One Trump-appointed judge shows some sense
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A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an unusual Trump administration lawsuit against every federal judge in Maryland over a standing order that limits the government’s ability to quickly deport immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, who normally sits in Virginia but was assigned the case because the Maryland judges could not participate, wrote in the ruling that filing suit against the judges was not the correct avenue with which to challenge the order.
At issue was a standing order issued by Chief Judge George Russell on May 21 and updated a week later that described how federal judges in Maryland should handle cases involving immigrants facing an imminent risk of deportation. The order imposes a temporary stay of deportation for two business days while a case is considered.
The Justice Department sued, saying Russell had no authority to issue such a blanket order that effectively acts as a broad injunction against government actions without any assessment of whether the individual immigrants have valid cases.
But Cullen, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, concluded that the administration would have to find another way to challenge the order instead of taking the unusual and confrontational approach of suing the judges directly.
“Much as the Executive fights the characterization, a lawsuit by the executive branch of government against the judicial branch for the exercise of judicial power is not ordinary," he wrote.
"Whatever the merits of its grievance with the judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the Executive must find a proper way to raise those concerns,” he added.w.
