Leah Litman

Court of Appeals, the intermediary court between the trial court and the Supreme Court, to act on the request to halt the deportations. And so those are two kind of abnormal procedural moves the seven justices made that Justice Alito says, what reason is there to do that? But the reality is, of course, we're not dealing with ordinary circumstances.

So you need to adapt in those circumstances where, again, it looks like the administration is trying to evade any prospect of judicial review by just quickly expelling individuals without any prospect of judicial oversight.

So you need to adapt in those circumstances where, again, it looks like the administration is trying to evade any prospect of judicial review by just quickly expelling individuals without any prospect of judicial oversight.

That has happened before. It happens in some courts of appeals, and it does sometimes happen in the Supreme Court. It's exceptionally unusual.

That has happened before. It happens in some courts of appeals, and it does sometimes happen in the Supreme Court. It's exceptionally unusual.

And honestly, a part of me read into this the idea that not only do the seven justices think that the Trump administration might be acting in bad faith, maybe they think Sam Alito is too, because if he sat on his dissent and just didn't release it until it was too late, until after the administration had expelled the many individuals to El Salvador...

And honestly, a part of me read into this the idea that not only do the seven justices think that the Trump administration might be acting in bad faith, maybe they think Sam Alito is too, because if he sat on his dissent and just didn't release it until it was too late, until after the administration had expelled the many individuals to El Salvador...

Then they would be facing the situation once again where they're trying to order the administration to return people from El Salvador. And so a part of me wondered if that is what was happening and maybe that's why he's so mad, although he's usually mad.

Then they would be facing the situation once again where they're trying to order the administration to return people from El Salvador. And so a part of me wondered if that is what was happening and maybe that's why he's so mad, although he's usually mad.

Yeah, so there's an odd wording in the order which just noted there's an application that is pending before the court. The usual wording is the application was presented to Justice Alito and referred by him to the court. That's not what the order said.

Yeah, so there's an odd wording in the order which just noted there's an application that is pending before the court. The usual wording is the application was presented to Justice Alito and referred by him to the court. That's not what the order said.

And so that, too, lends itself to some speculation of, was Sam Alito just sitting on this application, not referring it to all of the members of the court, again, in order to buy the administration time? And we don't know whether that did indeed happen.

And so that, too, lends itself to some speculation of, was Sam Alito just sitting on this application, not referring it to all of the members of the court, again, in order to buy the administration time? And we don't know whether that did indeed happen.

I'd just like to note to any member of the Supreme Court that I am on signal if you want to accidentally add me to your group chat and let me know what's going on. But that, too, is a possibility that the seven justices were just concerned he was trying to run out the clock.

I'd just like to note to any member of the Supreme Court that I am on signal if you want to accidentally add me to your group chat and let me know what's going on. But that, too, is a possibility that the seven justices were just concerned he was trying to run out the clock.

I think it was an incredibly powerful writing. I especially appreciated his call to other judges and to the executive branch to insist that the executive branch abide by the law. And I thought that was especially pointed because many of the Supreme Court's actions to date

I think it was an incredibly powerful writing. I especially appreciated his call to other judges and to the executive branch to insist that the executive branch abide by the law. And I thought that was especially pointed because many of the Supreme Court's actions to date

have looked like attempts to avoid confrontations with the Trump administration and to avoid really holding their feet to the fire and them accountable to the law, maybe out of concern that they just wouldn't abide by the court's order. But that's an unsustainable state of affairs. You can't just give the administration the green light and not do anything.

have looked like attempts to avoid confrontations with the Trump administration and to avoid really holding their feet to the fire and them accountable to the law, maybe out of concern that they just wouldn't abide by the court's order. But that's an unsustainable state of affairs. You can't just give the administration the green light and not do anything.

because you think they will disobey a court order, you're in effect like allowing them to violate the law if that's what you do. And so I really appreciated Judge Wilkinson coming down hard on that point and really writing, I think, for the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court.