Appeals Court Blocks Anti-Trump Judge’s Contempt Order

Friday’s 2–1 decision is almost certain to be appealed to the full D.C. Circuit for en banc review, where the Democratic-majority bench is seen as more favorable to the plaintiffs or directly to the Supreme Court.

“The district court here was placed in an enormously difficult position,” Katsas said Friday, writing for the majority.

“Faced with an emergency situation, it had to digest and rule upon novel and complex issues within a matter of hours. In that context, the court quite understandably issued a written order that contained some ambiguity,” Katsas added.

Katsas emphasized that the appellate court’s decision does not address the legality of Trump’s March removals under the Alien Enemies Act, when administration officials used the 1798 immigration law to deport more than 250 Venezuelan nationals to CECOT, El Salvador’s maximum-security prison.

“Nor may we decide whether the government’s aggressive implementation of the presidential proclamation warrants praise or criticism as a policy matter,” he added. “Perhaps it should warrant more careful judicial scrutiny in the future. Perhaps it already has.” Continue reading…