“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
Judge J. Campbell Barker, nominated by President Trump to the district court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued an order that blocks the Food and Drug Administration nationwide from enforcing a rule mandating graphic warning labels illustrating the health risks of smoking. The January 2025 decision was in R J Reynolds Tobacco Co. v FDA.
What happened in this case?
In 2020, the FDA adopted a revised cigarette label warning rule that requires graphic warning labels, which include depictions of how smoking can cause fatal lung disease, specific types of cancer, stunted fetal growth during pregnancy, and other health harms. Cigarette companies sued and in 2022, Judge Barker blocked the new labels on First Amendment grounds.
The Fifth Circuit court of appeals reversed Barker’s decision, however, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The case then went back to Barker to hear other arguments by the companies, including the assertion that the FDA did not have the authority to promulgate the challenged rule. The corporations also filed a motion for interim relief to put off the FDA’s scheduled enforcement of the rule in February 2026 while the issue is litigated through the courts.
How did Judge Barker rule and why is it harmful?
Judge Barker granted the companies’ motion and blocked any steps to implement enforcement of the tougher rule as the challenges to it continue. Despite the FDA’s explanation to the contrary, Barker ruled that the cigarette companies were likely to prevail on their claims that the agency does not have the authority to adopt the new rule, which he claimed were not permitted by the statute that authorized and directed cigarette warning labels. Accordingly, he entered an injunction that stops the FDA from going forward to require the new warnings until a final judgment in the case is reached.
Barker’s decision is harmful because of the importance of graphic cigarette warning labels. More than 120 countries use such graphic labels, and studies show they are more effective than text-only labels in “informing smokers of risks and encouraging quitting.” And we do not know whether the incoming Trump Administration will even continue to defend the FDA rule.
This decision illustrates the importance of our federal courts to health and welfare and the significance of having fair-minded judges on the bench.