Lawsuits against the federal government start in a district court — there are more than 600 district-court judges — then can move to an appeals court, then the Supreme Court.In the old days, district courts' rulings only applied to the parties before them. But since the beginning of the Obama administration, those judges have become increasingly willing to say their rulings apply nationwide — the same scope a Supreme Court decision has.
By the numbers: District courts issued 12 rulings freezing Obama administration policies, according to a Harvard Law Review tally — a record at the time.That leapt to 64 in President Trump's first term. District courts also blocked many of President Biden's signature policy proposals, including student-loan forgiveness.
At least 15 universal (nationwide) injunctions have been issued against Trump's second-term policies.
There's a "completely shameless amount of hypocrisy" right now about universal injunctions, said Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown law professor who has been a consistent skeptic of their rise.Trump, White House officials and MAGA leaders are decrying "out-of-control" district courts — but celebrated their rulings against Biden. Few Democrats who decried those rulings against Obama or Biden are complaining about them now.
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Critics argue the rise of universal injunctions has also fueled a rise in venue shopping.
When you only need to convince one district judge to halt an entire federal program, you'll quickly figure out the best place to file your lawsuit — and keep filing them there.
A handful of conservative judges end up hearing the bulk of challenges to major Democratic initiatives for precisely this reason.
Allowing states to sue the federal government — another trend that gained steam on the right during the Obama years, and is now fully bipartisan — also contributes to the rise in these rulings.
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The one idea that no legal scholar has seriously endorsed is simply defying the courts — as many of Trump's closest allies, including Vice President Vance, have suggested.
