The U.S. Supreme Court has reclaimed power from activist U.S. district court judges, restoring the idea that there is only one U.S. Supreme Court, the court that can rule for the nation, not a thousand district courts all entitled to rule for the nation. Democrats are livid. So be it.
Specifically, US district courts with activist judges in the past decade have asserted authorities beyond their statutory right – which limits their authority to parties before them and a limited geographic reach. Lately, these courts have jumped rails to stop Trump’s Executive Orders.
That perversion of authority, deliberate overreach, and last stand of left-leaning activists – after Democrats lost the White House and Congress – is now over. The wording in this 6-3 decision is clear. District Court judges cannot pretend to be the President, Congress, or Supreme Court.
In short, the High Court – in one of the last and most far-reaching cases of the year, held that “universal” or “nationwide injunctions” cannot be issued by any district courts.
Before them was one of dozens of cases that stripped President Trump of Article II powers, by ruling nationwide on local facts. That creeping menace is now dead.
As major media noted, the High Court did not rule on the underlying Trump challenge to Birthright citizenship, which Trump argues was intended – in the 14th Amendment – only to protect black former slaves, not future illegal aliens.
The opinion, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, indicates “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them…When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too.”
Long-awaited, the ruling will have a ripple effect, opening the door to fewer rulings against Trump and less reach for injunctions with limited impact.
Not surprisingly, Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, saying “absent cumbersome class-action litigation, courts cannot completely enjoin even such plainly unlawful policies unless doing so is necessary to afford the formal parties complete relief.” Her prejudice was on full display, and she was marginalized.
Responding to the nearly incomprehensible dissent by Justice Jackson, Barrett was dismissive. As the New York Post reported: “Conservative…Justice…Barrett stunned veteran bench watchers…with a blunt takedown of liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s ‘extreme’ dissent in the landmark birthright citizenship case in which the Supreme Court curtailed lower court use of nationwide injunctions.”
So, where does this leave us? While the birthright citizenship issue has not been resolved, an issue of enormous importance has been. District court judges “feeling their oats,” hoping to revert to the common habit of political activism in a former life, cannot “play president.” They can no longer stretch their rulings beyond all reason, no more socks over basketballs, no more pretend authority.
Bottom line: Future Trump Executive Authorities may be challenged here and there, but the rulings that emerge from these challenges – win, lose, or draw – will not have any national impact, no controlling value, just a moment of pique and done.
Looming still is whether the 14th Amendment was intended for limited scope or an unending license for reckless wreckage of America’s public safety, unfettered birthright to those which no link to America, but are inside the border illegally. If this is the case, any sign, we may hope for limits. For now, the ruling is clear and significant: Only the U.S. Supreme Court is supreme.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).
This decision has been a long time coming and will, for the most part, eliminate judge shopping by activist plaintiffs on both ends of the political spectrum.
What we likely will see is a greater frequency of similar law suits filed in multiple district courts at the same time and/or attempts by plaintiffs to certify class action status.
In any case, potential nationwide issues will move through normal channels from the district courts to appellate courts with the Supreme Court stepping in as needed to resolve nationwide conflicts.
RBC, finally, this is what has been needed since so many lesser courts were overstepping their jurisdiction authority, thinking they were equated to the Supreme Court of the land. Again, the Demos are using the lesser courts as a delaying action against President Trump as they attempt to “get their ducks in a row”.
Scalia was great and there are 2 more who are very good. The rest of the Judges should have been JUDGED before appointed. Too many are upholding the Socialist/Communist ideology. Must find a way to rid them.
Justice Barrett response to Justice Jackson’s decent was classic Scalia.
In all honesty, Justice Jackson should not have been appointed to the SC.
There certainly had been a more deserving person.
Every judge before taking office swore to uphold the law. That is it. Law is a law, not the personal or political believes can influence them, law only, it is clear and can’t be twisted or reshaped like a pretzel. There should not be any confusion about it , if they have a problem with that then obviously they are in the wrong job .Anyone else would be fired.They still hold on
One of my biggest concerns is giving children born here of no fault of their own an option to deport with parent or apply for legit citizenship. Much like abortion, they must have a voice, they had no control over where they were born and if living here their entire life, should not just be banned, but given an opportunity to do the right thing in becoming a citizen.
I am so sick and tired of this judicial BS!!! These judges who are playing politics and claiming that they can’t implement rulings from the SCOTUS, like Bruen, because they don’t understand it, MUST be removed from the bench for gross incompetence and just being outright stupid. If they can’t comprehend the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our laws on the books, and implement them accordingly, they have no business sitting on the bench or holding a law license. This is beyond ridiculous, and it needs to stop. If the only way to stop it is to impeach these lawless, politically driven judges, then we MUST impeach them. Impeach some and see how fast the others fall in line and miraculously understand our laws
If birthright citizenship for everyone born in the U. S. was the law, then the 1924 act the made AmrInds citizens was unnecessary. We would have already been citizens, so no new law would be needed. The argument for everyone born in the U. S. To be a citizen is bogus and not supported by any reasonable reading of the amendment.
Perhaps the members of the Supreme Court can be required to take competency tests on the Constitution, Bill Of Rights etc. to see if they are still mentally capable of being on the Supreme Court of the land. This would not only alleviate fears of senility etc. but also allow for the removal of those who were not and are not fit for the job to begin with!
But sometimes we wonder why there are still dissenters in the Supreme Court when they are supposed to interpret the same law, and it is always the three Democrat appointed Judges who does it. This defines them as more loyal to their party than to the LAW of the COUNTRY. Can they be fired if they consistently dissent to favor their party’s agenda? They are supposed to be united if they are interpreting the SAME LAW, BUT AS WE CAN SEE THEY ARE NOT.
In my mind the fact that the vote was 6-3 and not 9-0 means that the Supreme Court is not supreme. The ruling only went the way it was supposed to go solely because the Conservative Judges outnumber the liberals and not by the Constitution as it was supposed to be voted. These liberal Judges within the lower, Federal and Supreme Courts should all be IMPEACHED for making their decisions based on their liberal agendas and not by the Constitution or the laws of America. Every future election a liberal far left democrat wins, it’s guaranteed that they will add to the number of Federal and Supreme Court Judges.
Finally, an actual ruling on the Separation Of Powers clause in the Constitution! My only question is what took so long? These LIEberal DemoKKKRAT “judges” attacking DJT ALL need to be removed from the bench and disbarred! CONgress needs to eliminate a bunch of these Judicial Districts and these LIEberal “judges” that make up the laws as they go along and have terminal TDS. The DemoKKKRATS created many of them to specifically fight DJT. Traitors!
Justice Sonia Sotomayor is still incompetent regardless of her opinion. Our judicial system is off the rails and the Supreme Court should have weighed in long ago on the deviate District Court mess. Look no further than the Chief Justice.