Latest news with #UniversityofPennsylvaniaLawSchool
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hawley spars with legal professor over injunctions blocking Trump
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sparred with a legal professor during a Tuesday congressional hearing over nationwide injunctions issued by district court judges against President Trump's administration. Hawley, during the Senate Judiciary joint subcommittee hearing, presented a graph showing that the number of injunctions issued against Trump is far higher than other recent U.S. presidents. 'You don't think this is a little bit anomalous?' Hawley asked University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Kate Shaw. 'A very plausible explanation, senator, you have to consider is that he [Trump] is engaged in much more lawless activity than other presidents, right,' Shaw said. 'You must concede that as a possibility.' Hawley argued that nationwide injunctions, which judges have issued in recent months to temporarily halt or slow down the actions of the executive branch, had not been used before the 1960s and that 'suddenly Democrat judges decide we love the nationwide injunction, and then when Biden comes into office, no, no.' Shaw, a Supreme Court contributor for ABC News, noted that Republican-appointed justices have also imposed injunctions against the administration and added that the 1960s was 'where some scholars begin — sort of locate the beginning of this.' The professor, who worked in the Obama White House Counsel's Office, said that Mila Sohoni, 'who's another scholar of universal injunction, suggests 1913 is actually the first and others in the '20s.' 'The federal government was doing a lot less until 100 years ago,' Shaw said. 'There's many things that have changed in the last 100 or the last 50 years.' 'So as long as it is a Democrat president in office, then we should have no nationwide injunctions,' Hawley said during the exchange. 'If it's a Republican president, then this is absolutely fine, warranted and called for.' During Trump's second White House term, judges have ruled against the president's efforts regarding mass deportations, federal funding cuts, efforts to terminate federal workers and tariffs. Other GOP senators voiced their displeasure with the judges' rulings during the Tuesday hearing. Republicans in Congress introduced measures earlier this year that would curb nationwide injunctions, saying it would prevent jurists from overreaching, while Democrats have said that judges are just doing their jobs. The Missouri senator also asked, 'How can our system of law survive on those principles, professor?' 'I think a system in which there are no constraints on the president is a very dangerous system,' Shaw responded. Hawley fired back at Shaw, saying that it was not the argument she used when former President Biden occupied the Oval Office. 'You said it was a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law,' Hawley said. 'You also said when Joe Biden was president, you said the idea that anyone would foreign shop to get a judge who would issue a nationwide objection was just judges looking like politicians in robes, again, it threatened the underlying legal system. It was just trying to get the result they wanted. It was a travesty for the rule of law,' the GOP lawmaker added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
7 days ago
- General
- The Hill
Hawley spars with legal professor over injunctions blocking Trump
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sparred with a legal professor during a Tuesday congressional hearing over nationwide injunctions issued by district court judges against President Trump's administration. Hawley, during the Senate Judiciary joint subcommittee hearing, presented a graph showing that the number of injunctions issued against Trump is far higher than other recent U.S. presidents. 'You don't think this is a little bit anomalous?' Hawley asked University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Kate Shaw. 'A very plausible explanation, senator, you have to consider is that he [Trump] is engaged in much more lawless activity than other presidents, right,' Shaw said. You must concede that as a possibility.' Hawley argued that nationwide injunctions, which judges have issued in recent months that have temporarily halted or slowed down the actions of the executive branch, have not been used before the 1960s and that 'suddenly Democrat judges decide we love the nationwide injunction, and then when Biden comes into office, no, no…' Shaw, a Supreme Court contributor for ABC News, noted that Republican-appointed justices have also imposed injunctions against the administration and added that the 1960s was 'where some scholars begin – sort of locate the beginning of this.' The professor, who worked in the Obama White House Counsel's Office, said that Mila Sohoni, 'who's another scholar of universal injunction, suggests 1913 is actually the first and others in the 20s.' 'The federal government was doing a lot less until 100 years ago,' Shaw said. 'There's many things that have changed in the last 100 or the last 50 years.' 'So as long as it is a Democrat president in office, then we should have no nationwide injunctions,' Hawley said during the exchange. 'If it's a Republican president, then this is absolutely fine, warranted and called for.' During Trump's second White House term, judges have ruled against the president's efforts regarding mass deportations, federal funding cuts, efforts to terminate federal workers and tariffs. Other GOP senators voiced their displeasure with the judges' rulings during the Tuesday hearing. Republicans in Congress have introduced measures earlier this year that would curb nationwide injunctions, saying it would prevent jurists from overreaching, while Democrats have said that judges are just doing their jobs. The Missouri senator also asked, 'How can our system of law survive on those principles, professor?' 'I think a system in which there are no constraints on the president is a very dangerous system,' Shaw responded. Hawley fired back at Shaw, saying that it was not the argument she used when former President Biden occupied the Oval Office. 'You said it was a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law,' Hawley said. 'You also said when Joe Biden was president, you said the idea that anyone would foreign shop to get a judge who would issue a nationwide objection was just judges looking like politicians in robes, again, it threatened the underlying legal system. It was just trying to get the result they wanted. It was a travesty for the rule of law,' the GOP lawmaker added.
Axios
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Jena Griswold announces bid for attorney general
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Monday she's running for attorney general, ending speculations over a potential gubernatorial bid. Why it matters: Griswold's name recognition and current role immediately make her a top contender for the office, which is currently held by Phil Weiser, who's running for governor. State of play: The term-limited Democrat tells us she's seeking to serve as the state's top law enforcement official to be at the forefront of defending Coloradans from President Trump's policies. Among her top priorities would be improving the state's poor rape kit processing time, supporting an assault weapons ban, protecting workers, and combating special interests, she tells us. What they're saying: " I think is very important as a new mother, who used IVF while trying to start a family, is standing up for abortion access, for critical reproductive health care," Griswold added. Context: Griswold was first elected to her current office in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Wayne Williams to become the youngest secretary of state in the country. She easily won reelection in 2022. A prominent national critic of Trump, she's a vocal advocate for women's rights and fair election practices. Her actions have made her the target of more than 1,800 death and bodily injury threats last year alone, she tells us, as she tried blocking Trump from being on Colorado's ballot. The intrigue: Last year, she faced calls for her resignation after her office mistakenly posted voting equipment passwords online, and she was subjected to a short-lived impeachment effort by Republicans lawmakers. Some local elections officials have accused her of politicizing the secretary of state's office with some of her decisions, including frequent media appearances bashing Trump's policies. "Standing up for our rights is not partisan. It's American, and we need more elected officials to do that," Griswold tells us in response to those criticisms. Between the lines: Former Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler will serve as campaign chair for Griswold, who holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow and House Majority Leader Monica Duran are among elected officials endorsing Griswold's candidacy.
CBS News
19-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Sadie T.M. Alexander, first Black woman in the US to receive a PhD, to be honored with statue in Philadelphia
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was a woman of many firsts, including being the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the first Black woman to earn a PhD in the United States. A statue in Philadelphia will soon commemorate her life. An academic, economist and an attorney, Alexander was also a wife and a mother. "She was unassuming, self-effacing," said Dr. Rae Pace Alexander-Minter. "My mother was the first feminist that I ever knew." Alexander-Minter is Alexander's youngest daughter, and speaks passionately of her mother's trailblazing legacy. "She was very keen about women's rights," Alexander-Minter said. "She said to me, 'You always have to have your own money.'" Alexander-Minter said her mother referred to it as "mad money," an emergency fund stash women referred to in the 1900s. That was just one of the many lessons her mother shared. It was at Penn's campus that Alexander started her academic journey. She was one of just a few Blacks who attended the university more than 100 years ago. "She experienced racial isolation," Alexander-Minter said. "It wasn't that she wanted their friendship. She wanted respect." Alexander graduated with a Bachelor of Science in education and continued at Penn, where she earned a PhD in economics in 1921. "She became the first African American, regardless of gender, to have a PhD," Alexander-Minter said. "However, she couldn't get a job because she was a woman, and she was Black." She was a charter member of Penn's Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated chapter. With the strength of her sorority sisters, she pushed through challenging times. "She found her voice and herself and companionship in the women of Delta," Alexander-Minter said. "She found a family. She found women who cared about each other. Had I known all of this, had I known half of this, I would've pledged." Alexander was elected as the first national president of the sorority. She married her husband, Raymond Pace Alexander, who became a prominent civil rights activist attorney. She made a life raising their two daughters. "My father would come home from his practice law school," Alexander-Minter said, "he would talk law, and my mother fell in love with the law." That sparked another passion. Alexander returned to Penn as the first African American woman accepted into Penn Law School. She would become the first African American woman to graduate from the prestigious college and the first to pass the Pennsylvania bar. "She was interested in helping those people who were feeling unrecognized," Alexander-Minter said. "She talked about, as an economist and a lawyer, the inequities of women, particularly women who were working and the child care." She then opened her law firm while serving on numerous boards throughout the city, including the National Bar Association. During this time, she fought for civil rights, including serving on President Harry Truman's Committee on Civil Rights. "Her mission was to bring equity, equality, respect to those marginalized because of race," Alexander-Minter said. While a portrait of Alexander is hanging on Penn's campus, the city of Philadelphia will install a permanent statue near City Hall to honor the woman of many firsts. A true trailblazer who never stopped despite the barriers.
