#Trump’s #ExecutiveOrder said those agencies should eliminate all operations not codified in #statute as well as "reduce the performance of their statutory functions & associated personnel to the minimum presence & function required by #law."

So far, #Musk's #DOGE has produced potential cuts of >100k #jobs across the 2.3M-member federal civilian workforce, the freezing of #ForeignAid, & the cancellation of thousands of programs & contracts.

“It would be ironic, to say the least, & inimical to the ends furthered by the #statute if the #SpecialCounsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or #partisan removal,” the judge added.

Dellinger said in an emailed statement that he was grateful to see the court “confirm the importance & legality of the job protections #Congress afforded my position.”

Judge #AmyBermanJackson disagreed, saying in her ruling that the #statute “must stand.” Eliminating the restrictions on Dellinger’s removal, she wrote, “would be fatal to the defining & essential feature of the Office of #SpecialCounsel as it was conceived by #Congress & signed into #law by the President: its #independence.”

Gen Caine retired w/ 3 stars, as a lieutenant general. By #statute, the chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff is supposed to have served as a combatant Commander, as the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or as the top uniformed officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Space Force.
It’s unclear if Gen Caine will need a congressional waiver; a congressional aide said #Trump had some latitude to choose whom he wanted & exceptions could be made for #NationalSecurity.
#USpol #law #military

The unions had asked the court to block #Trump’s dismantlement of the #aid agency, calling it “#unconstitutional & #illegal” & saying it had “generated a global #HumanitarianCrisis” & threatened American strategic interests.

“Not a single one of defendants’ actions to dismantle #USAID were taken pursuant to congressional authorization,” the lawsuit said. “And pursuant to federal #statute, #Congress is the only entity that may lawfully dismantle the agency.”

It is not clear how much weight Jackson’s view would carry in the lower courts, but it is an important one. Jackson’s point was that while #SCOTUS limited the #statute to #crimes involving the impairment of #evidence, Congress’s #Jan6 certification of the #2020election itself “plainly used certain records, documents or objects — including, among others, those relating to the electoral votes themselves.”

#Judge #strikesdown #Florida's #ban on #medicalcare for #trans #kids, #Adults.

“#Florida has adopted a #statute and #rules that #ban #genderaffirmingcare for #minors even when #medically #appropriate. The #ban is #unconstitutional.”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/11/2246129/-Judge-strikes-down-Florida-s-ban-on-medical-care-for-trans-kids

Mitchell, a UofC LawSchool grad & member of the #FederalistSociety, was a visiting prof at StanfordLaw when he suggested strategies in a #law review article for crafting legislation to withstand court challenges.
Legislature can “induce compliance w/its statutes by providing for private #enforcement through #civil lawsuits.These mechanisms are especially powerful because they enable private litigants to enforce a #statute even after a fed dist court has enjoined the executive from enforcing it.”

…The case involves an attempt by #Congress to give #judges more leeway in #punishments & provide a “safety valve” so that not all are subject to tough #MinimumMandatory #sentences.

But it has proven a #linguistic puzzle to judges across the country. The #statute says a defendant can become eligible for the safety valve if, among other things, the #offense was nonviolent & the defendant “does not have” certain previous convictions. The statute lists those conviction categories as (A), (B) & (C).

But the first oral argument focused on whether #Congress’s use of the word “and” in a #statute authorizing lighter #sentences for certain #DrugDealers more properly should be read as “or.”

If that sounds straightforward, a trail of cases across the country that have split the lower courts & nearly two hours of argument at #SCOTUS indicated otherwise. “I think this is a very hard case,” said Justice #AmyConeyBarrett.