Latest news with #judicialorder
New York Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Appeals Court Ends Judge Boasberg's Contempt Inquiry of Trump Officials
A federal appeals panel on Friday terminated a district-court judge's plan to assess whether Trump administration officials were guilty of criminal contempt for sending flights of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, despite the judge's verbal order that they turn around and return to the United States. The ruling by the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will make it far more difficult for Judge James E. Boasberg to determine the details of who was made aware of his order in March, and why the planes continued on to El Salvador. Judge Boasberg had ruled in April that there was probable cause to believe the administration had committed criminal contempt by ignoring his order. But the administration appealed. The brief order was accompanied by 57 pages of concurrences by Judges Gregory G. Katsas and Neomi Rao. It represents a victory for Mr. Trump and a brushback of a judge who had sought to curb Mr. Trump's second-term agenda, earning his ire. Judge Katsas wrote that any order to turn planes around midair would be 'indefensible,' comparing it to a district-court judge who had ordered President Richard M. Nixon's administration to stop bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War, which was quickly stayed. In a 49-page dissent, Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote that government officials 'appear to have disobeyed' Judge Boasberg's order and that she would have let Judge Boasberg move forward with criminal contempt proceedings. 'The rule of law depends on obedience to judicial orders,' she wrote. Judge Katsas and Judge Rao were nominated by Mr. Trump. Judge Pillard was nominated by President Barack Obama. Judge Boasberg was nominated first by President George W. Bush to the D.C. Superior Court and then to the Federal District Court bench by President Barack Obama. Judge Boasberg's initial order was issued on March 15, shortly after he received an urgent request from lawyers representing five Venezuelan migrants to block Mr. Trump if he invoked a wartime authority, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport them and others without notice or a hearing. When Judge Boasberg convened a hearing at 5 p.m., the government was in the process of loading more than 200 other Venezuelans onto planes. At 6:48 p.m., the judge verbally ordered the government not to deport anyone under the Alien Enemies Act and to bring back any planes that had taken off. Shortly after, he ordered the government not to remove the Venezuelan detainees but left out the explicit requirement for airborne planes to turn around. Despite Judge Boasberg's order, the planes flew to El Salvador, where the Venezuelans were taken to a maximum-security prison. When the judge asked why on March 17, the government argued it had complied with his written order, which they claimed superseded the verbal one.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Brazil judge eases Jair Bolsonaro house arrest to allow family visits
A Brazilian supreme court judge has eased the terms of Jair Bolsonaro's house arrest, allowing the far-right former president to receive visits from family members without prior judicial approval. The former paratrooper turned populist has been under house arrest since Monday, when Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the measure on the grounds that Bolsonaro had allegedly violated court orders. In his initial ruling, Moraes permitted Bolsonaro to receive only his lawyers and the family members he lives with at a mansion in Brasília: his wife, Michelle, his daughter and his stepdaughter. All other relatives were required to seek judicial authorisation, a restriction that has now been lifted. 'I authorise visits from the detainee's sons, daughters-in-law, granddaughters and grandsons without prior notice,' Moraes wrote, stressing that all visitors must still comply with the ban on using mobile phones or taking photos and videos of the former president. Bolsonaro also remains barred from contacting his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who has been in the United States since March and claims to have played a key role in persuading Donald Trump to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports – a move the US president justified as a response to what he called a 'witch-hunt' against Bolsonaro. Two weeks ago, Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle tag to prevent a potential escape attempt. In justifying last Monday's house arrest, the justice argued that Bolsonaro had flouted a court order prohibiting the use of social media – including by third parties – by appearing via video call at Sunday rallies, a recording of which was later posted by one of his politician sons, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Although legal experts broadly agree that the case accusing Bolsonaro of leading a coup attempt in 2022 is strong, the house arrest order has sparked a more contentious debate. Some have defended the judge's decision, arguing he had been 'patient' with Bolsonaro's repeated breaches of court rulings. But other legal scholars argue that it is unclear what precise violation Bolsonaro committed, noting that he was not explicitly banned from speaking at public events. In response to Moraes's latest ruling, politicians aligned with Bolsonaro have blocked congressional proceedings, demanding that lawmakers vote to impeach the supreme court justice and grant amnesty to the hundreds accused of involvement in the alleged coup attempt – including the ransacking of Brasília on 8 January 2023. The case against the 70-year-old politician is at an advanced stage and a verdict is expected as early as next month, with Bolsonaro facing a potential sentence of more than 40 years in prison.
CNN
31-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Judge in Abrego Garcia case tells Trump administration to moderate public comments to ensure a fair trial
The federal judge in Tennessee overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia's criminal case told the Trump administration on Thursday that officials must moderate their public comments about him to ensure he received a fair trial. The order from US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw comes a week after attorneys for Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year and brought back to the US in June to face human smuggling charges, complained to the judge about 'inflammatory' comments Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others made about him earlier this month. 'To ensure that Abrego receives a fair trial, all counsel are subject to' rules prohibiting extrajudicial statements that could interfere with a criminal defendant having a fair trial, Crenshaw, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote in the brief order. 'All counsel and those working with counsel shall ensure that any proper public communications include that the Indictment only contains allegations,' the judge added. 'Our Constitution requires that Abrego is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury.' Earlier this month, as Crenshaw was considering whether to let Abrego Garcia remain free while his case unfolds, Noem attacked Abrego Garcia during a press conference in Nashville. She referred to him as a 'monster' and made other disparaging remarks about him. 'I hope this judge does the right thing and brings this man to justice for the crimes that he has committed, and this judge needs to apply the law equally to every single person that shows up in his courtroom,' Noem said at the time. Abrego Garcia's attorneys said those comments and others from a spokeswoman for the department had the potential 'to taint the jury pool' and put Abrego Garcia and his family in danger. 'The Court's intervention is required to protect Mr. Abrego's right to a fair trial, his safety, and the integrity of these proceedings,' the lawyers wrote in court filings. Crenshaw and a federal magistrate judge in Tennessee have concluded that prosecutors have not put forward enough evidence to support their request that Abrego Garcia remain behind bars while his trial unfolds. But he'll remain in criminal custody for several more weeks after the magistrate judge agreed to an unopposed request from his lawyers that was meant to ensure he wouldn't be hastily deported again.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man wrongfully deported to El Salvador must be returned to US, court rules
An appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to return a man wrongfully deported to El Salvador to the US and to explain how it is complying in a ruling apparently designed to break a pattern of apparent government defiance of judicial orders. The US court of appeals for the second circuit in New York also required the government to provide a declaration of the current whereabouts and custodial status of Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, who was deported on 7 May less than half an hour after the court had expressly barred his removal. Tuesday's order seemed intended to forestall a repeat of the long saga surrounding the case of Kilmar Ábrego García, who was deported to his native El Salvador in March, in violation of a 2019 immigration court order preventing his repatriation there on grounds of possible persecution. Ábrego García remained in custody in El Salvador's sprawling Cecot terrorism confinement facility for weeks while administration officials claimed they were unable to comply with a court order to facilitate his return. He was eventually returned to the US this month after the government secured a federal indictment accusing him of being a co-conspirator in a people-smuggling ring. Melgar-Salmeron, 31, a married father of four who lives in Virginia, is believed by relatives to be in custody in a high-security prison after he was deported despite the government having given the appeals court an 'express assurance' that it would not schedule a deportation flight for him until the following day while his case was heard. In the event, Melgar-Salmeron left on a flight for El Salvador 28 minutes after the order was issued. A court filing for the government blamed 'a confluence of administrative errors'. In addition to ordering the government to facilitate his return, Tuesday's order also gave officials a week to file a 'supplemental declaration from an individual with personal knowledge, addressing … the current physical location and custodial status of Petitioner; and … what steps the government will take, and when, to facilitate his return to the United States'. The court denied an application by Melgar-Salmeron's lawyers for the appointment of a special master for the case, saying that the government counsel who had given assurance that he would not be removed 'took reasonable and diligent steps to ensure removal would not occur in violation of that assurance'. Related: Trump drives surge in Ice detentions of those with no criminal record despite stated priorities In a previous filing, the government detailed a series of communications lapses between an Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (Ice) office in Buffalo, New York, where his case was being monitored, and another in Louisiana, where he was being held. Melgar-Salmeron was previously affiliated with the MS-13 street gang but, according to his lawyer, has since renounced his connection. He also served two years in jail for illegal possession of an unregistered sawn-off shotgun before he was placed in immigration detention, according to the New York Times. His is one of four cases, along with that of Ábrego-García, of people being removed in breach of court orders. Also among the four is Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan, who was deported along with about 240 other men from Venezuela and taken to the Cecot facility after US authorities declared them to be members of Tren de Aragua. A Maryland court later ruled that he had been improperly removed in violation of an earlier settlement forbidding his removal while his immigration case was pending. The fourth case is that of a Guatemalan immigrant identified only as 'OCG', who was deported to Mexico, despite claiming to have been raped and kidnapped in that country.
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Man wrongfully deported to El Salvador must be returned to US, court rules
An appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to return a man wrongfully deported to El Salvador to the US and to explain how it is complying in a ruling apparently designed to break a pattern of apparent government defiance of judicial orders. The US court of appeals for the second circuit in New York also required the government to provide a declaration of the current whereabouts and custodial status of Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, who was deported on 7 May less than half an hour after the court had expressly barred his removal. Tuesday's order seemed intended to forestall a repeat of the long saga surrounding the case of Kilmar Ábrego García, who was deported to his native El Salvador in March, in violation of a 2019 immigration court order preventing his repatriation there on grounds of possible persecution. Ábrego García remained in custody in El Salvador's sprawling Cecot terrorism confinement facility for weeks while administration officials claimed they were unable to comply with a court order to facilitate his return. He was eventually returned to the US this month after the government secured a federal indictment accusing him of being a co-conspirator in a people smuggling ring. Melgar-Salmeron, 31, a married father-of-four who lives in Virginia, is believed by relatives to be in custody in a high-security prison after he was deported despite the government having given the appeals court an 'express assurance' that it would not schedule a deportation flight for him until the following day while his case was heard. In the event, Melgar-Salmeron left on a flight for El Salvador 28 minutes after the order was issued. A court filing for the government blamed 'a confluence of administrative errors'. In addition to ordering the government to facilitate his return, Tuesday's order also gave officials a week to file a 'supplemental declaration from an individual with personal knowledge, addressing … the current physical location and custodial status of Petitioner; and .…what steps the government will take, and when, to facilitate his return to the United States'. The court denied an application by Melgar-Salmeron's lawyers for the appointment of a special master for the case, saying that the government counsel who had given assurance that he would not be removed 'took reasonable and diligent steps to ensure removal would not occur in violation of that assurance'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion In a previous filing, the government detailed a series of communications lapses between an Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (Ice) office in Buffalo, New York, where his case was being monitored, and another in Louisiana, where he was being held. Melgar-Salmeron was previously affiliated with the MS-13 street gang but, according to his lawyer, his since renounced his connection. He also served two years in jail for illegal possession of an unregistered sawn-off shotgun before he was placed in immigration detention, according to the New York Times. His is one of four cases, along with that of Ábrego-García, of people being removed in breach of court orders. Also among the four is Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan, who was deported along with about 240 other men from Venezuela and taken to the Cecot facility after US authorities declared them to be members of Tren de Aragua. A Maryland court later ruled that he had been improperly removed in violation of an earlier settlement forbidding his removal while his immigration case was pending. The fourth case is that of a Guatemalan immigrant identified only as 'OCG,' who was deported to Mexico, despite claiming to have been raped and kidnapped in that country.
