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Jonathan Turley Details ‘Pretty Hot Argument’ Over Nationwide Injunctions At Supreme Court

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George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News host Harris Faulkner on Thursday oral arguments at the Supreme Court over nationwide injunctions got “pretty hot.”

The Supreme Court held a special oral argument session focusing on the practice of nationwide injunctions blocking an executive order President Donald Trump issued regarding birthright citizenship when he took office Jan. 20. Turley said one justice was particularly responsible for the tension in the courtroom and constantly interrupted one of the attorneys arguing the case.

“This has been a pretty hot argument. Chief Justice [John] Roberts doesn’t ordinarily talk over Justice Sotomayor and said, ‘Will you please let us hear his answer’ and by the way, Justice Sotomayor didn’t yield,” Turley said. “She continued to talk. She was right out of the gates very early and clearly, that was not going over well with some of the justices who want to hear what the solicitor general has to say. But Justice Sotomayor was very, very active.”

Turley also noted that one of the more liberal justices on the court also had previously criticized the practice of issuing nationwide injunctions.

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“The interesting thing so far is Justice Kagan, because she sort of painted herself in a corner in her interview at Northwestern Law School during the Biden Administration when she said, you know, these injunctions really are crazy,” Turley said. “Today she was suggesting well, if we think this order is clearly unconstitutional, does that change the dynamic for us? So, it seemed like she is trying to reframe it a bit, in terms of how they would approach this.”

The Supreme Court temporarily halted the Trump administration’s efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) in April, saying those who were slated for deportation had a right to challenge their removal.

Trump issued several executive orders to address illegal immigration and border security, including designating Mexican drug cartels, TdA and MS-13, an El Salvadoran prison gang, as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up the deportation of TdA gang members March 15.

“There is this widening gap between the judiciary, both state and federal, and the Trump administration,” Turley said. “And I think it’s one of the reasons why the Supreme Court took the injunction case in this irregular way. This is a pretty rare occasion for them to accept an oral argument in a case like this. I think they do want to bring clarity. But if the oral argument in the Supreme Court is any indication, there is more heat than light so far.”