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A divided Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled 2-1 that in the wake of Trump v. Illinois, the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment to Los Angeles in 2025 was unlawful. In particular, the court held that the order exceeded the President’s statutory authority “and encroached on Congress’s calling forth power, in violation of the constitutional separation of powers.” (Opinion.) (The Hill.)
A divided en banc Fifth Circuit on Friday ruled that noncitizens residing unlawfully in the country have no constitutional entitlement to bond hearings. The court held that the due process requirement of the Fifth Amendment did not entitle the petitioners to proceedings beyond what Congress provided in 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). (Opinion.)
The Justice Department on Thursday sued the State of Alaska and its election officials to block the certification of the Senate results if Senator Dan Sullivan loses and the votes cast for a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, would have changed the outcome. The complaint alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan ran “with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for him.” (Complaint.) (NYT.) (The Hill.)
Anna Bower, Eric Columbus, and Molly Roberts analyzed former FBI Director James Comey’s four pending motions in the “86, 47” prosecution, concluding that the prosecution’s case appears to be “utterly lacking in merit,” while conceding that the case may still go to trial regardless. (Lawfare I.) (Lawfare II.)
Rick Hasen wrote that the major questions doctrine on its own should doom Justice Department lawsuits in Alaska and California, because of the fundamental premise in the doctrine that Congress would not hide broad executive branch authority over elections in statutes without being clear about its intentions. (Election Law Blog.)
Rodger Citron argued that Chief Justice Roberts’ long game is to expand executive power, and analyzes how recent Supreme Court cases such as Trump v. Slaughter and Humphrey’s Executor v. United States fit into this paradigm. (SCOTUSblog.)