In a May 12 speech at Southern Methodist University, reported by the Baltimore Sun on May 13, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned that political attacks on judges and the broader judicial system are “really an attack on our society,” and urged Americans to defend judicial independence. Her remarks came as President Trump publicly criticized judges …
On May 14, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in the consolidated challenges brought by Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey against executive orders that stripped their attorneys of security clearances, barred them from federal buildings, and directed reviews of their clients’ …
Slate interviews federal judges who describe an unprecedented climate of intimidation, doxing, swatting, and impeachment threats against members of the bench. The reporting highlights statements by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche calling for “war” with the judiciary, the Attorney General’s public attacks on judges who rule against the administration, and congressional calls to impeach at …
CNN reports that federal judges in Rhode Island took the unusual step of appointing a special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct by a senior Justice Department attorney in an immigration case. The piece situates the appointment within a broader pattern: judges in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., have tried to hold the Trump Justice Department …
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Washington, DC’s attorney disciplinary authorities over their recommendation to disbar Jeffrey Clark, a Trump ally and former assistant attorney general, for his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. Clark had drafted a letter urging Georgia’s state legislature to investigate alleged election irregularities and potentially appoint electors …
President Trump’s legal battle to sanction four major law firms—Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Susman Godfrey, and WilmerHale—continues after an appellate court heard arguments Thursday on whether to uphold lower-court decisions blocking the sanctions. The firms targeted attorneys who had opposed Trump or been associated with prosecutors who investigated the president. Paul Clement, representing the …
Kathleen Rubenstein, executive director of the Skadden Foundation (which administers the prestigious Skadden Fellows program), has resigned over law firm Skadden’s $100 million settlement with Trump that includes a commitment to fund at least five Skadden Fellows annually who represent a range of political views including conservative perspectives. Rubenstein stated she chose to resign rather …
An Associated Press analysis published May 2, 2026 found that during the second Trump administration’s first 15 months, district court judges have ruled the executive branch in violation of court orders in at least 31 separate lawsuits — roughly one of every eight cases in which courts have at least temporarily blocked administration action. Cited …
Broadcast on May 1, 2026, this WXXI public-radio program convenes retired federal and state judges to assess the state of judicial independence in the United States as the country approaches its 250th anniversary. Participants distinguish between ordinary public criticism of judicial decisions, which they characterize as constitutionally healthy, and a newer phenomenon in which sitting …
Four of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, including two for the Southern District of Texas, declined under oath to answer whether Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election or whether the U.S. Capitol was attacked on January 6, 2021, during Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, instead saying Biden had been “certified” as the winner and characterizing …