As summer has turned to fall, justices and judges nominated by Donald Trump have continued to act to harm people’s rights. 20 rulings have come down during that time on such key subjects as disability rights, immigrants' rights, the environment, police abuse, LGBTQ issues, elections and voting rights, labor and corporate issues, and constitutional rights. In the meantime, the Senate has worked on confirming even more lifetime federal judges nominated by Trump.
Recent federal elections have dramatically changed the Senate, so that it should soon be possible to prevent more Trump judicial confirmations with concerted action on the Hill. Highlighting the harm already done by Trump judges affirms the importance of that effort to the daily lives of the American people.
Each Sept-Oct case is summarized below, along with a link to the ruling itself. Such rulings demonstrate the importance to all of us of nominating and confirming fair-minded federal judges and the dangers posed by Trump
Disability Rights
Fourth Circuit Trump judge Richardson cast deciding vote to uphold denial of disability benefits to woman (Calhoun v. Commission of Social Security)
Brandy Calhoun sought disability benefits due to physical and mental impairments, including blood clots, migraines, numbness in her legs, high blood pressure, obesity, a severe anxiety disorder involving frequent panic attacks known as agoraphobia, and limited intellectual functioning.
Sixth Circuit Trump judge Chad Readler cast deciding vote seriously weakening ADA accessibility rules (Canter v HSD II,)
Darma Canter, who needs a walker and cannot use stairs, challenged accessibility at a hair salon that did not provide ramps.
Immigrants’ Rights
Fifth Circuit Trump judges upheld constitutionality of ongoing detention without bond. (Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara)
Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez, Alejandro Villegas Angel, and Miguel Angel Gomez Alvarado who entered the country without documentation and, since then, had lived here for over a decade with no criminal history and with children who are American citizens, were stopped for traffic violations, taken into custody and denied the opportunity to post a bond.
Environment
Fifth Circuit judges dismissed challenges to city for knowingly providing city water with dangerous levels of lead and then misleading residents about the dangers (Sterling v. City of Jackson)
Residents of Jackson, Mississippi claimed that the city introduced lead into their drinking water, pumped it into their homes, and lied about whether the water was safe.
Police Abuse
Fourth Circuit Trump judges Julius Richardson and Allison Rushing denied cruel and unusual punishment claim by prisoner who was uneccessarily shackled for many hours (Mason v. Talley)
Omari Mason was confined to a state prison in Virginia. On two occasions in one month, without any explanation, prison officials shackled him to a phone, for six and four hours, with no water or access to a bathroom. On the second occasion, he passed out and struck his head on the floor.
Sixth Circuit Trump judge Chad Readler led full court to make it harder for person in prison but not convicted to hold prison liable for serious injuries (Poynter v. Shirley)
Luther Poynter was arrested for civil contempt and taken pre-trial to Barren County Detention Center (BCDC) in Kentucky. He was placed in a cell with two convicted inmates, with a history of violence in the prison, who promptly attacked him for no apparent reason and caused serious injuries. Poynter suffered traumatic brain injury, is partially paralyzed on his right side, struggles with short-term memory, must use a wheelchair, and must live in an assisted living facility.
Ninth Circuit judge Patrick Bumatay cast deciding vote to allow police to point guns directly at suspect’s head at pont-blank range despite lack of imminent threat. (Medrano v. Acosta)
Two police officers had a felony arrest warrant against Alex Medrano. They approached him with guns drawn, pointing their guns directly at his head from point-blank range, three to five feet away, although he was apparently compliant and was not actively resisting or threatening.
Sixth Circuit Trump judge Chad Readler cast deciding vote to immunize key state officials from liability for unhealthy and dangerous prison condition (Bailey v. Michigan Department of Corrections)
A group of women currently or formerly confined to a Michigan prison challenged unhealthy and harmful conditions, including pervasive mold causing one, for example, to suffer from itchy rashes, sneezing, constant coughing, shortness of breath, nosebleeds, muscle cramping, hair loss, chest pain and other problems.
LGBTQ Issues
Ninth Circuit Trump judges Eric Tung, Daniel Collins and Lawrence Van Dyke derided and harmed transgender women prisoners, in an opinion requiring them to be housed in a prison for males (S.D. v Reese )
Transgender women prisoners sought to prevent serious risk of sexual and physical assault by being housed in prisons for males. In denying these claims on a number of occasions Tung referred to transgender women prisoners as “male inmates who claim to be female” and put the term “transgender” in quotes.
Fifth Circuit Trump judge Ho in a dissenting opinion opposing privacy protections for transgender women denigrates transgender people. (Evans v. Garcia)
Michelle Evans posted a photo of a trans woman washing her hands at a bathroom sink in the women’s bathroom with a caption saying “I just had to tell this man to stop using the women’s restroom.” A majority of the court, found that posting the photo violated a Texas privacy law prohibiting dissemination of photos of people in a public bathrooms without their consent. Judge Ho along with other Trump judges dissented. Ho’s dissent misgendered the crime victim and denigrated trans people. He complained that “a man enters a women’s bathroom – and it’s the man’s privacy that is violated?” He also complained that the majority decision “captures the cultural zeitgeist of societal elites.”
Elections and Voting Rights
Eighth Circuit Trump judges Justin Smith and David Stras voted to revive election map favoring Republicans and sending issue back to Supreme Court. (Onder v. Missouri)
A Republican member of Congress sued to force Missouri to use an electoral map referred to as “HB 1” that would diminish the influence of Black voters for the upcoming elections, despite a state supreme court decision to the contrary. Judges Smith and Stras issued rulings that affirmed the use of the restrictive map. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected that position.
Trump justices Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett joined with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas to allow use of a flawed data base to conduct voter purges (Department of Homeland Security v League of Women Voters)
Last year, the Trump Administration modified the database used for the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program so it could be used to detect individuals registered to vote who are not citizens. The League of Women Voters and other groups, concerned about inaccuracies and other problems, filed suit to challenge the use of the SAVE database to purge voters.
Trump Sixth Circuit judges John Nalbandian and Whitney Hermandorfer reinstated requirement that Ohio new voters prove citizenship
The Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans and Red, Wine and Blue challenged a 2025 state law requiring new voters at bureaus of motor vehicles (BMV) to submit written proof of citizenship when they seek to register to vote.
Labor and Corporate Issues
Seventh Circuit Trump Judge Rebecca Taibleson cast deciding vote allowing decertification of union.
The National Labor Relations Board sought to prevent the decertification of a union representing employees of a staffing agency.
DC Circuit Trump judges Greg Katsas and Neomi Rao upheld blacklisting of Anthropic by Pentagon
Anthropic refused Defense Department demands that it remove restrictions it had placed on its AI product Claude, including banning its use for “lethal autonomous warfare” without human involvement or for “mass surveillance” of Americans.
Ninth Circuit Trump judge Daniel Bress casts deciding vote to block any relief for an airline passenger injured by airline employees
Atef Bandary, a Delta Airlines passenger, claimed he was injured from a physical altercation when flight attendants sought to restrain him.
Third Circuit Trump judge Stephanos Bibas casts deciding vote to throw out mother’s wrongful death suit on behalf of son injured on the job
Cody Hatt was working for a demolition contractor tearing down a power plant in Pennsylvania, and tragically suffered serious injuries from a fall that caused his death.
Ninth Circuit Trump judge Daniel Bress casts deciding vote to decertify consumer class action.
Several California consumers challenged misrepresentations about use of animal testing by a company selling hair care products
Constitutional Rights
DC Circuit Trump judge Neomi Rao allows limits on free speech demonstrations at US Capitol
A minister challenged federal regulations that ban public demonstrations on the Eastern Steps of the U.S. Capitol unless sponsored by a member of Congress.
Third Circuit Trump judge Paul Matey rules for full circuit that federal law banning firearms possession by those who commit felonies is unconstitutional as to non-violent felonies
A man convicted twice of driving while intoxicated filed suit challenging the federal law that prohibits people convicted of a felony from possessing firearms.
