As People For the American Way continues to promote qualified Biden-Harris executive branch and judicial nominees, especially women of color as reflected in our #HerFightOurFight campaign and also address the systemic problems of vote suppression, far right extremism, police misconduct, and racial discrimination, we have continued our research and reporting on the troubling votes and decisions by Trump appellate judges and justices. Our focus is on the broad, systemic impact of such rulings and opinions, beyond their effect on individual litigants. Linked below are posts concerning 15 cases from PFAW’s “Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” blog series for June 2021 (plus two Supreme Court rulings on July 1).
One important trend that emerges from the July cases concerns four decisions made possible by Trump judges that harm health care, including several relating to efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Another trend relates to three rulings that excuse or limit liability for police misconduct. Specifically:
- In two cases, Trump judges wrote decisions to strike down government efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, including one overturning the CDC eviction moratorium and one ruling unconstitutional a state order to limit in-person attendance at private as well as public schools. Trump judges also cast a deciding vote to make it illegal for the FDA to ban the use of medical devices for uses found dangerous and dismissed the appeal of an indigent prisoner concerning his claim that officials were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs.
- Making even worse a trend we have previously seen, Trump judges cast key votes in three cases that excused or limited liability for police misconduct. These included two cases granting qualified immunity to police for alleged corrupt and other misconduct. In addition, a Trump judge cast the deciding vote to excuse a city from any liability for severe police misconduct.
All these July cases and more, including rulings on the right to counsel, employment discrimination, gun safety, religious liberty, and the death penalty, underline the importance of efforts to counteract harmful votes by Trump judges by confirming fair-minded constitutionalists with a demonstrated commitment to civil and human rights nominated by President Biden as federal judges. These cases have all been entered in our Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears tool, which you can search by judge or by issue.
Trump Justices Cast Deciding Votes to Summarily Reverse Ruling Against Death Penalty
Trump Judge Rules Religious Organizations are Completely Immune from Hostile Work Environment Claims
Trump Judges Invite Supreme Court to Cut Back Further on Church-State Protection
Trump Judge Grants Special Exemption to Private Schools from COVID Restrictions
Trump Judges Uphold Trump Judge Decision to Rule that CDC’s Important Eviction Moratorium is Illegal
Trump Judge Strikes Down 50-Year Old Federal Law Restricting Gun Sales to Those Under 21