Derek Reinbold  //  10/18/17  //  Daily Update

A federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s revised travel ban, blocking the administration from enforcing key provisions of its policy. Today, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will have their first chance to question Attorney General Jeff Sessions since his confirmation. Today, a federal judge will hear argument in the emoluments case against President Trump brought by CREW and private plaintiffs.

IMMIGRATION

A federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s revised travel ban, blocking the administration from enforcing key provisions of its policy (NYT, WSJ, LATimes).

• You can read the opinion here.
• Leah Litman breaks down the decision at Take Care.
• The administration now has the option to seek a delay from the Ninth Circuit or the Supreme Court, writes Lyle Denniston.
• The district court ruling is the first step in what is likely to be a prolonged legal battle, writes Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy.
• Travel ban litigation has spawned nationwide injunctions blocking the Trump administration, writes Ariane de Vogue at CNN, surveying legal commentary on the injunctions.

President Trump is reportedly planning to insist that funding for a border wall be part of any DREAM Act deal (Immigration Prof Blog).

California’s revisions to its criminal law provide a blueprint for resisting President Trump’s plans for mass deportation, writes Ingrid Eagly at the new Harvard Law Review Blog.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is blinded by animus against asylum seekers, and so misapprehends the lawyer’s role in protecting people fearing prosecution, writes Cyrus Mehta on his blog. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants (CNN).

DEMOCRACY

The fight for voting rights is the struggle of our generation, writes former Attorney General Eric Holder at the Harvard Law Review Blog.

Stifling NFL players’ protests would be illegal, write Benjamin Sachs and Noah Zatz in the New York Times.

Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC, said that the agency does not have authority to revoke a broadcast station’s license based on the content of a newscast, responding to President Trump’s contention that NBC should be penalized for critical coverage of the White House (WaPo, Ars Technica).

• Pai is sending the correct message, though First Amendment doctrine is more complicated, writes Eugene Volokh at the Volokh Conspiracy.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

U.S.-backed forces completed the capture of Raqqa, once the capital of the Islamic State (NYT, WSJ, WaPo).

On Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will have their first chance to question Attorney General Jeff Sessions since his confirmation; they should ask him about the abrupt reversals from Obama-era practices, writes Dan Froomkin at ACSblog.

A bipartisan group of police chiefs, prosecutors, and policy figures will urge the Trump administration to reverse course on harsh policing practices (NYT).

The current money bail system relies on the financial resources of the accused, regardless of whether that person poses a public safety risk, writes Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California, for the Harvard Law Review Blog.

Louisiana has made historic strides in reforming its criminal justice system; other states and the federal government should build on that success, writes Lisa Graybill at the Harvard Law Review Blog.

Speaking the language of progressivism is meaningless if prosecutors continue to promote harsh practices behind the scenes—we out to make sure prosecutors are actual criminal justice reformers, writes Josie Duffy Rice at the New York Times.

Prosecutors across the country jail innocent crime victims and witnesses in hopes of insuring their testimony in court (New Yorker).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Wednesday morning, a federal judge will hear arguments in the Emoluments case against President Trump brought by CREW and private plaintiffs (NPR).

REGULATION

Senators Patty Murray and Lamar Alexander have reached a deal to stabilize the health insurance markets (NYT, WSJ, CNN).

The Trump Administration has claimed that it lacks authority to continue paying insurers, but that theory does not withstand scrutiny, writes Daniel Hemel at Notice & Comment.

President Trump’s efforts to sabotage the ACA violate the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, writes Abbe Gluck at Vox.

Following reports that he had pushed legislation that undermined efforts to combat the opioid crisis, Tom Marino, President Trump’s nominee for drug czar, withdrew from consideration (NYT).

The Trump Administration’s overhaul of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate will do clear harm, writes Adam Sonfield at Health Affairs.

Randal Quarles has been confirmed as a Federal Reserve Governor, but he is only filling a stub term of three months, rendering him an immediate lame duck, writes Peter Conti-Brown at Notice & Comment.

President Trump has reportedly narrowed his search for Federal Reserve chairman to five candidates (WSJ).

The Trump administration plans to repeal the Obama-era clean power plan based on dubious cost-benefit analysis, and dealing another blow to the credibility of policy analysis, writes Stuart Shapiro at The Regulatory Review.

Scott Pruitt, EPA Administrator, pledged to crack down on settlements with environmental groups that sue the agency (The Hill).

The Court should not reward the SEC for flouting administrative due process, writes Ilya Shapiro for the Harvard Law Review Blog, commenting on Digital Realty Trust v. Somers.

CHECKS & BALANCES

President Trump has nominated prolific bloggers to the federal bench, but Republican Senators have stuck by his picks (Politico).

FEDERALISM

California signed into law the California Religious Freedom Act, which would prevent participation by state and local officials in any federal “Muslim registry” (Religion Clause).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday (USA Today).

The Committee should address AG Sessions’s shifting and false statements on Russia, write Ryan Goodman and Artin Afkhami at Just Security.

Michael Flynn Jr. is likely to receive a subpoena to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, having earlier declined to testify before the body (ABC News).