A provision ā€œhiddenā€ in the sweeping budget bill that passed the U.S. House on Thursday seeks to limit the ability of courts—including the U.S. Supreme Court—from enforcing their orders.

ā€œNo court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued,ā€ the provision in the bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long, says.

The provision ā€œwould make most existing injunctions—in antitrust cases, police reform cases, school desegregation cases, and others—unenforceable,ā€ Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, told Newsweek. ā€œIt serves no purpose but to weaken the power of the federal courts.ā€

  • GroundedGator@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    This only works if everyone is honorable and defends their power. Just the writing of this bill (and others) shows the legislature’s willingness to cede their own power. I have little confidence that the current SCOTUS bench will do anything to keep their own. Add to that a weakness in our 3 branch system that only one branch has the power of force.