Carolyn Ostrander

Let me guess why.

GOP Senator Files Supreme Court Brief With Democrats Against Donald Trump

Senator Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in filing a Supreme Court brief challenging President Donald Trump’s tariff authority.

YouTube video by Scott MacFarlane CBS THE DAY AHEAD: After loss for Trump Admin in court, federal workers nationwide continue their fight

THE DAY AHEAD: After a loss for Trump Admin in court, federal workers nationwide continue their fight

youtube.com/shorts/Zz5i6...

Federal judge rules U.S. attorney in California has been 'unlawfully serving' in role Judge J. Michael Seabright found that Trump appointee Bilal Essayli unlawfully assumed the post after resigning in July as interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

A federal judge rules that the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California has been “unlawfully serving” in the role, in part because the Senate hasn’t confirmed the Trump appointee.

Irreconcilable Presidential Determinations on TdA and Venezuela The two characterizations are mutually exclusive; it is legally impossible to maintain both simultaneously.

I teamed up to write how:

The Trump administration has provided two - completely irreconcilable - determinations on status of Tren de Aragua and Venezuela regime.

Makes it impossible for judges to defer to 'presidential determination' on Alien Enemies Act. Confounds law and policy.

Texas joins Trump’s ridiculous war on Tylenol Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking on the biggest threat to his constituents: Tylenol . On Tuesday, the Republican filed a lawsuit against ...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Tylenol lawsuit doesn’t cite credible evidence—but it does cite Trump.

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

Abstract This essay, prepared for the 2025 volume of The Supreme Court Review, seeks to provide a holistic account of the Supreme Court’s behavior on emergency applications relating to the Trump administration during its October 2024 Term. As it demonstrates, the justices in those cases not only flouted the traditional standards for emergency relief; they exhibited repeated and sustained disrespect for both lower courts and Congress, enabling the executive branch to act in defiance of countless statutory restrictions; of settled constitutional understandings; and even of coercive district court mandates, all with dramatic (and deleterious) real-world consequences. As the Alien Enemies Act cases illustrate, the takeaway is not that the Court always ruled for President Trump; it's that it pushed back only when its mandates were on the line. The upshot is an attempt by the Supreme Court to preserve its supremacy, as such. But such an approach, the essay concludes, is likely to be self-defeating. In the short term, it will encourage the executive branch to take ever-more-aggressive actions against both the people and the lower courts. And in the long term, it will not just further weaken Congress and the lower courts; it will further erode public confidence in the judiciary as an institution. Together, the increased power and momentum of the executive and the decreased credibility of (and respect for) the courts will make it that much harder for the Supreme Court to wield the supremacy it's protecting, even when it wants to.

New paper from me offering a holistic assessment of #SCOTUS's behavior on Trump-related emergency applications thus far:

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

TL;DR: The ultimate theme of the decisions is a majority bent on preserving *their* supremacy, as such—which is likely to only be self-defeating.

Q: What did you mean when you said you're prepared to send 'more than the National Guard' into American cities?

TRUMP: if I want to enact a certain act, I'd be allowed to do whatever I want. The courts wouldn't get involved. Nobody would. I could send Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines -anybody I want

President Trump nominated two federal prosecutors for district court judgeships in Arkansas and Texas, and an Alaska state lawyer for a judgeship there, sending filled out questionnaires to the Senate without formal announcements reut.rs/3J9B2Ot

Court disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney from overseeing multiple criminal cases A federal judge has ruled acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California is serving in the role unlawfully.

Not an option for Halligan, who wasn't serving as First Assistant US Attorney when she assumed the job.
apnews.com/article/fede... 
Court disqualifies Trump-appointed US attorney from overseeing multiple criminal cases

Here's the full preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from implementing shutdown-related layoffs (RIFs) at 39 agencies and issuing new notices to federal employees in programs/projects/activities that include members or bargaining units of the unions that sued buff.ly/FZk1OBj

Full Ninth Circuit keeps Trump's Oregon National Guard efforts blocked for now, tossing order that sided with Trump The appeals court voted to vacate last week's 2-1 order, which had sought to allow Trump to send troops to Portland during litigation.

EN BANC: On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit voted to rehear DOJ’s Oregon National Guard TRO stay request en banc by an 11-judge panel, wiping out last week’s 2-1 order that sided with Trump.

Here’s my report at Law Dork on what we know and what’s coming next:

A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from suspending food aid benefits starting on November 1 amid the ongoing US government shutdown.

Subscribe to The Daily Docket: reut.rs/4aBvwvO

YouTube video by MSNBC Why some Republicans have major beef with the Trump administration

Why some Republicans have major beef with the Trump administration

Half of all U.S. states are taking the Trump admin. to court over its decision not to fund SNAP benefits for millions of Americans next month. @stephruhle.bsky.social and panel discuss.

WATCH:

If it were any judge besides Carl Nichols (or Trevor McFadden), in the Tyler Taranto case, I might thing creatively about a way to implicate Trump in trying to minimize the criminal penalty for the guy he sicced on a former President.

ICYMI: We’re suing the Trump-Vance administration to demand the release of documents about ICE’s arrests at immigration courts and coordinated efforts to fast track deportations.

Due process is a right for everyone in the U.S. — regardless of immigration status.

The triumph of bullshit Internet conspiracy theories are now official government policy.

"The federal agencies that survived Elon Musk’s wrecking ball are now captured by the echo chamber of his social media platform, with cabinet secretaries staring furiously into a digital funhouse mirror to divine the will of the most internet-addled members of the MAGA base." — @lizdye.bsky.social

ACLU says Trump administration is breaching family separation settlement A settlement was reached to reunite and provide services for immigrant families that were separated at the border, but the ACLU says the Trump administration is severely undermining the agreement.

The Trump administration is violating a settlement providing the families they separated with a pathway to remain together in the United States.

We successfully sued Trump to stop this cruel separation policy during his first term, and we will continue fighting for all these families.

Two U.S. prosecutors suspended after describing Jan. 6 attack as ‘mob’ The suspensions come in the case of a 2021 Capitol rioter who faces sentencing for unrelated weapons charges.

Breaking news: The DOJ placed two federal prosecutors on leave after they filed a document in court that referred to the Jan. 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol as a “riot” carried out by a “mob,” two people familiar with the matter said.

Federal Judge Skewers Top Trump Officials Over ‘Troubling’ Statements Against Abrego Garcia Read more here.

A federal judge criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi and other top Trump administration officials for making “troubling” statements against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly sent to El Salvador, that threaten his right to a fair trial. https://bit.ly/47vjJQ2

Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Massive Voter Purge Database Hits Snags Read more here.

NEW: A federal judge criticized pro-voting groups, who are suing to block the Trump administration from using a citizenship verification system to purge state voter rolls, over their “muddled” filing and gave them until Wednesday to bolster their argument.

Trump's Top Border Patrol Goon Given Humiliating Daily Check-In Order by Judge Gregory Bovino gets courtroom dressing-down for tear-gassing kids.

A federal judge demanded Trump’s Border Patrol commander report to her courtroom every weekday to explain his force’s controversial actions.

Trump says he could send "Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines" into U.S. cities "if it was necessary" President Trump claimed he has the authority to send U.S. military branches to patrol U.S. cities, but said that isn't necessary at this point.

President Trump told reporters Wednesday that he has the authority to send U.S. military forces beyond the National Guard into U.S. cities, claiming not even the courts could stop him, but said that hasn't been necessary so far.

NEW: President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to consider birthright citizenship when all of the lower federal courts have unanimously ruled against him.

The 14th Amendment and 125 years of Supreme Court precedent are clear: If you're born on American soil, you are a citizen.

'I'm allowed to': Trump threatens to invade more US cities President Donald Trump may start sending even more�troops to invade American cities. “I'm allowed to do that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, reiterating comments he ...

Trump claims he could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines into U.S. cities—and says courts “wouldn’t get involved.”

Reality: Presidents don’t get to militarize American streets at will.

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

WA sues Trump admin over impending SNAP cuts

I’m grateful to @atg.wa.gov Nick Brown for leading a lawsuit demanding that Trump release funding that Congress already approved to keep SNAP benefits going in November so families don’t go hungry.

Federal trial over whether Trump can deploy National Guard to Portland begins A federal trial over whether President Donald Trump can deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, is getting underway.

U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, will preside over the trial in Portland. The trial stems from a lawsuit filed by the city and state against the Trump administration in a bid to block the troop deployment. https://to.pbs.org/432TGOE

CORDER LIST: 607 U.S.) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025 25A443 ORDER IN PENDING CASE TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. V. ILLINOIS, ET AL. The application for stay presented to Justice Barrett is referred by her to the Court. The parties are directed to file supplemental letter briefs addressing the following question: Whether the term "regular forces" refers to the regular forces of the United States military, and, if so, how that interpretation affects the operation of 10 U.S. C. §12406(3). The briefs, not to exceed 15 pages, are to be filed by Monday, November 10, 2025. Letter reply briefs, not to exceed 10 pages, are to be filed by Monday, November 17, 2025. Any brief for an amicus curiae under Rule 37.4, on that or other aspects of the application, must be filed by Monday, November 10, 2025.

BREAKING: SCOTUS defers any ruling for now in DOJ's request in the Nat'l Guard deployment case out of Illinois.

Instead, the court asks for briefing about the term "regular forces" in Section 12406 — a matter raised by @martylederman.bsky.social.

The means the TRO stays in effect for now.

The Trump-Vance admin keeps trying to fire federal workers during the government shutdown—and it keeps losing to us in court.

This indefinite block of mass firings protects the civil servants that the American people rely on.

Trump Claims He Can Send “Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines” Into US Cities “I’d be allowed to do whatever I want. The courts wouldn’t get involved,” Trump said.

Trump was asked by a reporter to specify what he meant when he said he could send “more than the National Guard” into American cities, and he replied that he could send any branch of the military he wanted without any oversight from courts or from Congress.