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The Supreme Court on Monday denied former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox’s petition for certiorari in a case challenging the president’s authority to fire her without cause. (Order List.) (Reuters.)
Mahmoud Khalil petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday to review a divided Third Circuit panel decision from January holding that federal district courts lack jurisdiction to hear his First and Fifth Amendment challenges to his detention and removal. (Petition for Certiorari.) (NYT.) (WaPo.) For background on Mahmoud Khalil, see a previous Roundup.
Judge Ana C. Reyes (D.D.C.) held a seven-hour hearing on Monday on whether recent tree removals in DC’s East Potomac Park were part of a longstanding maintenance plan or were a more recent decision related to President Trump’s plans to overhaul the grounds. (Docket.) (NYT.) (WSJ.) Judge Reyes stated she was considering halting all work at the site. (Mem. Op.) (One First.) For background, see yesterday’s Roundup.
The Justice Department on Monday announced charges against 28 foreign nationals in California as part of “Operation Protect the Vote.” The department said all 28 are lawful permanent residents and have been charged with crimes such as making false statements in a naturalization application and fraudulent voter registration. (Press Release.) (NYT.)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill struck a deal with the Trump Administration, effective Monday, to close 18 federal civil rights investigations and avoid losing federal funding. The terms of the agreement include an affirmation by UNC of its commitment to academic freedom and civil rights, a promise to maintain policies preventing antisemitism on its campus, and a pledge to adopt “color-blind admissions.” (Agreement.) (NYT.)
Jack Goldsmith argued that Senator Elissa Slotkin’s remarks at an October 13 University of Chicago event and the subsequent Republican response represent “a window into our bubbled, mutually recriminatory, tit-for-tat, weaponizing political/legal culture, and a preview of what’s ahead.” (Executive Functions.)
Adam Feldman found that the Trump administrations have fared better than the Biden administration when asking the Supreme Court for emergency relief, but that the gap largely disappears once cases in which the government opposed emergency applications are accounted for. (SCOTUSblog.)
Former federal prosecutor Leo Wise argued that “starting in the 1980s, the Supreme Court has interpreted anti-corruption laws in ways so narrow as to effectively legalize flat-out corruption.” (The Atlantic.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Trump v. Kingdom: The government filed an application to the Supreme Court on September 28 seeking a stay of the district court’s August 26 order barring enforcement of the Bureau of Prisons’ 2026 policy ending hormone therapy, “sex-trait-modification surgery,” and social accommodations for inmates with gender dysphoria. The respondents filed their opposition on October 8, and the government submitted its reply on October 9.