Though the practice most certainly isn’t new, there has been a noticeable uptick since President Donald Trump took office in federal district judges issuing nationwide injunctions that put a freeze on the implementation of policies that touch on important — and, at times, partisan — issues.
But Attorney General William Barr has apparently seen enough of that. According to The Washington Examiner, he’s calling for the judicial branch to rein in the activist judges and refrain from issuing any further injunctions.
Not the Founders’ intention
Barr made his demand known in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal.
The attorney general wrote that the injunctions “create an unfair, one-way system in which the democratically accountable government must fend off case after case to put its policy into effect, while those challenging the policy need only find a single sympathetic judge.”
Hearkening back to the founding of our nation and the framers of the Constitution, the attorney general suggested that the courts were never intended to “act as a ‘council of revision’ with sweeping authority to reach beyond concrete controversies and rule on the legality of actions taken by the political branches.”
Trump v. Obama
Of course, nationwide injunctions have been issued against prior administrations, both Democrat and Republican alike, but the frequency of the use of that judicial tool has risen dramatically since President Trump took office in January 2017.
In fact, Barr noted, only 20 nationwide injunctions were issued during the eight years former President Barack Obama held office. In comparison, there have already been at least 40 such injunctions issued in the two-and-a-half years since Trump was sworn in.
Alongside partisan activists dedicated to opposing the Trump administration’s every move, Barr wrote, “shrewd lawyers have learned to ‘shop’ for a sympathetic judge willing to issue such an injunction.”
Indeed, “these days, virtually every significant congressional or presidential initiative is enjoined — often within hours — threatening our democratic system and undermining the rule of law,” Barr added. The AG warned Democrats that, while injunctions could be serving their partisan agenda at the moment, there could easily come a day when a future blue administration faces the same opposition.
Legal limbo
While there are a plethora of enjoined cases to highlight — such as the injunctions against Trump’s security-related travel ban or the restrictions against transgender military service — Barr pointed out that the “best example” of the sort of “harm” caused by nationwide injunctions was the one imposed against the administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which had been created by Obama via executive order.
In Barr’s view, that summary injunction undermined any possibility of a compromise on immigration and border security policies that could have included DACA as part of a deal, and instead, left program enrollees in a state of “legal limbo” while the appeals process slowly but surely reaches the Supreme Court for a final decision.
“It is indeed well past time for our judiciary to re-examine a practice that embitters the political life of the nation, flouts constitutional principles, and stultifies sound judicial administration, all at the cost of public confidence in our institutions,” Barr wrote. And I couldn’t agree more.
974 Responses
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!|
A lot of blog writers nowadays but just a few have blog posts worth spending time on reading.
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.|
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!|
Hi there I am so thrilled I found your blog, I really found you by mistake, while I was researching on Askjeeve for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thank you for a marvelous post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the minute but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the awesome jo.|
Kho số đẹp có dây đẹp, độc, vip thực hiện tổng đài, đường dây nóng kinh doanh.
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? Thanks
Heya are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!|
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.|
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I’m quite sure I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!|
certainly like your website but you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the reality on the other hand I will definitely come again again.
I will immediately grab your rss feed as I can not to find your email subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly allow me understand in order that I may just subscribe. Thanks.|
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your web site provided us with helpful info to work on. You have performed a formidable job and our entire neighborhood will probably be thankful to you.|
Hello, just wanted to tell you, I loved this blog post. It was inspiring. Keep on posting!|
Thanks on your marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you can be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and definitely will come back someday. I want to encourage continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!|
Everything is very open with a really clear explanation of the issues. It was truly informative. Your site is very helpful. Thanks for sharing!|
Good way of telling, and pleasant article to get data on the topic of my presentation focus, which i am going to convey in college.|
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!|
This is very attention-grabbing, You’re an overly professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and look ahead to in quest of more of your fantastic post. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks|
Hello, this weekend is nice in favor of me, for the reason that this moment i am reading this impressive informative article here at my residence.|
Simply want to say your article is as astonishing. The clarity to your post is simply great and i can suppose you are a professional in this subject. Fine together with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with imminent post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please carry on the gratifying work.|
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for meta_keyword|
I’m now not certain where you are getting your info, however great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or working out more. Thank you for wonderful information I was searching for this information for my mission.|
Hello there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I most certainly will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!|
I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Great work!|
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. cheers|
all the time i used to read smaller articles or reviews that as well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this article which I am reading at this place.|
Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!|