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After all sorts of appellate proceedings, Judge Boasberg is restarting criminal contempt proceedings against Trump regime for flagrantly violating his orders in case of deportations of Venezuelans in the U.S. https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/politics/boasberg-contempt-of-court-alien-enemies-act-flights 1/ #LawFedi
Significant because this case, when Trump ordered certain Venezuelans deported from U.S., pursuant to Alien Enemies Act, is among those that may yet force the Roberts Court to squarely address an executive branch that utterly lawlessly disregards court orders. 2/
The Roberts Court took the underlying case out of Boasberg’s jurisdiction when it ruled that there could not be a nationwide class action for relief and required habeas filings in courts in jurisdictions where prisoners are held. But that does not moot the issue of whether the Trump regime disobeyed Boasberg’s orders when he did have jurisdiction over the case. 3/
So far, the Roberts Court has evaded deciding a case where the only issue is whether the Supreme Court should uphold a contempt of court judgment against anybody in the Trump administration. 4/
The Roberts Court desperately wants to avoid having to address such a case, and certainly does not want to be confronted with one where the Trump executive branch’s contempt is clearly established by evidence. But at this point, the evidence strongly shows that somebody in the executive branch specifically refused to comply with Boasberg’s orders not to deport anybody while the case was pending. 5/
Boasberg’s focus now is on identifying who that person is, or if more than one, who they are. He is methodically requiring the Trump regime to turn over the information to him. Boasberg will give that person or those persons the chance to present their side of the story to Boasberg. After this accordance of due process, Boasberg will decide whether to hold them in criminal contempt. If he does so hold, he may impose fines or even jail. 6/
There are still going to be twists and turns in this case. Impossible to know if it will eventually reach the Supreme Court in a posture that will force the Roberts Court to clearly show whether it is going to straightforwardly license contempt of court by the Trump regime. But boasberg’s resumption of criminal contempt proceedings makes such a denouement that much more likely. 7/7
come over, warm up. coffee?
