“You probably picked up that I don’t have a very good poker face,” Cullen said to Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Hodges. “I have some skepticism.”
A federal judge has expressed skepticism over a Trump administration-led lawsuit targeting all 15 of Maryland’s district court judges.
According to NBC News, the lawsuit centers on a standing order issued in May by Chief District Judge George L. Russell III of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The order, which was updated a week after its release, set more stringent rules for the handling of cases involving immigrants facing imminent deportation.
Under Russell’s decision, if and when an immigrant files a petition for habeas corpus, court clerks must forward a copy of the request to the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Upon receiving notice of a petition, Russell wrote, the government and any persons acting on its behalf are “ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from removing Petitioners from the continental United States or altering their legal status. This Order shall remain in effect until 4:00 p.m. on the second business day after the filing of the Notice, unless the terms of this Order are further extended by the presiding judge.”
In its lawsuit against Maryland’s federal judiciary, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that district court judges like Russell do not have the authority necessary to issue an order with effect similar to a government injunction against government action.
The case has since been assigned to U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, who ordinarily works out of Virginia, largely because all of Maryland’s district judges have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
On Wednesday, Cullen was quick to concede that, even at this early stage in proceedings, he is skeptical of the government’s intent in filing the lawsuit.
“You probably picked up that I don’t have a very good poker face,” Cullen said to Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Hodges. “I have some skepticism.”
Cullen noted that the administration could have challenged Russell’s order through different means. If it so wished, Cullen said, the government could simply appeal cases involving any individual immigrant to whom the order applied.
Furthermore, Cullen said that—given the pace at which the U.S. Supreme Court has picked up Trump-related litigation—it is likely that, had the government filed a regular appeal, it would have already been resolved by the justices.
“If recent precedent is any guide, you would already have a decision,” he said.
Cullen conceded that the Justice Department raised “fair points” about how a two-day stay could act like a temporary injunction, even if it isn’t framed as one.
However, in spite of this concession, Cullen questioned whether the administration’s willingness to file a lawsuit against every member of the Maryland-based district court could lead to further claims and litigation against different levels of the judiciary.
“You have to concede that if they can do this at the district court level, they could do this at the Circuit or potentially the Supreme Court,” he said.
Cullen said that he tentatively plans to issue a ruling on the case by Labor Day.
Sources
Judge says he’s skeptical of a Trump lawsuit against every federal judge in Maryland
Trump lawsuit against Maryland’s entire federal bench meets skepticism in court
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