Supreme Court and NYU
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- the attached NYU Law Faculty letter to their community
- An open letter by former government officials, including Republicans opposing retaliatory government investigations.
- the Supreme court order issued at about 1:00 AM today forbidding the Trump administration from removing a group of Venezuelan immigrants from the United States without due process. It is quite significant that the order was issued so early in morning and that seven of the nine justices signed on to the order.
- The excellent analysis of the significance of the order by Prof. Steven Vladek. The order may suggest that the Supreme Court has given up the traditional presumption of regularity of the DOJ filings and assertions, which may make the court less susceptible to the DOJ substantive arguments.
The April 18, 2025 DC Circuit stay of Judge Boasberg’s contempt-related order is not of great concern because the briefing schedule is sufficiently brief that the matter of the Judge’s authority will be quickly resolved.,
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April 17, 2025TO: The New York University School of Law CommunityWe are faculty members at New York University School of Law, writing in ourindividual capacities, to affirm our support for the independence of academicinstitutions, lawyers, and judges, and to oppose the federal government’s attacks onthose values—attacks that threaten to undermine democracy, the rule of law, and long–valued constitutional rights, among them freedom of expression and basic due process.Each of us brings different, sometimes irreconcilable, perspectives to what the lawis and should be. The expression of diverse viewpoints is vital to our roles as legaleducators and scholars.Even as our perspectives differ on many issues, we share a commitment to thelawful expression of ideas, including ones with which we disagree. Those expressionsare protected by the Constitution, are critical to academic pursuit and the freedom oflawyers to represent clients and causes, and are now under threat.The Administration has pursued executive actions targeting universities, theirfaculties, and their students in ways that undermine academic independence and the freeexchange of ideas. If such actions continue, the damage to our intellectual communities,which depend on the lawful freedom of expression and open exchange of ideas, couldbe immense. So too would be the danger to basic due process values that protect eachand every one of us. In saying this, we in no way discount the gravity of concerns aboutantisemitism and other forms of bias, which must be taken seriously.We further share a commitment to the rule of law and to the role of lawyers andjudges in preserving that rule of law. As the American Bar Association states in thepreamble to its Model Rules of Professional Conduct, “[a]n independent legal professionis an important force in preserving government under law, for abuse of legal authorityis more readily challenged by a profession whose members are not dependent ongovernment for the right to practice.” The Administration’s executive orders targetingindividual lawyers and law firms have no basis in law and are contrary to the protectionsof our Constitution. Requiring lawyers to acquiesce to improper demands or face suchpunishment places them in a position inconsistent with the essential role of lawyers asindependent advocates for their clients. Similarly, government threats to impeach judgesbased on disagreements with their judicial decisions are inconsistent with thefundamental principles underlying judicial independence, principles that have beenrespected by political actors of all stripes for over 200 years. An independent judiciary isessential to the preservation of the rule of law and our most basic constitutional rights.As legal scholars, we stand together in support of both the academic communitiesand the law firms that have been targeted by unlawful executive actions, and we standtogether in support of the foundational principles of academic freedom and the rule oflaw.Sincerely [alphabetically],Amy AdlerBarry E. AdlerPhilip G. AlstonJosé Enrique AlvarezSafaa AlyAnthony AmsterdamClaudia AngelosDeborah N. ArcherRachel E. BarkowLily BatchelderBob BauerBarton BeebeVicki L. BeenMaggie BlackhawkRichard R.W. BrooksDeborah Kay BurandSarah E. BurnsDevon CarbadoEmiliano M. CatanStephen ChoiJerome CohenAdam B. CoxNoel CunninghamHarvey P. DaleAlina DasKevin E. DavisPeggy Cooper DavisGráinne de BúrcaRichard A. EpsteinCynthia EstlundSamuel EstreicherJohn FerejohnAlex FerreraHarry FirstEleanor FoxDaniel FrancisBarry FriedmanJeanne C. FromerPaula GalowitzDavid W. GarlandMark A. GeistfeldBarbara S. GillersStephen GillersClayton P. GilletteDavid GoloveRyan GoodmanChristine GottliebMolly GriffardMartin GuggenheimDaniel HarawaBrant J. HellwigDaniel HemelHelen HershkoffRandy A. HertzRoderick M. Hills Jr.Stephen HolmesDaniel HulseboschSamuel IssacharoffMarcel KahanDavid KaminMitchell KaneAlexis KarteronSally KatzenEmma KaufmanCharles KnappLewis KornhauserSylvia A. LawDaryl LevinsonDeborah MalamudJill MannFlorencia Marotta–WurglerNatalie McCauleyTheodor MeronArthur R. MillerGeoffrey MillerNancy MorawetzTrevor W. MorrisonErin E. MurphyLiam B. MurphyMelissa MurrayThomas NagelWilliam NelsonBurt NeuborneMichael OhlroggeRichard H. PildesRichard L. ReveszDavid A.J. RichardsEdward RockGerald RosenfeldNathan Ellis RouseDaniel RubenfeldLaura SagerAdam M. SamahaMargaret L. SatterthwaiteDeborah SchenkStephen SchulhoferJason M. SchultzHelen S. ScottJohn SextonCatherine M. SharkeyDaniel N. ShaviroStanley SiegelKatharine SkolnikVincent M. SoutherlandChristopher Jon SprigmanJohn SteinesKatherine J. StrandburgKim Taylor–ThompsonAnthony C. ThompsonFrank K. UphamJeremy WaldronAndrew W. WilliamsKatherine WoodPatrice WyllyKatrina M. WymanKenji Yoshino
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