Dear John,
America’s justice system is threatened by increasingly irresponsible attacks on judges by Administration officials who are displeased with court rulings. In a recent shocking example, the Administration filed a lawsuit against Maryland’s Federal Court that, in effect, seeks to penalize an entire federal court jurisdiction for rulings that the President opposes.
In its lawsuit, the Administration seeks to set aside a Standing Order of the Court that prohibits the federal government from removing from the continental United States a non-citizen habeas petitioner located in Maryland for two business days after the filing of the petition.
This week, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and its Maryland Chapter, MD-LDAD, along with the Society for the Rule of Law Institute and former Judge J. Michael Luttig, filed an amicus brief in opposition to this suit. The amicus brief asserts that the Administration’s lawsuit is an attempt to interfere with the Court’s inherent authority to manage its own docket and exercise its constitutional authority.
The brief emphasizes that the Administration’s position threatens the separation of powers and the rule of law by depriving non-citizen detainees the right of access to the courts and deprives the court of its constitutional authority to adjudicate cases.
Ed Waldman, an LDAD volunteer and a principal author of the brief, further explained:
“The amicus brief identifies the Administration’s repeated failure to provide timely, accurate information regarding the location of non-citizen detainees, deported such detainees summarily, and transferred such detainees to locations outside the jurisdiction of courts in which habeas petitions have been filed — then argued that those courts lack jurisdiction. Consequently, the Maryland court adopted the Standing Order, in an exercise of its inherent judicial authority, to control its dockets and preserve its potential jurisdiction of these types of habeas cases.”
LDAD is grateful for the participation of members of its new Maryland Chapter, co-chaired by Donna Hill Staton and Natalie McSherry. Both emphasized that Maryland lawyers have a particular responsibility to speak out when the authority of its federal courts are under attack and impacting the rights of all Maryland residents.
In addition to Ed, Natalie, and Donna, and as with all of LDAD’s work, we are deeply appreciative of the strong volunteer support of the talented and prominent lawyers who contributed significant time to the preparation of this important filing, including Bruce Kuhlik, Georgetown Law Center Professor Mitt Regan and law student Samantha Sporn, H. Mark Stichel, Ralph Tyler, and LDAD co-founder and board member Gershon (“Gary”) Ratner. We also thank the Society for the Rule of Law Institute and Judge J. Michael Luttig.
Moving forward, LDAD will be spending significant time mobilizing lawyers and the public to speak out on behalf of our justice system. We must ensure that the courts can carry out their constitutional obligations free from interference from other branches of government, and without fear of baseless attacks, physical threats, and improper lawsuits.
Thank you,
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
P.S. We are living in extraordinary times that require constant advocacy to reverse the significant democratic backsliding that we are experiencing. LDAD’s work depends on individual contributions like yours. Please join us in our efforts by donating to LDAD, a 501(c)(3) organization.
