by
Chip
Somodevilla/Getty
Images)
There
was
a
sense
of
optimism
concerning
the
amount
of
havoc
Donald
and
Co.
could
feasibly
bring
about
before
something
would
give
and
regulate
their
behavior.
As
early
as
February
of
this
year,
Justice
Sonia
Sotomayor
shared
her
belief
that
legal
norms
and
the
rule
of
law
were
those
stoppage
points.
What,
it’s
not
like
they’d
just
straight
up
ignore
judicial
orders
or
anything,
right?
About
that…
apparently
the
Executive
has
the
authority
to
find
court
orders
“erroneous.”
Sotomayor
changed
her
tune
by
March.
She
even
went
on
to
lay
some
of
the
blame
at
the
feet
of
law
schools
not
doing
their
jobs
properly.
We’re
at
a
strange
point
in
history
where
the
recognition
that
the
Executive
is
stepping
all
over
due
process
and
the
rule
of
law
has
become
bipartisan.
As
we
collectively
search
for
checks
and
balances
for
Executive
overreach,
former
Justice
Stephen
Breyer
floated
around
an
idea
that
could
rein
in
the
reign:
lock
their
asses
up.
From
The
Crimson:
Former
U.S.
Supreme
Court
Justice
Stephen
G.
Breyer
said
the
Trump
administration
could
be
held
in
criminal
contempt
over
Kilmar
Abrego’s
deportation
at
a
Harvard
Law
School
speaker
event
on
Friday,
expressing
optimism
that
Courts
would
hold
the
White
House
accountable.
…Breyer
said
that
was
“quite
possible”
that
high-ranking
officials
in
the
Trump
administration,
including
Marco
Rubio,
Kristi
Noem,
and
Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi,
could
be
held
in
criminal
contempt
for
the
refusal
to
comply.
And
while
the
line
of
reasoning
is
colorable,
law
professor
Jack
Goldsmith
brought
up
a
very
practical
monkey
wrench
for
the
plan:
the
only
official
with
the
power
to
enforce
criminal
contempt
would
be
the
Attorney
General.
I’m
not
a
betting
man,
but
I’m
going
to
assume
that
Pam
Bondi
probably
doesn’t
see
the
issue
the
same
way
that
the
former
Justice
does.
For
what
its
worth,
Breyer
told
the
crowd
that
he
still
has
confidence
in
the
rule
of
law.
It
seems
couched
in
the
assumptions
that
people
are
willing
to
advocate
for
the
rule
of
law
and
that
the
government
will
heed
their
petitions.
It’s
a
little
early
to
tell
if
the
given
solution
is
common
sense
or
a
dressed-up
thoughts
and
prayers
for
our
country.
The
Supreme
Court’s
recent
decision
to
block
deportations
under
the
Alien
Enemies
Act
is
a
silver
lining,
but
things
will
get
worse
if
the
Administration
uses
this
as
an
opportunity
to
up
the
ante
and
double
down
on
ignoring
court
orders.
Sonia
Sotomayor
Wildly
Out
Of
Touch
With
Trump’s
America
Justice
Sotomayor’s
Optimism
For
The
Rule
of
Law
Under
Trump
Only
Lasted
A
Month
Maybe
Don’t
‘Both
Sides’
Disappearing
People
To
Foreign
Gulags,
OK?
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.