Day 139 - April 18, 2025
The United States Supreme Court issued an eye-opening order in the early hours of the day, prohibiting the Trump administration from removing anyone who is a part of the potential class in the Northern District of Texas case suing to stop such removals:.
A scholar I learn a lot from, Steve Vladek, explained in his newsletter why this order stuck out so much: “at least initially, this strikes me as a massively important—and revealing—intervention by the Supreme Court, for at least three reasons:”
“the Court didn’t wait at all….This may seem like a technical point, but it underscores how seriously the Court, or at least a majority of it, took the urgency of the matter.”
“the Court didn’t hide behind any procedural technicalities…Here, though, the Court jumped right to the substantive relief the applicants sought—again, reinforcing not just the urgency of the issue, but its gravity.”
“perhaps most significantly, the Court seemed to not be content with relying upon representations by the government’s lawyers…. The Court appears to be finally getting the message…That’s a massively significant development unto itself—especially if it turns out to be more than a one-off.”
Ironically, in his later-released dissent, Justice Alito essentially reiterated Vladek’s points…and dissents because of them:
The Court acted before the appellate court below had ruled, and even though it was apparently planning to rule soon
The Court ordered without having heard from the government—only from the plaintiffs; and the Government had not had a chance to respond at the lower level either
The government had told the district court that no flights were imminent, and the plaintiffs had not proved that they were, yet the Court still issued its order.
Here’s Alito’s closing paragraph:
To Justice Alito and the Trump administration, my less-than-legal/common sense analysis is: if you openly defy and mock court orders, including through communications like this…
…don’t be shocked when the next time you’re in front of that court, it acts hastily, doesn’t care to hear from you, and/or doesn’t believe what your lawyers claim.
Happy Easter! 🐣
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