a show of support for Rick Saccone, who faces a tough special congressional election outside of Pittsburgh, he urged support for the GOP hopeful and said that the Democrat Conor Lamb, was likely to vote the party line despite efforts to distance himself from the Pelosi/Schumer liberals .

Mr Trump did not miss the chance to slam NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, recalling that, “It’s 1999, I’m on ‘Meet the Press,’ a show now headed by sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd,” Trump said. “He’s a sleeping son of a b—-, I’ll tell you.” 

Then the President brilliantly concluded that CNN coverage of his meeting with Comrade Un was in his words, “Fake as hell, CNN. The worst. So fake.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/10/trump-in-pennsylvania-urges-support-for-gop-house-candidate-also-takes-swipe-at-nbcs-chuck-todd.html 

4…………> Tariff Wars: Friend & Foes 

“There are no winners in a trade war, and it would bring disaster to our two countries as well as the rest of the world. China does not wish to fight a trade war, nor will China initiate a trade war, but we can handle any challenge and will resolutely defend the interests of our country and our people,” Commerce Minister Zhong said, echoing a statement by Wang Hejun, a ministry official, warning that the tariffs “will surely have a serious impact on the normal international order”.

President Trump’s announcement that the US will impose a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminium imports while granting Australia, Mexico and Canada  exemptions had divided the world into two camps, friend and foes, a clear and present danger to the globalist “New World Disorder” promulgated by past two US administrations, a prelude to a Forex war and currency devaluations.

The European Union and Japan urged the US to grant them exemptions from metal import tariffs, as the US has promised to not impose the tariffs on “our ally, the great nation of Australia”.  

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-11/china-says-trade-war-with-us-will-only-bring-disaster/9537032 

5…………> Trump On The Road: Slogan 

Despite 2020 election being two years in the future, President Trump is already using the “Make America Great” again slogan with an exclamation mark, a sure sign that he envisions another four years in the White House.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43363625 

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