A new year. A new congressional session. But — sadly — a continuation of some of the worst of 2025, seemingly on steroids. We join in mourning the brutal killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE officers in Minnesota which is not the first death at the hands of ICE. And, on another front, we share the deep concern over US actions in Venezuela as well as threats to other sovereign states. Indeed, 2026 has gotten off to a troubling start. The second session of the 119th Congress burst out of the starting gate with the House voting to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies (finally), and the Senate advancing a war powers resolution to require Congressional authorization for any further military action in Venezuela. Both votes were bipartisan. In another bipartisan vote in the Senate, Alexander Van Hook was confirmed 53-40 to the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He also received Democratic support during his mark-up in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We begin the second session of this Congress with 27 confirmations.

As expected, the White House renominated all but one of the nominees from last year who were pending on the Senate floor. John Guard was not renominated to the District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Additionally, new nominees were announced: Anna St. John to the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Judge John Shepherd to the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas; and Andrew Davis and Judge Chris Wolfe to the District Court for the Western District of Texas. Their hearings are expected on February 4.

Since our last Weekly Wrap Up, there have been some noteworthy court decisions — including one in the Wyoming state supreme court. Here are a few:

• In the continuing saga of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s fight to be freed from immigration detention which is playing out in District Court of Maryland, Judge Paula Xinis (Obama nominee) has extended her prohibition against re-detaining Abrego who was freed on December 11. In the criminal case against him in the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Judge Waverly Crenshaw, also an Obama nominee, canceled his trial on human smuggling charges and has set a late-January hearing on whether the charges are a result of vindictive prosecution. In a newly unsealed order, it appears that the Department of Justice pushed local prosecutors to bring the case against Abrego, contradicting the DOJ’s contention that the case was initiated locally.

• In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel on the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government could not reduce grants from the National Institute of Health to universities. The Trump administration had capped the amount that universities and other grant recipients could use for overhead costs such as the purchase and upkeep of vital research equipment because they claimed it funded DEI initiatives.

• Biden-nominated Judge Trina Thompson of the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Department of Homeland Security could not terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for tens of thousands of immigrants from Nicaragua, Nepal, and Honduras because DHS did not follow proper procedure and was “arbitrary and capricious.”

• The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that two anti-abortion laws violated the Wyoming state constitution. The state’s only abortion clinic had sued to block bills banning abortion that were passed subsequent to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Notably, the court also struck down the country’s first ban on medication abortion. The 4-1 decision was rendered by justices all of whom had been appointed by Republican governors. The current governor is urging the state legislature to pass a state constitutional amendment banning abortion.

►   Senate Judiciary Committee

The judiciary committee kicked off the new year with a hearing on Impeachment: Holding Rogue Judges Accountable. Some of the testimony was disturbing. On January 15, the committee plans to hold a mark-up on six nominees: Justin Olson to the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (opposed by NCJW) who has been touted as a “specialist” in cases of excluding transgender women athletes from school sports and who has troubling beliefs about women being subservient to men, among other extreme views; Brian Lea to the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee who defended cuts to NIH; Judge Megan Benton to the District Court for the Western District of Missouri; Clay Fowlkes to the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas; Aaron Peterson to the District Court of Alaska; and Nicholas Ganjei to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

►   Opportunities

• For those in Washington, DC, join NCJW and coalition colleagues for a rally outside of the Supreme Court “Together We Win,” beginning at 9:30am on January 13 when the Court will take up two cases consequential to the future of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people: West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox.

• Join us for the Piper Fund’s annual webinar on January 29th at 1pm ET to examine the growing campaign against judicial integrity at the state court level, why state courts matter, and what can be done to protect and advance judicial integrity – an integral part of a just, equitable democracy. The panel of experts include two Courts Matter leaders, Kadida Kenner, Founding CEO of the New Pennsylvania Project and Laura Rodriguez, Chair of Courts Matter Florida; Rikki Henderson from Montana State Voices; and Mike Milov-Cordoba, Counsel of the Judiciary Program at the Brennan Center. They will break down recent attacks and share how they are pushing back through tactics like public education and coalition-building. This webinar is open to both funders and advocates. Register now! It will not be recorded.

►   ICYMI

(Politico) Court watchers fear Emil Bove’s ‘level of allegiance’ to Trump

(Courthouse News) Senate judiciary clashes over judicial impeachments

(Reason) John Roberts touts judicial independence, subtly rebukes Trump in year-end report

(Politico) Hundreds of judges reject Trump’s mandatory detention policy with no end in sight

(Hill) Trump’s judicial battles raise profiles of federal judges

Here is the latest Courts Matter Weekly Wrap Up for November 21, 2025:

Judicial courts matter and so does the court of public opinion! We saw evidence of that with the nearly unanimous congressional action directing the release of the Epstein files. In the end, even the president acknowledged that continued recalcitrance was a losing game and signed the legislation. We can only hope that the survivors — those who came forward and those who were unable to — will now get justice.

Meanwhile the president has taken to Truth Social to announce new nominees to the federal bench. They are: Justin Olson to the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana whom the president lauded for “fighting tirelessly to keep men out of women’s sports;” Brian Lea to the District Court for the Western District of Tennessee; and Judge Megan Benton to the District Court for the Western District of Missouri (even though there is no vacancy or announced vacancy on that district — curious!). It is worth noting that President Trump’s nominees seem to follow a pattern, called out by Demand Justice in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. When the Senate returns from recess, they will vote on cloture for David Bragdon and Lindsey Ann Freeman to the District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. David Bragdon is ardently anti-abortion among his other extreme views.

The Supreme Court continues to fill out their docket, taking two new cases this week. Noem v. Al Otro Lado centers on the issue of where immigrants seeking asylum can apply. And, Watson v. Republican National Committee tests a Mississippi election law that counts mail-in ballots as long as they are received within five days after Election Day.

The lower courts have very full dockets, including cases challenging attacks on democracy and the Trump administration’s policies and actions. Clearly the Department of Justice is following closely. They have ordered federal prosecutors to provide examples of ‘unusual judicial system obstacles’ encountered during civil or criminal proceedings in immigration or ‘“antifa” cases, among others. Here are some highlights from lower court cases this week:

• By a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel on the District Court for the Southern District of Texas blocked the newly redrawn congressional map from going into effect for the 2026 midterm elections. The opinion was written by Trump-nominated Judge Jeffrey Brown and joined by Judge David Guaderrama (an Obama nominee). The judges found “substantial evidence” that the Texas map was racially gerrymandered. Reagan-nominee Judge Jerry Smith opposed the decision. The Texas governor immediately appealed to the US Supreme Court.

• Judge Orlando Garcia, who was nominated to the District Court for the Western District of Texas by Clinton, ordered some school districts to take down the Ten Commandments displays which were mandated by a Texas law enacted earlier this year. His ruling applies to 14 school districts. Although the displays are donated and not purchased with school funds, the judge said that it was impossible to prevent “unwelcome religious displays” without removing the Ten Commandments.

• Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama-nominated judge on the District Court for the District of Columbia, had warned the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that they had not made a credible case for why they reneged on their contract with National Public Radio (NPR) and was preparing for a December 1 trial. Likely in response, CPB said they would go ahead with the $36 million, multi-year contract. This ended the court case which was the result of CPB caving to pressure by President Trump who objected to NPR’s news coverage.

• Judge Jia Cobb, a Biden nominee to the District Court for the District of Columbia, put a temporary block on the administration deploying more than 2000 National Guard troops in the District of Columbia. Her ruling is paused for three weeks to allow time to remove the troops and for the administration to appeal the decision. This is one of a number of court decisions blocking or limiting President Trump’s ability to take control of state National Guards. The Ninth Circuit has allowed the federalization of the Oregon National Guard to continue, reversing a ruling by Judge Karin Immergut, while they consider the merits of the case.

►   Senate Judiciary Committee

On Wednesday, the committee held a hearing, questioning Nicholas Ganjei to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, David Clay Fowlkes to the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, and Aaron Peterson to the District Court for the District of Alaska. Nicholas Ganjei, who has a long history of affiliation with far-right groups, was asked about sharing a social media post that equated ICE snatching people off the street with catching Pokemon creatures. He basically evaded the question. On November 20, the committee held a mark-up, voting out Louisiana Supreme Court Justice William Crain to the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on a party-line vote despite his boast that he was the ‘most conservative candidate’ in the race for the state Supreme Court. Alexander Van Hook got support from four Democrats for the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Also at the mark-up, two extreme nominees to the District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi: Robert Chamberlin and James Maxwell who are both currently on the Mississippi Supreme Court were approved on party-line votes. Their mark-up was blocked for many weeks by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) because of a dispute unrelated to their nominations.

►   ICYMI

(Democracy Docket) GOP senators ask DC Circuit to suspend Judge Boasberg

(PBS) Judge scolds DOJ for ‘disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps’ in Comey

(NYTimes) 60 attorneys on the year of chaos inside Trump’s Justice Department

(NPR) Justice Dept official told prosecutors that US should ‘just sink’ drug boats

(Slate) Why it matters that Trump’s DOJ got caught by a judge blatantly lying—again!

The Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) and the National Council of Jewish Women MN (NCJW) present: Northside Stories: Shared History, Shared Promise — a virtual event exploring the history and relationship of Jews and African Americans in North Minneapolis.

Join us for a conversation with Jewish and African American northsiders, activists, and historians for a look into the complexities of the past, with an eye toward building a better future, together.

Participants:

—Earl Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Social Justice, Religion, and Middle East Studies, Hamline University

—Enzi Tanner, Community Safety Organizer, Jewish Community Action

—Sondra Samuels, President & CEO, Northside Achievement Zone

Moderator:

—Sam Graber, Host, American Refugee Podcast

North Minneapolis has a long history of welcoming marginalized groups. Minority communities settled on the Northside in the late 19th- and early 20th-century because it was one of the few areas that allowed them to rent or own homes due to redlining and racial covenants. Jews and African Americans were two such groups. But despite sharing this home for many decades, the divide between ethnic and religious communities made its mark on the Northside. During the 1940s and 1950s the divide became more permanent, seeing hundreds of Jews move with a desire to leave the urban core, made possible by the easing of housing restrictions. With the escalating tension and violence of the Civil Rights Era, the migration of Jews to the suburbs continued and today we see little evidence of that shared history or those relationships.

Register here.

You are invited to a Better Angels community debate! You probably haven’t experienced anything like it. It is a highly structured conversation in which a group of people think together, listen carefully to one another. When done well, everyone walks out a little closer to the truth, more aware of the validity in opposing views, and with tighter community relationships. The topic of the debate will be selected prior to the event, by you, the attendees.

The debate will take place in an environment of decorum and respect. We ask participants to behave respectfully toward one another (no matter their views), whether they’re speakers or questioners, or are simply there to listen.

The conversation grows and develops through a series of speeches supporting or opposing the resolution. After a participant speaks, the Chair asks for one or two questions from the body. The speaker responds to the questions and another speaker takes the floor.

While people are encouraged to support or oppose the resolution in order to sharpen their points, they are welcome to express nuance and ambiguity. What’s critical is that people articulate what they actually believe, even if it’s complicated or incomplete.

Trained Better Angels facilitators will be moderating the debate.

Register here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwfc4L29aBcMlkpoOCuExIkU61P0Zaf7BNPNNDVfgFtZ9Nxg/viewform

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