When so many elected officials and prominent, powerful people are not using their positions and platforms to directly and forcefully oppose the Trump executive’s lawless, thuggish, totalitarianism, it is important to be aware of what doing that looks like. People like Schumer and Jeffries, Cook and Bezos should be asked, as often as possible, how they can live with themselves when lone trial court judges are doing more to fight for U.S. constitutional democracy and rule of law then they are. 8/8
Discussion
Loading...
@heidilifeldman
That's awesome, not that they will comply by any means but still awesome.
@heidilifeldman County DAs need to start bringing criminal charges against ICE operatives and agents wherever they violently attack civilians or conspire to violate the Constitutional rights of people.
The Cabinet secretaries and ostensibly, the president of the United States, are not honoring the First Amendment,” U.S. District Judge William Young declared. - yesterday
@heidilifeldman I don't understand. Surely peaceful protest should be protected like this anyway?
Federal agents may not:
- retaliate against peaceful, unobstructivd protesters and observers.
- arrest or detain such folks in retaliation for their 1st Amendment protected activity and must comply with all 4th A requirements before arresting or detaining.
- use pepper spray and similar munitions against people peacefully and unobstructively protesting and observing.
… 2/
@heidilifeldman You follow this stuff more closely than I do, so this is a sincere question: has there been, at any time, any actual contempt holding against any member of the Trump administration for disobeying a court order? The only one that's on my radar screen is the one about the planes to El Salvador, and last I heard the judge -- Boasberg, right? -- is still taking testimony and reading briefs and trying to decide what to do. As things stand right now, does the administration have any concrete reason to believe that anything bad will happen if they simply ignore court orders? Again, that sounds rhetorical, but I don't mean it that way; I'm honestly curious.
…
- stop or detain vehicle drivers and passengers without reasonable suspicion they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with Fed agents. Safely following Fed agents and appropriate distance does not create reasonable suspicion that would justify a vehicle stop. 3/
@heidilifeldman
I'm wondering how we can determine if they are federal agents. I wouldn't want to stop for armed masked people without any identification than aggression and brutality. They didn't invent those.
The judge refused DHS and other defendants request for a stay of the temporary injunction pending appeal. The injunctive relief is narrower than what the plaintiffs requested. Either side may appeal and I fully expect DHS et al to do so. 4/
@heidilifeldman It’s shameful and ridiculous that any of that needed to be pointed out and what are the consequences when the DHS just ignore this?
A Trump regime appeal will shoot up to the Roberts Court swiftly, I expect. I have no confidence the Roberts Court will act as a legitimate court so am doubtful they will allow the trial judge’s effort to check the violent, illegal actions of DHS/ICE in Minneapolis. Even if they do allow it, I think this will be another situation where the Trump regime will repeatedly not comply and Roberts Court will do all it can to allow noncompliance. 5/
@heidilifeldman not looking forward to getting kavanaugh detention and kavanaugh immunity
If it seems to you that all the trial judge did was to restate settled law and tell DHS et al they have to obey the law, you are correct. But when faced with a lawless executive branch, it takes guts for individual trial court judges to make it clear that the executive cannot be trusted to abide by the U.S. Constitution and must be told what the Constitution unquestionably requires. 6/
@heidilifeldman Agreed about the guts. The judge has to have been aware of the strong likelihood that his home address and the address of his kids' school would hit right-wing social media about five minutes after he issued the ruling. But, at the risk of being That Guy who won't take a win, it's difficult to summon up a lot of enthusiasm for all the good stuff that happens at the trial court level when there are such overwhelming odds of it being ignored by the administration, overturned by the Supremes, or both.
1 more replies (not shown)
This trial judge joins the numerous others in the federal judiciary creating pressure on the Roberts Court to uphold the Constitution or continue to be ignominiously and conclusively exposed as corrupt and lawless.
I chronicle what a court like this one does because the judge is both upholding the Constitution and doing all that a single trial court judge can do to oppose the lawless Trump executive. No trial court judge can do more. 7/
1+ more replies (not shown)