So, like, Alexander Hamilton once called the federal judiciary the weakest branch of government, which is kind of a burn, right? They don’t have a ton of power to enforce their authority, but one thing they do have is this thing called contempt power. It’s like when a federal judge can make someone follow a court order or punish them for not following it.
So, there’s been some drama with the Trump administration not following court orders, especially in an immigration case in Washington, D.C. A federal judge there started some contempt proceedings against the government, but then an appeals court hit pause on that because the Department of Justice was like, “Whoa, hold up, this could mess with the separation of powers and cause a ‘constitutional collision.'”
Historically, holding the federal government in contempt is pretty rare, especially when it comes to criminal contempt. But the Trump administration seems to be pushing those boundaries, you know? Another federal judge is looking into the administration not following one of her orders in a different immigration case. So, like, things are getting pretty spicy in the legal world.
Contempt proceedings can either be civil or criminal. Civil ones are to make parties follow court orders in the future, while criminal ones are to punish parties for not following past court orders. The U.S. Marshals Service is in charge of enforcing federal contempt orders, which can range from fines to jail time, though jail time is pretty rare.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg recently ruled that the Trump administration was totally ignoring his order to stop deportations under the Alien Enemies Act from way back in 1798. He was not happy about it, let me tell you. Judges Nancy Gertner and Mark Bennett have some thoughts on all this, saying that contempt power gives judges a lot of power and they need to be careful not to abuse it.
In the past, federal agencies and officials have been held in contempt for things like violating orders about student loans and offshore oil drilling. But it’s super rare for these cases to make it all the way to the Supreme Court, especially when it involves the president. The balance of power between the branches is a big deal when it comes to contempt proceedings, and there’s a lot of back and forth about who should have the final say.
Right now, there’s this whole thing going on in a D.C. immigration case where the government is being held in criminal contempt. Judge Boasberg is not messing around, saying that the government totally ignored his order and that’s a big no-no. The Supreme Court stepped in to pause things, but Judge Boasberg is still pushing forward with the contempt proceedings.
The Department of Justice is not happy about it, though. They’re saying that prosecuting criminal contempt is the job of the Executive Branch, not the courts. They think Judge Boasberg is overstepping, but some legal scholars think he’s in the right. It’s a whole mess, really.
So, yeah, things are heating up in the legal world with all these contempt proceedings against the federal government. It’s a delicate balance of power between the branches, and everyone seems to have a different opinion on how it should all play out. But hey, that’s politics for you, right?
