CASES AND CONTROVERSIES
Cases and Controversies is a recurring series by Carolyn Shapiro, primarily focusing on the effects of the Supreme Court’s rulings, opinions, and procedures on the law, on other institutions, and on our constitutional democracy more generally.
Please note that the views of outside contributors do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff.
In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court announced that federal courts do not have the authority, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, to issue injunctions that prevent defendants from engaging in actions related to non-parties, even if those actions are illegal or unconstitutional. As others have pointed out, the practical consequences of the holding are unclear. The court described several mechanisms that might lead to comparably broad injunctive relief, including class actions, cases seeking to “set aside agency action” under the Administrative Procedure Act, and court orders that provide relief to third parties as an incidental but necessary part of providing “complete relief” to the plaintiffs. So litigation will continue along these fronts, including in the birthright citizenship cases themselves. (The lower courts all found that the executive order purporting to narrow birthright citizenship was likely unconstitutional, holdings that the Supreme Court did not address.)
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