Back in December 2020, as the nation unknowingly marched toward the infamous January 6th attack on the Capitol, then President Trump said, according to reporting in the book Peril, “Lawyers, I have nothing but lawyers that stop me on everything. I’m very embarrassed by my lawyers and the Justice Department. At least [Sydney Powell] is […] The post Trump Attorneys’ Ethics Violations Require State Bar Action first appeared on ACS.| ACS
Thanks to the actions of Texas Republicans, America has been plunged into a tit-for-tat redistricting faceoff that is oddly occurring in the midcycle period as politicians angle for advantage ahead of next year’s midterms. First, Texas Republicans at the urging of President Donald Trump himself have proceeded to redraw their state’s electoral map in a […] The post America’s Gerrymandering Crisis: Time for a Constructive Redistricting Framework first appeared on ACS.| ACS
This Labor Day, institutional leaders contemplating how to stand up to arbitrary power should reflect on the old IWW slogan: an injury to one is an injury to all. In other words, a collective problem calls for a collective response. Institutions should look to the labor movement, in part for organizing and advocacy strategies, but also because any coalition to defend democracy must include organized labor.| ACS
Washington, D.C. is the American Constitution Society’s national home base. Our organization was launched in 2001 by students and faculty at Georgetown University, and over the years our office has moved within the borders of our nation’s capital. It is a great city and the people who live here take great pride in it and […] The post Lean Into Our Community as Our Fight Continues first appeared on ACS.| ACS
Martin E. GoldPresident Trump and members of his administration have been hurling insults at federal judges whose opinions they dislike since early in his first administration. One particular condemnation, which has been used most frequently in immigration cases, is uniquely disquieting—the accusation that judges are not adhering to “the will of the people.” Among others, the American Bar Association has strongly objected to this admonition, saying: “Judges swear oaths to follow the l...| ACS
Two cases from its recently concluded Term bring into stark relief the Supreme Court’s disrespect for both its own history and the authority of federal district courts to interpret and hold the executive accountable to the law. In Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. (2025) and Trump v. CASA (2025), the Court demonstrated enormous and troubling deference to the Trump administration in its efforts to unilaterally impose extreme and unprecedented immigration policies. In their dissents i...| ACS
In the first U.S. Supreme Court case involving access to abortion after the 2024 election, a 6-3 majority allowed states to block Medicaid patients from choosing their own health care provider. Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic involved a diabetic Medicaid patient seeking comprehensive health care at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSA). In 2018, South […] The post Limiting Legal Remedies for Medicaid Prioritizes Politics over Access to Care first appeared on ACS.| ACS
Over the past five months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents have arrested and deported U.S. citizens, caused car crashes during reckless pursuits, brandished weapons on unarmed children, and unnecessarily used force against elected officials. These are just a few of the egregious acts that federal law enforcement officers have committed since the Trump administration has ramped up its smash and grab deportation tactics. As an increasing number of people are injured by ...| ACS
We wrapped up our 2025 National Convention Series this week. I hope everyone had the opportunity to tune in to all or some of this year’s programming and connect with our incredible speakers and each other. As our rights, institutions, and democracy are facing almost daily attacks and the most vulnerable in our country have become targets, it is critical that we find ways to stay connected and stand together as a community.| ACS
Every day, federal courts decide cases critical to our rights. Those appointed to serve must be qualified, fair, and impartial.| American Constitution Society
In response to the President’s attacks on lawyers, law firms, and judges, more than 1,200 law students from over 120 law schools around the country have signed on to a letter that calls on the legal profession to stand up against this administration’s attacks against the rule of law, challenge the President’s unlawful actions, and act in support of democracy and the rule of law. | ACS
ACS > Judicial Nominations > July 2020 Snapshot: Diversity of the Federal Bench | ACS
ACS > Judicial Nominations > March 2020 Snapshot: Diversity of the Federal Bench | ACS
The Trump administration, both in its first iteration and its current, has consistently shown hostility toward transgender and gender non-conforming people. During the first Trump administration, this hostility was most obvious in the revocation of the Obama administration’s decision to allow openly trans people to serve in the military. In addition to a broad anti-trans executive order issued on day one, in a new executive order issued this week, the current Trump administration is once ag...| ACS
Current statistics on the gender and racial diversity of the Article III courts.| American Constitution Society
Advocates of textualism promote it as a neutral, objective, apolitical theory of interpretation — one that is above ideology. Whenever you hear a judge describe himself or herself as a “rule of law” judge, you can bet that the judge is a textualist. A textualist supposedly respects the democratic process and does not impinge on the legislature’s role. He or she adheres to established and well-founded canons of construction in merely “interpreting” law. As Justice Gorsuch put it in...| ACS
