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An unusual spectacle plays out in Baltimore today. The U.S. Justice Department will face off against all 15 federal judges in the state of Maryland. The DOJ has sued them, arguing they exceeded their authority. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: A few months ago, as the Trump administration cracked down on immigration, the chief federal judge in Maryland imposed a 48-hour pause on certain cases filed by people who feared they might be next in line for deportation.
PHILIP PRO: It was a sensible step. It's something courts do all the time.
JOHNSON: That's Philip Pro. He's a retired federal judge from Nevada who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Judge Pro is not involved in this case, but he's speaking up to defend sitting federal judges who can't speak for themselves.
PRO: A two-business-day extension is such a reasonable and brief period that I don't think it could frustrate any executive powers. That's a crisis that's made by the executive with their timing.
JOHNSON: The Trump administration does not see it that way. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the entire federal district court bench in Maryland. Hans von Spakovsky's a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
HANS VON SPAKOVSKY: Well, it's an unprecedented lawsuit, but then what the chief judge did there was unprecedented - issuing a standing order to automatically grant an injunction, which violates all kinds of rules and regulations.
JOHNSON: In court papers, the Justice Department says the Maryland court lacks jurisdiction over those kinds of immigration cases and that the judges sidestepped requirements set out by the Supreme Court.
VON SPAKOVSKY: And that requires actually hearing evidence to meet those standards.
JOHNSON: Both sides are due in court in Maryland today. A federal judge from out of state will oversee the dispute. The DOJ has won some support from immigration hawks and conservative interest groups, but a wide array of advocates are backing the Maryland judges. They include the Maryland State Bar Association, dozens of law firms and retired judges. To them, the case threatens judicial independence and amounts to threatening judges simply for doing their job.
Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.
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