Henry Gass

How the National Guard court ruling in LA affects Trump’s plans for other cities When President Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, he violated an 1878 law prohibiting the use of military personnel for domestic law enforcement activities, a judge ruled Tuesda...

A federal judge has said Trump's National Guard deployment in LA was illegal.

What could it mean for potential deployments in other cities?

"t’s a clear shot across the bow to President Trump."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

‘2 dolls instead of 30’: Will tariffs curb America’s passion for cheap goods?

‘2 dolls instead of 30’: Will tariffs curb America’s passion for cheap goods?

The Supreme Court may have entered a new phase. Call it the emergency era. The court reached the end of June having issued almost twice as many emergency orders as it did merits opinions. Is this an anomaly, or the start of a new normal?

Is this the year the Supreme Court began its emergency era?

"We are seeing #SCOTUS trying to adapt its procedures to keep up with the 21st century," says @williambaude.bsky.social.

"I don’t think it’s unfair to say the court is still figuring that out."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Q&A: Jim Obergefell reflects on the Supreme Court case that bears his name Ten years ago, the Supreme Court issued the landmark decision Obergefell v. Hodges, making same-sex marriage a constitutional right. Jim Obergefell remembers that day, and what the fight meant for him...

On the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the historic #SCOTUS ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, Cameron Pugh @csmonitor.bsky.social talked with Jim Obergefell about his journey and where gay rights stand today.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

"Lawful but awful."

Trump's mobilization of the National Guard (and active-duty Marines) in L.A. is unprecedented, but not necessarily unlawful.

But is the president helping put out a fire – or pouring on gasoline?

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics...

Trump revives a travel ban. Could it be legal this time? President Donald Trump’s new travel ban draws on lessons from his first term. He cites national security justification for the restrictions, while critics point to legal and moral problems.

Starting on Monday, the U.S. will restrict -- with some exceptions -- nationals of 12 countries from entering the country.

What to know about the new travel ban (including what it could mean for the World Cup and Olympics):

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

A MAGA judiciary? Trump rift with Federalist Society signals a search for loyal judges. The Federalist Society helped President Donald Trump shift the judicial branch much younger and more conservative. Now, the president is expressing his discontent with some of those judges.

A MAGA judiciary? Trump rift with Federalist Society signals a search for loyal judges.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

A hidden provision in Trump’s ‘big bill’ could weaken the judicial branch The 1,000-page domestic policy bill passed by the House of Representatives contains a paragraph that would gut the power of the courts to hold the executive branch in contempt.

As an institution, Congress has done little to check the executive branch in Trump's second term. Courts have been the main impediment instead.

Now, Congress is making a move. It's "trying to ease the way for the administration to ignore court orders."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

A deadlocked Supreme Court rejects religious charter schools – for now A divided 4-4 high court let stand an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the first religious public charter school in the U.S. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself.

A deadlocked Supreme Court rejects religious charter schools – for now.

"I think #SCOTUS is drawing a line in terms of where it’s going to go with extending aid."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

“You know the government is going to ship your client out.”

While neither unlawful nor unprecedented, the Trump admin's rapid relocation of immigrant detainees is a ramp-up of a familiar tactic and a possible a preview of the future.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Three stops in 24 hours. Virginia, to Louisiana, to Texas in four days. A spike in sudden transfers to a detention center in north Texas--including one apparently violating a court order.

A look at the geography of Trump deportations: www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Poignant grafs at the start of this @cameronjoseph.bsky.social interview with Ben Crump, the lawyer for George Floyd's family, on the five-year anniversary of his death.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Supreme Court hears birthright citizenship case. What were the key takeaways? Nationwide injunctions have become more prevalent over the past 20 years, with lawyers "forum shopping" for judges friendly to their cause. The Supreme Court Thursday heard a case about whet...

Takeaways from today's #SCOTUS argument on birthright citizenship.

The justices mostly agreed nationwide injunctions have problems. But what could replace them? And would the Trump administration follow what a lower court tells it to do?

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Birthright citizenship reaches the Supreme Court. What’s at stake? Much is at stake as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a birthright citizenship case May 15, including whether an executive order is applied uniformly across the country.

Today's #SCOTUS oral argument is only partly about birthright citizenship, but it offers a preview of a country in which Trump's birthright citizenship order is in place.

@sarahmatusek.bsky.social and I examined what that could look like:

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

With their staffs cut to as low as 1 person, agencies push back on DOGE After a frenzied start, cost-cutting and efficiency efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency have run up against public opinion and the courts.

Chaos and drama, but little substance.

From "five men and a phone" at CFPB, to sweeping cuts to a little-known foreign aid agency, we evaluate 100(ish) days of DOGE.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics...

Pope Leo’s challenge: How to build unity in a fragmenting world Pope Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States, but his Peruvian nationality bridges North and South America. His first message, delivered in three languages, was one of peace and unity.

Pope Leo XIV "wants us to open up to each other." He's "not going to look for a fight with the Trump administration."

www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/...

What happens if a judge charges the Trump administration with ‘contempt’? What do a court’s contempt charges actually mean? If President Donald Trump and his administration are found guilty, consequences may be hard to enforce.

As courts try to ensure the Trump administration follows their orders, some judges are turning to contempt of court proceedings.

The DOJ says it will lead to a "constitutional collision." Legal experts say "we should be wary" of them.

Here's what to know:

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Supreme Court case would allow religious charter schools. Why charters object. The Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday that would establish the first religious charter school in the U.S. Opponents include advocates for charter schools and some conservative Christians.

#SCOTUS is hearing a case today that could transform public education in the U.S.

Charter schools, and some conservatives, are hoping they don't.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

45min after this was sent to staff, Deputy Secretary of State sends out ANOTHER org chart. Nearly identical... but it doesn't include the office of the chief economist (nestled under undersecretary for economic growth on the earlier one):

Amid deportation dispute, Trump and courts square off on who has last word The Trump administration is ignoring court orders to bring back a Maryland man sent in error to a Salvadoran prison. Courts’ ability to enforce the orders is being directly tested.

The Trump administration has shifted from equivocating in court to objecting to follow court orders. Judges are now exploring contempt proceedings.

Underlying it all: an argument "shocking [to] the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans still hold dear."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Lawyers at white-shoe law firms aren't the most sympathetic targets of Donald Trump's ire.

But a fearful, compliant legal industry could open the door to more serious abuses of rights and freedoms.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Trump targets Big Law. Why that matters to the rest of us. America has a bedrock legal principle: Every defendant has the right to a lawyer, and every lawyer has the right to pick whom they represent. Is this principle in danger?

"I’m shocked and dismayed by how brittle these institutions have turned out to be."

Law firms are perhaps the institution best placed to fight for its rights against the Trump administration. Why are so many settling?

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

So, how do you know if a country is in a constitutional crisis? The U.S. Constitution divides power among three branches – executive, congressional, and judicial. Presidents have sometimes tried to claim more power, as President Trump is doing now. But when does i...

"It sure feels like the White House and its allies are feeling for soft points" in court orders, says @greggnunziata.bsky.social. But at the same time, they're working to "delegitimize the judiciary."

So...constitutional crisis?

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

JUST IN: After years of litigation about Trump's civil liability for Jan. 6, the Justice Department is now moving to substitute itself for Trump in the lawsuit, saying Trump was acting in his official capacity on Jan. 6.

North Korea laundered more than $450m through the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, which has seen >$7b in total laundering since 2019. Today, the Trump administration removed Biden-era sanctions on Tornado Cash. bit.ly/41LBmbo bit.ly/4hqpC3X

Original 2022 sanctions announcement: bit.ly/4iIsgTB

As Judge Berzon points out in her six-judge concurrence, there's a reason why there are detailed and very specific rules for the introduction of "expert" factual testimony in judicial proceedings.

Suffice it to say, this ain't it.

www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...

Trump claims sweeping power to deport migrants – as legal fight escalates Confusion over the timing of a deportation operation to El Salvador has led to questions about whether the administration defied a judge’s order, in removing people the White House says are members of...

Invoking an 18th century wartime law, the Trump administration deported around 100 Venezuelan migrants over the weekend -- perhaps in defiance of a court order.

@sarahmatusek.bsky.social recaps a chaotic weekend.

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics...

Threats to judges mount, challenging independence, norms, and rule of law With threats against and violence toward judges doubling in recent years, the rule of law now feels more vulnerable to intimidation than ever.

Judges been learning how to identify suspicious packages and how to drive to work along different routes. Violent threats have doubled, and now some are facing impeachment.

Chief Justice Roberts recently wrote that such intimidation "undermines our Republic."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

Arizona AG Kris Mayes, New Mexico AG Raul Torrez, and Oregon AG Dan Rayfield will begin holding Community Impact Hearings — a national series of townhalls "to hear from the public about the impact of federal firings and DOGE funding freezes across the country."

The first will be in Phoenix March 5.

Uproar over Mayor Adams deepens concern about Justice Dept. politicization under Trump The Justice Department’s effort to dismiss an indictment against New York’s mayor is igniting charges that U.S. courts are increasingly politicized.

The wave of DOJ resignations -- twice the number of the "Saturday Night Massacre" during Watergate -- boils down to one Emil Bove statement.

"You [don't] uphold the Constitution by disobeying direct orders implementing the policy of a duly elected President."

www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...