Mark Joseph Stern
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Mark Joseph Stern
@mjsdc.bsky.social
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Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law. Co-host of the Amicus podcast. Dad.
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Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
cristianfarias.com
The lawyers in the Alien Enemies Act pending before Judge James Boasberg, who is proceeding with his contempt inquiry against the Trump administration, have recommended that he consider a number of "potential witnesses."

They include now-Judge Emil Bove.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Screenshot of legal filing in J.G.G. v. Trump, listing, among other people, Emil Bove. They include: 1. Former Acting Deputy Director of OIL Erez Reuveni1 2. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign 3. Former Acting Director of OIL August Flentje 4. Counselor to the Deputy Attorney General James McHenry 5. Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins 6. Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security James Percival 7. Acting General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security Joseph Mazzara 8. Former Acting Assistant Attorney General (now Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General) Yaakov Roth 9. Former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove
November 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Worth reiterating that what Trump tried to pull off with Halligan would, if successful, neutralize the Constitution’s appointments clause and allow him to install an endless series of insane and unqualified prosecutors without a single Senate vote. slate.com/news-and-pol...
It Turns Out Lindsey Halligan Was a Fake Prosecutor All Along
This fight is not over.
slate.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
I respectfully disagree with Kyle. Currie says Bondi couldn't ratify Halligan's indictment after the statute of limitations. She does NOT say that a future, validly appointed U.S. Attorney (interim or otherwise) is barred from bringing a NEW indictment under §3288 (she leaves that possibility open).
kyledcheney.bsky.social Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 1d
MORE: Judge Currie basically slams the door on re-indicting Comey here. She notes that "there is no legitimate peg" to extend the expired Sept. 30 statute of limitations. The window for James is a little wider. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 24, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
jaredmcclain.bsky.social
Violating the First Amendment to hide the record of all their violations of the Fourth Amendment.
dcmigrantmutualaid.org Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid @dcmigrantmutualaid.org · 1d
An ICE agent was caught removing a sign marking an ICE kidnapping in DC last week! Do we think he did it out of anger, embarrassment, or most appropriately shame? If you think what you’re doing is right, why are you trying to hide the evidence? 👀
ICE agent carrying away a yard sign that says “ICE kidnapping happened here”
November 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
cwarzel.bsky.social
the rage that reading this makes me feel. just full 'need to stare into the middle distance because we are so, so lost' stuff.
oliviamesser.bsky.social Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 1d
Emmanuel, a 15-year-old with intellectual disabilities, wandered away from his mom’s fruit stand in October.

She reported him missing to Houston police. But instead of reuniting them, the city turned him over to ICE.

“They’re failing all of us,” his mom said.

thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/24/d...
A Disabled Child’s Mom Reported Him Missing. He Was Locked Away by Federal Immigration Authorities for 48 Days.
Emmanuel, a 15-year-old who has an intellectual disability, walked away from his mom’s fruit stand in October. Houston Police called ICE.
thebarbedwire.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Would make Cox the THIRD Republican governor in recent years to expand his state's Supreme Court to shift its ideological balance rightward, after Arizona and Georgia.
kylecbarry.bsky.social Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 1d
Reminder: Republicans love "court packing" when it suits them:

Last week Utah Gov. Spencer Cox appointed anti-abortion culture war zealot John Nielsen to the state supreme court, & may now expand the court to create a majority more favorable to Republican legislators: www.sltrib.com/news/politic...
The governor, who is a lawyer, has so far vocally opposed most attempts by the Legislature to influence the courts’ operations. But earlier this month, Cox signed a law revoking the Supreme Court justices’ authority to choose their own chief, instead designating the governor to pick the head of the high court every eight years, subject to Senate confirmation. The governor vetoed a previous version of the bill that would have required him to pick a new chief every four years. Cox said Tuesday he may now support a dead proposal from earlier this year to expand the number of justices on the Utah Supreme Court. The Utah Constitution says the court must have “at least five” justices.
November 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
SCOTUS tightens the conditions under which minor witnesses can testify virtually (rather than in-person), a controversial exception to the Confrontation Clause. Requires a specific finding of necessity for the child, not general solicitude for kids' wellbeing. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
PER CURIAM. Ordinarily, the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause “guarantees the defendant a face-to-face meeting with witnesses appearing before the trier of fact.” Coy v. Iowa, 487 U. S. 1012, 1016 (1988). In child-abuse cases, however, that rule sometimes gives way. Consistent with the Sixth Amendment, a court may screen a child witness from the defendant when “necessary to protect [the child] from trauma that would be caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant, at least where such trauma would impair the child’s ability to communicate.” Maryland v. Craig, 497 U. S. 836, 857 (1990). Still, before invoking this procedure, a court must proceed with care. It must “hear evidence” and make a “casespecific” finding of “[t]he requisite . . . necessity.” Id., at 855. Simply pointing to a state statute that authorizes screening, even one premised on “generalized finding[s]” of necessity, will not suffice. Coy, 487 U. S., at 1021. Because the Mississippi Supreme Court departed from these principles, we reverse
November 24, 2025 at 2:39 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
SCOTUS once again declines an opportunity to overturn Feres, which bars service members from collecting damages under the FTCA for injuries incident to military service. Thomas dissents (again) but says correcting this case doesn't even require overturning Feres. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES KARI BECK, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF CAMERON GAYLE BECK, ET AL. v. UNITED STATES ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT No. 24–1078. Decided November 24, 2025 JUSTICE THOMAS, dissenting from denial of certiorari. Air Force Staff Sergeant Cameron Beck was struck and killed by a civilian Government employee driving a Government vehicle. His surviving wife sued the Government under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U. S. C. §2671 et seq., which waives the Government’s immunity for certain tort claims. The lower courts dismissed her claim based on an expansive reading of the Feres doctrine, a “judicially created” FTCA exception for injuries incident to military service. Stencel Aero Engineering Corp. v. United States, 431 U. S. 666, 674 (1977) (Marshall, J., dissenting) (citing Feres v. United States, 340 U. S. 135 (1950)). I have long called for overruling Feres, which lacks any basis in the FTCA’s text. But we did not need to overrule Feres to get this case right because Staff Sergeant Beck was not killed incident to military service at all. He was killed in Missouri while off duty and going home to eat lunch with his family. We should have granted certiorari. Doing so would have provided clarity about Feres to lower courts that have long asked for it. It would have resolved a Circuit split over whether, in applying Feres, courts should give special consideration to circumstances that implicate sensitive military affairs. And it would have allowed Staff Sergeant Beck’s widow to recover for her husband’s wrongful death consistent with both the FTCA and our precedent. I respectfully dissent from the denial of certiorari.
November 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
radleybalko.bsky.social
Kavanaugh stop. Smashed the kid’s car windows and arrested him. He told them he was a U.S. citizen. The officer replied “I don’t care.”

www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
High school senior, a U.S. citizen, detained by ICE in Oregon
The 17-year-old was held more than five hours Friday in an ICE facility, his brother said.
www.oregonlive.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Fresh out of a bath on a rainy day, Toro enjoys some bird-friendly tea
Very wet green conure eyeing then sipping tea with his beak
November 22, 2025 at 4:31 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Reminder: John Roberts is the Chief Justice of the United States. He is not the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme, but if you get it wrong, SCOTUS watchers will judge you!
November 21, 2025 at 8:33 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Trump's CBP chief is a fabulist psychopath who openly takes pleasure in brutal acts of violence against civilians and freely lies under oath about the atrocities he commits and orchestrates. These are the tactics of terrorists, unleashed on our cities by our own government. slate.com/news-and-pol...
Then there’s Greg Bovino, the CBP chief. Judge Ellis wrote that she “specifically finds his testimony not credible,” adding: “Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing ‘cute’ responses to plaintiffs’ counsel’s questions or outright lying.” When he was shown a video of agents hitting the Rev. David Black with pepper balls, he “denied seeing a projectile hit Rev. Black in the head.” Shown video of himself tackling one of the plaintiffs’ witnesses, he denied using force “and instead stated that force was used against him.” It just goes on and on like this. This is the most unqualified, direct accusation of mendacious lying by a judge that we have seen so far in the Trump administration. And it’s not just that agents lied to cover up violence; they lied because they wanted to justify their own brutal assaults by framing innocent protesters as the aggressors.
November 21, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
taniel.bsky.social
NEW: You've heard SCOTUS could soon upend the balance in power in Congress by gutting the VRA. But that'd also be a huge blow to Black voting power in *local* governments.

In west Tennessee, Black residents just won a new county map this year—but those gains now look very fragile.

Great reporting:
Black Residents in West Tennessee Just Won Fairer Districts. Now Comes SCOTUS. - Bolts
The Supreme Court may further erode the Voting Rights Act in an upcoming decision. Beyond affecting Congress, that would reverberate across local governments nationwide.
boltsmag.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
slateunion.bsky.social
We’re headed to the bargaining table today for our second meeting with management to discuss details of a new contract. The members of Slate Union are excited to bargain for improvements that will enhance working conditions and lives. We hope Slate management bargains in good faith with us. ✊
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
joshablock.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 3:35 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
This was a really fun event and I was honored to participate! We covered a LOT of legal news. You can watch the whole thing here.
November 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Judge Jerry Smith's Soros meltdown raises serious questions about competence and senility. It doubles as a strong argument for judicial term limits. But perhaps most importantly, it utterly fails to rebuke the majority's main arguments about Texas' racial gerrymander! slate.com/news-and-pol...
In fairness, Smith has long been a bit of a drama queen. But this dissent is not just a theatrical temper tantrum; it is a cry for help. Those closest to Smith ought to intervene and coax him into retirement before he can embarrass the federal judiciary more. The Supreme Court’s Republican appointees are still going to steer this case wherever they want. But rather than give them an excuse to side with Texas, Smith may have made it harder for the supermajority to reverse, because doing so may make it look as if the justices are endorsing his ultra-partisan fixation on liberal donors who just so happen to be Jewish. George and Alex Soros are wealthy men indeed. But the rent-free space they occupy in Smith’s Fox News–addled brain is beyond anything money can buy.
November 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Ellis repeatedly accuses multiple CBP and ICE officials of lying (under oath) and says their "widespread misrepresentations call into question everything" they "say they are doing in their characterization of what is happening." She broadly discredits their testimony as objectively false.
jonseidel.bsky.social Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 4d
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just handed down the written opinion version of her preliminary injunction order, regarding use of force by federal agents in Chicago.

It's the one already put on hold by the 7th Circuit.

It's 233 pages.

Here you go: cst.brightspotcdn.com/49/34/daecfb...
November 20, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Judge Cobb rules that the Pentagon's National Guard deployment into D.C. was illegal.

However, she has stayed the effect of her order until Dec. 11 to prevent disorder while the matter is under appeal.

ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
5th Circuit MAGA Judge Andrew Oldham says Erie was wrongly decided, federal judges should resume "finding" law themselves rather than applying state statutes, and appeals courts should stop certifying questions about state law to state supreme courts. www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub...
Andrew S. Oldham, Circuit Judge, dissenting: I am troubled by the Fifth Circuit’s standards for certifying questions to state courts. Certification barely existed at all before the Supreme Court’s decision in Clay v. Sun Insurance Office Ltd., 363 U.S. 207 (1960). But today it looms large over our diversity docket. And I worry that overuse of the certified-question procedure contravenes history and tradition, undermines federalism, diminishes the parity of state and federal courts, and patronizes our colleagues in the judicial branches of the several States. Our purported “test” for certifying questions is theoretically bankrupt. And the procedure’s much-celebrated efficiency is overstated. We should reconsider these errors, swear off the drink of overcertification, and bring our practices in line with Article III and the jurisdictional statutes enacted by Congress.
November 20, 2025 at 6:49 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
Why does @gene4va.bsky.social keep voting for horrible Trump bills that take away DC home? If you are his constituent, perhaps you could call his office and ask?
ankitjaindc.bsky.social Senator Ankit Jain @ankitjaindc.bsky.social · 5d
I am especially disappointed in @gene4va.bsky.social. He has now voted SEVEN times to advance Trump’s takeover of DC. He claims to support democracy, but then opposes it at almost every turn for the city just 40 minutes away. Why is this local Dem supporting Trump’s agenda so strongly?
November 20, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
normative.bsky.social
There’s an interesting parallel with the “mecha-Hitler” episode here: AI seems to have a lot of trouble with the sort of winking needle-threading “respectable” right wingers have spent decades mastering, although that’s breaking down of late as well.
November 20, 2025 at 2:30 PM
mjsdc.bsky.social
The CDC amended its website to suggest that vaccines may cause autism. It now declares that experts “ignored” a potential link between infant vaccination and autism, and asserts that its earlier rejection of such a link was not “evidence-based.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/h...
C.D.C. Changes Website to Reflect Kennedy’s Vaccine Skepticism
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Mark Joseph Stern
mjsdc.bsky.social
I'm doing a (virtual) event tonight with Jews United for Democracy & Justice about the rule of law under Trump at 8 pm ET. I PROMISE it will not be entirely depressing. Anyone can join—please register here! www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org/blog/event/n...
All information available at the link
November 19, 2025 at 4:49 PM