Republicans, who ya got? MAGA or Federalist Society?

 This is a fascinating blow up -- Trump takes on the Federalist Society and Leonard Leo, calling him a sleazebag. 

From Politico:

It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court.

“He openly brags how he controls Judges, and even Justices of the United States Supreme Court — I hope that is not so, and don’t believe it is!,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s attack came after the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday struck down his tariffs, a massive blow to the primary pillar of the administration’s economic agenda. The ruling was temporarily stayed by an appellate court on Thursday. One of the judges on the three-person panel that blocked the tariffs is Timothy Reif, who was appointed by Trump in his first term.

The blame, Trump said, lay with the Federalist Society.

“I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they

 gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations,” he wrote. “This is something that cannot be forgotten!”

Leo, in a brief statement in response, did not criticize the president.

"I'm very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts, and it was a privilege being involved," Leo said. "There's more work to be done, for sure, but the Federal Judiciary is better than it's ever been in modern history, and that will be President Trump's most important legacy."

Trump's relationship with the activist is known to have grown strained over Trump's disappointment that the three conservative justices he appointed to the court on Leo's advice did not intervene to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

 So my Republican friends, who are you siding with?

Shark Divers Pardoned

 By John R. Byrne

Happy Friday. A few months back, the blog covered the case about two shark divers who were prosecuted and convicted because they tried to save sharks from what they believed was an illegal poaching operation. The Eleventh Circuit reluctantly affirmed the convictions, with Judge Lagoa writing a powerful opinion lambasting the government for prosecuting the men in the first place. 

This past Wednesday, President Trump pardoned the men. Congrats to Marc Seitles, Ashley Litwin, and Andy Adler who led the pardon charge. Article here. 

Unrelated, details below on the Celebration of Life for Paul Donnelly. 

Monday, June 2, 2025 @ 10:00 am. The service is at Dignity Memorial's Forest Lawn Funeral Home 2401 Davie Road, Davie,  FL 33317

Celebration of Life by John Byrne on Scribd

Breaking--Judge Ed Artau nominated for open SDFLA district court seat (UPDATED)

By John R. Byrne

Hot off the presses. President Trump has nominated Judge Ed Artau, who sits on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal, for Judge Scola's open district court seat. Here's the Truth Social Post announcing the nomination. 

UPDATE (by DOM) -- Hi everyone.  Quick update -- In addition to Artau for Scola's seat, Trump has nominated 4 others for Florida seats -- Jordan E. Pratt, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, and Kyle Dudek.

In addition, interim U.S. Attorney Hayden O'Byrne's time was up, but our court appointed him as U.S. attorney until Jason Redding Quinones takes over.

And finally, the legal community is abuzz over the nomination of Emil Bove to the Third Circuit. 

Editorial by Judge Luck and Judge Altman

By John R. Byrne

Many of you have likely heard about the shocking and tragic murder of a young Israeli couple outside the Capital Jewish Museum after they had attended a gathering of the American Jewish Committee. This should hit close to home, as the AJC just recently hosted several of our judges at an AJC event on Watson Island. The Dispatch has published an editorial written by four federal judges, including Judge Luck and Judge Altman, addressing the incident. Worth a read. Linking to it here. 

FBA event coming up

 

RIP Paul Donnelly

What an absolute tragedy.  Paul Donnelly, a really good guy and great lawyer, died this morning.  He was in federal court waiting to be called for a sentencing hearing before Judge Becerra.  The marshals and co-counsel did all they could until rescue arrived.  He died pursuing justice.  

Really awful.

Sitting it Out

By John R. Byrne

Want to make sure the Supreme Court never hears one of your legal disputes? Sign them all to book deals. At least, that might be a way to avoid the justices from considering your case. 

This past Monday, six justices--Alito, Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett and Jackson--recused themselves from considering the cert petition in a case called Baker v. Coates. The plaintiff (Baker) was an author who sued another author (Coates), claiming that Coates's book, The Water Dancer, plagiarized his book. The trial court dismissed the complaint and the Second Circuit affirmed. And that's where the lawsuit will end. Because of the recusals, the Supreme Court lacked the requisite quorum (the magic number is 6) to consider Baker's cert petition.

Though the justices didn't say why they recused (they aren't required to), the speculation is that it's because a party in the case owns Penguin Random House, which has published (or plans to publish) books by Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson. So, by federal statute--28 U.S.C. § 2109--the Second Circuit becomes the final arbiter of the dispute. Newsweek covers it here. 

Unrelated, the Miami New Times just ran this list featuring "22 Old School Miami Restaurants." Some classics on this list. Still haven't tried a hot dog from Arbetter's.

Eleventh Circuit Strikes Down Protection of Children Act

By John R. Byrne

You may remember a few years back there was some press coverage about kids allegedly attending drag shows in Florida. That led to the Florida legislature passing the Protection of Children Act, which made it a misdemeanor to admit a child into an “adult live performance.” The statute actually defined that term to track the Supreme Court’s three-pronged “Miller Test” (the test uses language that probably sounds vaguely familiar to you—phrases like “appeals to the prurient interest” and “lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value,” etc.). Still, the court—in a majority opinion by Judge Rosenbaum joined by Judge Abudu—held the statute was unconstitutionally vague, focusing on the statute’s reference to “lewd conduct,” which the court said was an ambiguous phrase that would necessarily sweep in some protected speech.

This might be headed for an en banc hearing.  Judge Tjoflat wrote a lengthy dissent and at least one other court, the Sixth Circuit, ruled differently when examining a similar statute. See Friends of George's, Inc. v. Mulroy, 108 F.4th 431, 439 (6th Cir. 2024). 

Opinion by John Byrne on Scribd