“Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore slavery exhibits to the President’s House; ‘As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s “1984” now existed … this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims,’ Rufe wrote; ‘It does not’”: Abraham Gutman and Fallon Roth of The Philadelphia Inquirer have this report.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued this memorandum opinion and preliminary injunction order today.
“Judicial Notice (02.16.26): An Embarrassing Distraction; The resignation of Kathy Ruemmler, a humiliating defeat for the Trump DOJ, a judge’s acknowledgment of an ‘abusive’ workplace, and a smart move by Cooley.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.
“Is Sam Alito on His Way Out?” You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.
“210. The President’s Lack of Power Over Elections: President Trump keeps insisting that he can unilaterally change the rules for voting in the midterms; It’s not just that he’s *wrong*; it’s that there’s no mechanism through which he could even *try.*” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.
“The Plan for a Radically Different Supreme Court Is Here”: Jeffrey Toobin has this guest essay online at The New York Times.
“Nobody asked: Trump’s DOJ steps up uninvited recommendations at Supreme Court.” John Fritze of CNN has this report.
And at “SCOTUSblog,” John Elwood has a post titled “No invitation necessary: when the solicitor general weighs in unsolicited.”
“The unintended hilarity of Pam Bondi’s finger-wagging testimony”: Lorraine Ali has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.
“The Situation: ‘Horsefeathers!’ A federal judge with a unique style in punctuation.” Benjamin Wittes has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.
You can access the decision at this link.
“Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal could hang on a silenced juror; Bizarre misconduct haunts the case of a prominent lawyer who killed his wife and son”: Columnist Kathleen Parker has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“5 Takeaways From Brad Karp’s Emails With Jeffrey Epstein; Karp began dealing with Epstein to serve a key client; But at some point, things went off the rails — badly”: David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.
“New judicial ethics code says judges may speak out against ‘illegitimate’ attacks”: Tierney Sneed of CNN has this report.
And Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law reports that “Federal Judges Have ‘Limits’ On Speaking About Legal Issues.”
“Judge Boasberg orders return of Venezuelans citing ‘flagrancy’ of due process violations; They were deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison in violation of a court order”: Laura Romero of ABC News has this report.
You can access the ruling at this link.
“Trump’s death-row revenge gambit hits a judicial snag; The president uses blunt executive power to punish beneficiaries of Biden-commuted sentences”: Columnist Jason Willick has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“The Concentration Camp Next Door: The Trump administration has weaponized immigration detention against America.” You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.
“Extended Interview: Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.” CBS News has posted this video online.
“States ready to seize Supreme Court redistricting decision amid countdown to midterm elections”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this news analysis.
“Justice Scalia ten years later”: Brian Fitzpatrick has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
“California Supreme Court has had a vacancy for over three months. Here’s how it impacts cases”: Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this report.
“DOJ’s targeting of Trump critics ramps up with attempt to indict lawmakers; The case is the first time the Justice Department has attempted to classify critical speech from prominent Trump detractors as a crime”: Jeremy Roebuck, Perry Stein, Theodoric Meyer, and Salvador Rizzo of The Washington Post have this report.
And in commentary, online at The New York Times, Chesa Boudin and law professor Eric S. Fish have a guest essay titled “A Grand Jury Will Indict a Ham Sandwich? Not in the Trump Era.”
“The Conservative Movement Was Ready For Antonin Scalia’s Death; The sequence of events kicked off by Scalia’s passing a decade ago might feel improbable; But the right was waiting for its chance to capture the Court, and didn’t let it go to waste”: Jay Willis has this essay online at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.
“Solicitor General Pushing Justices to Take More Cases Uninvited”: Justin Wise and Jordan Fischer of Bloomberg Law have this report.
“Supreme Court Schedules Opinions on Feb. 20 as Tariff Case Looms”: Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.
“Trump Yet to Announce Judicial Nominations in Some Red States”: Tiana Headley of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“Justice Antonin Scalia’s Legacy: 10 Years Later | Day 2”: American Enterprise Institute has posted this video on YouTube.
And Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal reports that “Judges Recount Scalia Clerkships Ahead of 10-Year Anniversary of His Death; ‘You learned very quickly as a Scalia clerk that he wouldn’t respect you if you wouldn’t disagree,’ said Judge Jeffrey Sutton.”
“How a supplier of nuts and bolts could curb Trump’s tariff overreach; A new lawsuit reveals how businesses are forced to navigate an opaque and arbitrary system”: Scott Lincicome and Inu Manak have this essay online at The Washington Post.
“On Trump’s Tariffs, Supreme Court Hurries Up and Waits; The justices put the case on a fast track at the administration’s urging; But they don’t seem in a rush to rule on the president’s signature economic program”: You can access the first installment of Adam Liptak’s weekly “The Docket” newsletter online at The New York Times at this link.
“Americans Are Paying the Bill for Tariffs, Despite Trump’s Claims; Research from the New York Fed confirms that U.S. companies and consumers are bearing tariff costs, despite the president’s assertions otherwise”: Ana Swanson and Sydney Ember of The New York Times have this report.
“Samuel Alito Is a Great Man, According to a Former Alito Clerk Arguing Cases at the Supreme Court; Ben Aguiñaga, Louisiana’s solicitor general, has argued before the justices three times this term; In a possibly related story, he just wrote an op-ed describing his old boss as ‘kind, humble, thoughtful and selfless’”: Jay Willis has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.
“Judge halts transfer of former federal death row inmates to ‘supermax’ prison; Attorney General Pam Bondi had vowed to transfer the prisoners”: Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico have this report.
You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia at this link.
“‘If We Don’t Have Free Speech, Then We Just Don’t Have a Free Country’; Donald Trump’s attempt to criminalize political expression is crossing a line that’s held since 1798”: Susan B. Glasser has this essay online at The New Yorker.
“Red-state senators must pick up the pace to get Trump judges confirmed; Nearly two dozen district court vacancies remain unfilled in red states including Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas”: Mike Davis has this essay online at Fox News.
“Pam Bondi’s Contempt for Congress; The Attorney General treats oversight like roller derby”: Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.
“Goldstein Grilled on Past Lies, Accused of Playing the Victim”: Holly Barker of Bloomberg Law has this report.
And Mike Scarcella of Reuters reports that “Lawyer Tom Goldstein admits ‘mistakes’ but denies tax crimes at US trial.”
“Barack Obama’s Supreme Court Confirmation Battles vs. Bill Clinton’s; What a difference 16 years makes”: Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.
“Even Trump’s own appointees are ruling against ICE’s mass detention strategy; A POLITICO review shows more than 350 judges have rejected the administration’s approach”: Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.
And in commentary, online at The New York Times, columnist David French has an essay titled “A Very Dangerous Ruling in New Orleans.”
