2026 Judicial Rulings Thread

[UNI88]

Reagan-appointed judge slams ‘unconstitutional conspiracy,’ calls Trump an ‘authoritarian’

A federal judge Thursday decried what he said were ‘breathtaking’ constitutional violations by senior Trump administration officials and called the president an ‘authoritarian’ who expects everyone in the executive branch to ‘toe the line absolutely.’
...
As part of a condemnation that accused Donald Trump of being an “authoritarian” — a word, Young said, he chose “carefully” — the jurist also concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in an “unconstitutional conspiracy to pick off certain people.”

“These Cabinet secretaries have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution,” Young added.

The judge’s outrage was striking, but it’s worth emphasizing that Young has plenty of company.

Last year, for example, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, another Reagan appointee, not only rejected Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, he also took aim at the president’s twisted approach to the law.

“It has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” Coughenour wrote. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.

“The Constitution,” the judge added, “is not something the government can play policy games with.”

Soon after, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell felt compelled to remind the administration in a ruling, “An American President is not a king.”

As the year neared its end, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf, yet another Reagan appointee, described Trump and his team as an “existential threat to democracy and the rule of law.” He also resigned from the bench so he can condemn the White House and its radicalism more freely and frequently.

Thought BDK might whine if I put this in the 2026 SCOTUS Thread so I started a new one ...

[BDKJMU]

Reagan-appointed judge slams ‘unconstitutional conspiracy,’ calls Trump an ‘authoritarian’

A federal judge Thursday decried what he said were ‘breathtaking’ constitutional violations by senior Trump administration officials and called the president an ‘authoritarian’ who expects everyone in the executive branch to ‘toe the line absolutely.’
...
As part of a condemnation that accused Donald Trump of being an “authoritarian” — a word, Young said, he chose “carefully” — the jurist also concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in an “unconstitutional conspiracy to pick off certain people.”

“These Cabinet secretaries have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution,” Young added.

The judge’s outrage was striking, but it’s worth emphasizing that Young has plenty of company.

Last year, for example, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, another Reagan appointee, not only rejected Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, he also took aim at the president’s twisted approach to the law.

“It has become ever more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” Coughenour wrote. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain. Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.

“The Constitution,” the judge added, “is not something the government can play policy games with.”

Soon after, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell felt compelled to remind the administration in a ruling, “An American President is not a king.”

As the year neared its end, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf, yet another Reagan appointee, described Trump and his team as an “existential threat to democracy and the rule of law.” He also resigned from the bench so he can condemn the White House and its radicalism more freely and frequently.

Thought BDK might whine if I put this in the 2026 SCOTUS Thread so I started a new one ...

[kalm]

Reagan-appointed judge slams ‘unconstitutional conspiracy,’ calls Trump an ‘authoritarian’



Thought BDK might whine if I put this in the 2026 SCOTUS Thread so I started a new one ...

Feelings hurt.

[UNI88]

Judge orders ICE chief to appear in court or risk contempt over denial of due process

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” the judge wrote.
...
Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.

“Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”

Nothing to see here. Just an unhinged, extremist, liberal, communist, Marxist judge ruling against the will of the people's rightfully elected tinpot dictator.

Thank you for your attention to this matter - UNI88

[BDKJMU]

Lib Biden judge slapped down.

[UNI88]

Lib Biden judge slapped down.

So you're happy that federal agents can continue to retaliate against individuals engaged in nonviolent, unobstructive protests?

[BDKJMU]

Lib Biden judge slapped down.

So you're happy that federal agents can continue to retaliate against individuals engaged in nonviolent, unobstructive protests?

I didn’t know you were black.

[UNI88]

So you're happy that federal agents can continue to retaliate against individuals engaged in nonviolent, unobstructive protests?

I didn’t know you were black.

I didn't know you were either since MAQA yahoos said the same thing about January 6.

[UNI88]

An Ethicist ‘in the Scalia Mold’: The Minnesota Judge Blasting ICE

But starting this year, as federal agents surged into Minnesota, hundreds of immigration cases began to overwhelm the courtrooms of Judge Schiltz’s district.

Since then, in increasingly sharp opinions, Judge Schiltz, 65, has flashed growing frustration and anger with the Trump administration, emerging as an unexpected new critic of the administration’s tactics in court.

“The court’s patience has run out,” he wrote in an order on Monday, demanding that Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, appear in his courtroom to explain why scores of people arrested by immigration agents have been held without an opportunity to challenge their detentions.

On Wednesday, he backed off that threat after one migrant at the heart of the standoff was released, as he had previously ordered. But he attached to his order a list of 96 court orders that he said ICE has violated across 74 cases.

“This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law,” he wrote, assessing that ICE has most likely violated more court orders in January alone than “some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”

ICE should obstruct/violate court orders no more than a citizen should interfere with/obstruct an ICE/CBP law enforcement options. Where are the law & order MAGA yahoos speaking out against DHS for violating all of these judicial orders?

Judges are just as much lawful authorities (if not more so) as ICE/CBP agents and their rulings should be respected. If DHS disagrees with a ruling they should appeal it, not violate it.

If DHS “will not be deterred by activists either in the streets or on the bench” then DHS needs to be held accountable just like activists on the streets are held accountable for interfering with / obstructing ICE (or CBP).