The Supreme Court on December 19, 2025, delivered the Trump administration its first significant defeat on the emergency “shadow docket” since April 2025, refusing to block a lower court ruling that allows immigration judges to proceed with their First Amendment lawsuit challenging a …
Supreme Court of the United StatesDonald TrumpNational Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)Department of Justice4th Circuit Court of Appeals+3 moresupreme courtimmigration-judgesfirst amendmentfree speechshadow docket+5 more
On November 30, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker and publicly denied defying a federal court order—despite the Justice Department having admitted in court filings just four days earlier that she personally made the …
Kristi NoemDepartment of Homeland SecurityU.S. District Judge James BoasbergKristen WelkerNBC News+1 morecourt-defiancejudicial-independenceconstitutional-violationpropagandawillful-disregard+3 more
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed criminal indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey on November 24, 2025, ruling that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan lacked lawful authority to bring the cases. In separate but parallel …
Cameron McGowan CurrieLetitia JamesJames ComeyLindsey HalliganPam Bondi+5 morepolitical-prosecutionjudicial-independencedojprosecutorial-misconductretaliation+5 more
On October 25, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, to Laos in direct violation of a federal court order issued just one day earlier. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana had issued a …
Chanthila "Shawn" SouvannarathChief Judge Shelly D. DickImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ACLU of LouisianaTrump Administration+1 moreicecourt-defiancerule-of-law-erosiondeportationtorture+5 more
The Department of Justice loosened qualification requirements to allow ‘any lawyer’—including approximately 600 military Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers—to serve as immigration judges, bypassing the traditional judicial independence standards and specialized training required for …
Department of JusticeTrumpMilitaryinstitutional-capturejudicial-independenceimmigration-policymilitarizationdue-process
On August 20, 2025, the United States imposed targeted sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) officials, escalating an ongoing campaign to obstruct international judicial proceedings into potential war crimes.
Key Details:
Four officials sanctioned: Two judges (Kimberly Prost and …
Kimberly ProstNicolas GuillouNazhat Shameem KhanMame Mandiaye NiangMarco Rubio+2 moreicc-sanctionsinternational-lawjudicial-independencerule-of-lawneutralize-referees+6 more
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a critical hearing investigating unprecedented threats to judicial independence in 2025, documenting rising levels of violence, intimidation, disinformation, and defiance of lawful court judgments. Testimony revealed a disturbing pattern of physical threats, …
Trump administration launched systematic executive orders targeting law firms, mass firings of prosecutors, and open defiance of court rulings, creating what legal scholars describe as unprecedented constitutional crisis.
Donald Trump launched racist attacks against U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was presiding over the Trump University fraud lawsuits, falsely claiming the judge’s Mexican heritage created bias against him. At a San Diego rally in late May and in subsequent media interviews, Trump …
Donald TrumpGonzalo CurielPaul Ryantrump universityracismjudicial independencewitness intimidationpaul ryan+1 more
On July 22, 1937, the U.S. Senate votes 70-22 to defeat President Franklin Roosevelt’s Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, rejecting his proposal to expand the Supreme Court by up to six additional justices and handing FDR his greatest legislative defeat. Three-quarters of senators voting to kill …
U.S. SenateFranklin D. RooseveltSenate Judiciary CommitteeJoseph RobinsonJohn Nance Garner+1 morejudicial-independencenew-dealsupreme-courtseparation-of-powerscongressional-opposition+1 more