In a historic 6 to 3 opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States placed constraint on the power of the judiciary to issue broad nationwide injunctions, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett writing that even when the executive branch unlawfully exceeds its powers, the judiciary is not justified in doing the same in response.
The decision represents a partial win for the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ), which raised the question while defending Trump’ executive order ending automatic birthright citizenship for the children of noncitizens who were not legally present in the U.S. at the time of the birth.
The question was prompted when Trump’s order was blocked by multiple nationwide injunctions by federal district courts. With the administration being on the losing end of an unprecedented number of nationwide injunctions, the DOJ’s defense included a challenge to the very authority of the courts to issue such sweeping relief — a strategy which paid off.
