This Small Business Is in Limbo As Owner Sues To Stop Trump's Tariffs
Next week could be a pivotal one, as a federal appeals court could decide whether to restore an injunction against Trump's tariffs.
Executive Power
The Legal Battle Over the Motion to Stay the Decision Against Trump's Tariffs
This crucial procedural issue is now before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Its resolution will determine whether the tariffs are immediately suspended, or get to continue so long as the case is stil being litigated.
A Federal Judge Orders Relief for Alleged Gang Members Deported and Imprisoned Without Due Process
Without such intervention, he warns, the government "could snatch anyone off the street, turn him over to a foreign country, and then effectively foreclose any corrective course of action."
Michael McConnell on the Tariff Cases and their Significance
A leading conservative legal scholar explains why striking down Trump's IEEPA tariffs is vital to protecting the separation of powers.
Trump's Haste Begets Lawlessness
The president treats legal constraints as inconveniences that can be overridden by executive fiat.
Washington Post Article Stresses the Library of Congress's Name, but Largely Ignores Judicial Precedent …
that treats the Library of Congress as an Executive Branch department as to Presidential removal of the Librarian.
What J.D. Vance Gets Wrong About Judicial Deference to Executive Power
The federal courts are supposed to be a bulwark against presidential overreach, not a rubber stamp.
My New Atlantic Article on the Tariff Case and its Significance
It explains how the ruling is a win for separation of powers and the rule of law.
How Our Tariff Case Came About
The Wall Street Journal, CBC, and Time published good articles on the story behind the case filed by the Liberty Justice Center and myself.
Some Interviews About Our Tariff Case
Some of the more informative interviews I have done about our win in the case against Trump's tariffs, in lawsuit filed by the Liberty Justice Center and myself.
Federal District Court Issues Another Ruling Against Trump's IEEPA Tariffs
The decision by Judge Rudolph Contreras of the US District Court for the District Columbia holds IEEPA doesn't authorize the president to impose tariffs at all.
Did 'Activist Judges' Derail Trump's Tariffs?
No. One of the judges in Wednesday's unanimous ruling was a Trump appointee, and the ruling rested on important legal and constitutional principles.
We Won Our Tariff Case!
The Court of International Trade just issued a decision striking down Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs and other IEEPA tariffs.
A Federal Court Just Blocked Trump's Tariffs
The Court of International Trade ruled that Trump's emergency economic powers do not include the authority to impose tariffs on nearly all imports.
A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm
The president's crusade against attorneys whose work offends him, which defies the First Amendment and undermines the right to counsel, has provoked several judicial rebukes.
Trump's War on Law Firms Fails
Plus: Punk rock comptroller, dunking on Pete Hegseth, France embraces Canadian health care, and more...
President Trump Made History Last Week on the Supreme Court's Shadow Docket
The Supreme Court very strongly hinted that it will overrule, or greatly narrow, Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935).
Video of Cato Institute Virtual Event on "Tariffs, Emergencies, and Presidential Power"
I spoke along with my Cato colleague Walter Olson.
The Case Against Judicial Deference to Executive Branch "Factual" Determinations in Alien Enemies Act Cases
Legal scholar Rebecca Ingber offers some strong arguments against deference in this context.
Thoughts on the Oral Argument in the Oregon Case Against Trump's IEEPA Tariffs
Like that in the similar case filed by Liberty Justice Center and myself, this one indicated judicial skepticism of Trump's claims to virtually unlimited power to impose tariffs.
The Executive Power Case That Unites Donald Trump and Franklin Roosevelt
Trump’s firing of a federal agency head may soon spell doom for a New Deal era precedent that limited presidential power.
Supreme Court Stays Reinstatement of Fired NLRB and MSPB Members
"Because the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents."
Forbes Interview on Developments in Our Case and Other Litigation Against Trump's "Liberation Day" Tariffs
I was interviewed by Brittany Lewis of Forbes.
Fourth Circuit Rules Against Trump Administration in Alien Enemies Act Case
In a 2-1 ruling, the Court ruled Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act cannot supersede a settlement barring deportation of a group of migrants. One judge also held the AEA was invoked illegally.
Lee Kovarsky, D. Theodore Rave, and Steve Vladeck on Class Actions and the Alien Enemies Act Litigation
Kovarsky and Rave defend the use of class actions in AEA habeas cases. Vladeck highlights the significance of the Supreme Court's grant of an injunction to a "putative class" of AEA detainees.
My New Lawfare Article "Trump's 'Emergencies' Are Pretexts for Undermining the Constitution"
The article explains why these claims to emergency powers are illegal and dangerous, and how to stop them.
Trump (Partially) Wins an Alien Enemies Act Case
In a badly flawed decision, a federal district court ruled that Trump can invoke the AEA because the Tren de Aragua drug gang's activities amount to a "predatory incursion."
New Republic Podcast Interview on Our Case Against Trump's "Liberation Day" Tariffs [Updated With Embedded Audio]
Greg Sargent of the New Republic interviewed me.
Trump's 'Deal' With China Leaves American Consumers and Exporters Facing Higher Tariffs Than Before
The White House calls it "the art of the deal," but a 30 percent tariff on imports from China is economically damaging and constitutionally dubious.
The Federal Government's 175,000 Pages of Regulations Turn the Rule of Law Into a Cruel Joke
Trump rightly decries the "absurd and unjust" consequences of proliferating regulatory crimes.
Thoughts on Today's Oral Argument in Our Case Against Trump's IEEPA Tariffs
Outcomes are hard to predict. But the judges seemed skeptical of the government's claim that Trump has virtually unlimited authority to impose tariffs.
Amy Coney Barrett's "Suspension and Delegation" Revisited
One of the justices wrote extensively about when and whether the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended.
Defenders of Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Offer an Implausible Take on a 127-Year-Old Precedent
Briefs urging the Supreme Court to stay injunctions against the order challenge "the conventional wisdom" about the meaning of an 1898 decision interpreting the 14th Amendment.
How Joe Biden and Donald Trump's Perverse Pardons Undermined the Rule of Law
Biden's pardons for friends and Trump's blanket pardons for January 6 participants set terrible precedents.
President Biden's and the Democrats' Assault on the Supreme Court and the Rule of Law
Democrats tried to alter unconstitutionally the membership of the Supreme Court; they extorted Facebook into censoring free speech; they issued presidential executive orders unsupported by statute; and they pushed unprecedented prosecutions of Biden's predecessor in office, and his 2024 opponent, in the presidential race.
Colorado Federal District Court Issues Additional Alien Enemies Act Ruling Against Trump
The court instituted a preliminary injunction against the Administration's use of the Act to deport Venezuelans.
NPR Interview on Legal Challenges to Trump's IEEPA Tariffs
Steve Inskeep of NPR interviewed me about the case against Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Trump Administration Makes Damaging Admissions on Alien Enemies Act and Deportations
Trump admits he could return migrant illegally deported to El Salvador. And an intelligence community report concludes the Tren de Aragua drug gang isn't controlled by the Venezuelan government.
Yet Another Federal Court Rules Against Trump in an Alien Enemies Act Case
The Southern District of New York rules Trump invoked the Act illegally, because there is no "invasion" or "predatory incursion."
Rep. Suzan DelBene on Tariffs, Trade Policy, and Congressional Authority
"I've been very vocal about congressional authority under a Democratic president or now under a Republican president," the Washington state congresswoman tells Reason.
What if the President Tries to Annex Greenland and Canada?
Trump's new imperialism makes neither economic nor geopolitical sense.
Can the President Refuse To Spend Money Authorized by Congress?
Impoundment, line-item vetoes, and the tricky problem of cutting spending through the executive branch
Why the Major Questions Doctrine Applies to the President, Not Just Executive Agencies
This is a key issue in cases seeking to limit executive branch power grabs, including Trump's tariffs. Judge Ryan Nelson (a conservative Trump appointee) explains why the president is not exempt from the doctrine.
