Belatedly reading Harv law prof @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social's blog on why latest charges against Jim Comey are a time-barred "sham. It's hard to know what the AG tells himself as he grossly abuses the power of DOJ at the behest of his Art II master." www.execfunctions.org/p/dojs-third...

"The question hanging over the lower courts will no longer be whether they’ll *survive* this presidency. It’ll be how they do their jobs in it." Part II of my "One First" series on the midterms and the federal courts moves from #SCOTUS to what'll change in the *lower* courts starting next January:

Bonus 261: The Midterms and the Courts, Part II

Lower courts have been fighting a rear-guard action against the Trump administration. The cavalry's arrival will make that job harder—but a lot less lonely.

stevevladeck.com

Interesting: nominationnotes.substack.com/p/trump-appe...

Trump appears to nominate Justice James Sullivan, defeated in this week’s elections, to the Western District of Texas

Texas voters rejected Sullivan and elected James Talarico as senator. Confirming him to a lifetime judgeship now would betray Texans and damage the judiciary.

nominationnotes.substack.com

Congress must pass a law abolishing the divisions in the district courts in Texas. No more judge shopping via drop-down menu.

Puff the Magic Hater@mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 2d ago

What's your most ridiculous, newly emboldened political demand? (Absurd answers only.)

This “get things done, no retribution” line is lots of things, but above all it is incoherent. Elon Musk is an unelected billionaire whose armies of teen creeps destroyed entire agencies in a weekend. There is no way of “getting things done” that doesn’t involve holding him accountable.

MS NOW@ms.now · 2d ago

"The American people don't want us to get even; they want us to get things done on their behalf." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is now poised to become the next House Speaker, says that Democrats will focus on affordability concerns and not retribution after their midterm wins.

NEW: Tuesday was a generational setback for the Christian nationalist agenda. At every level they were trounced — by an interfaith coalition of Democrats, no less. Gift link:

Texas’s Christian Nationalist Agenda Is Dead

For now, anyway.

texasmonthly.com

. @justiceconnection.bsky.social calls Dhillon "the most destructive, lawless, and hateful head of the Civil Rights Div in history." Says more than 3/4 of the unit's lawyers left under her leadership.

Ben Penn@benjaminpenn.bsky.social · 22h ago

NEWS: DOJ Civil Rights head Harmeet Dhillon expected to resign as soon as today, the first of multiple senior DOJ officials likely to leave post midterms, w/ @ccastronuovo.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

House Democrats are in the fight to bring government back from the brink of authoritarianism. We will shine a light on President Trump's quid pro quo, coin-operated, pay-to-play corruption and renew American government as an instrument for the common good.

Rahm Emanuel’s approval rating when he left office as Chicago mayor was 18%

Vox@vox.com · 16h ago

What Democrats should do with their majorities, according to someone who's been there before. www.vox.com/politics/509...

the Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in the 'private preschool wants public money to discriminate against 4-year-olds' case and the extent to which the GOP justices were like 'i dont see the problem' wasn't surprising per se but was definitely still breathtaking slate.com/news-and-pol...

Supreme Court Leaning Yes on Publicly Financed Discrimination Against 4-Year-Olds

Across the country, roughly 2.6 million LGBTQ+ adults are parents to minor children.

slate.com

I said this on @nativelandpod.bsky.social but I'll repeat it here: A dangerous narrative is going to be "the GOP gerrymandering didn't work." NO. It worked GREAT. We just OVERCAME it. But we'd have even MORE seats, and different candidates could have won those seats, without the gerryamndering.

NEW: State courts remain a powerful bulwark for democracy when Donald Trump, Republicans, and the federal courts seek to undermine fair elections, civil rights, and the rule of law. We detailed 8 states with key supreme court elections to watch next month: www.the-downballot.com/p/how-voters...

Once they get the gavels, Democrats need to investigate the alleged criminal conduct of Judge Emil Bove shortly before his lifetime appointment to the 3rd Circuit. These are highly credible charges of egregious corruption and law-breaking. Bove’s robes shouldn’t shield him from legal consequences.

For the first time ever, at least 100 Democratic women are expected to serve in the the U.S. House simultaneously.

Democrats hit a new milestone: 100 women in the House

“Women made history because we showed up to vote, and then voted in more than 100 Democratic women to serve in the House,” said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico.

bit.ly

SEIU wants the 9th Cir. to reconsider today's extraordinary events before the full en banc Court. www.courtlistener.com/docket/75054...

Gabriel Malor@gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 3d ago

Also, the circuit rules (40-3) contemplate "rehearing by the full Court following a hearing or rehearing en banc," but it has never actually been done before.

The confusion here stems from *how* the Ninth Circuit sits "en banc." Last night's ruling (putting the district court order back into effect) came through a vote by *all 29* judges to "rehear" the case "en banc." That vote triggered the creation of an en banc "panel," which has only 11 judges.

Jonathan Shorman@jonshorman.bsky.social · 3d ago

NEW - The full 9th Circuit has paused a federal judge's order prohibiting the Trump administration from threatening election officials with prosecution. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

BREAKING: On a 6-5 vote, the limited en banc Ninth Circuit court reinstates the three-judge panel’s ruling granting DOJ’s requested stay of the district court’s TRO in the SEIU-led election workers case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 3d ago

BREAKING: The Ninth Circuit voted to take DOJ's request for a stay pending appeal of the SEIU TRO en banc, which means the panel opinion is vacated, which means the SEIU case TRO will remain in effect for now. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The DOJ sent TARGET LETTERS to @marcelias.bsky.social and others in a huge escalation of the Alaska squabbling. Such letters by DOJ practice and regulation only go to people whom they intend to indict. Elias is Mary Peltola's lawyer. A stunning move that is likely to backfire badly.

Beginning now —>

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 3d ago

St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy arguments at SCOTUS will begin shortly: www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...

We have moved to that point in constitutional law where a religious private school is demanding to have its overt discrimination against LGBTQ families subsidized by the State. This would have been a frivolous lawsuit 30 years ago, now the school will likely win. www.dorfonlaw.org/2026/11/fait...

With flurry of late night decisions, the Election Integrity Tracker is updated SEIU v DOJ: Ninth Circuit grants DOJ a stay. Immediate call for en banc review from the bench. League of Women Voters: Injunction granted NAACP: TRO denied without prejudice www.justsecurity.org/162830/2026-...

2026 Midterms: Election Integrity Litigation Tracker

A tracker of major litigation concerning the integrity of the 2026 midterm elections.

justsecurity.org

"The Constitution protects Americans’ rights to hold differing beliefs and participate in society as equals. For conservative Christians who believe in God but not equality, this is a problem."

Right-Wing Lawyers Keep Pushing a Constitutional Right to Discriminate Against LGBTQ People

This six-justice conservative supermajority keeps telling activists exactly what kinds of cases to bring next.

ballsandstrikes.org

In a judicial opinion that begins: “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis on which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle.” Tim Snyder, On Tyranny cc: @timothysnyder.bsky.social

Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney.bsky.social · 4d ago

Judge Kasubhai says ICE has lost the presumption of rgularity that courts have long afforded to government agencies. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

BREAKING: The Ninth Circuit voted to take DOJ's request for a stay pending appeal of the SEIU TRO en banc, which means the panel opinion is vacated, which means the SEIU case TRO will remain in effect for now. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 3d ago

BREAKING: Ninth Circuit, on a 2-1 vote, issues a stay of the SEIU case TRO — barring DOJ/DHS intimidation to election workers — pending appeal. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... Judges Callahan and Bea, both GWB appointees, grant the stay. Judge Murguia, an Obama appointee, dissents.

#BREAKING: With no public dissents (and without even calling for a response), #SCOTUS *denies* the Trump administration’s emergency application in the California voter roll case.

I really think that MAGA masculinity crashing and burning so badly has created an opening for Dems to model a different kind of manhood. I think James Talarico and Jon Ossoff are doing this quite deliberately. My exchange with @amandamarcotte.bsky.social on this: newrepublic.com/article/2174...

Chief Judge Boasberg blows out of the water DOJ theory of the case for investigating/going after state election officials with criminal law for alleged noncitizen voters. The theory of the case was always bogus (see here: www.justsecurity.org/161204/doj-l...) But here's the Chief Judge explaining⤵️

We very specifically do not

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4d ago

Trump: "We call the United States the House of God"

JUST IN: A federal judge is encouraging his colleagues to call ICE officers in for live testimony on the witness stand, concluding that without direct scrutiny and cross-examination, routine lies will go unpunished. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I know theres A Lot Happening rn so this has been flying under the radar but I want folks to know that the Supreme Court's hearing a case tomorrow that could make it easier to use 'religious freedom!' as a free pass to violate antidiscrimination laws, AND to get that bigotry subsidized by taxpayers

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie@audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · last wk.

any preschool provider is welcome to participate in Colorado's free pre-K program and get state funds, so long as they agree not to discriminate two preschools want to get the funds AND discriminate and they argue that they're constitutionally entitled to both ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/st-ma...