All articles tagged with #emergency orders
In a rare joint appearance, Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh debated the court's use of emergency orders that let parts of President Trump's agenda advance, with Jackson criticizing what she called an uptick in early, policy-driven interventions and Kavanaugh cautioning about the complexity of such cases and the limits of lower-court rulings.
At a rare public appearance, Justice Jackson criticized the court's growing use of the shadow docket to fast-track Trump-era emergency rulings, calling the uptick a problem that warps how lower courts approach cases. Justice Kavanaugh defended the practice as sometimes necessary and noted the trend isn’t unique to Trump. The exchange highlighted internal court tensions and concerns about threats to judges, while both stressed the importance of judicial independence.
A powerful winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the Philadelphia area and parts of New Jersey and Delaware, dropping over a foot of snow in many spots, with winds up to 40 mph and ongoing outages that exceed 192,000. The storm forced widespread travel disruptions: SEPTA buses suspended and Regional Rail shut, Amtrak and NJ Transit adjusted services, and Philadelphia International Airport canceled hundreds of flights. Schools closed or moved to virtual instruction; city and state officials declared snow emergencies and Code Blue warming measures for the unhoused. Travel restrictions remain in place in several areas, with plow crews working to clear routes as forecasters expect peak conditions through the morning before improving later in the day.
A major winter storm is moving through the Philadelphia region, bringing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain with strong winds and travel-disrupting conditions. Forecasts predict 8–12 inches of snow for Philadelphia (with higher totals to the north and up to 18 inches in the Poconos) and ice accumulations that could cause power outages. Transit is being suspended or reduced (SEPTA, NJ Transit, PATCO), schools are closed, and officials have declared emergencies and snow-related restrictions; after the storm, bitterly cold temperatures are expected with warming centers available for unhoused residents and extensive safety guidance in place.
The Supreme Court has significantly empowered Donald Trump over the past nine months through emergency orders, allowing him to reduce federal agencies, dismiss agency heads, and exercise congressional powers.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended the Supreme Court's handling of an increased number of emergency appeals, attributing it to presidents relying more on executive orders amid congressional gridlock, and highlighted efforts to improve transparency and process in decision-making.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized caution in issuing detailed opinions on emergency applications to avoid premature judgments, highlighting the court's varied approaches and the importance of transparency, while also noting the influence of political and public opinion on judicial decisions.
Two Republican lawmakers in New Mexico have filed a resolution to impeach Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham over her emergency public health orders that suspended the right to carry firearms in certain public places. The lawmakers accuse the governor of violating the state and federal constitutions, prompting a response from Lujan Grisham's spokesperson who criticized the move as a political stunt. The governor invoked the emergency orders in response to gun violence and has proposed a gun safety package, including a ban on assault weapons and raising the legal purchase age for all guns to 21.
New York City has filed a lawsuit against over 30 upstate localities that issued emergency orders aimed at barring the city from housing migrants in hotels. The city’s suit names Rockland and Orange counties, in addition to 31 other counties and one town, that recently issued migrant-related emergency orders after New York Mayor Eric Adams announced his administration will begin busing migrants to private hotels in their areas. The suit also requests that the court deem the EOs “null and void” and invalidate them “in excess of authority, affected by an error of law, arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”
New York City has sued over 30 municipalities and local leaders in upstate New York, alleging that their emergency orders obstruct the city's efforts to relocate migrants upstate "in a manner that is explicitly permitted by law and required by a statewide emergency." The suit asks the state Supreme Court to invalidate the emergency orders filed by the counties under the grounds that they are unconstitutional. The battle between the city and some upstate leaders started last month when Rockland County declared a state of emergency after its leaders said they discovered New York City's plan to bus migrants to a hotel in the county.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative Supreme Court justice, criticized emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic as "perhaps the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country." He pointed to orders closing schools, restricting church services, mandating vaccines, and prohibiting evictions. Gorsuch's criticism was aimed at local, state, and federal officials, including his colleagues. He acknowledged that emergency orders are sometimes necessary, but warned that they can generate other problems.