Judges Under Stress and the Duty to Resist
The Trump administration is engaged in a battle over the “mode of rule” of the American society. Although the battle is not primarily directed against the courts, judges may quickly get involved. Many see them as a primary defense of the liberal order. Proponents of the attacks on the established order argue that the judges overstep their mandate if they curb the power of the presidency. Elon Musk has even called for impeachment and removal of troublesome judges. Is there anything US judges can learn from the experience of their German colleagues in the 1930’s?
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Transgender Rights at a Crossroads in the United States
In his first month in office, US President Donald Trump has issued a series of sweeping executive orders targeting transgender rights. These orders build on political terrain that is now exceedingly hostile to transgender rights. In this post, I briefly examine the landscape for transgender rights in the United States, analyze what President Trump’s executive orders on transgender rights aim to do, and then discuss the stakes of United States v. Skrmetti, the pending Supreme Court case that will likely set out the framework that federal courts will use in adjudicating transgender rights cases under the Trump administration and beyond.
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Ceci n’est pas un Ban?
On 19th January 2025, the ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ became operative in the USA in respect of TikTok, routinely (but somehow deceptively) referred to as ‘TikTok ban’. I will not deal in detail here with the saga (which readers of this blog are already familiar with), but with the misalignment between legal form and political narrative: A vaguely formulated statute became a symbolical proxy for principled confrontation over the underlying values.
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TikTok’s last dance
“On January 19, we still have President Biden, and on January 19, as I understand it, we shut down.” With these words—foreshadowing the final ban of the TikTok app in the United States—Noel Francisco, legal representative of ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, addressed the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments on January 10, 2025. One week later, the Supreme Court issued its ruling: TikTok’s appeal was dismissed. The court’s reasoning merits examination, while the implications remain uncertain, particularly as a Trump executive order temporarily blocks the ban’s enforcement.
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The US Supreme Court and Plutocracy
Populist authoritarianism is a global phenomenon. However, the US is the only so-called consolidated democracy where its ascent has been eased by the systematic dismantling of legal limits on campaign donations. US elections are now not only the world’s most costly, but they are also directly subject to the inordinate influence of wealthy individuals and corporations. The Supreme Court of the United States’ 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling has paved the way for the emergence of so-called “super” PACS (political action committees) that, while formally barred from coordinating with candidates or parties, can accept unlimited corporate contributions.
Continue reading >>The Supreme Court v. the Administrative State II
The outlook is not rosy for Democrats, neither politically nor in court. Democrats’ hopes that President Biden – who, according to some polls, is trailing Trump in all seven swing states – could turn the odds in his favor in an early debate have been dashed by his disastrous performance. To add insult to injury, in three 6-to-3 rulings along ideological lines, the Supreme Court further reigned in on administrative agencies, putting Biden’s regulatory agenda at risk. The most far-reaching of these decisions is, undoubtedly, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This case marked a milestone for the conservative legal movement’s fight against the administrative state.
Continue reading >>Ein König zum Unabhängigkeitstag
Der U.S.-amerikanische Supreme Court hat entschieden, dass offizielle Amtshandlungen von Präsidenten Immunität genießen. Anlass war das Verfahren gegen Donald Trump, der sich wegen seiner Beteiligung am versuchten Aufstand vom 6. Januar 2021 vor einem Gericht verantworten muss. Die Entscheidung ist ein voller Erfolg für Trump und wird nicht nur weitere Strafverfahren beeinflussen, sondern auch über den aktuellen Fall hinaus weitreichende Konsequenzen zeitigen. Der Supreme Court hat den USA in der Woche des 248. Unabhängigkeitstages einen neuen König geschenkt.
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