I wrote a brief submit about A.A.R.P. v. Trump. Right here, I’ll stroll via the complicated procedural posture of this case. I’ll do my finest to put out it clearly, and supply commentary on the finish.
Within the wake of J.G.G. v. Trump, district courts in Texas have asserted jurisdiction over alleged gang members who’re slated for elimination to El Salvador. A few of these aliens are at the moment being held in Abilene, Texas. Choose Wesley Hendrix retains his chambers in Lubbock, however attracts circumstances from the Abilene Division of the Northern District of Texas.
On April 16, 2025 the ACLU filed go well with on behalf of A.A.R.P and W.M. within the Abilene Division. They sought an ex parte TRO, alleging that the federal authorities deliberate to imminently take away the aliens. The federal government filed a reply later that day. On April 17, 2025, Choose Hendrix denied the TRO on the grounds that the elimination was not imminent. That night, counsel for the ACLU left a voicemail with the courtroom concerning the case. Later that night, the courtroom dominated that any emergency reduction have to be sought on the docket. On April 18, at 12:34 a.m., the ACLU sought a second emergency TRO. Beneath a previous order, the federal government had twenty-four hours to reply. The Court docket famous the case “raised a collection of difficult questions” and “believed that 24 hours was an applicable time” to reply. Furthermore, Friday was (for many who could not have identified) Good Friday, and many individuals merely weren’t out there to work that day. (We are going to see if the ACLU brings an Institution Clause declare in opposition to the choose for citing a non secular vacation to justify a delay.) Choose Hendrix mentioned he would rule by Saturday, April 19. However he would by no means be given the possibility to rule.
The ACLU filed one other movement for an emergency instant standing convention at 12:48 p.m. CT. The movement said that if the federal government did rule by 1:30 p.m.–forty-two minutes later–the ACLU would search emergency reduction from the Fifth Circuit. Choose Hendricks didn’t rule on the movement inside forty-two minutes. The ACLU sought an attraction. However by submitting an attraction, the ACLU divested Choose Hendricks of jurisdiction to proceed, and the possibility to rule.
At this level, the timeline will get fuzzy, as ECF doesn’t monitor the exact occasions when motions are docketed. However, as finest as I can inform, a number of hours after the 1:30 p.m. deadline the case arrived on the Fifth Circuit. The ACLU requested an instantaneous ruling from the Fifth Circuit. Beneath the same old observe, when an emergency case arrives to the Fifth Circuit, the clerk assigns it a docket quantity, and it’s assigned to a randomly drawn emergency panel. There is no such thing as a motive to suppose the judges on this panel have been monitoring the case, not to mention aware of the complicated procedural posture. Certainly, it’s cheap to imagine that on Good Friday, judges would have already left the workplace and their clerks have gone residence.
In some unspecified time in the future on April 18 earlier than midnight central time, the Fifth Circuit issued a per curiam order with a concurrence by Choose Ramirez. The unanimous panel (Ho, Wilson, Ramirez) discovered that the courtroom lacked appellate jurisdiction. (I am going to describe that opinion in one other submit.) I do know the opinion got here earlier than midnight central time, as a result of the opinion is stamped by the clerk with the date of April 18. Midnight central time is 1:00 a.m. ET. In line with SCOTUSBlog, the Court docket’s choice was launched to the reporters round 1:00 a.m. ET. I am unable to pin down which order was issued first: the Fifth Circuit order or the Supreme Court docket order. It is attainable the Fifth Circuit acted first. It is attainable the Supreme Court docket acted first. There’s something of a Schrodinger’s Field drawback. The case was each determined and it was not determined.
Within the summary, the ordering does matter. Had the Fifth Circuit issued some choice, the Supreme Court docket would arguably have some decrease courtroom ruling to evaluation. This posture would keep away from the Marbury drawback. But when the Fifth Circuit had not but dominated, there could be nothing for the Supreme Court docket to evaluation. This temporal debate is irrelevant as a result of the Supreme Court docket’s order itself states that the Fifth Circuit had not but dominated, and that was the idea for the Justices’ vote. It’s a curious query whether or not the Fifth Circuit’s ruling after the Supreme Court docket’s ruling retroactively supplied some type of appellate jurisdiction nunc professional tunc. I’m skeptical this might work. The overall rule is that jurisdiction have to be current always, and if jurisdiction is absent when the Court docket dominated, it can’t be restored after the very fact. This educational query is in the end irrelevant. At the very least 5 members of the Supreme Court docket issued an injunction in opposition to the chief department with out even having any decrease courtroom ruling. The Court docket mainly granted an “Administrative Keep” of an govt motion. This nomenclature is a perversion of federal courtroom jurisdiction. If that is the Chief Justice’s manner of avoiding a constitutional disaster, he ought to promptly join the advantages from A.A.R.P.
