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April 14, 2025

District courts issue nationwide injunctions as SCOTUS shadow docket floods

National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center
American Bar Association
Brennan Center for Justice
+11

Federal judges block Trump orders as administration defies courts

The judicial branch holds the power of judicial review to determine whether executive actions violate the Constitution (Question 1, Oyez Marbury v. Madison: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1789-1850/5us137)

Federal district courts have authority to issue nationwide injunctions temporarily or permanently blocking executive actions that violate law or the Constitution (Question 3, U.S. Courts: https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-cases/civil-cases)

Congress has authorized approximately 900 federal judgeships across district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court (Question 10, Federal judicial statistics: https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/analysis-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics)

👨‍⚖️Judicial Review📜Constitutional Law🏛️Government

Test Your Knowledge

10
Q1

Federal courts can issue injunctions to stop executive actions nationwide.

Q2

What did federal judges say about executive defiance of court orders?

Q3

Which federal court level typically hears initial challenges to executive orders?

Q4

What constitutional principle requires government officials to follow court orders?

Q5

What do constitutional scholars call it when presidents ignore court orders?

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Andrew Jackson

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What you can do

1

To review current nationwide injunctions against executive orders, visit the U.S. Courts’ civil cases page at https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/types-cases/civil-cases and search for injunction filings

2

To understand how emergency petitions reach the Supreme Court, consult the Court’s certiorari procedures at https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/procedures.aspx

3

To verify the total authorized federal judgeships, download the latest report at https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/analysis-reports/federal-judicial-caseload-statistics (shows ~900 authorized positions)