Reposted by Cary Waxler, NBCT
DOJ's newest recruitment ad features Judge Dredd, the comic satire about the dangers of lawless policing and authoritarian power
Cary Waxler, NBCT
@waxler81.bsky.social
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US and CompGov Teacher, National Board and IEA Mentor, Scale Modeler. Not my employer at all.
![The majority’s contention that I reject “ ‘pure textualism’ [a]s insufficiently pliable to secure the result [I] seek,” ante, at 10, stems from an
unfortunate misunderstanding of the judicial role. Our interpretative
task is not to seek our own desired results (whatever they may be). And,
indeed, it is precisely because of this solemn duty that, in my view, it is
imperative that we interpret statutes consistent with all relevant indicia
of what Congress wanted, as best we can ascertain its intent. A methodology that includes consideration of Congress’s aims does exactly that—
and no more. By contrast, pure textualism’s refusal to try to understand
the text of a statute in the larger context of what Congress sought to
achieve turns the interpretive task into a potent weapon for advancing
judicial policy preferences. By “finding” answers in ambiguous text, and
not bothering to consider whether those answers align with other sources
of statutory meaning, pure textualists can easily disguise their own preferences as “textual” inevitabilities. So, really, far from being “insufficiently pliable,” I think pure textualism is incessantly malleable—that’s
its primary problem—and, indeed, it is certainly somehow always flexible enough to secure the majority’s desired outcome.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreih3qdtlloz3yhggypbtwiveqdgzzfgapsnetvq7qsni7wfmyuovoi)
![UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
^
KEITH SONDERLING, Acting Director,
Institute of Museum and Library Services, et al.,
Defendants.
Civil Case No. 25-1050 (RJL)
MEMORANDUM ORDER
May 1, 2025 [Dkt. #13]
This matter initially came before the Court on plaintiff American Library
Association's ("ALA") and plaintiff American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO's ("AFSCME") motion for a preliminary injunction ("PT"). See Pls.' PI Mot. [Dkt, #13]; Pls.' Mem. in Supp. of PI Mot. ("Pls.' PI Mem.") [Dkt. #13-11.
Plaintiffs sought a decision on the PI by May 4, 2025, as defendants intend to execute a
"mass termination of [Institute of Museum and Library Services] staff' on that day. Pls
PI Mot. at 1.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreig5evcrfkwsw2usse2xvhf66zcug76ufhuzui3smou5ycmjh5hf4m)
