Reposted by @katefromnyc.bsky.social
“You have these meetings, you hear them out, you nod and say, ‘We’ll look into it,’ ” the prosecutor explained. “And then at some point you have another meeting and gently tell them why they’re fucking insane and wrong.”
newyorker.com
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Government lawyers who think that the Trump Administration is subverting justice are facing a quandary: Should they stay or should they go?
![And therein lies the quandary for the dutiful judge. How should a good judge respond when it’s suggested that his exercise of judicial authority might be tainted by his private, personal desire for elevation to another post? One noted scholar has described this dilemma as “the audition trap.” Josh Blackman, The Audition Trap, Reason.com, Mar. 7, 2025. As Professor Blackman explains, “[a]t bottom, this is a charge of bad faith: that we write what we write not because we think it is the right legal outcome, but that we are using our platforms to seek some higher office.” He calls it a “trap” because it’s a claim that “cannot be refuted.” “Once a person is labeled as an auditioner, everything they do will be seen as an attempt to audition. If they act in a moderate fashion, they are doing so to avoid drawing attention, and helping their candidacy. If they act in a radical fashion, they are doing so to draw attention, and help their candidacy. Auditioners are trapped in a vicious cycle.” Id.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:24vva42nxim6zbcmnozegoef/bafkreieghviuqyjoszyjoyuiidppaxsbw6mjm772qswuamqhage5j4mi3u)
![screenshot of the bottom of p. 29 and top of p.30 of the linked opinion, which reads as follows, with internal citations omitted:
The Court does not set aside the application of a statute passed by Congress lightly, so let’s end by underscoring what this unusual case does *not* decide or even touch upon:
1. Can the State of Florida prohibit and punish the exact conduct Defendant Cox allegedly engaged in here? This has already been decided elsewhere and is not addressed here: Florida can and does.
2. Does the federal government have the power to remove the Defendant from the United States for engaging in the exact conduct alleged here? The undersigned must wait for a live case, but
a different federal statute, embedded in Title 8, states that “[a]ny alien who has voted in violation of any Federal, State, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation is inadmissible.” That statute on its face rests on Congress’s immigration power and does not depend upon setting a federal voting qualification. This case doesn’t address the Government’s power to remove a non-U.S. citizen who engages in the same conduct.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kjklbsuepdppuppsfluytydl/bafkreih3jghfy6oentfzkrpvpjlplkg6zrtln5anljs7cmkk42pem3qcwe)
