Brianne Gorod

American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Trump | Constitutional Accountability Center

The amicus brief we filed in the case does a deep dive into the history Justice Jackson discusses in her dissent. Read it here: www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/a...

It's deeply disappointing that #SCOTUS is staying an injunction blocking Trump's unlawful reorganization of the federal government. As Justice Jackson's dissent explained, "our system does not allow the President to rewrite laws on his own."
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

And it highlights the oddity of the posture in which the Court is first considering these cases on this incredibly important issue. 2/2

Interesting (& admirable) that J. Sotomayor foregrounds the merits in her opinion. It highlights the issue that both the government & the Court's conservative supermajority didn't want to address -- & no wonder, given how weak the government's merits arguments are. 1/2

J. Sotomayor notes that in issuing the birthright citizenship EO, Trump was "[u]ndeterred by the Constitution, history, Supreme Court precedent, federal law, and longstanding Executive Branch practice."

J. Sotomayor on the history of the Constitution's birthright citizenship guarantee: "The lawmakers who ratified the Fourteenth Amendment understood that it would extend citizenship to all children born here, regardless of parental citizenship."

More from J. Sotomayor: "Few constitutional questions can be answered by resort to the text of the Constitution alone, but this is one. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship. ... Unsurprisingly ... every other source of interpretation confirms this conclusion."

J. Sotomayor calls out #SCOTUS conservative supermajority's attempt to ignore the patent unconstitutionality of the Trump birthright citizenship executive order: "As every conceivable source of law confirms, birthright citizenship is the law of the land."

Powerful words from J. Sotomayor in birthright citizenship dissent: "No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates. ... Because I will not be complicit in so grave an attack on our system of law, I dissent." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

J. Jackson minces no words in the final sentences of her dissent: "Americans with disabilities have proven time and again that they can overcome long odds in fighting for their own equality. When that happens, my one wish would be for this Court to stay out of their way."

More from J. Jackson: "Worse still, by doing all this, the Court renders meaningless Title I’s protections for disabled workers’ retirement benefits just when those protections matter most."

Powerful words from J. Jackson today in dissent in a #SCOTUS disability rights case: "Too often, this Court closes its eyes to context, enactment history, and the legislature’s goals when assessing statutory meaning. I cannot abide that narrow-minded approach." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Accepting applications: Douglass T. Kendall Fellowship 2026-2027. Apply to join the CAC team today!

CAC is looking for our next Kendall Fellow to start Fall of 2026 to support our work to advance the progressive promise of the Constitution. Learn more about this internally funded fellowship for recent law school graduates: www.theusconstitution.org/douglas-t-ke...

And more from J. Sotomayor's #Skrmetti dissent: The majority's decision "also authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them." 2/2

Powerful conclusion to J. Sotomayor's dissent: The Court’s decision "does irrevocable damage to the Equal Protection Clause and invites legislatures to engage in discrimination by hiding blatant sex classifications in plain sight." 1/2

This language from J. Sotomayor is key: "judicial scrutiny has long played an essential role in guarding against legislative efforts to impose upon individuals the State’s views about how people of a particular sex (or race) should live or look or act."

More powerful words from J. Sotomayor: "That marks the first time in 50 years that this Court has applied such deferential review, normally employed to assess run-of-the-mill economic regulations, to legislation that explicitly differentiates on the basis of sex."

As J. Sotomayor explains, the TN law "plainly classifies on the basis of sex."

J. Sotomayor makes clear the stakes here: "Tennessee’s ban applies no matter what the minor’s parents and doctors think, with no regard for the severity of the minor’s mental health conditions or the extent to which treatment is medically necessary for an individual child."

Powerful words from J. Sotomayor dissenting today in #Skrmetti: "By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

So sad to learn about Justice Souter's passing. I still remember fondly my interactions with him while I was clerking for Justice Breyer - it was so clear what a profoundly kind person he was, in addition to a great jurist.

From the merits docket to the shadow docket, there's so much going on at #SCOTUS right now, so I'm really looking forward to today's conversation. Join us at 1 p.m. ET!

Powerful words from Fourth Circuit today in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case: "[The government's claim] should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear." www.courtlistener.com/docket/69902...

Twelfth Annual Home Stretch at the Supreme Court, Virtual Panel Discussion, Thursday, May 1, 2025, 1:00 PM ET. Below this text, pictures and names of the speakers are listed: Elizabeth Wydra, Deepak Gupta, Mark Joseph Stern, Brianne Gorod, Pamela S. Karlan, and Devi M. Rao.

SAVE THE DATE: CAC's Home Stretch at the Supreme Court event is coming up on May 1! Join our all-star panel of constitutional law experts as they break down an eventful term at #SCOTUS. www.theusconstitution.org/events/12th-...

Supreme Court to weigh congressional power to delegate - Roll Call The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in cases over how much power Congress can give to executive agencies.

"If the court were to invent new restrictions on Congress’ ability to delegate authority to agencies, it could seriously undermine Congress’ ability to legislate effectively." Read more from @briannegorod.bsky.social in Roll Call: rollcall.com/2025/03/25/s...

The Supreme Court Just Put the Voting Rights Act in Its Crosshairs Again Chief Justice John Roberts couldn't conceal his contempt for a map that gave fair representation to Black Louisianians.

On Monday the conservative #SCOTUS majority's "disdain for the Voting Rights Act" was on full display. Read more from CAC's @ajessurun.bsky.social in @slate.com: slate.com/news-and-pol...

Wrote up some thoughts on the #SCOTUS oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais yesterday in @slate.com:

"The Supreme Court should not take from states the broad leeway they currently have to draw maps that remedy Voting Rights Act violations." Read @davidhgans.bsky.social's reaction to this morning's oral argument at #SCOTUS:
www.theusconstitution.org/news/release...

We're busier than we've ever been -- apply to join the @myconstitution.bsky.social team!