President Trump, in an overnight post on his Truth Social online site, appears to be ready to defy the Supreme Court on a highly significant constitutional controversy, but maybe in a way that the Court will allow. Trump’s Administration is under an order from the Supreme Court, issued last Thursday, to “facilitate” the release of… Read More
Court protects Maryland immigrant — for now
In a rare act of unanimity, the Supreme Court on Thursday night ruled that government officials must take some unspecified steps to try to bring back to the U.S. a Maryland man sent illegally to a brutal prison in his home country, El Salvador. The order, quite unusual for an often-split Court, set no deadlines… Read More
Supreme test of presidential power
The Trump Administration, in its boldest legal maneuver so far, asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to settle in the next few months the long-standing constitutional dispute over how much power Presidents have to run the national government. The issue, still in some doubt after 237 years of the Constitution’s history, is this: did the… Read More
A split decision on deportations
A deeply divided Supreme Court on Monday afternoon shut down a federal judge’s efforts to stop the Trump Administration from secretly deporting foreign nationals under an 18th Century wartime enemies law, but ruled unanimously that anyone facing that threat from now on must first get a chance to pursue a court challenge. By a vote… Read More
Court allows some gun control
The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the federal government narrow authority to limit the spread of do-it-yourself kits that are used to make guns that cannot be traced after being used in a crime. The ruling on so-called “ghost guns” was important, but it also could easily be misunderstood as broader than it actually was…. Read More
Trump seeks unchecked new power
Government lawyers, in a new race through the federal courts, are claiming an unlimited power for President Trump – an authority intended for use only in wartime that has been used just three times during actual wars. That is an authority, granted by Congress 236 years ago, that would allow Trump to deport immediately any… Read More
Trump and the Court: The first test
The Supreme Court, taking its first action on President Trump’s sweeping campaign to dismantle federal agencies and programs, temporarily blocked today a cutoff of nearly $2 billion in funding for foreign aid. The order, though, was very narrow and will soon be overtaken by events developing in lower courts. By a 5-to-4 vote on Wednesday… Read More
A third term for Trump?
Exactly 228 years ago today, March 4, 1797, George Washington finished his second term as President, ready to retire quietly to being a plantation farmer at Mount Vernon. Four years from now, America could be asking itself: will President Trump be willing to step aside? In fact, Trump and some of his followers already are… Read More
A brief legal setback for Trump
The first test to reach the Supreme Court of President Trump’s sweeping claims of unchecked constitutional power over the government resulted Friday night in a brief setback, keeping a fired federal official in his job for another five days. Little of final meaning can be read into the Court’s ruling, which amounted only to a… Read More
Court told of threat to U.S. economy
America may face an economic calamity if the Supreme Court rules too broadly on President Trump’s power to fire government officials, a starkly worded legal brief by professors specializing in finance law told the Justices on Tuesday afternoon. No matter how the Justices rule on a pending case involving Trump’s sudden removal, without cause, of… Read More