This week, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, formally introduced impeachment articles against U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg. It was a popular move with many after a series of controversial orders by Judge Boasberg. I have been highly critical of those orders, particularly the prior orders granting Special Counsel Jack Smith’s demand for the telephone records of Republican members of Congress in the “Arctic Frost” probe. However, I disagree that his order meets the standard for impeachment under the Constitution. Continue reading “No, The House Should Not Impeach Judge Boasberg”
Category: Courts
Yesterday, the Supreme Court held the long-awaited argument in Louisiana v. Callais, considering an appeal of Louisiana’s congressional map. The two majority-black districts are being challenged under the 15th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment as unconstitutionally gerrymandered on the basis of race. The case could result in a rejection of race-based congressional districting under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading ““Race-Based Remedies Should Have an End Point”: Justices Appear Poised to Issue Historic Ruling on the Voting Rights Act”
U.S. District Judge David Nye just rejected a last-minute effort to scuttle a Supreme Court case on transgender athletes. The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by Lindsay Hecox in 2020, challenging a state law barring the biologically male athlete from joining the women’s cross-country team at Boise State. After winning before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review. Hecox clearly did not like the prospects on appeal and sought to withdraw the case after the granting of certiorari. Judge Nye just denied that effort. Continue reading “Federal Judge Blocks Effort of Transgender Athlete to Dismiss Case Before the Supreme Court”
James Comey made history this week by standing in the dock and entering a not guilty plea as the first FBI Director ever indicted in the history of the country. Comey hopes to be spared the added ignoble distinction of a trial scheduled for 2026. He and his counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald, are reportedly going to seek a dismissal under three primary challenges: vindictive prosecution, selective prosecution, and challenging the status of the acting U.S. Attorney, Lindsey Halligan. I wanted to briefly address these claims, including the one that has the most credibility. Continue reading “Hail Mary Play: Comey Reportedly Will Raise Three Challenges to Block his Prosecution”
Judge William Young has had a distinguished career since his appointment by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, including serving as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. At 85, his career includes notable cases such as the Boston Strangler and the Shoe Bomber. However, his 161-page opinion declaring the Trump Administration in violation of the First Amendment over visa denials is nothing short of bizarre. It starts as a type of letter to an anonymous person who sent the judge a postcard.
Continue reading “The Bizarre Postcard Opinion Striking Down the Trump Visa Policies”
There is a major ruling, Mead v. Rockford Public School Dist., a potentially precedent-setting case on parental rights in our public schools. Judge Paul Maloney (W.D. Mich.) ruled that Plaintiffs Dan and Jennifer Mead could move forward with their claims that the Rockford Public School district concealed changes to the gender identification of their biological daughter, identified as G.M. As I have previously written, parental rights are shaping up as a major battleground for the Supreme Court after years of decisions in the lower court undermining parental controls and disclosures. Continue reading “Federal Judge Rules for Parents in Case Involving Concealment of Child’s Gender Changes”
We have previously discussed the lack of a credible defense for Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who has been charged with facilitating the escape of an undocumented man being sought by federal officers in her courthouse. Indeed, despite having high-powered lawyers such as Paul Clement, her recent social media posts seem more like a pitch for jury nullification. One bright spot for Dugan was that she was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a liberal Democrat who has run for prior office and has been accused of bias on the bench. However, Judge Adelman just delivered a blow to the defense by rejecting Dugan’s claim that she had judicial immunity in taking her actions.
Below is my column in The Hill on the chilling jurisprudence of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson’s description of opinions as an opportunity for commentary on contemporary issues is a radical departure from long-standing traditions on the Court. While justices have occasionally strayed into extraneous issues, Jackson appears to view her position as giving her a license to vent, including questioning the principles and integrity of her colleagues.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Judicial Calvinball of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the appellate court decision to toss the entirety of the fine imposed against President Donald Trump in the civil action brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The One That Got Away: Letitia James and the Perils of Trophy Fishing”
Some of us have expressed frustration with the ridiculous delay in the appellate court review of the absurd civil judgment against Donald Trump. It appears to have entered some judicial black hole where neither light nor an opinion can escape. Now, the Wall Street Journal claims that it is due to a deeply divided panel in a column titled “Court Split Leaves Trump’s Civil Fraud Appeal Stuck in Slow Lane.” Continue reading “Justice Delayed: New York Appellate Court Reportedly Split Over Trump Civil Fraud Judgment”
In Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman’s character famously bluffs in a hand of poker and later explains, “Yeah, well sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.” It is a great scene and a great movie. The problem is that sometimes nothing can be . . . well . . . nothing. Democrats are learning that lesson this week after some Texas legislators indicated that they will be headed home and opponents are calling the bluffs of figures from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Texas’s Beto O’Rourke. Continue reading ““A Failure to Communicate”: Democrats Face Costly Calls on Texas Redistricting Bluffs”
The Tenth Circuit handed down a notable opinion this week in Poe v. Drummond, upholding Oklahoma’s law prohibiting gender transition procedures for anyone under eighteen. The opinion by Judge Joel Carson (joined by Judges Harris Hartz and Gregory Phillips) concluded that parental rights do not trump a state’s determination of what are safe treatments for minor patients. Continue reading “Tenth Circuit: Parents Do Not Have Right to Override Ban on Gender Transitioning of Minors”
I previously criticized the California law, called the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, as flagrantly unconstitutional. Signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the law would have gutted free speech protections for political parodies. Now, in Kohls v. Bonta, Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez has rebuked the state for a law that he concluded had to be rejected in its entirety as flawed to its core: “No parts of this statute are severable because the whole statute is preempted. No parts of A.B. 2655 can be salvaged.” Continue reading “Federal Judge Strikes Down California’s Unconstitutional Deepfake Law”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
On Tuesday the Justice Department petitioned for a writ of Quo Warranto against three individuals having served as board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting who were fired by President Trump yet allegedly continued to hold and exercise their office.
The complaint states “[s]ince April 28, 2025, Defendants Laura G. Ross, Thomas E. Rothman, and Diane Kaplan have been usurping and purporting to exercise unlawfully the office of board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the “CPB”)… President Donald J. Trump lawfully removed each Defendant from office on April 28, 2025. As recent Supreme Court orders have recognized, the President cannot meaningfully exercise his executive power under Article II of the Constitution without the power to select—and, when necessary, remove—those who hold federal office. Personnel is policy, after all.”
The Trump administration notched another victory this week when U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington granted a motion to dismiss a case brought by five organizations to stop the cancellation of more than 360 grant awards by the Justice Department. However, in reaching this relatively straightforward conclusion, Judge Mehta opted to follow a pattern set by other judges in adding his own personal commentary on the wisdom of the policy change.